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BrianV
Joined: 02/08/2016
Posts: 125

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This season, one of the reasons my team was suffering seems to be the lack of range in my middle infield.

This season, I've already taken steps to remediate this problem at SS. Tom Gillespie is a mediocre shortstop that's come up through my system. Last season, I picked up Ron Cox as a potential upgrade (but held onto Gillespie as an upgrade). This year, Cox has gone downhill despite no loss in SI, so I've replaced him with Louis Medina, a very much glove first SS with Gillespie backing up still.

2B is a different situation. Jose Beniquez is my current starter. He's a product of my farm system, and is a passable defender at 2B with an electric bat. He's the best offensive player on my team this season.

However, with only 14 Range / 13 Fielding, I'm wondering how much his glove is hurting our team. I picked up Felix Lara as a potential defensive replacement, but his bat is terrible.

Any thoughts on what I can do with my middle infield?

Edit: I also picked up Lou Morgan as a potential 2B option. I like his defensive build better than Lara... unfortunately, Kalamazoo used him for a few games and made him much more expensive! However, despite not being a huge contact hitter, his walk rate gives him a decent OBP.

Compared to Beniquez, he provides a few more points in range and fielding while giving up a bit with the bat. Expensive, but my team finances are in good order, and he should come down in price a bit next season.

Updated Monday, June 26 2017 @ 8:42:28 am PDT
PrivateSnowflake
Joined: 01/06/2015
Posts: 1160

Bloomington Thunder
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IMO, the problem lies not with your fielding, but your pitching (FIP) and more specifically you bullpen. Try low pitch counts and hooks. First sign of trouble and your manager can yank them for someone else who might be effective.

Beni should have been an OF, but he is very capable in the field for LL6. Lara is only a late-inning defensive replacement. In LL6 you can usually bludgeon your opponents with a killer offense.

Bernal will be playing 2B in the higher leagues when you will be focusing on a more rounded club.
BrianV
Joined: 02/08/2016
Posts: 125

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You are right regarding my pitching. I've always left it to 'set defaults' rather than actually managing it properly. The computer's recommendations were terrible, and I had low-Stamina starters being left in well past their best before date.

I am pretty sure I've improved the situation there yesterday, but my team hasn't played any games since I made the updates...
wickersty
Joined: 05/11/2017
Posts: 1002

Deadwood Perambulators
II.1

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@snowflake there was a discussion about FIP the other day that I found pretty enlightening but your comment "problem is not your defense but your pitching (FIP)" makes me feel like I still do not understand FIP properly.

I thought FIP was an ERA alternate that showed how your pitcher performed with defense removed from the equation. So a FIP that was higher than an ERA meant the defense caused the pitcher to do worse than his stats would show. But a FIP that was lower than an ERA showed that the defense made the pitcher better than he ordinarily would have been.

Am I not understanding this correctly?

Thanks!

Updated Monday, June 26 2017 @ 9:44:53 am PDT
BrianV
Joined: 02/08/2016
Posts: 125

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I think that's a 'Yes and No' question.

FIP basically looks at Home Runs, batted balls, hit by pitch and strikeouts.

It's relationship to ERA is pretty flakey - for instance, if you have a pitcher that gives up 90% weak ground balls, low walks but also low strikeouts, and the occasional home run... their FIP would be dis proportionally high as the low strikeouts wouldn't be enough to offset the also low homerun rate. They may be a great pitcher with a great ERA but terrible FIP.

So, it's a good indicator when evaluated alongside with batted ball info. For most 'typical' pitchers, it's a decent metric if you keep the outliers in mind.
Endrju
Joined: 05/28/2015
Posts: 577

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I thought FIP was an ERA alternate that showed how your pitcher performed with defense removed from the equation.
That's pretty much it. So if FIP > ERA, it means that defense is helping your pitcher perform better than he would without defence. And it's not about errors, since run scored on an error does not count into ERA, it's about making plays.

My team as example, I built it relying a lot on defence (good infield + ground ball pitchers), and here's how the numbers (team totals) changed since rebuild:
Season - LL - ERA - FIP
2023 - VI - 4.59 - 4.40
2024 - VI - 4.16 - 4.16
2025 - VI - 4.27 - 4.32 REBUILD SEASON
2026 - VI - 3.16 - 4.00
2027 - V - 3.15 - 4.11
2028 - IV - 4.34 - 4.64
2029 - V - 3.82 - 4.09
2030 - IV - 3.97 - 4.25
2031 - III - 3.36 - 3.88
2032 - II - 3.81 - 4.04

Edit:
@BrianV
At SS, from the guys you listed, I would always use Medina. He is 32 though, so you need to look for a replacement quite fast. Gillespie is ok, but lacks some range in my opinion.
Lara would actually be a great defensive SS but is too old to teach him this position. I think you can find better options at 2B than him, his bat just sucks too much (.199 AVG over 8 seasons mostly at LL VI is... unimpressive).
Morgan is one of the better options (great defensive 2B build), but again, zero offence.
Beniquez is of course the best PLAYER among the ones you listed but... is 2B best fit for him? Hard to say without knowing your team's depth chart. I think 3B would suit him better, but can definitely handle 2B well enough.

Balancing offense and defense for middle infield is not easy, but I think that having two "glove only" players will hurt the offense too much. So for this season I'd go SS Medina 2B Beniquez.

Updated Tuesday, June 27 2017 @ 12:43:44 am PDT
amalric7
Joined: 01/20/2016
Posts: 2235

New York Lancers
IV.2

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Morgan is a nice pickup but given now well Beniquez has played I'd have to agree with Endrju, and go with the combo of SS Medina/2B Beniquez.
BrianV
Joined: 02/08/2016
Posts: 125

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Thanks for the feedback, guys.

I am keeping Gillespie as my young backup middle infielder, but am going to use Medina as my starter the rest of the year (with my eyes open for a replacement for the next season or two from free agency). In two seasons, Bernal should be ready to start seeing major league time.

I dropped Lara once I found Morgan - Morgan is a better bet than Lara, and I can afford the extra costs.

At 2B, I'm somewhat relieved to see recommendations to keep Beniquez. I've been looking forward to him getting to the majors for a long time. I'll keep Morgan as a backup since I have nobody else with 2B in case Beniquez gets hurt... plus that gives me the flexibility to put Beniquez over the the DH spot one in a while depending on who else gets injured.
BrianV
Joined: 02/08/2016
Posts: 125

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@Endrju - I tried to give Beniquez his OF in the minors once he got his 2B, but there was only a season's worth of training at that position.

I never thought he had the arm for 3B, plus my depth chart there is in good shape - I have Hyung Il Park as my aging starter (several time All Star / All League 3B) with Pat Hutton as my up-and-comer (If he ever gains the rest of his fielding points...)

Edit: On a random note, Park's offensive collapse this season is (I feel) a big part of my team's struggles this season. Up until this week, he had an OPS under .600 along with a fielding percentage drop down to .960 at one point.

He's started to hit the ball again and stopped having errors, and is starting to play like his old self, but not before I'm 11 games back in August...

Updated Tuesday, June 27 2017 @ 7:35:30 am PDT
Endrju
Joined: 05/28/2015
Posts: 577

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Okay, after linking your 3Bs I think 2B is a good spot for Beniquez. He will do ok.

As for arm worries - my 3B has 8 arm and is doing fine with 98% FP. Maybe gives up an extra hit once in a while but nothing that serious. He should be a 2B but this spot on my team is taken since 2026 until around 2036, and I could not afford not playing a guy with that good offence.


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