That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this. It’s baffling why Ankiel wouldn’t be in right with that cannon. Maybe a Dejesus trade is coming. Surely they can’t be this stupid, can they?

He can turn the 9-6-3

The Process/The Contest/Play Better Baseball/No Baseball Questions/I Was On The Toilet

Pick your poison.

… I suspect strongly that a strong arm in RF isn’t as important as it’s often assumed to be. Or, to be more specific, I think that a good arm in center field is at least as important as in right field, and it doesn’t receive the attention (comparatively) that it deserves.

The first factor is that the CF simply makes more plays than the RF. More balls in play in the OF leads to more situations in which an OF’s arm is going to be a factor. Smart teams run on weak-armed OFs, and my impression is that I see more bases taken on weak-armed CFs (2nd to third on a single or taggingup on a fly) than on weak-armed RFs.

The second consideration is that it’s more important to hold runners at third base than to hold them at second base, and the CF has many more plays of that type than does the RF. Given that the CF will have more range and make more plays in the deepest part of the park, the CF is going to handle more balls that are deep in the OF (in the gaps or near the fence) and the distances to home plate are generally greater for the CF than for the RF.

To be clear; this is not an argument to put the strongest arm in CF. Range is still the most important factor for any outfielder; a noodle-arm right fielder with excellent range is more valuable on defense than a quasi-statue with an arm that could take down a starship with shields raised. But if you have two guys with similar range, it doesn’t seem at all obvious to me that the stronger arm should automatically be placed in RF.

Volume

But more importantly, I think maybe KC signs Ankiel under the auspices of playing center but then moves him as needed—-as the outfield defense reveals itself in games.

I don’t KNOW that Ankiel demanded this. But perhaps he asked, and GMDM agreed thinking that it’s a wash between Ankiel and DDJ on the center/left situation.

On Milton Bradley, well, he WAS a good player. I don’t know if he’s become such a head case as to have lost most of his effectiveness. I mean his skills are high OBP and decent RF defense. That’s pretty much it at this point—-no real speed, no power, and didn’t hit for avg. last season. – TL

Will be broken as quickly as the promise to Olivo that he is the everyday catcher.