Sizing up the AL East-1B

by moose35 on Jan 4, 2009 2:50 PM EST Comment 6 comments

So after a lot of argument about who will top out the AL East next year, I thought I'd take it position by position, and try to find out which of the top 3 AL East teams (Rays, Sox, Yanks) have the biggest chance at taking it all. I'll rank each position by a scale from one to ten, and add up the totals in the grand finale. Might not be accurate, but I thought I'd try. I'll do position players first, followed by pitching staff and then bullpen. I'd like comments, see where you guys stand on this, thanks.

Yankees-Mark Texiera

Pretty much the best 1B in the AL in my opinion ( You can argue about Morneau and Cabrera, though). Has an awesome glove, something we haven't had for a long time. Hits for average, power, and is just entering his prime. He's pretty much been a 30-100 guy for the past 5 years. Has a steady rate of success, barely any fluctuating numbers in his career. I absolutely love this guy, and hope he does well for the Yanks. On a scale from one to ten, I'll give Texiera an 8.

Red Sox-Kevin Youkilis

I am a Yankee fan, but I'm going to have to admit that Youkilis is good. He's not old either (29), and has been getting better every year (had carrer numbers in every offensive category except runs last year). Also has an awesome glove, one of the best in the AL. Him and Tex might be a tight race for the AL 1B Gold Glove. He's was similar to Tex last season, but because of his career stats, I'm giving Youkilis a 7

Devil Rays-Carlos Pena

Ok, forget that. Tex, Youkilis, and Pena will duke it out for the Gold Glove (this guy just won it last season). The oldest one on the list (30), though not by much. Many considered his career season 2 years ago to be a fluke, although he capitalized with a declined but respectable year last season. He's the only one on the list who isn't well rounded though, as hitting for average isn't his best category (about .250 BA last season). He has a good glove and power, but other than that, he's average. That's why I'll give Pena a 6

Yanks:8pts Red Sox:7pts Devil Rays:6pts

1 recs | Comment 6 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Agreed

by Brendan Scolari on Jan 5, 2009 4:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

As a sox fan I agree.

Tex is better but not by much. Last season:
Youk .312/.390/.569, 29 HR, 115 RBI, 91 R, 43 2B.
Tex .308/.410/.552, 33 HR, 121 RBI, 102 R, 41 2B.

Last year they were very similar hitters. I’ll give the edge to Teix because he has a more solid career to back it up. However, it’s very possible that Youk could out-perform Teixeira in ’09. Your idea of a breakdown by position is a good one, but to award Teixeira one more point than Youk is not a great way to evaluate the teams, as they are arguably the same player.

by Schulz on Jan 5, 2009 1:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Career numbers

You seem very myopic. I think Youk’s career year last year will not be regularly repeated. Why would he suddenly make a permanent leap forward if in the two previous years, making the same number of PAs as in 2008, plus or minus a few, his numbers (HR-RBI-BA-OBP-SLG) were 13-72-.279-.381-.429 and 16-83-.288-.390-.453?

He has made improvement in his numbers every year (except SBs), but it’s unlikely he’ll maintain the numbers that would equate him to Tex and his career averages, which were equal to Tex’s career best so far.

"If you lived in my grandfather's house...and you wanted to eat, you had to be a Yankees fan." --Joe Biden

by SenorSwanky on Jan 5, 2009 5:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's possible

but looking at their careers, Tex has a better chance performing better than Youkilis, especially batting either in front of or behind A-Rod. And I’m doing every position, and then adding the totals, thus the 1 point difference, seeing as one position will change a lineup, but not by much.

by moose35 on Jan 5, 2009 2:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Exactly,

The problem with your system is that the difference between Upton and Melky Cabrera will be the same as the difference between Teix and Pena. Similarly, the difference between Teix and Youk is the same as the difference between Troy Percival and whichever closer you rank second (Pap or Mo).

You should grade them on a scale, rather than rank them. Because a one or two point difference is very close in some cases, and very obvious in others.

by Schulz on Jan 5, 2009 3:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs