Now that we have 6 Red Sox Yankee games behind us we can reflect on how the teams look on paper in mid May.
Catcher: Russell Martin vs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia/Jason Varitek
Advantage: Yankees
This one isn’t even close. Theo has to be banging his head against the wall knowing he missed out on Russell Martin. Niether Varitek nor Salty can throw out any runner, and neither of them can hit. At least Varitek can call games well, but the same can’t be said about Salty. Martin has gone cold, going 1-15 in his last 5 games before the Yankees Red Sox series, but he did blast a home run to tie the game on Friday. Look for Theo to make a move sooner rather than later here.
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez vs. Mark Teixeira
Advantage: Red Sox
Boy am I glad we got Adrian Gonzalez instead of Mark Teixeira. AGon is younger and better than Teixeira. AGon is finally showing off his supreme hitting ability while Teixera continues to struggle.
Second Base: Dustin Pedroia vs. Robinson Cano
Advantage: Yankees
It’s tough for me to say this, but Cano has surpassed Pedroia. Pedroia is still better at defense by a fair margin, but Cano is one of the best hitters in the American League. When Tito was asked who is the best hitter in the Yankee lineup, Tito said without hesitation it is Cano. Both start second basemen are struggling this year, but I’m confident both will bounce back.
Third base: Kevin Youkilis vs. Alex Rodriguez
Advantage: Toss Up
Had Youk been hitting like he usually does in his career I’d give him the nod. But he has been struggling with off speed pitches and striking out a lot. ARod is obviously in a decline, which definitely hurts him a lot. He’s not the ARod of old, which makes this a toss up. I expect Youk to be better by the end of the season, but he’s not the better player now.
Shortstop: Marco Scutaro/Jed Lowrie vs. Derek Jeter
Advantage: Red Sox
It’s hard to believe this used to be a debate. No longer. Lowrie has shined with more playing time and he has canvassed his stellar hitting ability while Jeter has struggled at the plate. Scutaro has been poor so far, but Lowrie has all but taken the starting shortstop role from Scutaro. It’s nice to have a competent shortstop, isn’t it Red Sox fans?
Left Field: Carl Crawford vs. Brett Gardner
Advantage: Red Sox (Barely)
Sure Gardner has been better this year. But Crawford isn’t going to hit below .250 all year. Crawford is still better offensively and defensively. I’d rather have Gardner due to his low cost, but Crawford is still the better player.
Center Field: Tacoby Bellsbury vs. Curtis Granderson
Advantage: Yankees
It’s been very encouraging seeing Ellsbury bounce back and have a stellar 19 game hit streak. But Granderson is still the better player. Granderson has shown some very good power this season, hitting 12 home runs already. His OPS is above .900 and he is playing great defense. I expect Granderson to cool off, but he’s the better player right now.
Right Field: JD Drew vs. Nick Swisher
Advantage: Toss Up
I’m a little shocked about how bad Swisher has been this season. He had a great year last year and most expected him to continue his production. That hasn’t been the case. He’s struggled out of the gate and hasn’t done anything besides anger Yankee fans. JD Drew hasn’t been great like usual, but he’s been better than Swisher this season.
I suspect Theo’s been banging his head about not getting a better catcher, but I have a hard time believing it’s about missing out on Russell Martin. Dating back to April 24, Martin’s 7 for his last 49 (.142 BA). That’s not to say either of the Sox’ catchers have been better than him, but I’m pretty sure the Sox fanbase might have turned south on Martin at this point as well if he’d been hitting at a .142 clip over the past 3 1/2 weeks in a Boston uniform.
Pitchers have an ERA just above 3.70 when throwing to Russell Martin over his career; one of the best of any active catchers. Theo should be banging his head about not signing Martin.
Also, I would prefer Gardner to CC. Gardner has a career .356 OBP. Crawford has a career .334 OBP and had a single season high of .356 in 2010 which could represent an outlier/career year. While CC has more power, Gardner is younger and his higher OBP makes for a better table setter/Lead off man. Their speed is pretty much a draw as is their defense.