Nationals Arm Race

I just finished watching the Nats beat the Brewers in extra innings tonight, as Jayson Werth easily beat out a throw on an infield-in situation on a grounder from Adam LaRoche to first.  Even if Prince Fielder‘s throw hadn’t been high Werth had easily beaten the throw.

Why was Werth, not exactly the fastest player in baseball, that far down the line on an infield-in situation?  Well, because Milwaukee’s new manager Ron Roenicke employs a pull-hitter type shift on nearly every hitter, which means that with a lefty up in LaRoche, Milwaukee’s 3rd baseman was playing halfway to second base.  So Werth could literally run halfway down the line on each pitch and had no difficulties beating a throw home on Laroche’s sharp grounder.

Oh, by the way, the only way Werth was on 3rd to put himself into this position was by virtue of stealing 3rd base without even a throw from the catcher.  Again, how was he able to do this?  Because Milwaukee’s defensive alignment meant that there was little chance one of the middle-infielders would hold him on 2nd, and the 3rd baseman had to run 20 feet to cover the bag.

I’m sure the constant shift has been beneficial (else why would they constantly be doing it?)   But tonight I cannot remember one play where the shift helped out.  Perhaps one sharp grounder to 2nd baseman Richie Weeks put him into position to make a play he wouldn’t have normally, but Weeks couldn’t handle it and it went for a hit anyway.  In the earlier innings, in a 2-on 1 out situation, a ball DEAD to the typical positioning of a 2nd baseman (and what should have been a basic inning-ending double play ball) went for a single.   The 2nd baseman wasn’t within 30 feet of a ball that every other 2nd baseman in the league doesn’t have to move to field.  Instead of getting a double-play, the bases were loaded and Narveson eventually walked in 2 runners instead of being out of the inning.

Perhaps Roenicke is a genius and this is the wave of the future; all I saw tonight was a manager over-thinking his defense.  The Nats have batters who excel going to the opposite field (Morse, Espinosa, Ramos) and, while the shifting makes sense for pull-tendency hitters (LaRoche and Werth) they should have been playing other batters straight up.