Done to a Crisp and Gonzalez Too

[yankeessuck013]

I'm not sold on the yankees lineup, I think they are going to live and die by the homerun this year. But, again pitching and defense wins ballgames.

 

And the only defense the yankees have is on the left side of the infield. As for pitching,....let's not even go there.

[a700hitter]

Just my opinion. I think Cano is already better then Loretta and Damon has 20 OBP points and Damon scored 31 more runs then him (which some is a product of the linups they are in but Clevelands lineup certainly isnt bad). Crsip also has to prove himself in a pressure situation while Damon has been there done it. That said if you want to make Crisp and Damon equal thats fine. The difference in line ups come down to the huge edges each positon holds. IMO the Yankees own huges edges over the Red Sox at 1B, SS, 3B while the Red Sox only hold one huge edge at DH. That imo makes the Yankee lineup better.

Manny big over Matsui.

[jsinger121]

ramirez is a much superior hitter than matsui plus varitek is a better catcher than posada with the way posada has played the last few years.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

Manny big over Matsui.

If you say that I can come back and say Sheffield big over Nixon.

[jsinger121]

we are not arguing that but manny is alot better than matsui.

[example1]

Just my opinion. I think Cano is already better then Loretta and Damon has 20 OBP points and Damon scored 31 more runs then him (which some is a product of the linups they are in but Clevelands lineup certainly isnt bad). Crsip also has to prove himself in a pressure situation while Damon has been there done it. That said if you want to make Crisp and Damon equal thats fine. The difference in line ups come down to the huge edges each positon holds. IMO the Yankees own huges edges over the Red Sox at 1B, SS, 3B while the Red Sox only hold one huge edge at DH. That imo makes the Yankee lineup better.

 

Defensively? I don't think the Yanks are better in the field at any position right now.

 

Defensively:

 

C: Varitek > Posada

1B: Snow/Youkilis > Giambi

2B: Loretta > Cano

SS: Jeter = Gonz

3B: Lowell = ARod

LF: Manny and Matsui are both bad, unless you expect them to be bad, that's when they make a leaping grab.

CF: This one we'll have to see. I think Crisp will be faster and better in CF than Damon, but we'll see.

RF: Trot > or = to Sheffield

 

 

Damon's runs are not important. He played for the Red Sox for crying out loud; the only team since the 20's yankees to score 900 plus runs in 3 consecutive seasons. Crisp will be crossing the plate plenty this season IMO.

[ACL BoSox]

Just my opinion. I think Cano is already better then Loretta and Damon has 20 OBP points and Damon scored 31 more runs then him (which some is a product of the linups they are in but Clevelands lineup certainly isnt bad). Crsip also has to prove himself in a pressure situation while Damon has been there done it. That said if you want to make Crisp and Damon equal thats fine. The difference in line ups come down to the huge edges each positon holds. IMO the Yankees own huges edges over the Red Sox at 1B, SS, 3B while the Red Sox only hold one huge edge at DH. That imo makes the Yankee lineup better.

 

 

I disagree with you on Cano being better than Loretta. Loretta played in PetCo park, which is like a mile to each home run marker, so his average is going to dramatically increase coming to Fenway. Not to mention that Loretta has the intagibles, veteran leadership, many All-star appearences, and adds much more defensively than Cano does. And have we not heard of the sophomore slump? Just ask Eric Hinske.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

ramirez is a much superior hitter than matsui plus varitek is a better catcher than posada with the way posada has played the last few years.

UIf you look at the stats, Varitek doesnt hold a MAJOR edge over Posada. He only had 3 more HR's then him. Posada drove in 1 more RBI and Varitek had a 14 point edge on him in OBP. I wouldnt call that a huge edge.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

Defensively? I don't think the Yanks are better in the field at any position right now.

 

Defensively:

 

C: Varitek > Posada

1B: Snow/Youkilis > Giambi

2B: Loretta > Cano

SS: Jeter = Gonz

3B: Lowell = ARod

LF: Manny and Matsui are both bad, unless you expect them to be bad, that's when they make a leaping grab.

CF: This one we'll have to see. I think Crisp will be faster and better in CF than Damon, but we'll see.

RF: Trot > or = to Sheffield

 

 

Damon's runs are not important. He played for the Red Sox for crying out loud; the only team since the 20's yankees to score 900 plus runs in 3 consecutive seasons. Crisp will be crossing the plate plenty this season IMO.

I was talking about hitting.

