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Thread: Yanks v Sox, rivalry renewed

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  1. #1

    Yanks v Sox, rivalry renewed

    This is the first year I have done this in awhile. The Yankees haven’t been favored for anything but mediocrity at the outset since 2013 when they came crashing down and missed the playoffs. After winning the WC and taking the Astros to the brink in the ALCS, they are poised to be true World Series contenders in 2018. With the addition of Stanton (and Drury) and the retention of CC and Tanaka plus full seasons from Kahnle, Gray and KRob, NYY looks ready for bear in a stacked AL.

    The sox won the AL East two years in a row and addressed their biggest needs by bringing back Nunez and bringing in Martinez. They enter 2017 with some health questions with Pedroia and ERod already on the shelf and Price coming back from a year in his elbow after being relegated to relief duty by seasons’ end. If fully healthy, the sox have the squad to win it all as well.

    Projected opening day lineups
    NYY
    1. Gardner LF
    2. Judge RF
    3. Stanton DH
    4. Bird 1B
    5. Sánchez C
    6. Gregorius SS
    7. Hicks CF
    8. Drury 3B
    9. Wade/Torres 2B

    Boston
    1. Benintendi LF
    2. Betts RF
    3. Martinez DH
    4. Ramirez/Moreland 1B
    5. Devers 3B
    6. Bogaerts SS
    7. Nunez 2B
    8. Bradley Jr. CF
    9. Vasquez C
    Hal sucks

  2. #2
    Position to position battles make little sense in determining who has a better lineup. So I’m going to do it based on projected lineup position

    Starting at the leadoff spot. Beni and Gardy. Guys on the polar opposites of their career arcs, yet their production was nearly identical offensively. Both were 20/20 guys, both had reasonable defensive seasons and both had near identical triple slash lines. If they both replicate 2017, then they’re likely to be identical again. I anticipate Beni has more to show going forward. The question is, will Beni progress in year 2. Either way, for now it’s a wash with considerable upside towards boston and the possibility of a drop off for NYY

  3. #3
    Betts vs Judge. It’s like asking for Gold or Gold. Judge had the more impressive offensive season in 2017 and has more OBP and power potential. Betts has the potential for a higher BA and stolen bases. Betts took a step back in 2017 albeit still an all star caliber performer. If you remove defense, Judge has the upper hand assuming he can come close to replicating 2017. I’m going to do the same thing I did with Gardner. This is a wash for 2018 with upside to Judge if he can replicate his superhuman 2017

  4. #4
    JD vs Stanton. JD has been an absolute masher the last three years. Stanton has been the standard for power hitters since he entered the league. Both have injury histories. Both are capable of hitting 40+ HR in their sleep. Stanton is going to a far better hitting environment. JD went from a bad hitting environment to a great one in AZ and now in a great one again in Boston. Both guys project to have similar stat lines. Both should be absolute monsters provided good health in 2018. This is a wash again

  5. #5
    The sox 1b combo vs Bird. This is all about projection when it comes to the heavier hitting part of your platoon vs a healthy Bird. Greg Bird is a masher whose swing is custom tailored to Yankee stadium. Hanley Ramirez is a 30/100 player when healthy, yet he hasn’t been and now he is older. If Bird can stay healthy, he wins this by far. He’s a near .900 OPS guy with 30HR capability. Problem is, he hasn’t been healthy. Well, he is now, for now. I’m gonna give this another wash with Bird getting the upside should he stay healthy and play up to his capability.

