Today I'm going to put the Yankees' roster up against other contenders in the American League to prove one simple point:
Having a payroll that is BY FAR the highest in the sport does not necessarily mean that your roster is BY FAR the best there is....
Let's start w/ the everyday lineups:
Yankees
1. Damon, LF
2. Jeter, SS
3. Teixeira, 1B
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Matsui, DH
6. Swisher/Nady, RF
7. Posada, C
8. Cano, 2B
9. Cabrera/Gardner, CF
Red Sox
1. Ellsbury, CF
2. Pedroia, 2B
3. Ortiz, DH
4. Youkilis, 1B
5. Drew, RF
6. Bay, LF
7. Lowell, 3B
8. Lugo/Lowrie, SS
9. Kotteras/Varitek/Free Agent/Trade, C
Rays
1. Iwamura, 2B
2. Upton, CF
3. Pena, 1B
4. Longoria, 3B
5. Crawford, LF
6. Gross/Free Agent, DH (Burrell and similar players mentioned)
7. Joyce, RF
8. Navarro, C
9. Bartlett, SS
Angels
1. Figgins, 3B
2. Kendrick, 2B
3. Guerrero, RF
4. Hunter, CF
5. Rivera, DH
6. Matthews, LF
7. Napoli, C
8. Morales, 1B
9. Aybar, SS
Analysis: The Angels clearly have the weakest lineup of the group but I don't think they're done putting it together just yet. Someone else will be added somehow, maybe in a trade invoving Chone Figgins. Plus they could always find room for another power bat like Brandon Wood.
The Rays don't have the power that the Yankees and Sox do but they have a lot more speed. I don't like Crawford hitting 5th - I'd prefer him 2nd, Upton 3rd, Longoria 4th and Pena 5th - but that lineup has depth and they're almost certainly going to add another bat for DH/OF.
Looking at the Yanks and Sawx, I'd take the Sawx lineup. It's deeper, with better threats in the 5-6-7 holes. Even if you want to argue that it's certainly not unreasonable to call it a draw between the two teams.
Even with the addition of Tex, a top notch glove at 1B, the Yankees are probably the worst defensive team of this group. Tex, A-Rod and Melky and Jeter is okay but the rest are question marks at best. Rays & Angels are the two best overall with the glove with the Sox right there with them.
Rotations:
Yankees
1. Sabathia
2. Wang
3. Burnett
4. Chamberlain
5. Hughes/Pettitte (if signed)
Red Sox
1. Beckett
2. Lester
3. Matsuzaka
4. Wakefield
5. Buchholz/Bowden/Free Agent
Rays
1. Kazmir
2. Shields
3. Garza
4. Sonnanstine
5. Price
Angels
1. Lackey
2. Santana
3. Weaver
4. Saunders
5. Moseley/Adenhart/Free Agent
Analysis: Again, the Yankees have a talented group but not one that necessarily separates itself from the crowd. All four teams have comparable depth and young players ready to step in at the bottom of the rotation in the even of an injury. Also, word is that the Sox and Angels are still considering free agent SP's.
None of these groups are significantly better than the others.
Bullpens:
Yankees
CL. Rivera
RP. Marte
RP. Veras
RP. Bruney
RP. Albaladejo/Free Agent
RP. Aceves/Free Agent
Red Sox
CL. Papelbon
RP. Okajima
RP. Masterson
RP. Delcarmen
RP. Aardsma
RP. Lopez
Rays
CL. Percival
RP. Balfour
RP. Wheeler
RP. Howell
RP. Bradford
RP. Salas
Angels
CL. Shields/Arredondo/Free Agent (Fuentes?)
RP. Shields/Arredondo
RP. Oliver
RP. Speier
RP. Jepsen
RP. Bulger
Analysis: Again, the Yankees don't stand out. Rivera and Papelbon are a wash but the rest of the Sox bullpen is much stronger. The Rays have a 9th inning problem if Percival isn't healthy (maybe even if he is) but they have some young talent to work with during the season, either as in-house replacements or for trade bait. The Angels seem likely to land Brian Fuentes and if they do I think their pen is 2nd on this list behind Boston's.
