"Time makes fools of us all" - The Kyle Schwarber Thread

[Omar]

the uncensored thread title is much better.

[sneakypower]

but after jaydee got banned a revision was necessary

[OleMissCub]

Amazingly, Schwarber has 1 DRS this year. For him to develop into something less like a black hole in the OF is a huge plus moving forward.

His UZR is higher than Heyward's btw.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Amazingly, Schwarber has 1 DRS this year. For him to develop into something less like a black hole in the OF is a huge plus moving forward.

His UZR is higher than Heyward's btw.

[Duke Silver]

Amazingly, Schwarber has 1 DRS this year. For him to develop into something less like a black hole in the OF is a huge plus moving forward.

His UZR is higher than Heyward's btw.

He also rates positively in UZR, and BP's FRAA. And he comes in even in Statcast's Outs Above Average. If he can be an average left fielder, or even close to it, he'll be just fine out there.

I still think he looks completely lost out there sometimes, but it's working out fine. horsefeathers defense anyway. Give me the dongs.

[mul21]

Amazingly, Schwarber has 1 DRS this year. For him to develop into something less like a black hole in the OF is a huge plus moving forward.

His UZR is higher than Heyward's btw.

He also rates positively in UZR, and BP's FRAA. And he comes in even in Statcast's Outs Above Average. If he can be an average left fielder, or even close to it, he'll be just fine out there.

I still think he looks completely lost out there sometimes, but it's working out fine. horsefeathers defense anyway. Give me the dongs.

Yeah, that double after the Rizzo error the other night was a prime example. He took a bad line after misjudging the flight of the ball and wasn't able to make the play on a ball Zobrist or Bryant or Happ probably catch out there.

[Cubswin11]

Bow down to our new fielding overlord

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Bow down to our new fielding overlord

Alfanso Soriano reborn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ragXpWsAI

[DonnieD]

Bow down to our new fielding overlord

But, but, but... if you listen to sports talk radio he isn’t even a passable defender and must be traded immediately to an AL team so he can DH.

[Old Style]

Bow down to our new fielding overlord

But, but, but... if you listen to sports talk radio he isn’t even a passable defender and must be traded immediately to an AL team so he can DH.

My brother & nephew drive me nuts with this point of view. I got mocked for praising Schwarber's assist yesterday. "The throw was only from deep SS and the ultra slow Freddy Freeman was running. Atta boy for doing your job." I wanted to reach through the phone and smack some bitches.

[We Got The Whole 9]

The throw was great but all the stars aligned perfectly. I mean he got to the ball as quickly as he could, there was no wasted movement, and he fired a strike - but that was still a [expletive] of luck to get the out IMO, and that's not to say there was anything Kyle should have done differently, nor am I trying to discredit him. He has been really making some nice throws though and I couldn't be happier with his evolution as an OF.

[mul21]

The throw was great but all the stars aligned perfectly. I mean he got to the ball as quickly as he could, there was no wasted movement, and he fired a strike - but that was still a [expletive] of luck to get the out IMO, and that's not to say there was anything Kyle should have done differently, nor am I trying to discredit him. He has been really making some nice throws though and I couldn't be happier with his evolution as an OF.

Isn't that the case on any bang bang play like that though?

At any rate, he's fine out there but he's not going to win any Gold Gloves. As long as he hits well the defense is perfectly fine even if it does cost them some runs/outs here and there like in the Cardinals series in STL.

[We Got The Whole 9]

The throw was great but all the stars aligned perfectly. I mean he got to the ball as quickly as he could, there was no wasted movement, and he fired a strike - but that was still a [expletive] of luck to get the out IMO, and that's not to say there was anything Kyle should have done differently, nor am I trying to discredit him. He has been really making some nice throws though and I couldn't be happier with his evolution as an OF.

Isn't that the case on any bang bang play like that though?

At any rate, he's fine out there but he's not going to win any Gold Gloves. As long as he hits well the defense is perfectly fine even if it does cost them some runs/outs here and there like in the Cardinals series in STL.

