MVA: Most Valuable Asset (Non-Cervelli Division)

by Leviticus6688 on Feb 6, 2010 12:38 AM EST Comment 28 comments

A couple weeks ago, there was a post on The Hardball Times about who was the most valuable asset in baseball today. The story discussed not who was the best player in baseball, that title (according to THT at least) belongs to Albert Pujols. A close second is Joe Mauer, who can be considered more valuable simply because of the age advantage he holds on Pujols as well as the fact that he plays a far more premium position. The latter reason suggests decline on Mauer's part though, catchers tend to peak earlier and rarely hit in their 30s the way they did in their mid to late 20s.

The article goes on to dismiss household names like Sabathia, Utley, Rodriguez, Halladay, and Ichiro, arguing that their advanced age will also deny them the chance to continue to put up their regular numbers a great deal longer.

A more realistic winner for "MVA" would be someone like Zach Greinke or Evan Longoria. That is, a young, proven superstar locked in with his team for a long time.

This got me thinking: Who is the "MVA" of the Yankees? It could be argued that Sabathia, Rodriguez, or Derek Jeter are the most important assets to our current team. What about a few years down the road though? Sabathia, Rodgriguez, Burnett, and Teixeira will all still be with the team, but some may not be as productive as others at that point.

It could be Robinson Cano, he's still relatively young and locked in with our team for quite some time. He plays a premium position with solid defense and was no doubt an important contributer on 2009's championship team.

It could even be Joe Girardi. Love him or hate him, he did contribute on our World Series win last year as well.

Maybe even Jesus Montero. Sure, he has yet to play a game past AA, but with the way his power numbers already are, many can see him making a huge impact in the Bronx in 2011 whether he's playing Catcher or Left Field.

Maybe it's not even a player at all. Perhaps it's just the aura of the Yankees. As one of cinema's greatest actors once said in a rather good movie no less: "You know why the Yankees always win?.... It's 'cause the other team can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes."

I was originally going to knock this poll down into a simple survey, but the amount of options seemed rather great, so I'll make it an open-ended question: who is the Most Valuable Asset* in the Yankees' freanchise today?

*As the title says, this of course does not include Francisco Cervelli. He was given that award years ago. This is more or less a consolation prize for the others.

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Without checking numbers

I think it’s Arod/Sabathia or Joba/Hughes.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Feb 6, 2010 9:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The fact that this is a hard question...

Is why the Yankees are a 100 win team. I don’t think any one player going out for the season would make it impossible for them to win the way Pujols would for the Cardinals or Mauer would for the Twins.

For the regular season I’d say it’s Arod/Teixeira. Arod gets the edge for 2010 since his replacement would be worse than Tex’s replacement but Tex gets the not for the long haul because he should have more quality years left.

For the playoffs its a different story. Right now I’d have to say CC is the most valuable postseason Yankee. In 2009 he only pitched 34 out of 162 games in the regular season which limits any pitcher’s value, but he pitched 5 out of 15 postseason games. As the team is currently built, it would be almost impossible for us to win the world series without CC pitching well in the playoffs. Mariano would be a close second for playoff MVA, for 2010 anyway.

by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on Feb 6, 2010 11:55 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

A-Rod

is here for another 8 years, including 2010. Tex has 7 so idk…I think they’re pretty even since Tex is younger

by Frankie Camp on Feb 7, 2010 6:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Looking a couple of years down the road

It’s definitely going to be Joba or Hughes. These guys have shown some flashes of brilliance, and have a long career ahead of them. Montero is another option, but as you said, he hasn’t proven himself in AAA, let alone the Majors.

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

Vince Lombardi

by moose35 on Feb 6, 2010 12:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hanks right hand...

has to be the most valuable asset. unless he is left handed.
if it has to be a player…hughes

by pmpspmp7 on Feb 6, 2010 4:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tough one on this...

best players are all “old”. Best young player (Montero) isn’t in the bigs.

