jacksonianmarch

As we all know, the writers and award givers don't look at stats aside from errors and webgems. Thats about it. Ellsbury has always been dinged for taking bad routes to the ball, which requires him to dive so often.

Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda are going to be very good pitchers and the other two guys are good prospects as well. I actually think that the White Sox got ripped off in the Peavy deal since they get to pay the three most expensive yrs on his contract and he hasnt been full healthy in 2-3 seasons.

Its interesting that things progressed along these lines. Cashman comes out and says that we are not in the running for Matsui since he's a full time DH then we go out and pursue a guy who really can only play DH, relieve Tex in a pinch, and be an emergency LFer. Now I loved Matsui, but with Tex, ARod, Posada, Swisher, Granderson, and Cano, we have plenty of hitters capable of hitting 20+ homers on a consistent basis. Then you have guys who hit double digits in Melky and Jeter. Now, I am not saying Johnson couldnt do that in this ballpark, but he brings a different dimension to this entirely. A guy who, for his career, has a .402OBP, really ups the ante offensively. If we put him in the 2 hole, we are talking about a guy who will make contact pretty frequently and will walk a ton right in front of Tex and ARod. The other good thing is that, although he is a pretty big guy, he isnt a complete waste on the basepaths. He's below average, but he isnt Molina or Teixeira slow. Putting those two guys at the top of the order and moving Granderson to a power hitters slot in the lineup (6 hole) would be absolutely deadly. Man. I love that lineup

Player A: 1401IP 1280H 590ER 426BB 1330K 3.79ERA 1.21WHIP 8.5K/9IP 3.1K/BB .242BAA .692OPSA Player B: 1501IP 1519H 636ER 441BB 1201K 3.81ERA 1.31WHIP 7.2K/9IP 2.7K/BB .263BAA .719OPSA Player A has by far better peripherals and has two world series rings to Player B's 1. Also, in those two world series runs, Player A was probably the MVP of the team in the postseason. Obviously, Player A is Beckett. AND, Lackey is coming off two yrs in which he had arm issues and didnt reach 200IP. Beckett, OTOH, has reached 200IP 3 of the last 4 yrs and his injury history has been oblique, blisters, and back. And, Beckett will hit the market a yr younger

My guess is that Adrian is dying to win. If the Angels ponied up to the table and made an offer, I am sure he'll talk about how much he would love to play there.

You are making a pretty strong assumption my friend. Beckett has a bit more of a track record, and unlike Lackey, when Beckett is on, he is one of the top 2 or 3 pitchers in the AL along with CC and Verlander. I have a hard time believing that Beckett doesnt top the century mark.

its not baiting. Its true. It was very peaceful here. No fights occured.

Picking that sample size is like scooping out the slumps from a ballplayer and presenting them as great. Baseball is about peaks and valleys.

.865, .849, .871, .948. Three of those are above average for 1b's. The last one is stellar.

You are talking one season and you are talking two players who are pretty far apart in ability. As good as Gonzo was for 2009, Cabrera is light yrs ahead of him in ability and reputation IMO.

Did I say he was done? I said he shouldnt be counted on as a middle of the order bat

How about Teixeira

Going sheerly by statistics, that combination at the top will put 1st and 2nd on to lead off a game every 6 games or so.

There are a few guys who fit inbetween the two. Gonzalez has had one really good yr, and that was 2009. Cabrera has been a top hitter for yrs

Dipre, as much as you would like to pretend that he wasnt, Ortiz was a bad DH last yr. Yes, he finished the yr strong, but great hitters who succumb to time do not typically fall off a cliff. They slump more than usual, their bat gets a little longer, they dont cover the plate as well as they used to. Even when Papi was hitting last season, he could not hit a hard fastball. That was never a problem for him. When he was murdering us in 2004 and 2005, you couldnt get a fastball by him. Now, you just throw a fastball. No breaking pitches anymore since he's got a slider speed bat. Its obvious. Now, there are plenty of guys who are older on the yankees. Some of them ancient. But none have shown that dip in production. Posada had his 4th best season of his career, Jeter had his second or third best, ARod, had another .900+OPS season even with his hip being a problem early on, and Rivera was still pumping it into the mid 90s for most of the season. Father time will hit them eventually. They cannot all play until they are 45 at a high level. But, all of them are in peak shape and currently all of them are coming off good seasons and are fully healthy. Ortiz isnt. He's coming off wrist and knee injuries and last yr he looked like a sloth in the batters box. To deflect that is ignorant. Also, Dipre, I see that your "flair" is coming back. Thats both good and bad. Your vacation from here was actually a peaceful time on the board, but when you arent hurling insults, you contribute a lot. Welcome back, hopefully it doesnt degenerate again

father time already hit Ortiz last yr.

The sox biggest problem down the stretch was a hot and cold, lackluster offense. They'd go on 5 game tears where they'd score 45 runs, then go 4 games scoring 6 runs. That lineup is solid 1-4, although Martinez isnt a great #3 hitter. He'd probably be better in the 5 or 6 hole. Youkilis is fine in the cleanup role. But Ortiz in the middle of the order is a problem since he was pretty bad last yr and will be a yr older, and Drew needs to have a run producer behind him since he walks so much.

You'd see a lot of this... Drew takes 7 pitches and walks Cameron strikes out on 3 pitches Kotchmann grounds to 1st Scutaro pops up.

If the sox put THAT lineup out there while waiting until midseason for a trade, they will be so far behind in the division that any deal they make won't help them in the AL East. And with Seattle improving, that lineup would put them behind the 8 ball in the WC as well.

It is an option because it doesnt open up as many holes in the trade. I get your point, but it would be prudent for the sox to hold back a season if they think the price is too high

Wait, so Lowell is considered gone? Is this really the lineup... 1. Ellsbury CF 2. Pedroia 2B 3. Martinez C 4. Youkilis 3B 5. Ortiz DH 6. Drew RF 7. Cameron LF 8. Kotchmann 1B 9. Scutaro SS Thats not a very good lineup

the price comes down and your prospects' stock could get higher

Now that would be some lineup. Where would they all fit? I would guess that Johnson would slot into the #2 hole in the order... 1. Jeter SS 2. Johnson DH 3. Teixeira 1B 4. Rodriguez 3B 5. Posada C 6. Granderson CF 7. Swisher RF 8. Cano 2B 9. Cabrera/Gardner LF Thats a dynamite lineup. Make it happen.