House That Hank Built
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The defense of the Atlanta Braves has not been the same in 2019

By Jake Mastroianni

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 03: Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after making an error on Todd Frazier #21 of the New York Mets groundball in the ninth inning at Citi Field on August 3, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 03: Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after making an error on Todd Frazier #21 of the New York Mets groundball in the ninth inning at Citi Field on August 3, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 16: Second baseman Ozzie  Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves throws the ball to third base against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on September 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kelly Kline/GettyImages)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 16: Second baseman Ozzie  Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves throws the ball to third base against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on September 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kelly Kline/GettyImages) /

What’s changed? How can they fix it?

I honestly think some of this is just bad luck. We are getting to a lot of these balls, we just aren’t completing the plays like we did in 2018.

And I’m not even really talking about the errors, I’m just talking about the effort plays. Inciarte and Acuna have frustrated me the most. As fast as they are, it seems like they keep trying to slide to make some of these plays they could have made standing up.

Acuna, especially, has been very disappointing in my eyes. All I’ve heard about him from his days in the minors is that he’s a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. He’s not close to winning a Gold Glove with how he’s played this year.

I hate to be harsh on the 21-year-old, but he doesn’t seem focused in the outfield. There are several balls that have landed two feet in front of him that I thought he could have caught with just a little more effort.

That’s what concerns me the most with Acuna, I feel like it’s an effort thing.

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With Inciarte and Swanson, you can tell they are giving everything they have, they just aren’t making the plays.

Those three players, in my mind, need to step up the most.

Nick Markakis will continue to make the routine plays, but his range is limited. I’m not all that worried about Freeman and Ozzie Albies on the right side, but they could be better as well.

Josh Donaldson has actually been surprisingly solid at third.

And Daniel wrote about how well our catching tandem is doing both at the plate and behind it this year.

Another thing that bothers me is our defensive placement. I hate that Dansby plays in the six hole with a righty up and a runner at first. We have no shot at turning a double-play.

And they also have Dansby playing too close to Ozzie in the shift. I think it’s time for Ron Washington to rethink his defensive placement of the infield.

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I don’t know exactly where the issue is, or what needs to change, but coming into this season we thought we had a top five defense. Instead, they’ve been middle of the pack, and it’s costing us games.

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