Defense is Important
With all the home runs hit this year it’s easy to overlook a critical part of the winning equation – defense. Sure, pitchers able to strike out opponents and batters able to Smack the ball out of the park are both important, but most plays in the game are not strike outs or home runs. Most plays require a defender to catch the ball and many then require a throw to one of the bases. In the West 4 of the 10 teams rank in the top 10 with fewest errors. Houston leads the list followed by Arizona and Colorado. Each of these teams are in contention for a playoff spot with the Astros and Rockies actually at the top of their divisions. Teams that fall in the bottom 10 in number of errors include Texas, San Diego, and San Francisco. These 3 are pretty far away from the division leaders and are struggling to win games.
2 outliers show up on the list…both LA teams. The Dodgers are somehow in 2nd place in the division even though they rank 9th worst in errors. It could be the fact that they are 4th in strike outs but imagine how much better they’d be with an improved defense. The other LA team, the Angels rank 7th in fewest errors which kinda surprises me. With all the injuries they’ve had there have been plenty of opportunities for players to play out of position or for rookies to be fielded. I know for a fact that the team worked during the off season to improve the defense and I guess it worked, even with the injuries, but the results didn’t end up effecting their position in the division. The Angels sit in 4th place in the AL West and don’t have a realistic chance of seeing any post season play except on TV even though they are in the top 10 defenseive teams. The bottom line, though, is pretty apparent – good defense typically leads to wins and a good record.
The More Things Stay The Same
Some teams won and some teams lost but for the most part, the standings stayed the same in the West on Tuesday.
At the top of the divisions, Houston picked up a game on Oakland and the former took out the Twins behind a strong 3–4 outing by Alex Bregman. His 3 doubles and 2 RBIs drove a 5–2 victory that continued the Astros winning streak. Oakland on the other hand ran into trouble against New York. While Stephen Piscotty smacked a home run, Fernando Rodney couldn’t keep the Yankees down and the A’s lost 5–1 to fall to 3 1/2 games back.
The Rockies won thier 4th in a row behind a bases clearing triple by Carlos Gonzales. This let them hold on to the top spot in the NL West as Arizona shut out the Padres and the Dodgers scored 11 runs against the Mets.
Beyond those results, there were also some good games by individuals. In addition to the 3–4 outing of Bregman yesterday, Seattle’s Robinson Cano went 3 for 3 with a home run and 2 RBIs in his team’s loss, and David Freese went 2 for 2 with a HR for the Dodgers.
On the mound, Robbie Ray threw 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball against the Padres picking up 10 strikeouts along the way. German Marquez also struck out 11 Giants on his way to a no decision over 6 2/3 innings – the Rockies went on to win as previously mentioned, and Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc threw 6 innings of shutout ball against the Orioles before his bullpen lost the game.
Player of the Day: Alex Bregman, Houston – 3–4, 1R, 2 RBI, 3 Doubles
Pitcher of the Day: Robbie Ray, Arizona – 6 1/3 inn, 2 hits, 10 k 0 ER
Sports – West Coast Baseball – Defense is Important