2007-01-07 11:17:32 · 23 answers · asked by Freddy G 4 in Sports ➔ Baseball
The Cardinals had good defense last year. I'm not sure about this year. Some pitchers do better in the NL because sometimes that means they have better defense behind them and get to face the pitcher.
First base - Albert Pujols. Great defense and offense. His defense is among the best I've seen. Gold Glove winner.
Second - 2007 is Adam Kennedy. He and Eck won a WS together in Anaheim in 2002, so it'll be interesting to see what they do. He's a good second basemen and for $10 mil/3 years he's not a major signing risk.
Shortstop - David Eckstein. Good defense, again we'll see how he does with Adam Kennedy.
Third Base - Scott Rolen. Great defense and offense. Gold Glove Winner
Outfielders - Jim Edmonds has great defense, also has a few Gold Gloves. LF and RF are a question mark so far for 2007.
Catcher - Yadier Molina. What more can I say?
2007-01-07 13:45:26 · answer #1 · answered by jesus_mysuperhero 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
When talking about team defense, you're literally asking which team (as a group) is best at converting balls in play into outs. There is a simple measure to this called Defensive Efficiency Ratio.
Last year, the best team in DER was the San Diego Padres, with the Detroit Tigers ranking an excellent second. The home ballpark can effect DER, as can different types of pitchers, which might have something to do with SD ranking so highly. Cameron and Roberts gave them two CFers in the outfield though, so their presence atop the list isn't all that surprising. Their defense will decline next season with Roberts in SF.
As for whowill be the best in '07, I'd go with the Tigers (returning all 8 defensive players) and the Twins (who were the best defense in baseball once they got rid of Castro and Batista). The Twins will need Punto and Bartlett to show that they can hit for a full season to warrant keeping their gloves in the lineup.
There's no team in baseball with above-average fielders at all 8 defensive position, but I'd say that Minnesota and Detroit come the closest.
2007-01-07 12:34:08 · answer #2 · answered by Omniscience 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i'm surprised with all of these Cardinal fans on this yahoo answers, they didn't pounce on this question. The Cardinals have the best defense in baseball.
Yadier Molina keeps improving every year defensively and has just about gained status as the best defensive catcher in the NL
Albert Pujols will see more competition at retaining his gold glove last season, if Derrick Lee is healthy but he and Lee are easily the top two defensive 1B's in baseball.
Adam Kennedy and David Eckstein- Both are very similar defensively. Both have excellent range but very poor arms. Both are very hard working scrappy middle infielders. Neither has or ever will win a gold glove because of their fairly weak arms, but opposing batters will have a harder time sneaking a basehit up the middle.
Scott Rolen- Has won 7 out of the last 9 gold glove awards....enough said
OF
Jim Edmonds- 8 career gold gloves...6 in a row until last season. As a Cub fan, having watched Jim Edmonds in a Cardinal uniform for several years, he has made about three of the top 10 plays I have ever seen...he is GOOD!
Juan Encarnacion- Quality corner outfielder with an above average arm.
Chris Duncan- THE BIGGEST LIABILITY...I went to Busch stadium for a Cardinal game last season where Duncan made two errors and one really bad play (running in on a ball 20 feet over his head). However, he also made an amazing diving play later in the game. He's not gonna be close to good defensively because he IS a first baseman by trade. His bat will keep him in the lineup
2007-01-07 15:28:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
You gotta go with the A's on this one. Eric Chavez has, what, 7 straight gold gloves. Kotsay has a strong arm. Bradley, Crosby, Swisher, and Scutaro are solid. And Kendall is really starting to develop as a good defensive catcher.
2007-01-07 11:34:47 · answer #4 · answered by athleticsfan12 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
for regular season 2006:
boston - .989
astros - .987
a's - .986
From 1990 to 2006
angels - .986 (only 162 games Anaheim listed separately)
nationals - .986 (only 162 games Expos listed separately)
Baltimore - .984
Twins - .984
Dbacks - .983
Blue Jays - .983
Giants - .983
Mariners - .983
Dodgers - .983
Anaheim angels - .982
A's - .982
You can find all sorts of historical stats if you go to the mlb.com website. YOu can do team sortable stats going all the way back to the 1800s.
2007-01-08 14:33:12 · answer #5 · answered by Lisa H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ever? P - Greg Maddux C - Ivan Rodriguez 1B - Keith Hernandez 2B - bill Mazeroski SS - Ozzie Smith 3B - Brooks Robinson RF - Roberto Clemente CF - Willie Mays LF - Barry Bonds Now? P - Mark Buehrle C - Miguel Olivo 1B - Justin Morneau 2B - Ben Zobrist SS - Ronny Cedeno 3B - Jose Lopez RF - Magglio Ordonez CF - Alex Rios (?!?!!) LF - Carl Crawford
2016-12-12 06:28:52 · answer #6 · answered by jeniffer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Defensive..... I would say Astros we just had some real batting issues last year and could not score the runs!!! We also had some issues with our closing pitchers last year!! Hopefully this year our flaws will be ironed out and WORLD SERIES bound we will be!!!!
2007-01-08 07:34:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people say the Yankees, but they are probably close to last defensively. I would have to say the Cardinals' are solid with Rolen, Eckstein, Yadier Molina, Pujols, and Edmonds.
2007-01-07 12:53:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Oakland plays the best all-round defense.
2007-01-07 12:51:05 · answer #9 · answered by Paul D 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Tigers or Twins
2007-01-07 13:27:20 · answer #10 · answered by RJW 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