In defense of the Dodgers, we submit ... their defense

Actually, it’s true. Just past the one-third mark of the season, the Dodgers are statistically one of the top defensive teams in the majors.

They entered Wednesday with the second-best defense in baseball, trailing only the Phillies in total errors (25) and fielding percentage (.988).

It’s not like it’s some total accident, either. Don Mattingly heavily emphasized defense during spring training and sent a clear message.

"We felt like we had to get better defensively,’’ Mattingly said. "Especially I felt like our outfield play was really sketchy last year.

"It was one of the areas we really looked at and had conversations with guys about that we wanted to change. We wanted to really make sure we stayed focused on where we played people.’’

There were extra drills, extra throwing for outfielders. Fundamentals were stressed.

It’s not like the Dodgers were a terrible defensive club last year, it’s just that they were fairly mediocre (four-way tie for 10th in fielding percentage, 10th in errors).

A good defensive team also covers more ground, hits the cut-off man and gets the ball back in quickly from the outfield. The Dodgers currently have the most outfield assists in baseball.

"We’ve thrown the ball really well, and different guys too,’’ Mattingly said. "I notice it even more on plays where we don’t necessarily throw guys out but where we hold them to singles.’’

The defensive uptick is also a tribute to the play of infielders Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles, who have had consistent playing time due to injuries suffered by Casey Blake, Rafael Furcal and Juan Uribe.

"We just stressed we wanted to play good defense,’’ Mattingly said.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Comments

[Striker]

I'm skeptical about any plan that emphasizes one skill-set.

"Pitching wins ballgames!" some proclaim. For others, it's defense. We've had fine pitching, and as your column says, great defense, too.

Balance wins., and this includes the above, plus hitting and a a strong bench.

The White Sox seem to have it, but the first third of their season has been a misfire.

Their owner committed to a $125m+ payroll for '11. Given their balance, they have a chance to turn things around. With a similar W-L record, it seems like a much steeper climb for the Blue.

Boycott.

[AB]

I'm so tired of all this negativity. Boycott the owner, fine. But REAL fans still love the team. Awesome to hear something positive about them. Go Dodgers.

[Native Angeleno]

Granted. Tony Gwynn Jr in left makes sense. Tony Gwynn Jr at bat does not. That's this team in a nutshell. The defensive stats are the reverse of the offensive stats. Too many Tony Gwynn Jr types. Nowhere near enough balance.

Reason: One-dimensional defensive guys are cheap. One-dimensional offensive-only guys are more expensive. Which is why the Dodgers are doing very well on defense and are very weak on offense. The team is built around defense to support pitching. Hence you get last night's reversion to form, 3-0, 4 hits.

The operative word is Cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. Colletti intentionally signed cheap defensive guys in hopes they won't allow any hits, the pitching would be perfect and, to cover for the lack of offense, the opposing defense would be terrible. That's worked for about 3 wins. The lack of more expensive offense gives you a sub-.500 record.

We will keep showing the Dodgers we don't spend money on Cheap.

MLB: You had better pull the plug on McCourt since many fans have pulled the plug on the Dodgers. And attendance is only going to get worse, MLB, the longer you equivocate. McCourt's a crook. He eviscerated the team, and still faces mountains of bills he can't pay unless you approve his bad deal. You've got the goods. Come out and say so. Start the auction, already.

If MLB leaves in 3 weeks-ish without nailing McCourt to the wall, i can only hope they may be vacating the premises with the machinery established to monitor the cashflow and will pound a spike in his bloodpump the instant he misses payroll.

June 15? June 30?

[Wes]

Please don't talk about Dodgers Defense. McDork's lawyers will send another bill. Oh, and Jamie I hear is getting along swimmingly... She is going to audition for the Esther Williams story. Let's hope it's not in 3D!!

[16blows]

"Just past the one-third mark of the season, the Dodgers are statistically one of the top defensive teams in the majors"

- wouldn't have known it from watching last night's game; on their face, the 'numbers' can belie what stat sheets suggest.

* kemp laid out for a line drive only to majorly whiff & the ball rolled to the wall. Poor judgment? Lost in the lights? Missed it by thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat much? Even here an routine throw to 3rd base off the relay would have had the runner dead to rights, but instead carroll's throw was more lollipop than strike which allowed the runner to reach safely; carroll also misplayed a ball earlier that resulted in a Rockie player reaching 1st safely.

