Bryce Harper 2018 and beyond

[Ray D]

I'm told he can't learn 2B because he's left handed and evidently that's akin to the plague at the position.

Yeah we had this discussion.  In all of mlb history there have been a very small number of lefthanded second basemen, and almost only in emergency (or similar) situations. A lerthanded second baseman cannot execute the doubleplay and that automatically disqualifies him.

[Nick the Pig]

Yeah we had this discussion.  In all of mlb history there have been a very small number of lefthanded second basemen, and almost only in emergency (or similar) situations. A lerthanded second baseman cannot execute the doubleplay and that automatically disqualifies him.

Lefties either pitch, play first base, or the outfield.  It is known...

[DPMOmaha]

Then let's teach Eaton to throw with his right hand.

[Slateman]

Lol, what?

Why dont we just move Harper to third and Rendon to second?

[Nick the Pig]

Lol, what?

Why dont we just move Harper to third

Harper is already seeking the 3rd degree of glory.  Not a baseball thing... 

[Elvir Ovcina]

I'm told he can't learn 2B because he's left handed and evidently that's akin to the plague at the position.

A lefty 2B would have to turn all the way around on any ball up the middle to throw after fielding, making him pretty much useless in that direction.  So he'd have to play waaaaaay up the middle, leaving a huge hole and resulting in most plays being to the backhand.  You wanna watch a dude who's never played infield try to make that play?  I would - just not with the Nats.  The over/under is probably 100 errors (seriously). 

And how would a lefty 2B turn a 6-4-3? You'd have to either to a full spin while transferring the ball or turn your lead leg through the path of the sliding runner while catching the throw and chucking across your body.  Even if we weren't discussing a dude with a janky ankle and knee, that's a disaster waiting to happen.   There really are good reasons lefty throwers don't play 2B, SS, and 3B - any ball to the fielder's right is awful to throw.

Also, um, teaching outfielders to field ground balls at the age of 29 or something isn't an easy thing.  It's much easier to go from playing infield to playing outfield than vice versa, even if you throw righthanded.

[spidernat]

Harper is already seeking the 3rd degree of glory.  Not a baseball thing... 

Sounds like another drinking game.

[Nick the Pig]

Sounds like another drinking game.

Hey, I think you're onto something ! 

[DPMOmaha]

Lol, what?

Why dont we just move Harper to third and Rendon to second?

Sure. With Max's arm strength, he'd be a pretty good shortstop. One of the better hitters on the team, too.

[Elvir Ovcina]

Sure. With Max's arm strength, he'd be a pretty good shortstop. One of the better hitters on the team, too.

Seriously, you probably could teach Harper to play third.  Not well initially, but he has a catching background (which helps a lot), he has the athleticism, and he has the arm.   It's a million times more realistic than putting Eaton in the infield.

[imref]

What about just put Harper behind the dish and be done with it?  All our problems solved.

[Ray D]

Lefties either pitch, play first base, or the outfield.  It is known...

True, lefties don't play second, third, short, or catcher.  But really, only at second and catcher is being lefty disqualifying.  I've never been convinced that there is a disqualifying reason lefties cannot play short or third but they don't, at the major league level.  They still do in high school, but not second or catcher. (I understand the reason that coaches tend not to want a lefty at short or third, but it is not a disqualifying reason.)

[bluestreak]

True, lefties don't play second, third, short, or catcher.  But really, only at second and catcher is being lefty disqualifying.  I've never been convinced that there is a disqualifying reason lefties cannot play short or third but they don't, at the major league level.  They still do in high school, but not second or catcher. (I understand the reason that coaches tend not to want a lefty at short or third, but it is not a disqualifying reason.)

With shifts increasing and the SS playing to the right of SB a more often would that make it harder for a lefty to play short?

[Elvir Ovcina]

With shifts increasing and the SS playing to the right of SB a more often would that make it harder for a lefty to play short?

Yes, also third, because the third baseman has more situations in which he needs to range to his right when there are shifts.

[Ray D]

With shifts increasing and the SS playing to the right of SB a more often would that make it harder for a lefty to play short?

Well you'll need one guy among the second and third baseman and shortstop who's righthanded and position him as the pivot man on a doubleplay on a ball hit to the left side.  On the other hand, when a team puts on a shift, aren't they mostly giving up on the doubleplay?

[Ray D]

Yes, also third, because the third baseman has more situations in which he needs to range to his right when there are shifts.

I don't think range is an issue.  If you put a lefthander in a spot played normally by righthanders, just move him two feet to his left from where a righthander would play.

[Elvir Ovcina]

I don't think range is an issue.  If you put a lefthander in a spot played normally by righthanders, just move him two feet to his left from where a righthander would play.

Wait, why to his left?  Wouldn't you put him a bit  to his right, so there are fewer balls he'd need to spin or turn on after fielding with his momentum carrying him away from the direction of the throw?  I get that it puts more plays on the backhand to do it that way, but any lefty thrower you put at any of these positions would need to be pretty slick on the backhand anyway. 

Take the example of a lefty 3B.  I want him closer to the line than an equivalent righthander, so there are fewer balls on which he has to field while planting his right foot, then pivot or spin, shift his weight against the momentum, and throw.  Putting him closer to the line allows him more of chance to field those balls dead-center or circle in on choppers so he can take them with his body already in the right direction.   In constrast, anything to his left is a backhand, but fielding it puts his weight on his back foot for throwing, so all he has to do is pivot and throw, with his momentum already carrying him towards first. 

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

I'm told he can't learn 2B because he's left handed and evidently that's akin to the plague at the position.

Totally forgot he throws left...whoops.

[CoryTheFormerExposFan]

What about just put Harper behind the dish and be done with it?  All our problems solved.

I like the idea of making Harper the lefty platoon for Zim and full-time 1B when Zim spends time on the DL.  I think playing 1B will help keep Harper fresh.  You can have a sort of 5-man rotation for 4 spots: the OF and 1B. 

[Slateman]

Why not just make Harper the manager?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I like the idea of making Harper the lefty platoon for Zim and full-time 1B when Zim spends time on the DL.  I think playing 1B will help keep Harper fresh.  You can have a sort of 5-man rotation for 4 spots: the OF and 1B. 

Interesting.  With a 5 man rotation for 4 slots, you get each time for 130 games.  Add in 9 games in AL parks for a DH, and, assuming no injuries, that is close to 140 games, which would be in the 550 - 600 PA range.  Any injury alters it a bit, but what you are suggesting is that, with a little flexibility and willingness to give guys days off, you can come pretty close to giving these guys full-time gigs. This calls into question the "Eaton must go if Bryce stays" view.

[bluestreak]

Why not just make Harper the manager?

According to you, a manager is worth, at most, 2 wins. So why not?

[Ray D]

Wait, why to his left?  Wouldn't you put him a bit  to his right, so there are fewer balls he'd need to spin or turn on after fielding with his momentum carrying him away from the direction of the throw?  I get that it puts more plays on the backhand to do it that way, but any lefty thrower you put at any of these positions would need to be pretty slick on the backhand anyway. 

Take the example of a lefty 3B.  I want him closer to the line than an equivalent righthander, so there are fewer balls on which he has to field while planting his right foot, then pivot or spin, shift his weight against the momentum, and throw.  Putting him closer to the line allows him more of chance to field those balls dead-center or circle in on choppers so he can take them with his body already in the right direction.   In constrast, anything to his left is a backhand, but fielding it puts his weight on his back foot for throwing, so all he has to do is pivot and throw, with his momentum already carrying him towards first. 

I put him to his left because his glove is on his right hand and thus farther away from his left side.  But you could argue either way I suppose. I was thinking more of getting to the ball than the mechanics after he fields it.  The lefthanded third baseman's glove will be closer to the line, so you could move him a foot or two away from the line and he'd still have the same range.

[Elvir Ovcina]

I put him to his left because his glove is on his right hand and thus farther away from his left side.  But you could argue either way I suppose. I was thinking more of getting to the ball than the mechanics after he fields it.  The lefthanded third baseman's glove will be closer to the line, so you could move him a foot or two away from the line and he'd still have the same range.

Gotcha.  Yeah, I thought of that as well.  I guess I just retain enough memories of playing 2B and the awkward and slow footwork involved on turning 4-6-3s on balls to my left to think the mirror image of that footwork wouldn't be a huge consideration on a 2B for balls up the middle, 3Bs going to the line, and SS going to the hole.  Just think of what you see a lot with LH-throwers in LF (or RH in RF): ball down the line, dude either loses time turning his body to throw to 2B or hurries it and gets nothing on the throw.  Doesn't happen all that often because not that many balls are actually hit down the line, but it's ugly when it does.  Then think of that happening once or twice every game if you put a LH thrower at 2B.  My gut instinct is that your positioning would result in a ton more infield hits, whereas mine would result in a few more balls going through (which would almost all be singles as well) but a lot more outs overall.

Either way, the best one can do with positioning is try to mitigate the throwing problem.  There's no way to solve it, which is why 100-odd years of baseball has resulted in what it has. 

[blue911]

Some may remember the Dewey Evans drop step. I still can't believe they put Rice in ahead of Evans.