I guess Cano is it because of age and production and of course his position.

I think it will be Curtis Granderson by the end of the year.

Rectum? Damn near killed em!

by FreeBradshaw on Feb 6, 2010 5:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hey Free

I remember you criticizing the Granderson trade when the rumors first came out. Now you seem to have a man-crush on him- what happened?

Vince Lombardi

by moose35 on Feb 7, 2010 7:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The trade didn't include Jesus Montero and/or Hughes/Joba...like was originally rumored

When I first looked up AJAX…the first thing that came to my mind was RH hitting Curtis Granderson anyway, so why not with Grandy

Rectum? Damn near killed em!

by FreeBradshaw on Feb 7, 2010 8:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

It was pretty much AJ for Granderson, with Kennedy sprinkled in to make the deal look sweeter. I still think the Tigers got the worst of that deal though, with the Diamondbacks 2nd.

Vince Lombardi

by moose35 on Feb 8, 2010 10:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

also he's on my team now.

I hate every player who’s not on my team.

Rectum? Damn near killed em!

by FreeBradshaw on Feb 7, 2010 1:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Right now it's A-Rod

best player in the AL, possibly in the league (if he’s healthy he’s up there with Pujols). And the Yanks have a hard time winning without him, as proven last season. He’s a huge part of this team, and probably the MVA of the Yankees for next year and for a few years to come.

Over the long haul, it’s a lot harder. Maybe Joba/Hughes if they live up to their expectations? Montero? Cano? Could be anybody. We don’t know yet. I’m going with Joba. I think that, next season he’ll have a breakout season as a starting pitcher. And he has the stuff capable of being dominant for years to come. Thats a bold prediction, but thats what I’m going with.

by nyyrocks29 on Feb 6, 2010 7:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

about Pujols for the simple reason that he plays 1B, which has been often deplored as a less defensive and more offensive position on this very site. (I’ll look for specifics later to back that up)

Overall, I’d say A-Rod is by and far the best player in baseball. He played 2 defensive first positions in his career, always was an offensive force, and almost single-handedly got us to the World Series in 2009 (I’m talking playoff performance here).

On the Yankees, it’s a toss-up between A-Rod, Jeter, and CC as most valuable assets. Offense can’t win games if the starting pitcher can’t pitch deep into games.

by phonty on Feb 6, 2010 8:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

wow...

I’d hope no one on this site would say that about 1B.

Mark Texeria’s at least as good as Tino Martinez…and it did wonders for the IF defense.

How could any Yankee fan go and spew that?

Rectum? Damn near killed em!

by FreeBradshaw on Feb 6, 2010 10:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i dunno

where i’m getting that from. Just a feeling that people look down on the 1B position. I’m not saying teixiera or tino or anyone isn’t an excellent defensive 1b, but I guess I feel Pujols is not as good overall as A-Rod.

Here’s an example of what I’m referring to (from this site):

http://www.pinstripealley.com/2010/1/7/1238265/hall-of-fame-rant

Nobody knew about UZR or FRAA, but they did know that catching batted balls was important, so certain older, slower players were moved to less-demanding positions like first base or DH.

by phonty on Feb 6, 2010 11:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that the reason 1B is looked down upon is because there are a lot of prolific offensive first basemen

Pujols, Howard, Fielder, Teixeira, Pena, Youkilis, Cabrera, Morneau, Gonzalez, Votto, Lee, Helton, Morales, Dunn…

The point is a 1B isn’t a particularly valuable asset (relatively) because there are numerous powerful offensive first basemen. Since all of these great hitters play there, the defensive aspect gets overshadowed. However, I wouldn’t discount Pujols’ production because there are other good first basemen. He hits for power and average and has a great glove.

by YankeesRock on Feb 7, 2010 2:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think phonty mixed up what people are saying a bit...