Keep in mind that none of that counts other potential contenders like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota or Oakland. They're not at the level of the other four coming into the season but they have to be considered. Twins are always in the mix, the White Sox were the division champs, the Indians and Tigers were last season's biggest underachievers and the A's are gonna give it a shot to start 2009.
Let's not start handing out trophies to the Yankees just yet...
KW
Showing posts with label jeter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jeter. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Yanks get Tex, the End of Days begins
My ears hurt.
It's from all the gnashing of teeth and pathetic wailing coming from around the baseball universe and it's really, really irritating.
Based many people's initial reaction to the news that the Yankees have signed Mark Teixeira to an 8-year, $180 million deal you'd think there's no point in even playing out the season.
Give me a break.
What happened the last time the Yankees went free agent crazy? For that matter, what has happened the last several times someone named Steinbrenner went down this path?
Nothing.
Okay, maybe not "nothing" but certainly nothing of championship caliber.
Remember how big a deal it was when they got Clemens? Then when they got him back? How could anyone forget what "Edith" Waldman did - "Oh my gawd! Rowjah Clemens is a Yankee! Oh my gawd!"
What about A-Rod? Weren't the Yankees supposed to run away and hide after they robbed the Rangers blind? Wasn't that the move that would get them over the top?
Or when they signed Jason Giambi to that huge deal? Or Hideki Matsui, also known at the time as "Godzilla?"
Each and every time they outbid the rest of Major League Baseball for a big name player (or three) people freak out. And the Yankees don't win anything.
The Yankees spent entire decade of the 80's and the first half of the 90's wallowing in the muck because of their spend-first strategy when it came to building the Major League roster. For God's sake, the George Steinbrenner led Yankees went 17 seasons without a World Series title (and only won one division title during that time, in 1981) and it took George's eventual suspension for the franchise to return to championship level.
In the early and mid 90's the Yankees' baseball people did an outstanding job of developing players and picking up the right free agents (or trade acquisitions) to build a team that went on an amazing 8-year run from 1996-2003.
Since the World Series back in 2001 the Yankees have been flailing again. They've been throwing around free agent cash - to no avail - and now they've gone absolutely insane with their spending.
It makes for great Hot Stove discussion, no doubt, but the Yankees are hardly an unbeatable force heading into the 2009 season.
Let us take a look, shall we...
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Mark Teixiera, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Xavier Nady/Nick Swisher, RF
7. Jorge Posada, C
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner, CF
That's a really good lineup but is it really all that much better than any other lineup? I don't think so. Lots of question marks there though I suspect guys like Damon, Jeter, Tex and A-Rod will keep the team scoring runs no matter what.
1. C.C. Sabathia
2. A.J. Burnett
3. Chien-Ming Wang
4. Joba Chamberlain
5. Andy Pettitte/Phil Hughes
That's a nice looking rotation - great talent accumulation there - but again they're hardly without question marks. Burnett is erratic and has been injury prone, Wang is still recovering from a foot injury, Chamberlain hasn't proven he can put in a full workload over a whole season as a starter, Pettitte is starting to decline and Hughes hasn't proven he can get Major League hitters out.
That should be a fine group but, again, does that rotation look like it's that much better than that of other contenders in the AL? I think Boston, Tampa and Anaheim might be able to make a case for theirs...
CL. Mariano Rivera
RP. Damaso Marte
RP. Brian Bruney
RP. Jose Veras
RP. Edwar Ramirez
RP. Jonathan Albaladejo
RP. Alberto Aceves
Rivera is still the best around but nobody else there is all that inspiring. Veras and Ramirez are talented but not proven late-inning guys. Marte had a 5.40 ERA w/ the Yankees last season and guys like Bruney, Albaladejo and Aceves are middle men.
There is potential around Rivera but this group is hardly imposing beyond the man handling the 9th inning.
What's the point of all this?
Let things play out.
There is no need for knee-jerk reactions suggesting a salary cap is necessary, that the Yankees are ruining the game, so on and so forth...
The more they spend the more they pay in terms of luxury tax, which will help some low revenue teams pay their bills and maybe keep a few players, and recent history shows us that attempts to "buy a title" don't always turn out as planned.