There was an inordinate amount of luck there to me but yes to a degree that is the way bang-bang plays go

[badger]

The throw was great but all the stars aligned perfectly. I mean he got to the ball as quickly as he could, there was no wasted movement, and he fired a strike - but that was still a [expletive] of luck to get the out IMO, and that's not to say there was anything Kyle should have done differently, nor am I trying to discredit him. He has been really making some nice throws though and I couldn't be happier with his evolution as an OF.

Isn't that the case on any bang bang play like that though?

At any rate, he's fine out there but he's not going to win any Gold Gloves. As long as he hits well the defense is perfectly fine even if it does cost them some runs/outs here and there like in the Cardinals series in STL.

There was an inordinate amount of luck there to me but yes to a degree that is the way bang-bang plays go

I'd love to know how you quantify luck.

[squally1313]

The throw was great but all the stars aligned perfectly. I mean he got to the ball as quickly as he could, there was no wasted movement, and he fired a strike - but that was still a [expletive] of luck to get the out IMO, and that's not to say there was anything Kyle should have done differently, nor am I trying to discredit him. He has been really making some nice throws though and I couldn't be happier with his evolution as an OF.

This is an inordinate amount of word garbage.

[squally1313]

Robbing that home run with his bare hand was great but the stars all aligned perfectly. I mean he was in the perfect spot, there was no wasted movement, and he timed his jump perfectly - but it still super lucky that the ball happened to be right where his hand was, not to discredit him or anything.

[The Logan]

Yeeeaaaaah, I think you're out on this limb on your own. It was a fairly simple play. Ball hit in outfield -> Kyle fields ball cleanly -> Kyle throws ball accurately -> Runner is out at home.

If we're going to chock up Almora's highlight reel catches to skill, we can't chock up Kyle's routine plays to luck. Let's just get over the fact that he's not fat anymore and accept that he has a lot more athleticism than he used to and it's paying off

[squally1313]

Yeeeaaaaah, I think you're out on this limb on your own. It was a fairly simple play. Ball hit in outfield -> Kyle fields ball cleanly -> Kyle throws ball accurately -> Runner is out at home.

If we're going to chock up Almora's highlight reel catches to skill, we can't chock up Kyle's routine plays to luck. Let's just get over the fact that he's not fat anymore and accept that he has a lot more athleticism than he used to and it's paying off

I think he was referring to that weird play where Freeman was stealing second and it bounced off his foot rather than a routine single to left. I was probably over the top in my post above, but you can still make good defensive plays on what start off as fluky/unusual plays (ie the ball bouncing off his foot). We obviously shouldn't expect Schwarber to throw out a lot of guys trying to steal second at home, but he played it really well.

[The Logan]

Ahh, I thought this was in reference to when he gunned down a runner at home the other day. Point still stands, though.

[UMFan83]

Piling on to the tweet earlier in the week:

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx? ... &players=0

[BigSlick]

I never thought he was all that bad defensively and all the gyrations that goofballs like Bernstein would put him through was unnecessary. He can play the field.

[Cubswin11]

[soccer10k]

I never thought he was all that bad defensively and all the gyrations that goofballs like Bernstein would put him through was unnecessary. He can play the field.

He got a bad reputation because of a couple bad plays against the Mets in the 2015 playoffs. Watching him day to day it was clear he could at least be passable in the outfield. At least he didn't look like he would kill himself anytime he came within 20 feet of the wall like Soler did.

[Old Style]

I never thought he was all that bad defensively and all the gyrations that goofballs like Bernstein would put him through was unnecessary. He can play the field.

He got a bad reputation because of a couple bad plays against the Mets in the 2015 playoffs. Watching him day to day it was clear he could at least be passable in the outfield. At least he didn't look like he would kill himself anytime he came within 20 feet of the wall like Soler did.

I grew up watching guys like Gary Matthews and Keith Moreland in the OF. Then came guys like Moist Hands Alou. I have no doubt Schwarber will be at least as good as those guys and likely better.

[UMFan83]

Yo Duke, you didn't start writing about fantasy baseball for Fangraphs did you?

https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/you-w ... -too-soon/

Just checking