Jamey Carroll talks defense and other things.

by dingers on Jul 10, 2010 5:15 PM PDT

Jamey Carroll has been a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers this season. He was signed to a two-year deal during the 2009-10 off-season to some mixed fanfare, but his performance has been well worth it so far. Carroll is second on the team in OBP (.392 before today's game) to this point in the season. I got a chance to talk to Carroll about the importance of defense, how he prepares and what he thinks about UZR.

How much does positioning matter in defense?

It’s tremendous. It makes a lot of difference. I’ll be in different positions throughout the game depending on the pitcher and the batter. We’re always playing the percentages.

Can you give me some examples?

Well if you have a pitcher that’s throwing harder and a guy who’s not a pull guy, he’s gonna pitch the guy away–you’re not gonna shade as much on the pull. If a pitcher’s approaching [a batter like Ethier], I’ll take a step towards pull a little more. On off-speed pitches, more likely the guy’s gonna get out in front. In that chance, he’ll pull the ball a little more and I’ll anticipate it.

Do you change your position per pitch?

Yeah.

...

After I explained about UZR and the idea of capturing a player’s total range, judging a player for his repertoire of complete defensive production, he immediately questioned it’s validity, asking how it accounts for defensive positioning. When I told him it didn’t, I added defensive statistics still have a long ways to go before they can be legitimized and he nodded, adding "I guess stats can evolve like that."

We ended on this note:

But UZR says you’re one of the better second basemen in the game.

Well then it’s a great stat! [Laughs]

Tom Tango corrected me in that UZR doesn't explicitly count for positioning, but it does implicitly: a better-positioned defender will get to a ball in or out of the zone easier than an out of position player and thus have more plays counted for. Read the whole interview here.

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It’s still better than almost anything else we currently have, probably.

Still, I agree, and his justification doesn’t necessarily explain it all. Player positioning is rarely a player only thing, I would argue it’s mainly coaching instruction. If the coach tells them to put on a shift, Carroll can’t say “no fuck you” i’m playing here. :o

by Chad Moriyama on Jul 10, 2010 11:51 PM PDT reply actions

About UZR, yeah, I agree.

As I understand it, it’s a learned tool and can be understood from studying situational play or being told by assignment. It’s the player’s prerogative to do as he’s told or learn to fish himself. I’m sure it’s also a little dependent on the player’s ability/willingness to learn and the coach’s ability/willingness to teach.

As for the shift, yeah, but that only accounts for like >1% of defensive position in baseball.

http://www.dingersblog.com

by dingers on Jul 11, 2010 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Well, not the shift, specifically, but the player positioning happens on every batter.

by Chad Moriyama on Jul 12, 2010 12:27 AM PDT up reply actions

Awesome insight!

I agree with the comment above that player positioning is generally a matter of coaching instruction, but it is great to get the player’s perspective.

by agent_99 on Jul 11, 2010 1:17 PM PDT reply actions

Good Stuff

Good Stuff man.

Always be free to speak your mind. Dodgers Baseball loves reggae vibes. ladodgersgame-dot-com

by ladodgersgame on Jul 12, 2010 7:09 AM PDT reply actions

I still think defense is a skill best judged by the naked eye

A defender should not be punished when a pull hitter randomly hits the ball the other way. Why would a player want to ever play a hard shift against a Ryan Howard or Adrian Gonzalez if it meant they could poke it through the left side? That defender’s UZR goes down on a ball that wasn’t even hit on the same half-field as them. Even a few of these could affect the UZR enough that the guy may lose money as a “bad defender” or not get a job at all.

by G.Scott on Jul 13, 2010 7:30 AM PDT reply actions

UZR accounts for the shift

Per fangraphs.com:

Also, the data includes whether a shift (a generic one, in the opinion of the "stringer" – the person recording the data) was on, and whether the shift likely affected the play at all. If it did – again, according to the "stringer"- then the play is ignored.

The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.

by David Young on Jul 13, 2010 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions

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Pos	No	Player	2012 Salary
C	17	Ellis	$490,000
1B	7	Loney	$6,375,000
2B	37	Herrera	$375,082
3B	6	Hairston	$2,250,000
SS	9	Gordon	$485,000
LF	23	Abreu	$401,311
CF	10	Gwynn	$850,000
RF	16	Ethier	$10,950,000

OF/1B	33	Van Slyke	$388,197
2B/3B	3	Kennedy	$800,000
OF/1B	30	Sands	$375,175
IF	13	DeJesus	$448,992
C	18	Treanor	$850,000

SP	22	Kershaw	$6,000,000
SP	58	Billingsley	$9,000,000
SP	29	Lilly	$12,000,000
SP	44	Harang	$3,000,000
SP	35	Capuano	$3,000,000

CL	74	Jansen	$491,000
RHP	52	Lindblom	$483,000
RHP	51	Belisario	$414,426
RHP	54	Guerra	$488,000
RHP	28	Wright	$900,000
LHP	57	Elbert	$488,500
RHP	60	Coffey	$1,000,000

DL	27	Kemp	$10,000,000
DL	21	Rivera	$4,000,000
DL	12	Sellers	$481,000
DL	5	Uribe	$8,000,000
DL	55	Guerrier	$4,750,000
DL	14	Ellis	$2,500,000
60DL	36	Hawksworth	$495,000
60DL	41	De La Rosa	$485,000

AA	50	Eovaldi	$7,885
AAA	56	Antonini	$7,869

		Manny	$8,087,432	deferred
		Andruw	$3,375,000	deferred
		Pierre	$3,050,000	deferred
		Furcal	$3,000,000	deferred
		Kuroda	$2,000,000	deferred
		Garland	$1,500,000	option buyout
		Blake	$1,250,000	option buyout
DFA	66	MacDougal	$650,000

Totals			$115,942,869
For more detailed information, click here.
Current 40-man roster count: 42 (incl. De La Rosa & Hawksworth)

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