Misha77Piazza
04-17-2002, 09:28 PM
BOOTBALL???? :freak:
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Wednesday, April 17
Mets' defense continues to play bootball
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By Alan Schwarz
Special to ESPN.com
Rey Ordonez almost coughed up a lung laughing. After strolling into the Mets clubhouse Wednesday morning he came upon a package resting on his chair. Cool. Free stuff. He ripped open the box, sifted through the tissue paper ... and pulled out a mitt.
"I make a bunch of errors," Ordonez erupted, "and people start sending me gloves!"
Rey Ordonez has already committed eight errors this season.
Sure enough, Ordonez's defense this season has been laughable. His eight errors in 15 games lead all major leaguers. A three-time Gold Glove winner whose plays once took your breath away, this season all they've done to your breath now is make you hold it.
Even beyond Ordonez, the Mets' defense has been as porous as Enron's. Although the Mets remain in first place in the National League East after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Braves, their 21 team errors and .964 fielding percentage entering the game were by far the worst in the league, leading to 12 unearned runs, second-worst. Three years ago the club had what many considered the best infield ever. Now in addition to Ordonez's eight errors, Edgardo Alfonzo has three at third (tied for second), John Valentin has three at first (no one else has more than one) and even pitcher Al Leiter has chipped in two.
This after the club committed 40 errors in spring training. Yet manager Bobby Valentine is not panicking.
"They've got good ability," he said, feet propped up on his desk before Wednesday's errorless game, the club's second straight for the first time all season. "They've got some stuff out of the way to give them some numbers that will stay with them all year. The percentages will increase as the games go on."
All that has increased since 1999 has been the Mets' infield error totals. That season the four spots made just 33 combined errors, by far fewer than the previous lowest total, the 1964 Orioles with 45. Their .991 fielding percentage was also the best ever, with remarkable error totals from middle men Ordonez (4) and Alfonzo (5) in particular.
The infield has undergone serious transformation since. Large (6-foot-5) first-base target John Olerud left for Seattle, with Todd Zeile replacing him the last two years and Mo Vaughn this season. (The ever-brittle Vaughn has been out with a broken hand, leaving Mark Johnson, Valentin and even 5-foot-10 Joe McEwing in his place.) And last December's trades of Robin Ventura and for Roberto Alomar moved Alfonzo over to third, where he had not played regularly since 1998. So the only regular still at the same position from 1999 is Ordonez, whose error totals have risen to six to 12 to who knows how many this year.
"This will pass," Ordonez said, "but it gets in your head." He had the first three-error game of his career on April 13 in a 9-8, 11-inning loss to Montreal and was so frustrated he claimed "I stink" and scissored his glove to snippets. "I can't cut off my hands," he explained. The previous day, the Mets almost blew a 2-1 win in the ninth when Alfonzo dropped Vladimir Guerrero's popup for an error but recovered to throw out Guerrero at second.
"They've got the greatest defenders at third, short and second," incredulous Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Why are they making all these errors? It's amazing. Ordonez has probably the best hands I've ever seen. What's he doing with eight errors?"
Cox has some infield problems of his own. Rafael Furcal is just behind Ordonez with seven errors already, while second baseman Marcus Giles has four, with each making miscues that helped give Atlanta a 3-1 loss on Tuesday. On Wednesday first baseman Julio Franco made Nietzsche look nimble, clumsily feeding Greg Maddux after a first-inning grounder and in the third dropping an easy throw from catcher Henry Blanco for an error.
Furcal has some on-base ability and even drove in both runs on Wednesday with a triple and single, but Ordonez hardly provides the bat to compensate if his defense deteriorates; his gruesome .491 OPS (on-base + slugging percentages) this season is actually managing to lower his .590 career mark entering the season. If he continues to play this poorly he could succeed Derek Bell as the worst player in the National League.
Ordonez still makes eye-popping plays but has struggled on routine chances. He still will occasionally shift his feet at the last second to take grounders backhanded because he feels more comfortable that way. "He came in with a bang and had so much overhype," one scout said. "Plays that don't need flash get a lot of flash with him. He's like the NBAer who gets two monster dunks but then can't hit a 15-footer."
Alomar still has confidence in his double-play partner and offers his support. "I don't want to get him thinking about it," Alomar said. "He's made some plays I've never seen a shortstop make," he added, noting that yes, he played with Omar Vizquel.
The Mets installed an entirely new field at Shea Stadium this winter, and players -- while going to great pains not to make excuses -- claim the new infield needs getting used to. The thick grass slows grounders down before the hard dirt (seemingly) speeds them up.
"You never know how long it's going to take," McEwing said. "Hopefully sooner than later." Added Valentine: "We have to settle on the length of the grass."
The Mets did play good infield defense on Wednesday. Ordonez made a nice diving stop of a soft Henry Blanco line drive in the fifth. In the ninth inning Alfonzo charged well on a soft Blanco grounder and, after uncorking a somewhat wild throw, Valentin made a nifty stretch at first to get the out.
Those kinds of maneuvers will keep the unearned runs down and the pitchers' confidence up. Three years ago, Valentine would rave at how his infielders' fantastic glovework "might not have won the game for us, but it kept us from losing." First place or not, if this year's Mets defense doesn't improve, it could very well keep them from winning.