The rub? carroll has been one of the more reliable dudgers to watch in 2011 - one of the very few. kemp makes the spectacular play one day & then looks like an amateur the next; he belongs in rf just as slappy 'e' belongs in lf and... well, the dudgers need several more dutch boys to plug all the holes in their defensive dike, regardless of the superficial picture errors/fielding % paints.

* loney totally missed a return throw to 1st from the OF that should've been a double-play; the runner instead got back safely... that he later in the game made a nice play was for naught, not unlike his dudgers team down 3-0 that finally put a man in scoring position in the 9th inning, far too late to matter.

Additionally, the dudgers have a slowpoke out in rf (slappy), a relic at 3rd (blake), and an wing & a prayer type at ss even when healthy (furcal). lost angeles has no Ozzie Smith, Willie Mays or even an Troy Tulowitzki - the latter a guy who made plays last night when it mattered & not aft the fact.

What was it Pedro Guerrero once said, something along the lines of 'I hope they don't hit the ball to me & then I hope they don't hit it to sax'. As a fan who has watched my Dodgers since 1958, I hope for shades of Koufax.

Highlight plays and dumb luck aside, there is honestly NO dudger player that doesn't make me hold my breath when a ball is hit at them...

[NoStevieSaXin'11]

wow, so the duds know how to catch a baseball.......most kids learn this "skill" @ abt the tender age of 6????
BIG WHOOP!!!!

[Jim]

Ha-Ha!! Don't kid yourself, this team is in no way the second best defense in baseball. Fielding % is a joke of a stat. It doesn't take into account balls that a fielder doesn't even get to because they have no range and actually suck. Nor does it take into consideration some of the incredibly questionable scoring decisions we see night after night. (Ethier got a few of those during his streak) A much better representation is Defensive Efficiency which does take those factors into account. In the Baseball Prospective, the Dodgers DE is .701 or 27th out of 30. Only better than the Cubs, Astros, and aforementioned Phillies. Don't let the spin doctors fool you. This teams defense is a joke!!!!

[Joe the Plumber]

Those are factors in a better defensive Dodger team, but another key was bringing in guys under the banner "no hit, but can field".

[Dusto]

According to fangraphs the Dodgers defense is ranked 19th! n-i-n-e-t-e-e-n-t-h!

[N.P.Krohn]

Fielding % is a joke. So is the middle of our infield defense. So is the constant chatter i hear on this blog about about Ethier's defence. I watch 2-3 NL games nearly every day. Ethier doesn't have a cannon but his throw are extremely accurate and sorry 16' but he covers alot of ground. Defensive factoring is a joke because it can't adress positioning on each individual positioning. Ethier makes a ton of plays on foul balls against RHB's with defense played to pull. Of 16 NL teams only 2 have RF's that are getting as much defense in RF. Heyward hands down, best arm. He covers a ton of ground too but is still young and takes bad routes letting alot of balls hit the grass. Some day may be in Ichiro class but now only 3rd best in NL. Hunter Pence is the only RF in NL that i feel makes more plays than Ethier. He's faster and has a much better arm, 2nd out of 16 is above avg all though the field is not very competitive considering 1B and RF are akin to the DH position of the NL. Honorable mention to Shierholtz in SF and Fukudome in Chi. Fukudome has all the skills that Pence has but only half the room to work with at wrigely. Still he's played there for a few years and doesn't seem to have it figured out, looking awful on alot of plays. Shierholtz has a nearly identical skill set as Ethier but with the bullpen and the funky wall gets caught looking bad alot more than Andre.

[Dusto]

Hate to say this, but Ethier has been the worst defensive right fielder in all of baseball for 3 years running now.

[N.P.Krohn]

Kemp is very good. The extra work during spring training has definitely shown to anyone who watched the little league play he trotted out last year. He still takes alot of chances but the gambling he does now is in better situations and has hurt alot less and his arm is stronger and more accurate than any CF in the AL or NL. Is this a new step in his progression as a player or merely contract year discipline? Time will tell. Fowler in CO a little better, McCutheon in Pitt. more talented more mistakes, Victorino hurts him self to much to be a factor, C. Gomez in Mil. doesn't hit enough to play enough to be a factor. Gwynn jr may be the best CF in a ugly person's beauty pageant that the NL OF has become over the last 20yrs, but will never hit enough to play enough to be a factor. Great guy to have on the bench though.

