AL East Position Matchup: First Baseman

Posted on February 9, 2012 by TOB$

As a follow up to yesterday’s post ranking AL East catchers, today I will rank the first basemen of the division. As expected, the first base position provides a lot of power for all five of these teams, but no player is as well rounded as the Adrian the Cat.

The rankings are as follows:

1. Adrian Gonzalez
2. Mark Texeira
3. Carlos Pena
4. Adam Lind
5. Chris Davis

Gonzo needs to be number one here. He was a legitamate MVP candidate last year, which is incredible considering his massive HR drought to start the 2011 season (1 HR in all of April). He’s got a great glove and I expect him to increase his HR total (2nd lowest of career), while maintaining similar RBI production. Although I do see a drop from his career best .338 batting average, I see Gonzo being a force in the middle of the Sox lineup and a MVP contender to start the season.

Texeira is one of the most overpaid players in baseball. He was the third highest paid position player last year (fourth overall). He earned $23.125 million, while Adrian was the 14th highest paid first baseman in the MLB and earned every penny of his $6.3 million. The sad part (for the Yankees) is that they have Texeira and his .248 batting average (from last year) signed into a no trade clause until 2016. I’m the first to admit he is a good hitter, and he’s a player every pitcher is afraid can take them yard any pitch, but he has been unwilling to make any adjustments during his struggles as a Yankee. He’s been known to have struggles adapting to the huge shift that opposing teams put on him as a pull hitter (Sox fans- think David Ortiz during his slump of 2010). Don’t get me wrong, Texiera plays great defense and hits 30+ home runs a year, but any “elite” hitter that earns that much money and then hits .180, .148, and .167 in the last three postseasons, respecitvely, loses all respect in my vote.

I think Pena is starting to decline a bit with his power, which is why I thought about giving Lind the slight edge over him. Despite this, Pena has an uncanny ability to get on base (his OBP is regularly about 130 points better than his BA) and displays underrated defensive skills. Lind hasn’t been consistent enough to warrant the third spot in rankings. Last up is Chris Davis for the Orioles. Davis was a big time prospect a few years ago for the Rangers, and displayed some good power for them in his first two years in the bigs. Since joining the Orioles, Davis struggled with a shoulder injury. He was a good prospect but hasn’t panned out the last few years, so hopefully he can find the power stroke hes been missing lately.

For Catcher rankings: Click Here.

AL East Position Matchup: Catcher

Posted on February 8, 2012 by TOB$

Spring training is around the corner and it looks like all the rosters are pretty much set in the MLB. I will begin to evaluate how the Red Sox matchup against their four counterparts in the AL East in different positions.

First up will be catcher (remember this is primarily based on projected starters):

1. Matt Wieters, Baltimore
2. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays
3. Russell Martin, Yankees
4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox
5. Jose Molina, Rays

Wieters was a no brainer here in the first slot. He was a can’t miss prospect since he was drafted 5th overall in 2007. He is not the superstar people once believed after a monster first year in the minors (.388 BA), but he provides decent pop (22 HR’s last year) and won a Gold Glove last year.

The next three were tough to call. I went with Arencibia next after his breakout campaign last year. He provided a bad batting average, but hit 23 Hr’s and had 78 RBI’s in 129 games in his rookie season. Arencibia is still a pretty raw talent, but with his good arm behind the plate and incredible power, he should have a pretty decent career. Third on the list is Russell Martin, who is not the player he was in the beginning of his career with the Dodgers. He has battled through knee and hip injuries since he broke out as a youngster in ’06-’08. He has had a declining batting average since ’08, although he saw in increase in HR and RBI’s for the Bronx Bombers last year. Even though Martin says he is healthy this year, I find it hard to believe he is a better option than Arencibia.