We don’t say that defense isn’t important at 1B. What is true is that you typically put a good offensive but relatively poor defensive player at 1B. It’s the same with the outfield, you generally put guys that aren’t very good defensively in the corner outfield spots. CF is the most important defensive position in the outfield, so you want a good defender there, and SS/2B is the same for the infield.

So what I’m saying is that 1B are generally better offensively than other IF’ers, but not as good defensively. That’s why if you have a SS and a 1B that put up the same offensive numbers, the SS is more valuable because 1B are expected to be productive offensively, while with SS any offense you get from them is a bonus.

That said, despite the fact that Pujols plays 1B, the numbers say he’s still the best player in baseball, with only Mauer being on the same level. Pujols is the best offensive player in the league, and the stats say he’s one of the best defensive 1B in the game as well (yes, better than Teixeira).

by Wraithpk on Feb 8, 2010 3:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1B is always a "power position"

so I can see that.

But as far as IF defense goes…its pretty damn important. That’s the “catcher” of the infield. If he stinks, the rest of the IF’s go down with him.

It is less demanding then 2B or SS of course. 3B I dunno. You do have to have range for 1B and 3B (LH pull hitters?).

3B has to have a good arm, but the 1B probably has to have the most reliable glove in the IF as he’s gonna have the ball the most out of the IFers.

Its not a coincedence the Yankees defense was so much better, it was Tex. Guys like Ryan Howard are not known for their D, but he’s gotten a lot better and that’s a pretty big reason the Phillies D brought them over the top.

Rectum? Damn near killed em!

by FreeBradshaw on Feb 7, 2010 8:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1b/Pujols

It’s true that 1b is traditionally a position where you can stick someone who can’t field very well, but as we’ve seen it’s a major asset to have a slick-fielding 1st baseman. Pujols isn’t quite Teixeira at 1st but he’s not Ryan Howard either. He’s won a couple of gold gloves. It’s also true that 1b is the deepest position in the majors when it comes to offense, but as great as Tex, Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, etc. are, Pujols is just on a different level from them and everyone else in baseball, including A-Rod. His offense outweighs the position argument.

by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on Feb 7, 2010 10:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i guess

I need to watch Pujols play more often. I’m not yet convinced he’s the best player in baseball. I’ll give him a look this season (try to watch more Cardinals games) and see if I can see what everyone else sees.

by phonty on Feb 7, 2010 3:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's funny

Some of you were putting Mattingly down saying basically that his defensive skills weren’t a big deal because “he played an easy position to field” and now you’re using defense to make your cases for Pujols…???

by david d on Feb 7, 2010 4:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The only defensive position easier than 1B is LF.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Feb 7, 2010 6:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Playing 1B sufficiently is easy

But having an above-average 1st baseman who can cover ground is a huge asset. So what I’m trying to say is that a league average defending 2B/SS is more valuable than a average defending 1B, but a Gold Glove 1B is a bigger asset than a Gold Glove SS or 2B. You can’t really compare it with LF.

Vince Lombardi

by moose35 on Feb 8, 2010 10:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wait...what?

a Gold Glove 1B is a bigger asset than a Gold Glove SS or 2B.

First baseman don’t have to pivot on double plays, rarely have to throw to another base, and generally don’t need to go very far to their left. They will field fewer direct ground balls and line drives over the course of a season as most hitters tend to pull the ball, and there are fewer lefties than righties at the plate.

A good defensive player is valuable, but a Gold Glove 2B or SS (assuming he actually deserves it) is a FAR greater asset than a Gold Glove 1B.

He might be the “catcher of the infield”, but you try standing in a fixed position waiting for a throw from somebody, even if it is going to be off target or a few feet short occasionally, and then try to charge a groundball, catch it on the correct hop, pivot, and throw it accurately 120 feet across the infield, and then tell me which position is harder to play.

Nobody is saying that good defensive first baseman don’t matter. We’re just saying that first base is comparatively easier to play than other positions are.

by 3460kuri on Feb 8, 2010 2:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs