The Defense of Alex Gonzalez

[WMR]

To date, Alex Gonzalez has committed ten errors as a Cincinnati Red.

I have yet to see "the best defensive SS in MLB."

Thoughts?

[jimbo]

Did you see the play in the first inning?

His positives on defense still far outweigh his negatives. I'm not going to call him the best in the majors, but I do think he's one of the better defensive shortstops in the majors, even after considering his 10 errors.

[Chi-Town Red]

hes been better then we had...Lopez?
his bat has been a pleasant surprize

[WMR]

Did you see the play in the first inning?

His positives on defense still far outweigh his negatives. I'm not going to call him the best in the majors, but I do think he's one of the better defensive shortstops in the majors, even after considering his 10 errors.

He has made some spectacular plays, I just haven't found him to be quite the bill of goods we were initially sold.

[jimbo]

He has made some spectacular plays, I just haven't found him to be quite the bill of goods we were initially sold.

I never bought into the hype that he was the best defensive SS in baseball, maybe that is why I am more than happy with his defense so far. He is heads above what we had last season.

[WMR]

I didn't think that either, but saying he is heads above what we had last year is faint praise. Any other starting shortstop in MLB would be better defensively than what we had last year.

I have not seen a defensive whiz. I've seen quite a few bad plays and the errors speak for themselves.

[Mitri]

His range and arm are still above average, from what I've seen, but he doesn't seem to put it all together mentally every game he's out there. I think it has a lot to do with the state of this team and a collective lack of focus. How much the coaching staff has to do with this is up for argument, but I'm of the opinion that they have something to do with this teams lack of preparation.

[jimbo]

I didn't think that either, but saying he is heads above what we had last year is faint praise. Any other starting shortstop in MLB would be better defensively than what we had last year.

True, can't argue with that.


I have not seen a defensive whiz. I've seen quite a few bad plays and the errors speak for themselves.

Well, I'm not saying he is Ozzie Smith, but I kind of disagree. He's made enough outstandingly sick plays this season to fill a nice highlight real so I can get past the errors. Calling him a "whiz" is just too subjective, so I'll just stand by my opinion that he is one of the better defensive shortstops in the league.

[fearofpopvol1]

I feel like his bat has made up for some of the out-of-the-ordinary defensive mistakes he's made.

[Screwball]

His range and arm are still above average, from what I've seen, but he doesn't seem to put it all together mentally every game he's out there. I think it has a lot to do with the state of this team and a collective lack of focus. How much the coaching staff has to do with this is up for argument, but I'm of the opinion that they have something to do with this teams lack of preparation.

I agree with this. Going from 7 errors all year with a winning club to 10 through 69 games with a losing club suggests to me he's not 100% focused all the time.

BTW, this isn't an axcuse for him because not being 100% focused is simply inexcusable, but it probably is a real reason as to why he's not meeting most's expectations defensively.

[NorrisHopper30]

I think his little mistakes are outweighed by the rediculous plays he makes.

[keeganbrick]

He is getting annoying to me. He already has committed 10 errors thus far and I dont think his bat is all that great either. He is awful with RISP and lately has been a first pitch pop-up machine. Only reason everyone is liking his bat is bc of his career year in HRs which I dont think will keep happening after this year. But dont worry we have some sick SS prospects close to major league ready : (

[reds44]

His .302 OBP is beyond bad, and he surprisingly struggles with lefties.

Batting average:
vs. lefties: .228
vs. righties: .276

However his bat is probably better then exptected, and his power numbers are going to end up with a nice boost from GABP.

He'll go on a nice run here without commiting any errors, and I'll be very surprised if he ends up with more then 15 errors this year.

[Jr's Boy]

He's made some error's,but some killer defensive stop's as well.

[WMR]

I said it the day "The Trade" occurred, and I've stood by my initial stance ever since:

B.Phil @ SS + FeLo @ 2B > Gonzalez @ SS + B.Phil @ 2B

His "hot streaks" do an excellent job of concealing the overall weakness of his stick.

The money could have been better spent elsewhere (A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO A 4 YEAR CONTRACT FOR DUNN????)

[1 Tool Player]

Even Ozzie Smith had 5 seasons of 20 or more errors. While I would not say that Alex Gonzalez is anywhere near what Ozzie was, I don't think # of errors alone is the best measuring stick. I think that Gonzalez is an obvious upgrade from Lopez, and probably worth his salary in an inflated market.

[jimbo]

B.Phil @ SS + FeLo @ 2B > Gonzalez @ SS + B.Phil @ 2B


We seem to never agree and this time is no different. There is no way I would consider any combination that includes Lopez better than the one the Reds have now. Errors is not the sole basis on judging defensive ability. In my opinion, it is not even the main basis. The Gonzo-Phillips combo is probably the best the Reds have had since the Larkin-Boone/Reese days. What Gonzo brings to the field far outweighs the errors that he makes, not to mention the surprise he's shown with his bat. Good investment in my opinion.