The Red Sox and Saltalamacchia are rated fourth due to the muddled cloud over the position and also an attempt to not be biased in this column. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the clear number one on the roster right now, although I think Ryan Lavarnway is the better long term solution. The Red Sox also signed Kelly Shoppach over the offseason, which confused me in terms of Lavarnway’s spot on the team. First off, Salty had a huge year for the Red Sox last year. He was a low risk young guy who had an incredible amount of confidence issues (to the point of him struggling to complete throws back to the pitcher). It looked like he found the stroke and confidence that he had as a good prospect growing up in the Braves farm system. Salty and Varitek combined to be some of the worst at throwing out runners last year (25.1% and 23.1%, respectively), and Shoppach should provide some defensive help. The true value of the Sox catcher situation lies in how they deal with Lavarnway. Lavarnway is a 6-4, 225 prospect with a very solid baseball IQ, which is very important behind the plate. The Yale-alum has average catching skills, but has a solid bat and could even provide some help from the DH spot. Sox fans immediately fell in love with Lavarnway when he provided 2 HR and 4RBI’s in a must win game on the second to last game of the season last year in which the Sox won 8-7. This was real impressive in such a high pressure situation in his rookie year and hopefully he will get a chance to build on his progress throughout this season. Also, as an end to the Red Sox section, I see Jason Varitek’s roster spot on the Red Sox gone. I hope they treat him in a similar manner as the Patriots with Kevin Faulk, by keeping him in the organization as a leader but not taking up a valuable roster spot with his declining abilities.

Lastly, the Rays are clearly the bottom of the pile here. I see them making some changes either in the season or during these last few weeks before camp. Right now they have 36 year old Jose Molina slotted behind the plate and he has never even had more than 268 AB’s in a season. Most Sox fans remember him from his days as a Yankees backup. He provides some help defensively (threw out 32.4% of runners), but it is always a good sign for opposing pitchers when he is in the on deck circle.

Stay tuned for more position evaluations throughout the next few weeks.

MLB Playoff Expansion Hits Road Block

Posted on February 3, 2012 by TOB$

Bud Selig’s office missed the February 1st deadline to have finished a proposed schedule to send to the players association. Talks have not ended and it still looks like a decent possibility that the MLB will be able to expand to two wild card teams in both divisions, but they have encountered many more scheduling issues than anticipated. There are a ton of different issues, but long story short is they need to figure out how to fit in the extra wild card matchups in between the end of the season and start of the ALDS. The real problem comes from scheduling tiebreaker games between first place and wild cards (which becomes much more important now), rain out makeup games, and also, to do everything in compliance with TV contracts.

This is huge news for Red Sox fans. The day they announced a possible expansion of the playoff format was like Christmas day for every fan of the AL East (yes, even Orioles fans). If the MLB is unable to figure out this situation soon, it will be detrimental to the playoff hopes of each the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays. All are in position to be top teams in the MLB again, with the Blue Jays not far behind. As we all remember last year, the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs with 90 wins and the Braves failed to make the playoff on the last day with 89 wins. In the proposed situation, both would have made the playoffs. Also, this is an important proposition because it awards teams for coming in 1st place, by forcing wild card teams to use their best starters in a one game playoff, while 1st place teams get more resting time.

In other news for the Red Sox, the Nationals have agreed to a one year contract with Edwin Jackson, who was widely believed to be the best free agent pitcher left on the market. Talks look like they are winding down between the Red Sox and Roy Oswalt as well. It looks like we will be heading into spring training with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Clay Bucholz at the front of our rotation. The Red Sox will then have Daniel Bard, Alfredo Aceves, and an island of misfit toys duke it out and try to fill the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation.

Welcome to Boston, Jenny Dell

Posted on January 31, 2012 by jtulz07

Think back to November 2011, when things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse for the Sox as rumors of Heidi Watney departing started here on the Boston Sports Blog (Heidi, Say It Aint So!). She even tried covering it up on vacation (Don’t Kill the Messenger). And we all know how that played out. I mean the Lakers? Really? Anyways, since her final days in Boston the buzz about finding her replacement has been pretty quiet until recently. Last night NESN confirmed that former ESPN anchor Jenny Dell will take Heidi’s place as Red Sox in-game reporter. More known for her insight on football, it will be interesting to see Jenny take on a full time baseball role. Either way, the Sox need all the momentum they can get heading into spring training after the disaster that was last September. Hopefully filling the hot side line reporter gap will be just the edge they need. Red Sox Nation, enjoy.

Surprise! Another Sh*t Signing For Red Sox

Posted on January 30, 2012 by TOB$

In other news over the weekend, the Red Sox signed John Maine. Pretty upset I even have to write this article. It’s more or less the same as this blog or this blog, but even more frustrating. John Maine hasn’t even pitched in the majors since May 2010.

Even though they only signed him to a minor league contract, its another move from the organization I don’t agree with. I may just be frustrated with this move because I always thought this guy could “break out” for my fantasy baseball team and just never broke out. Year after year and waiver wire pickup after waiver wire pickup he would let me down. He was a decent pitcher for a couple years, but that was back in ’06 and ’07. He’s been plagued by injuries throughout his career and has had his most troubles since shoulder surgery in 2010.

