ESPN giving Brewers and Wolf major respect

[trwi7]

The problem with left handed infielders that aren't first basemen is this.

 

Third baseman almost have to play right on the line. If they have to range towards third base they have to make a spin and then throw instead of just planting and throwing like a right handed player would.

 

Same thing with a shortstop. They have to play way over towards third base. A second baseman would have to play towards second base as well.

[TheCrew07]

Also, a LH SS has a huge advantage turning the double play at 2B, so it's not like there are no benefits to being LH on the infield.

 

In what way? I could see that a left handed 2nd baseman would have an easier time throwing to second base (at the cost of making it more difficult to throw to first), I don't see how left-handedness would be helpful for a SS on a DP.

 

There is a reason why no infielders (other than 1b) are left handed. Not one inning in 14 years, according to Baldkin.

The reason no IF are LH is that most of the plays in the hole (up the middle as a 2B and between 3rd and SS as a SS) require much different footwork and body position to get a throw off. The same goes for 3B, instead of just digging your right foot into the ground and getting a throw off a lefty would have to reverse pivot his feet around quickly to get the throw off. No matter how you do it, the extra footwork is slower and thus it's harder to get a runner busting down the line.

 

The reason it's easier for a LH SS to make the turn at 2B is that he doesn't have to change his body position to make a throw as he goes across across the bag. He can basically just run through bag towards the right field corner clearing the runner and getting an easy natural throw off to first base (think a right handed QB rolling out of the pocket to his right which is natural vs rolling left). A LH SS also has an advantage making plays in the hole around 2B for the same reason, it's very easy to pick and throw on the run moving in that direction.

 

I'd always go to out to SS during our intersquad scrimmages because we were OF heavy and didn't have enough IFs the way the teams were broken up, for some reason it drove our head coach nuts, even though he picked the teams and let us manage the games ourselves... just like switch hitting drove him nuts for some reason. I normally played LF, CF, or 1B (if our regular 1B was pitching) so I already knew all of the IF plays and rotations from my time at 1B. I played SS through little league as well when I forgot my stuff at home and had to borrow the glove of whomever was hitting so I had a passing familiarity with the position. (that's a long story about how my dad taught me to play baseball, I actually learned to field without a glove throwing the ball with whichever hand was easiest for the direction I was moving).

 

Definitely the hardest part of playing SS as a lefty was any play where I had to charge to the ball or go to my right. Charging the ball required an extreme hip swivel to get the ball off and the plays in the hole towards 3B required a reverse pivot, where I basically had to turn my back to the runner to get the ball off as quicly as possible. I didn't position myself any differently than our regular SS because I was a lefty, if that were the case a RH SS should hug 2B as much as possible... I never got to do it in a real game once I got to Babe Ruth and higher because lefties don't play anywhere on the IF except 1B, just like was pointed out earlier. I had the same coach from age 13 all the way through graduation.

 

 

[DuWayne Steurer]

Seems perfectly plausible - a person with good control over both arms will be able to swing a bat better than someone who only has good control of one arm. I played a lot of basketball as a kid and simply could not, no matter how I tried, develop a non-embarrassing shot with my left arm. I broke my right arm once and couldn't write with my left in a manner that even a 1st grade teacher could decipher. It's no weaker than my right arm, but I have far less control over its movement.

When I had TJ surgery on my right elbow, I found immediately that there were such simple things that I wished I had learned how to do left handed. Even eating a bowl of cereal at first was an adventure. When the rehab didn't go well and I had a setback, it was about 18 months before I regained any real use out of my right arm/hand, and by that time I could at least write legibly with my left hand, if not neatly.

[Polish Falcons]

I think it's a good and valid point to bring up how many people last year were criticizing Wolf, and more so Melvin for signing him, and to point out that now the critics have gone silent. So many people were calling him "Soup Lite" or whatever and bashing Melvin to no end for not being creative when in fact $10M a year isn't even that big of a deal for a SP in today's market.

[JohnBriggs12]

Wolf's performance this year makes him attractive as trade bait next winter should the Brewers want/need to allocate the $9.75 million elsewhere.

[Invader3K]

I think it's a good and valid point to bring up how many people last year were criticizing Wolf, and more so Melvin for signing him, and to point out that now the critics have gone silent. So many people were calling him "Soup Lite" or whatever and bashing Melvin to no end for not being creative when in fact $10M a year isn't even that big of a deal for a SP in today's market.

Yeah. Plus the fact that Wolf has always been better than Suppan and has better "stuff" than he ever did.

I've been happy with Wolf's performance as a Brewer. Wouldn't be opposed to seeing him traded this off-season if he can be dealt for something of value, though.

[rluzinski]

At the time, I thought Wolf would be a bit overpaid during his final year but that was assuming an average aging curve. Wolf's velocity has remained pretty consistent over the last few years, however, so I'm not sure if that assumption was correct. He had a slow start in 2010, which resulted in many hastily forming their opinion of him after 2 months. So despite finishing last season with a 4.17 ERA, he was still Soup II to many. This year, I'm sure his ERA is going no where but up (3.15) but it will probably be below 4 at the end of the year. The odds of him being worth his current contract are pretty good I think.

[RockCoCougars]

I think it's a good and valid point to bring up how many people last year were criticizing Wolf, and more so Melvin for signing him, and to point out that now the critics have gone silent. So many people were calling him "Soup Lite" or whatever and bashing Melvin to no end for not being creative when in fact $10M a year isn't even that big of a deal for a SP in today's market.

I was a basher, and I'm glad that I was wrong- however, last year at this point, his season was definitely looking Suppanesque with an E.R.A. well over 5, etc. Can you blame folks for getting a little anxious?

[joepepsi]

At the time, I thought Wolf would be a bit overpaid during his final year but that was assuming an average aging curve. Wolf's velocity has remained pretty consistent over the last few years, however, so I'm not sure if that assumption was correct.

He missed a lot of time during his 4 peak years-2004-2007. Sometimes missing a lot of time due to injury will delay a pitcher's aging curve. The injury has the effect of saving wear and tear on the arm. Once fully recovered, Wolf's arguably was younger than his age.

 

Also, he was pretty crappy when he did pitch during those injured years. That skewed his career stats to make him look like a worse pitcher than he really is. His ERA since 2008 is almost a full run lower than it was from 2004-2007.