Orioles are 23-13 since Machado's promotion

[BuckMagic]

I posted about him being the solution at 3B and WOW!

Talk about an entire team improving. I do not know if this was all because of Machado but I do not think it is a coincidence!

Also....0.8 fWAR over 36 games so far. That would be about 3.3 fWAR over 150 games! We are set at 3B for a while and SS whenever we need.

[ofahn]

I posted about him being the solution at 3B and WOW!

Talk about an entire team improving. I do not know if this was all because of Machado but I do not think it is a coincidence!

Also....0.8 fWAR over 36 games so far. That would be about 3.3 fWAR over 150 games! We are set at 3B for a while and SS whenever we need.

The announcers were discussing this on the game last night. I believe they said that the Orioles had become one of the best defensive teams in the league since Machado was called up.

[birdwatcher55]

Manny-mania is building

[Matt P]

With a Machado at 3B and Reynolds at 1B they have one of the elite defensive infields in all of baseball. He's been good at the plate too which is IMO a bonus.

[ofahn]

The defense has definitely improved but Reynolds is still an AVERAGE defender at 1B although his game seems to be improving with each day. If he spends the winter working on his lateral movement he could become a PLUS defender there.

[osforlife]

The defense has definitely improved but Reynolds is still an AVERAGE defender at 1B although his game seems to be improving with each day. If he spends the winter working on his lateral movement he could become a PLUS defender there.

He's been playing gold glove defense there pretty much ever since he moved there. Bordick, Palmer, Thorne, Manfra, Angel, Hardy, Lance Rinker, etc. all agree.

[ofahn]

He's been playing gold glove defense there pretty much ever since he moved there. Bordick, Palmer, Thorne, Manfra, Angel, Hardy, Lance Rinker, etc. all agree.

I don't want to speak for them but if they're referring to anything within his first step then I would agree. It's his second and third steps that he needs work on.

[osforlife]

I don't want to speak for them but if they're referring to anything within his first step then I would agree. It's his second and third steps that he needs work on.

Why would somebody be playing gold glove defense according to all these baseball minds if that one player has crappy range? Usually you're an elite fielder if you're getting consideration for the gold glove.

[osforlife]

Scratch that. He's not in gold glove contention. He's only played there for two months but according to all these baseball minds, he's been playing gold glove caliber since he was moved there.

[ofahn]

Why would somebody be playing gold glove defense according to all these baseball minds if that one player has crappy range? Usually you're an elite fielder if you're getting consideration for the gold glove.

He's been almost flawless on balls within his reach and catching balls from the stretch. He was strong in those areas at 3B too. His range at 3B was limited and that's carried over to 1B; HOWEVER, I can see him getting better there as he becomes more used to the position. IMO most people are evaluating him on what he's doing right, not what he's not yet able to do.

DD has been anything but subtle about trying trying to morph this team into a high OBA and ground ball throwing team. If he's successful with the latter, range will be VERY important at every base.

[osforlife]

He's been almost flawless on balls within his reach and catching balls from the stretch. He was strong in those areas at 3B too. His range at 3B was limited and that's carried over to 1B; HOWEVER, I can see him getting better there as he becomes more used to the position. IMO most people are evaluating him on what he's doing right, not what he's not yet able to do.

DD has been anything but subtle about trying trying to morph this team into a high OBA and ground ball throwing team. If he's successful with the latter, range will be VERY important at every base.

I'll repeat the question, how can somebody be playing gold glove defense with limited range?

[Old Sneakers]

I cannot answer that. Also if the kid was ever any sort of legit SS prospect, range should be no issue at 3B.

Back on topic. I do not mean to sound down on Machado at all, but I do feel he should be drawing more walks. The power will come later. His defense seems first rate to me. I wouldn't call it Gold Glove with an a partial season, but certainly he's done well.

[ofahn]

I'll repeat the question, how can somebody be playing gold glove defense with limited range?