[Dusto]

Anyone that can google "Matt Kemp fangraphs" will find that Kemp was one of the top 3 baserunners on the Dodgers team last year. The two main reasons he was so terrible last year were because of his poor performances at the plate and even worse showings in the field.

His poor plate performances can be attributed to poor mechanics, as has been documented, and Joe Torre is known for trotting teams out there that are historically bad at defending (See: Jeter, Derek).

Possibly, Mattingly has improved things somewhat, but this team is a far cry from what is considered a "defensive stopper". If we want our best defensive team out there, Kemp should be moved to right, Gwynn to center, Sands in left and Ethier at first.

[N.P.Krohn]

All in all the OF is pretty damn good relative to what is out there in the NL. I give Col. the nod for best in the NL but not when Wiggington is playing. But for now i think ours is better than the rest of the good ones; Atl., Mil, Phi, and SD.

[N.P.Krohn]

Our infield is so mediocre i can fit it all into one comment space. Furcal, pretty damn good 5 yrs ago. Miles: no coverage, weak arm that is often off the mark. He can hit .280 the rest of his life the only impact he will have on a team is as a lightning in a bottle post season pinch hitter(which i don't think we will be in need of this year). Carrol: Won't hurt you but doesn't cover enough ground to help. Blake: See Carrol(maybe slightly better but is prone to the occasional huge error), Uribe: above avg. 3b below avg. MidINF. Loney: One of the best but needs to hit .290 with above .360 OBP to warrant playing. Overall Infield: Sorry i fell asleep what were we talking about? With Gordon's glove issues don't see us getting much better in the furture. When I. Davis is healthy it doesn't matter who the Mets play at 2b; Wright, Reyes and Ike make for highlight reels on the regular. Lot of great individual infielders around the league but not many good units all the way around the horn.

[N.P.Krohn]

Backstop: Way below avg. Mets and Pirates only teams with worse defensive catching situation. Barajas used to have a cannon but that was when he played fro AZ a few teams ago. Decent reciever but drops nearly every ball in non force play at the plate situations. Navarro has a quick release and decent arm strength but his throws are rarely where they should be. One of the worst receivers around. Has shown a quick bat hitting LH lately but don't think that warrants his being a ML catcher. Ellis might have a weaker arm than Navarro, slightly stronger than Barajas but is by far the best reciever of the group. Oh wait he's an Isotope not a Dodger, thanks ned. Can't make a judgement on how any of them call games because it takes years to pick up what they are calling and what the Skip is calling and they supposedly make a living not make it easy for anyone to know what is going to be called. Ellis and Barajas splitting time would probably put us squarely in the middle of the NL but as it stands we are only slightly better than N.Y. and Pitt.

[N.P.Krohn]

Sorry, so disgusted with our C defense forgot to give proppers. Y. Molina is the best, believe the hype. Huge game impact. Has been there long enough with D.Duncan(former catcher) to build a working philosiphy when calling the games. Any coincidence that Duncan/Larussa have had such great staffs backed up by such great C's? Matheny and Steinbach in years past. C. Ruiz gets more notice for clutch hitting(if no one threw off-speed he could probably win a triple crown) but he well above avg in all facets. close 2nd. Posey has all the tools but has only been strapping on the tools for a few years(was a SS most of his life) makes bad game costing desicions. Houston actually gets 3rd. Quintero is spectacular but doesn't play enough to get attention. Towles doesn't have any holes defensively.

[N.P.Krohn]

Dodger OF: A solid B. Pretty damn good but could get better if Sands improves and Kemp doesn't take a step back.

Dodger Infield: C-. Everyday MLer's should be better.

Dodger Catching: D-. A real tragedy considering the great defensive backstops that have played at Dodger Stadium and in Brooklyn. Scoscia was the best plate blocker and reciever in my life time.

Overall: Dodger D lives up to the term with a soft thudding D. Catching and SS is too important to the game to give this Blue Crew a pass.

Opinions are common. We all use a toilet. I hope.