Maine had a stellar 7.43 ERA in the minors last year until he quit the team in June, saying he might retire. Stay hot Ben Cherington, yet another supergood transaction.

This article can be summed up pretty easily: John Maine is not the solution for the Red Sox pitching problems. They really need to stop wasting time trying to bring in guys like John Maine and make a serious attempt at fixing their rotation.

TOB$ Time: Toss Up Round 2

Posted on January 25, 2012 by TOB$

Monster free agent signing in the MLB yesterday. Prince Fielder joined Miguel Cabrera and the reigning AL Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander in Detroit. I thought two things when I saw this signing. First, was HOLY SHIT. This was simply due to Fielders NINE year $214 million dollar contract. I can’t believe the Tigers agreed to such a long contract with a 27 year old guy like Prince.

Second thing I thought of (and the point of this article) was that this has created one of the best 3-4 batters in a lineup in a while. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have a chance to do something real special over in Detroit. I immediately thought of Manny-Big Papi for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2005. They were the best in business (maybe steroids had a bit to do with it) and they were a force for years. More importantly, they were consistent and incredibly clutch, clutch enough to break an 86 year old curse.

Here is the 2004 and 2005 seasons in stats for Manny and Ortiz and Feilder and Miguel Cabrera’s individual stats for last year:

			GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP
Manny	2004	BOS	152	568	108	175	44	0	43	130	82	124	2	4	0.308	0.397

Ortiz	2004	BOS	150	582	94	175	47	3	41	139	75	133	0	0	0.301	0.38

			GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP
Manny	2005	BOS	152	554	112	162	30	1	45	144	80	119	1	0	0.292	0.388

Ortiz	2005	BOS	159	601	119	180	40	1	47	148	102	124	1	0	0.3	0.397

			GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP
Cabrera	2011	DET	161	572	111	197	48	0	30	105	108	89	2	1	0.344	0.448

Fielder	2011	MIL	162	569	95	170	36	1	38	120	107	106	1	1	0.299	0.415

Before anyone gets on my case, I understand Prince just came from a pretty good 3-4 punch on the Brewers with Ryan Braun, but Miguel has never batted around the type of talent Prince has, thus inflating his stats in future years (and no Victor Martinez, who batted behind Cabrera last year, does not count). Braun has had the protection of Prince for 5 years and I like to think this has influenced his stats a great deal. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great player, but I like Miguel Cabrera as a hitter more than steroid boy Braun.

After throwing up this comparison, in some ways I feel stupid. The numbers from Ortiz and Manny are jaw dropping. That’s all that can be said. Granted they may have had some help from a few friendly needles up their ass, but those numbers are rediculous. I think Cabrera will have an incredible year this year and Fielder might even have a better year in hitter friendly Comerica Park, but who knows if they can touch Manny and Papi’s numbers. The big factor will be whether they can win a couple World Series rings together, like the former two led the Sox to do.

Ross Joins Red Sox Nation

Posted on January 24, 2012 by TOB$

After Carl Crawford’s surgery on his wrist last week was announced, the Red Sox suddenly had a glaring weakness in outfield depth. Ben Cherington has clearly been in the process of addressing this issue for the past week. When the Sox dealt Marco Scutaro last weekend to the Rockies, they freed up $6 million for free agent acquisitions.

Cody Ross joins the outfield and immediately brings depth to all positions in the outfield. Ross is mostly known by baseball fans for his performance during the 2010 postseason, where he was named MVP for the San Francisco Giants after hitting five home runs, two off Phillie ace Roy Halladay. Ross provides a much needed righty bat in the lefty heavy Red Sox lineup. He should have a crucial role in the Red Sox outfield and at least be a platoon right fielder with Ryan Sweeney. Hopefully his batting numbers will improve since he will be playing in his most explosive offense in his 10 year career.

Although this is a great move for the Red Sox organization, I’m still hoping they make a big splash in the market for starting pitchers. I’m pulling for Roy Oswalt, but we will see how everything plays out in the next few weeks.

Shortstop Riddle Still Not Solved: Sox Trade Scutaro

Posted on January 23, 2012 by TOB$

In a great weekend that highlighted two Bruins overtime thrillers and a Patriots win in the AFC championship, the Red Sox boring offseason continued. They traded away their starting shortstop in Marco Scutaro for righthanded pitcher Clayton Mortensen. Mortensen doesn’t seem like a big impact guy, just seems like a sinkerball pitcher the Sox will use out of the pen, perhaps in long relief situations.