  6. #6
    TalkSox Ascended Master mvp 78's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jacksonianmarch View Post
    the sox 1b combo vs bird. This is all about projection when it comes to the heavier hitting part of your platoon vs a healthy bird. Greg bird is a masher whose swing is custom tailored to yankee stadium. Hanley ramirez is a 30/100 player when healthy, yet he hasn’t been and now he is older. If bird can stay healthy, he wins this by far. He’s a near .900 ops guy with 30hr capability. Problem is, he hasn’t been healthy. Well, he is now, for now. I’m gonna give this another wash with bird getting the upside should he stay healthy and play up to his capability.
    lol

  7. #7
    Sánchez vs Devers. This one has the capability of a wash depending on Devers reaching his potential, but Sánchez may not have reached his potential either. Sánchez is a perennial all star hitter with 40HR capability and the ability to hit for a high average. In this lineup with all the firepower above, this one goes to NYY

  8. #8
    Didi vs Bogey. This one used to be closer, but Didi has become what Xander could have been. Didi has been clutch, hits for average, is probably our best contact hitter and has hit 20+ HR two years running. This is solidly in our favor unless Bogaerts remembers who he could have been

  9. #9
    Nunez vs Hicks. This one is an interesting. Hicks finally delivered on his promise last year, but oblique injuries cut his season short. Nunez had a career season as well yet his knee ended his season prematurely. Nunez has more BA capability as well as his running ability. Hicks isn’t a slouch on the bases either. If fully healthy, Hicks has far more offensive capability as a power hitter with a solid eye. Nunez has more of a track record. I’ll take the upside in Hicks, but this one could easily swing Boston’s way if Hicks cannot replicate his awesome, albeit injury shortened 2017

  10. #10
    Drury vs Bradley. Very interesting. Drury is a power hitting infielder who hasn’t seen a full season on offense. He doesn’t walk and strikes out a fair amount, yet has produced solid batting average skills in his two seasons. JBJ has been middling for 2 seasons and awesome for 1.5. When he’s hot, he gets white hot. But his cold stretches offset this significantly. I think these guys wash each other out. Drury is still young and hasn’t played a full season yet. He’s got 20+ HR potential. JBJ has proven more to be a 15HR kind of guy who cannot hold an average, yet can show solid on base capability. Both guys have upside depending on how long Bradley stays hot vs if Drury takes off in the power department.

  11. #11
    The 9 spot.

    Vasquez overperformed offensively. He’s never been a great offensive performer and I don’t anticipate he ever will. His .348 BABIP shows he’s likely headed for a .250ish BA. The Yankees have Wade and Torres. Anything for NYY at this point is projection. But both guys have talent. Wade is a speedster capable of stealing 30 bases and hitting for a high average. Torres is a future #2 hitter with high BA/OBP capabilities with growing power as a mid 20s HR guy. This isn’t a wash. I’ll take the Yanks uncertain yet talented 2b over a Vazquez who will likely hit .250 with no power or OBP.

  12. #12
    Deity moonslav59's Avatar
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    The AL East is back to being the toughest division in MLB... IMO.

  13. #13
    Resident Old Fart Spudboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moonslav59 View Post
    The AL East is back to being the toughest division in MLB... IMO.
    I like this kind of talk Moon. I consider a strong AL East to be a normal state.

    I doubt that the Jays, Os, and Rays will compete for a playoff spot but good luck to any team trying to beat them routinely.
    "Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.


    "It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."

  14. #14
    El mar no cesa iortiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moonslav59 View Post
    The AL East is back to being the toughest division in MLB... IMO.
    Totally agreed.
    Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz & Boston Red Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by a700hitter View Post
    In the words of Don Corleone when he slaps a crying Johnny Fontaine: "Act like a man!" No, offense ladies.

  15. #15
    Legend
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    Quote Originally Posted by moonslav59 View Post
    The AL East is back to being the toughest division in MLB... IMO.
    For what it's worth, FanGraphs projects these combined WAR totals for each division:

    AL East: 200.0
    AL Central: 146.5
    AL West: 192.2

    NL East: 157.3
    NL Central: 185.9
    NL West: 181.9

    https://www.fangraphs.com/depthchart...n=ALL&teamid=3

    Perhaps this is the year that the AL East will live up to the annual refrain that it's the toughest division in baseball.

    Or not.

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