June 3, 2018

Unhappy Arrieta

Jake Arrieta is unhappy with the Phillies defense:

Arrieta homered for Philadelphia’s only run of the series and pitched well until a stretch in the sixth inning when he allowed five straight hits, capped by Andrew McCutchen‘s three-run homer. Three of those hits came on ground balls, including one weak grounder to rookie shortstop Scott Kingery and another single hit through the right side by Joe Panik against a shifted infield.

Arrieta’s frustration boiled over after the game. The 32-year-old righty unloaded on an organization that gave him a $75 million, three-year contract, taking aim at the Phillies for not keeping up with a booming baseball trend.

“We’re the worst in the league with shifts, so we need to change that,” Arrieta said.

The Phillies rank 24th in the majors in UZR per 150, and 28th in total UZR. Since UZR accounts for shifts, those are not very good numbers.

On the other hand, it’s tough to build a complete team. The Phillies have an NL average offense. If their defense is going to be poor, the position players need to make up for that with better hitting.

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