Posted October 12, 200519 yr MIAMI -- Shortly after the World Series is over, Major League Baseball will announce its annual Gold Glove winners. Marlins infield coach Perry Hill anticipates his club will have at least one and maybe two players bringing home the gold this season. Second baseman Luis Castillo, the winner of back-to-back Gold Gloves, is a favorite to win his third consecutive award. And third baseman Mike Lowell has a strong shot, especially since perennial winner Scott Rolen of the Cardinals missed so much time because of a shoulder injury. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez won't likely win a Gold Glove, but he was strongly in the mix before a nagging elbow injury impaired his throwing to the point he wasn't effective. "I think the Gold Glove is more than just stats," said Hill, one of the most respected infield coaches in the league. "I look at how defense affects the pitching staff." By that, Hill means, how a defender does his part to shorten innings for a pitcher. When a player like Castillo makes a sparkling play, it impacts the entire inning for a pitcher, resulting in him throwing fewer pitches in a frame, and consequently being able to go deeper into games. "Louie's value is the fact he can help a pitching staff," Hill said. One thing that may hinder Castillo's Gold Glove chances is the fact he appeared in only 122 games because of various hip, leg and hamstring problems. The three-time All-Star sat out most of September with a right hamstring injury. Still, Castillo made seven errors and had a .988 fielding percentage, and he was involved in 87 double plays. When in the lineup, his defense was on par to what Marlins' fans came to expect over the past few years. "Leg problems bothered Louie the later part of the year," Hill said. "But in the first part of the year, he was the same old Louie, he caught everything his way. "A real plus for him is his arm strength. His arm strength is better than any second baseman. He has a shortstop's arm and that helps him make plays going up the middle and throwing across his body." Hill is pulling hard for Lowell to get his first Gold Glove. A number of Marlins feel Lowell deserved the honor in 2004, and he had the statistics to back that up, although the award went to Rolen. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, in 2004, Lowell established a National League record for fewest errors by a third baseman with a minimum of 150 games played. Lowell committed seven errors a year ago. This year, in 135 games at third base, the veteran committed six errors in 356 chances and had a fielding percentage of .983. While Lowell's defense was again splendid, the veteran endured his toughest year at the plate, batting .236 with eight home runs and 58 RBIs. Hill hopes that Lowell's downslide offensively doesn't sway Gold Glove voters. "It's the Gold Glove, not the Gold Glove and Bat," Hill said. "If you want to look at stats, Mike broke a National League record last year, and he was just as good this year. If that doesn't merit winning a Gold Glove this year, I don't know what does." Building a Gold Glove case for Gonzalez is a bit tougher because of his 16 errors in 124 games. Gonzalez also missed considerable time down the stretch because of a bone chip in his right elbow. He made his last start on Sept. 4. The few weeks before his elbow reached the point where he couldn't play, Gonzalez's throws were feeling the effects of the bone chip. "I'm a big Gonzo fan," Hill said. "He changes the game because he makes plays that a lot of other shortstops don't reach. If he's not the best shortstop in the game, he's one of the best. When he was out, you really take him for granted." http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla
October 12, 200519 yr It's going to be great of Mike wins a gold glove..... it'll also increase his trade value :evil .
October 12, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season.
October 12, 200519 yr It's going to be great of Mike wins a gold glove..... it'll also increase his trade value :evil . haha i love that evil plotting smiley.
October 12, 200519 yr It's going to be great of Mike wins a gold glove..... it'll also increase his trade value :evil . haha i love that evil plotting smiley. It's my favorite smiley, even more than :mischief . It can make even the nicest post appear to be sinister :evil . See what I mean? :evil
October 12, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season. I think if Mikey doesn't win a gold glove this year it would be a travesty...GG is about defense and there is no better defensive 3B in the NL that Mikey
October 12, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season. I think if Mikey doesn't win a gold glove this year it would be a travesty...GG is about defense and there is no better defensive 3B in the NL that Mikey I agree with you, even when Scott Rolen is playing full time.
October 12, 200519 yr It's going to be great of Mike wins a gold glove..... it'll also increase his trade value :evil . haha i love that evil plotting smiley. It's my favorite smiley, even more than :mischief . It can make even the nicest post appear to be sinister :evil . See what I mean? :evil :plain
October 12, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season. Sub .300 OBP. Sub .400 SL%. You don't need to say anything bad about him, the stats do it for you.
October 12, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season. Sub .300 OBP. Sub .400 SL%. You don't need to say anything bad about him, the stats do it for you. hey....at least that sub-.400 slugging percentage is 6 points higher than JP's.
October 14, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season. Yeah because he was getting paid $8 million to play defense. :plain
October 14, 200519 yr What about Dontrelle? It'll probably go to Maddux, as usual, but you could certainly make a case. You could also make a VERY strong case for a silver-slugger award to go on D-Train's mantle... And Mikey may have had a downfall at the plate, but the man deserves a gold glove as much as anyone ever has.
October 14, 200519 yr I don't get what the Gold Glove has to do with offense. If a guy plays spectacular defense, then why doesn't he win it, even if he does his .210.
October 14, 200519 yr Who knows. Lowell has deserved it before(last season most notably, but Rolen's career year at the plate is probably what put him over the top). Renteria was never deserving of a gold glove, and he won two in a row, which also coincided with very good years at the plate. It's kind of like how W/L record seems to be the most important thing to voters, something that is generally out of a pitchers control(espicially if a team has a crappy offense). Most awards are not fair. No reason to complain.
October 15, 200519 yr If Mike Lowell wins a gold glove at third, I will refrain from saying anything bad about him for the rest of the off-season. Yeah because he was getting paid $8 million to play defense. :plain No, see, I say this because I'm an unapologizing Lowell basher, so I'm so confident he won't win one that I'm willing to refrain from one of my favorite hobbies: pointing out how destructive he is for the Marlins in every aspect imaginable.
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