Two big things come out of this trade: First, the Sox freed up money that can go to other free agent acquistions. I’m really hoping this money can go to getting a pitcher like Roy Oswalt, or help solve the mess in outfield now that Crawford is injured. Second, it brings up the fact that the Sox haven’t figured out the shortstop position in years. Ever since the Human Vacuum Cleaner, Nomah, was traded from the Sox in 2004, the position has been in shambles. Renteria, Lugo, Pokey Reese, Scutaro. All busts. We traded away Hanley Ramirez (which can’t be criticized- it was a win win trade for both sides).

Looks like 22 year old shortstop Jose Iglesias will finally get his shot at the big leagues. He’s about as surehanded as it gets at short, but the guy is a shit batter. Can’t hit at all. I mean the guy hit .235 in the minor leagues last year, so I can only imagine him in the Majors. I don’t care how good of a fielder he is, but every Red Sox fan wants to see offensive production and there is no way he can last in Boston hitting barely above the Mendoza line.

Limp Wrist: Crawford gets Surgery

Posted on January 18, 2012 by TOB$

Yesterday, Ben Cherington announced that Carl Crawford had surgery on his injured left wrist. This comes as a huge blow to the Red Sox. All hopes were that Crawford would turn around his horrible performance last year and come into this year as a new man. Clearly not the case, and he is most likely not going to be ready at the start of the season. The Sox need to address the issue in outfield immediately. Luckily, they were able to avoid arbitration with Jacoby and sign him to a one year contract, which was a step in the right direction. Not much else to say about Crawford though, besides the fact he has been a total dissapointment since his signing, lets hope he doesn’t turn out to be J.D. Drew in disguise during these next six years we have with him.

“Carl! So nice to see you!”- Wish i could say the same Billy, I really do.

Man Vs. Boy: Sox Counter Yankees Monster Moves by signing Padilla

Posted on January 18, 2012 by TOB$

Last Friday, the New York Yankees awoke from their slumber during this offseason and had a MONSTER day. Not only did the Yankees sign Hiroki Kuroda, one of the most coveted free agent pitchers this year, they completed a huge trade by dealing their top prospect Jesus Montero for pitching phenom Michael Pineda. The Yankees completely turned around the horrible situation they had in their starting rotation with these two moves.

The Kuroda signing is big for a couple of reasons. Kuroda was heavily pursued by the Sox and he would have solidified their rotation, but the Yankees were able to complete a deal with him first. Also, Kuroda was as consistent as you could get as a starting pitcher in the last few years. Although his record didn’t reflect his good pitching due to shit run support, he had 3.45 ERA the past four years, including a career best 3.07 ERA last year.

The big move was for Pineda. Pineda is one of the best young pitchers in the MLB. He is a 22 year old, 6′ 7″ giant who just throws straight fire. He had the fourth highest average MPH on his fastball in the entire league AT AGE 22. His fastball combinded with his filthy slider led to a 9.1 K/9.

As for the Red Sox, they are at it again. They fired me up even more than Aaron Cook, by signing perhaps the ugliest pitcher in the MLB. Although they signed another crap pitcher, in Vincente Padilla, he could very well end up as another innings eater either out of the pen or occasionally in the rotation. My problem with Padilla is that the guy is known to be a virus in all clubhouses and no teammates ever end up liking him. The last thing that the fragile Red Sox clubhouse needs is another guy with shit attitude.

It’s not exactly time for the Sox to give up on the season though, as Kuroda and Pineda haven’t proved anything in Yankee Stadium yet. Kuroda is 36 years old and has pitched on crappy teams, so his ERA could potentially balloon when the pressures on in New York. Although Pineda has displayed brilliance, there are questions to his consistency (he was 8-6 with 3.03 ERA in 1st half of 2011, 1-4 with 5.12 ERA in 2nd half). Also, he has an “inverted W” pitching style, (similar style to Adam Wainwright, Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Stephen Strasburg, Joba the Hut), which puts an unhealthy amount of stress on your elbow. Basically, what that means is that he’s eventually going to need Tommy John Surgery. Also, it helps that they had to give up their top prospect catcher Jesus Montero (compared to Miguel Cabrera and Manny Ramirez offensively, but unproven defensively).