It’s a good thing Ian Desmond can hit (at least that’s what they tell us; he hasn’t done so yet). Because after six games, Desmond is showing that fielding is just a little tougher.
In the first seven games, he committed three errors. And in his first 22 games at shortstop with Washington, including 17 last season, he made seven errors (in 115 chances), a percentage of .939 that would rank far below Cristian Guzman‘s rate for last season (.962), which left him 22nd in the majors.
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Last week manager Jim Riggleman blamed two errors on short hops and claimed few shortstops could have made those plays. Perhaps. But we’re not talking exceptional plays; just tougher than normal. The sort that a starting guy needs to make. And, fact is this: He’s booted three balls already. He also wasn’t exactly great with the glove in spring training. The bottom line is this: He needs to start hitting.
