In Defense of the Orioles

I figured two months was about time to check in on how the Orioles are catching the ball. There is no perfect defensive metric but I think the best one is UZR. So thanks to FanGraphs.com, a quick analysis of the O's have been flashing the leather.

UZR does not apply to catchers.

Overall, the O's come in 26th in terms of UZR:

Team        UZR/150    Inn     PO     A     E    DP    FP
Red Sox      -6.9      4152   1384   461    33   81  0.982
Mets         -5.8      4101   1367   499    39   96  0.98
Orioles      -5.2      4197   1399   524    33  116  0.983
Braves       -4.9      4113   1371   532    29  103  0.985
Rockies      -4.8      4023   1341   572    32  116  0.984
 

The defense has been disappointing thus far. A unit that was supposed to be greatly improved is ranked near the bottom of all the teams in baseball.

Let's break it down. First base:

Name          Pos    Inn    PO    A    E    DP    FP    DPR    RngR   ErrR    UZR/150
Ty Wigginton  1B      42    40    3    0    4      1    0.2     11.1  0.1      14.6
Aubrey Huff  1B      424.1  409  26    2   37   0.995   0.1    -4.1   0.6     -11.8

It ain't pretty at first but we all expected that. Huff does, however, rank as one of the worst fielding first baseman in baseball.

Wigginton, on the other hand, has been good in limited action. Perhaps he should start serving as a late innings replacement when the Orioles have the lead? Granted those are rare these days...

On to second base...

Name           Pos   Inn   PO   A   E   DP   FP   DPR   RngR   ErrR   UZR/150
Brian Roberts  2B   457.1  75  153  2   34  0.991 0.6   1.5    0.9      6.9

Roberts has actually been quite good so far ranking in the top third of all second baseman. Not bad for a 31 year old speedster.

Third base...

Name            Pos   Inn   PO   A   E   DP   FP   DPR   RngR   ErrR   UZR/150
Melvin Mora     3B   300.1  32  61   3    4 0.969  0.2   -1.2    0.3    -3.4
Ty Wigginton    3B   156    14  26   2    1 0.952 -0.2    -1    -0.4    -14.4

Melmo has been below average int he field this year, just like last year. After a few good seasons feilding, age is catching up to him. The good news for Mora is that Wigginton is even worse.

Shortstop

Name           Pos    Inn   PO   A   E   DP    FP   DPR   RngR   ErrR   UZR/150
Robert Andino   SS    100   12   32  2   4   0.957  0.4    3.2   -0.8    35.3
Cesar Izturis   SS   363.1  69  129  5   30  0.975  0.3   -0.1    0.1     0.1

This one becomes even more relevant now that Izturis is on the DL. Izturis has been steadier, making the plays when he gets to the ball btu has been average overall. Andino is less sure but has demonstrated great range up to this point. If he can cut down on the errors, Baltimore may see play equivalent to Izturis...or maybe better.

Left Field

Name           Pos    Inn   PO   A   E   DP    FP   DPR   RngR   UZR/150
Felix Pie       LF   151.1  52   2   0    0     1     4    0.2    25.6
Nolan Reimold   LF   140.1  29   0   1    0   0.967 0.6    0.1     6.5
Lou Montanez    LF    88.2  23   0   0    0     1   0.4    0.1     3.9

Left field has been the source of great success for the O's. Reimold has been very good since his call up. After a rougn start, Pie has been stellar on the rare occastions he gets to play. Montanez was pretty good too before he got hurt.

Center Field

Name       Pos    Inn   PO   A   E   DP    FP   DPR   RngR   UZR/150
Felix Pie   CF     64   18   0   0    0     1  -1.8    0      -25.7
Adam Jones  CF   402.1 138   4   4    0  0.973 -6.4   -1.2    -18.6

Jones has been disappointing so far. He has already made more errors this year (4) than he had all of last year. His range has not been good either. Maybe bad luck? Maybe bad routes? Still plenty of time to turn it around here.

Right Field

Name           Pos   Inn   PO   A   E   DP    FP   DPR   RngR   UZR/150
Nick Markakis  RF   463.1  92   5   3    0   0.97 -9.5   -0.5    -26.6

Same for Nick. This Oriole outfield had the potential to be one of the best in baseball but the two best fielders are having down years. Nick, like Jones, already has as many errors this year as he had all of last year. The range is down too. The only thing he is still doing well is his outfield assists. In terms of UZR, Nick MArkakis ranks last in the majors among right fielders.

In conclusion, outside of Brian Roberts and Nolan Reimold, there's not a lot to feel good about among the Oriole defenders. The good news is that the talent is there, these guys have performed before. There's still two-thirds of the season to go and plenty of time for things to start moving in the right direction