[guapo34]

Crisp had an OPS+ of 119 last year vs 113 for damon. The number is park adjusted, and Crisp is more likely to get better seeing as hes much younger. OPS+ for Varitek was 125 vs 105 for Posada. The two previous years Posada edged varitek though.

 

As for the ideal lineup for the sox i think its:

 

Youk

Loretta

Ortiz

Manny

Crisp

Nixon

Tek

Lowell

Gonzalez/Cora

 

and you flip Nixon and Lowell against lefties. Nixon isn't as much of a liability against lefties hitting 8th. Youk gets on base more than Crisp and Crisp has more power, so I like him better 5th.

[a700hitter]

Posada has been in a noticeable decline in the last couple of years. I would not expect that to stop.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

I disagree with you on Cano being better than Loretta. Loretta played in PetCo park, which is like a mile to each home run marker, so his average is going to dramatically increase coming to Fenway. Not to mention that Loretta has the intagibles, veteran leadership, many All-star appearences, and adds much more defensively than Cano does. And have we not heard of the sophomore slump? Just ask Eric Hinske.

Cano doesnt have to be a leader on a club with Derek Jeter. The defense argument is flawed because while Loretta might make less errors I believe (I saw this on the web the other day) Loretta's range has declined which is expected at age 35.

[jsinger121]

same here. varitek has only gotten better with age while posada has declined.

[guapo34]

Cano doesnt have to be a leader on a club with Derek Jeter. The defense argument is flawed because while Loretta might make less errors I believe (I saw this on the web the other day) Loretta's range has declined which is expected at age 35.

 

Cano can hit. I'll give you that. But come on, even with never seeing Loretta play 2b, hes gotta be better than Cano. Cano looked awful out there.

[ACL BoSox]

Cano doesnt have to be a leader on a club with Derek Jeter. The defense argument is flawed because while Loretta might make less errors I believe (I saw this on the web the other day) Loretta's range has declined which is expected at age 35.

 

That still doesn't change the fact that Loretta has an edge, maybe not a big one, but an edge on Cano. They will probably match each other offensively, but I still think Loretta handles those hard hit ground balls in the hole better than Cano.

[schillingouttheks]

I can't begin to list how many games Cano lost for the Yankees because of his defense. I'd be thinking for an hour.

 

Batting? Well, we've only seen Cano for one year. We need to see more before we pass judgment.

[jsinger121]

cano did look pathetic out there. i wonder if cano could have been moved to the outfield say like center.

[a700hitter]

That still doesn't change the fact that Loretta has an edge, maybe not a big one, but an edge on Cano. They will probably match each other offensively, but I still think Loretta handles those hard hit ground balls in the hole better than Cano.

Loretta has a proven track record that Cano does not.

[ACL BoSox]

Why would the Yankees do that... they just got Damon...

[KeepTheFaith1229]

I expect Sheff to begin his descent as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, he's 36 now?

[schillingouttheks]

He said "could." I'm pretty sure he was looking back to last year when they didn't have him.

[schillingouttheks]

I expect Sheff to begin his descent as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, he's 36 now?

37* with a damn bad shoulder problem. He was considering retirement as well, if I remember correctly.

 

*Thanks a700hitter.

[jsinger121]

thats what i meant.....cano i think could have handled centerfield

[ACL BoSox]

Don't count on it, outfielders seem to last forever these days.

[guapo34]

I expect Sheff to begin his descent as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, he's 36 now?

 

The decline started 2 years ago actually. His OPS the last year years are:

 

1.023

.927

.891

 

 

While .891 is still very good, its not terrifying like 1.023 is.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

Don't count on it, outfielders seem to last forever these days.

Thank you, no reason to expect Sheffield to decline out of the blue in this day and age. I can make the same argument for Varitek at 34 (4/11) who plays a much gruling position, and Mark Lorretta at age 34.

[jsinger121]

he has had shoulder and knee problems that past few years and with his violent swing i wouldn't expect the shoulder injuries to go away. i would expect the decline to continue.

[a700hitter]

36 with a damn bad shoulder problem. He was considering retirement as well, if I remember correctly.

He turned 37 in November.

[yankeessuck013]

cano did look pathetic out there. i wonder if cano could have been moved to the outfield say like center.

 

I think he is too slow, with that big CF at the stadium there's no way he could've handled it.

[schillingouttheks]

He turned 37 in November.

Oh, whoops. I'll change it then.