I'm not saying the Yankees can't or won't win the World Series. I'm just saying they're not simply going to walk away with the league in 2009 and leave everyone in the dust.
The Red Sox and Rays aren't going away and neither are the Angels.
Without Goliath there can be no David....
KW
It's from all the gnashing of teeth and pathetic wailing coming from around the baseball universe and it's really, really irritating.
Based many people's initial reaction to the news that the Yankees have signed Mark Teixeira to an 8-year, $180 million deal you'd think there's no point in even playing out the season.
Give me a break.
What happened the last time the Yankees went free agent crazy? For that matter, what has happened the last several times someone named Steinbrenner went down this path?
Nothing.
Okay, maybe not "nothing" but certainly nothing of championship caliber.
Remember how big a deal it was when they got Clemens? Then when they got him back? How could anyone forget what "Edith" Waldman did - "Oh my gawd! Rowjah Clemens is a Yankee! Oh my gawd!"
What about A-Rod? Weren't the Yankees supposed to run away and hide after they robbed the Rangers blind? Wasn't that the move that would get them over the top?
Or when they signed Jason Giambi to that huge deal? Or Hideki Matsui, also known at the time as "Godzilla?"
Each and every time they outbid the rest of Major League Baseball for a big name player (or three) people freak out. And the Yankees don't win anything.
The Yankees spent entire decade of the 80's and the first half of the 90's wallowing in the muck because of their spend-first strategy when it came to building the Major League roster. For God's sake, the George Steinbrenner led Yankees went 17 seasons without a World Series title (and only won one division title during that time, in 1981) and it took George's eventual suspension for the franchise to return to championship level.
In the early and mid 90's the Yankees' baseball people did an outstanding job of developing players and picking up the right free agents (or trade acquisitions) to build a team that went on an amazing 8-year run from 1996-2003.
Since the World Series back in 2001 the Yankees have been flailing again. They've been throwing around free agent cash - to no avail - and now they've gone absolutely insane with their spending.
It makes for great Hot Stove discussion, no doubt, but the Yankees are hardly an unbeatable force heading into the 2009 season.
Let us take a look, shall we...
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Mark Teixiera, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Xavier Nady/Nick Swisher, RF
7. Jorge Posada, C
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner, CF
That's a really good lineup but is it really all that much better than any other lineup? I don't think so. Lots of question marks there though I suspect guys like Damon, Jeter, Tex and A-Rod will keep the team scoring runs no matter what.
1. C.C. Sabathia
2. A.J. Burnett
3. Chien-Ming Wang
4. Joba Chamberlain
5. Andy Pettitte/Phil Hughes
That's a nice looking rotation - great talent accumulation there - but again they're hardly without question marks. Burnett is erratic and has been injury prone, Wang is still recovering from a foot injury, Chamberlain hasn't proven he can put in a full workload over a whole season as a starter, Pettitte is starting to decline and Hughes hasn't proven he can get Major League hitters out.
That should be a fine group but, again, does that rotation look like it's that much better than that of other contenders in the AL? I think Boston, Tampa and Anaheim might be able to make a case for theirs...
CL. Mariano Rivera
RP. Damaso Marte
RP. Brian Bruney
RP. Jose Veras
RP. Edwar Ramirez
RP. Jonathan Albaladejo
RP. Alberto Aceves
Rivera is still the best around but nobody else there is all that inspiring. Veras and Ramirez are talented but not proven late-inning guys. Marte had a 5.40 ERA w/ the Yankees last season and guys like Bruney, Albaladejo and Aceves are middle men.
There is potential around Rivera but this group is hardly imposing beyond the man handling the 9th inning.
What's the point of all this?
Let things play out.
There is no need for knee-jerk reactions suggesting a salary cap is necessary, that the Yankees are ruining the game, so on and so forth...
The more they spend the more they pay in terms of luxury tax, which will help some low revenue teams pay their bills and maybe keep a few players, and recent history shows us that attempts to "buy a title" don't always turn out as planned.
I'm not saying the Yankees can't or won't win the World Series. I'm just saying they're not simply going to walk away with the league in 2009 and leave everyone in the dust.
The Red Sox and Rays aren't going away and neither are the Angels.
Without Goliath there can be no David....
KW
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