Alan Schwarz is the Senior Writer of Baseball America magazine and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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Wednesday, April 17
Mets' defense continues to play bootball
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Alan Schwarz
Special to ESPN.com
Rey Ordonez almost coughed up a lung laughing. After strolling into the Mets clubhouse Wednesday morning he came upon a package resting on his chair. Cool. Free stuff. He ripped open the box, sifted through the tissue paper ... and pulled out a mitt.
"I make a bunch of errors," Ordonez erupted, "and people start sending me gloves!"
Rey Ordonez has already committed eight errors this season.
Sure enough, Ordonez's defense this season has been laughable. His eight errors in 15 games lead all major leaguers. A three-time Gold Glove winner whose plays once took your breath away, this season all they've done to your breath now is make you hold it.
Even beyond Ordonez, the Mets' defense has been as porous as Enron's. Although the Mets remain in first place in the National League East after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Braves, their 21 team errors and .964 fielding percentage entering the game were by far the worst in the league, leading to 12 unearned runs, second-worst. Three years ago the club had what many considered the best infield ever. Now in addition to Ordonez's eight errors, Edgardo Alfonzo has three at third (tied for second), John Valentin has three at first (no one else has more than one) and even pitcher Al Leiter has chipped in two.
This after the club committed 40 errors in spring training. Yet manager Bobby Valentine is not panicking.
"They've got good ability," he said, feet propped up on his desk before Wednesday's errorless game, the club's second straight for the first time all season. "They've got some stuff out of the way to give them some numbers that will stay with them all year. The percentages will increase as the games go on."
All that has increased since 1999 has been the Mets' infield error totals. That season the four spots made just 33 combined errors, by far fewer than the previous lowest total, the 1964 Orioles with 45. Their .991 fielding percentage was also the best ever, with remarkable error totals from middle men Ordonez (4) and Alfonzo (5) in particular.
The infield has undergone serious transformation since. Large (6-foot-5) first-base target John Olerud left for Seattle, with Todd Zeile replacing him the last two years and Mo Vaughn this season. (The ever-brittle Vaughn has been out with a broken hand, leaving Mark Johnson, Valentin and even 5-foot-10 Joe McEwing in his place.) And last December's trades of Robin Ventura and for Roberto Alomar moved Alfonzo over to third, where he had not played regularly since 1998. So the only regular still at the same position from 1999 is Ordonez, whose error totals have risen to six to 12 to who knows how many this year.
"This will pass," Ordonez said, "but it gets in your head." He had the first three-error game of his career on April 13 in a 9-8, 11-inning loss to Montreal and was so frustrated he claimed "I stink" and scissored his glove to snippets. "I can't cut off my hands," he explained. The previous day, the Mets almost blew a 2-1 win in the ninth when Alfonzo dropped Vladimir Guerrero's popup for an error but recovered to throw out Guerrero at second.
"They've got the greatest defenders at third, short and second," incredulous Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Why are they making all these errors? It's amazing. Ordonez has probably the best hands I've ever seen. What's he doing with eight errors?"
Cox has some infield problems of his own. Rafael Furcal is just behind Ordonez with seven errors already, while second baseman Marcus Giles has four, with each making miscues that helped give Atlanta a 3-1 loss on Tuesday. On Wednesday first baseman Julio Franco made Nietzsche look nimble, clumsily feeding Greg Maddux after a first-inning grounder and in the third dropping an easy throw from catcher Henry Blanco for an error.
Furcal has some on-base ability and even drove in both runs on Wednesday with a triple and single, but Ordonez hardly provides the bat to compensate if his defense deteriorates; his gruesome .491 OPS (on-base + slugging percentages) this season is actually managing to lower his .590 career mark entering the season. If he continues to play this poorly he could succeed Derek Bell as the worst player in the National League.
Ordonez still makes eye-popping plays but has struggled on routine chances. He still will occasionally shift his feet at the last second to take grounders backhanded because he feels more comfortable that way. "He came in with a bang and had so much overhype," one scout said. "Plays that don't need flash get a lot of flash with him. He's like the NBAer who gets two monster dunks but then can't hit a 15-footer."
Alomar still has confidence in his double-play partner and offers his support. "I don't want to get him thinking about it," Alomar said. "He's made some plays I've never seen a shortstop make," he added, noting that yes, he played with Omar Vizquel.
The Mets installed an entirely new field at Shea Stadium this winter, and players -- while going to great pains not to make excuses -- claim the new infield needs getting used to. The thick grass slows grounders down before the hard dirt (seemingly) speeds them up.
"You never know how long it's going to take," McEwing said. "Hopefully sooner than later." Added Valentine: "We have to settle on the length of the grass."
The Mets did play good infield defense on Wednesday. Ordonez made a nice diving stop of a soft Henry Blanco line drive in the fifth. In the ninth inning Alfonzo charged well on a soft Blanco grounder and, after uncorking a somewhat wild throw, Valentin made a nifty stretch at first to get the out.
Those kinds of maneuvers will keep the unearned runs down and the pitchers' confidence up. Three years ago, Valentine would rave at how his infielders' fantastic glovework "might not have won the game for us, but it kept us from losing." First place or not, if this year's Mets defense doesn't improve, it could very well keep them from winning.
Alan Schwarz is the Senior Writer of Baseball America magazine and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.