May I assume that you consider "Gold Glove" to signify the BEST fielder at each position? It really doesn't and never has historically. Just two years ago Adam Jones won the gold glove and many evaluators questioned his routes to the ball and defensive placement. Derek Jeter has won a TON of Gold Gloves and many evaluators DO NOT consider him to be the best DEFENSIVE SS, just the BEST SS. Nick Markakis has been the best RF in basebakll for the last four or five years and finally won the GG just last year. Brooks Robinson's last two GGs weren't because he was the BEST 3B those years (not with Gregg Nettles as his contemporary) but because of his reputation and the fact that his play was ALMOST as good as it had been. I watched Mark Belanger play in the late Sixties and early Seventies and could NOT understand how he wasn't the GG winner EVERY YEAR. With all due respect to Cal Ripken and Ozzie Smith, Belanger in his prime was the best defensive SS I have ever seen.

Over the last couple of weeks I have posted hundreds of words about Reynolds' flaws at 3B and how some of them have carried over to 1B, including his range. Roch Kubatko posted this yesterday:

Reynolds committed six errors in 15 games at third, and he failed to make other plays that were scored hits. He's made five errors in 95 games at first and has saved countless others with his ability to lunge for throws while keeping his toe on the bag. It's become his patented move.

The Orioles hold an $11 million option on Reynolds' contract for 2013 that includes a $500,000 buyout. It wasn't long ago that the thought of picking up that option seemed absurd, and I still have my doubts, but it's worth debating.

Reynolds has 21 home runs and 65 RBIs. He leads the club with 70 walks and ranks among the leaders with 25 doubles and a .348 on-base percentage. His 145 strikeouts are 11 fewer than Davis' total.

The question is, what value do you place on a 20-plus home run hitter who offers plus-defense at first base and is one of the most popular guys in the clubhouse - a gamer with a great sense of humor? He's only hitting .228, and his bat was in deep freeze for the first half of the season. Consistency isn't one of his tools.

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roc ... rners.html

The comment "he failed to make other plays that were scored hits" was specifically about his range which has improved SLIGHTLY at 1B but not IMO to GG level.

I have posted that I would be happy to have Reynolds back IF he were willing to work on his weak areas such as range and willingness to take outside pitches the other way. IF he were to do that successfully he could play at an All Star level.

[TuckerBlair89]

I cannot answer that. Also if the kid was ever any sort of legit SS prospect, range should be no issue at 3B.

Back on topic. I do not mean to sound down on Machado at all, but I do feel he should be drawing more walks. The power will come later. His defense seems first rate to me. I wouldn't call it Gold Glove with an a partial season, but certainly he's done well.

It's a legitimate question, I wouldn't call it being down by any means. I tweeted this a couple days ago, but I think Machado has had the AB's where patience and discipline have been shown, but they just are not translating into walks. There have been many 2-2 and 3-2 counts that ended up as a hit or out. In time, I have no doubt he will walk more. It's a large jump that he made, so I guess it is reasonable for him to see a decrease in the amount of balls thrown to him. I can see the difference from how he was pitched in AA and the MLB on these 2-2 and 3-2 counts.

[Old Sneakers]

Credit to ofahn for sending me a PM reminding me that the above question was in regards to Mark Reynold, not Machado (Thanks for being kind and forgiving about that).

As for Roch Kabatko's article I do have something intelligent to say.
Why keep Mark Reynolds in 2013?
1-He is a popular member of the team
2-He playing for a new contract
3-There are no in house options at 1B that are pushing the issue
4-The team needs to transform itself into being a team players want to play for. Over paying Reynolds in 2013 alone won't do that. However, the team made a deal and needs to honor it. If not players and their agents will view the club as playing musical chairs with players over 30. Something I think it's done far too much of in recent years.

Mark Reynolds may not be a star 1B at this point but the move has at least been solid. He had a rough start to the year. Next season will be very important to him. He has a huge year and he's going to get a solid contract from someone after next season. This year his walks and .OBP are up. If I am not mistaken he's cut down on some of his strike outs. What more do you want?

Unless 26 year old Wade Boggs is available I am in favor of having him back next year.