The AL East is regarded by most as the toughest division in baseball, and there’s good reason.
The powerhouses, otherwise known as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox reside there, as well as the young and exciting Tampa Bat Rays, and the up and coming Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles.
With the competition for the AL East crown beginning to form, lets take a look at those who will have the biggest impact on their teams success.
The New York Yankees lost their first spring training game to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, after a late rally opportunity was wasted.
Trailing by what would prove to be the final score, New York had the tying run on third and the winning run on first with only one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, Brandon Laird struck out, and then Kevin Russo grounded to shortstop to end the threat, and the game.
Bartolo Colon started for the Yankees, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in two innings of work. Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson followed with scoreless innings before prospect David Phelps was knocked around in his lone inning of work, allowing a pair of runs on three hits.
Another of the Yankees pitching prospects, Hector Noesi, allowed two hits in two shutout innings before Eric Wordekemper allowed a pair of runs and the loss for New York.
The Yankees offense came alive primarily from the bats of Jorge Vazquez, Mark Teixeria and Fransisco Cervelli. Vazquez hit the Yankees only home run, a two-run shot that gave New York the lead in the seventh inning. Teixeira and Cervelli each provided RBI doubles.
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New York first baseman Mark Teixeira killed any thought the Yankees (or more likely, some Yankees fans) might have had about including him in a trade that would land Albert Pujols in pinstripes.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Teixeira said when asked about the possibility of his being included in a trade. “I got that no-trade for a reason. I’m going to be buried in these pinstripes.”
Good for Teixeira, who has been a guy who has embraced everything about being a Yankee from the moment he showed up in New York, and perhaps even longer than that.
More importantly, good for the Yankees. Is Albert Pujols a better player than Mark Teixeira right now? Yes, he is. Is there enough of a gap between the two to justify the massive difference between Tex’s current deal (six-year and about $140 million remaining) and what will likely be required to sign Pujols (nine-10 years for at least $250-275 million)? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Just think of what the Yankees could do with that extra $110-135 million, all while continuing to enjoy the benefits provided by the guy who is perhaps the best all-around first baseman in the American League.
The Yankees have plenty of needs right now, especially for a team that invests the resources they do, but first base ain’t one of them.
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New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has replaced his agent, Bobby Barad, with high-powered sports agent Scott Boras.
Cano finished third in AL MVP voting in 2010 and was awarded the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
Scott Boras is the founder, owner and president of the Boras Corporation, which represents about 175 professional baseball clients. Boras represents fellow Yankees Mark Teixeira and Rafael Soriano, and other big names around the majors such as Matt Holliday, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Beltran and Jered Weaver.
He is also the former agent of Alex Rodriguez and negotiated both of A-Rod’s record-breaking contracts, as well as some other massive contracts around the league.
So what does this mean for the Yankees now that Boras will be representing Cano?
The Yankees will look forward to a painful and frustrating negotiation over Cano’s next contract. The 2011 season is the final year on Cano’s previous contract, but the Yankees have options for $10 million and $14 million in 2012 and 2013. Should the Yankees choose to exercise these options, and they will, then the negotiations will begin soon after the deal is over.
If Cano can keep up his outstanding production from the first six years of his career, he will be in line for a hefty raise, and Boras will make sure he gets it. Of course, the Steinbrenners will have the money to make this deal, and of course, they need to sign Cano when his contract is up, but this is part of the reason the Yankees will be digging into their farm system over the next few seasons.
When Cano is up for a new deal, the Yankees will still be paying the enormous contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter. Many teams in the MLB have payrolls for their entire team that come out to less money than the Yankees will be paying these guys in each of the next few seasons. Adding whatever deal Cano will be asking for to the pile will be overkill for the Yankees.
The fans will suffer from Boras taking over as Cano’s agent as well. Like I mentioned before, Boras has negotiated some of the largest contracts in Major League Baseball’s history. Some of these contracts are the reasons why ticket prices have skyrocketed around the league, especially at Yankee Stadium.
A higher payroll leads to a higher need for income, therefore ticket prices, as well as concession and souvenir prices, will continue to increase as long as contracts keep breaking new barriers.
I am not here to argue for a salary cap. There will never be one in baseball. But the way things are going, the middle class will be struggling to attend baseball games and fans will only be able to express themselves in the streets and in front of televisions.
One can only imagine what prices will be like at Yankee Stadium by 2014; a reality that many fans will be dreading.
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Over the next two weeks, I’ll examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis.
The players at each position will be ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.
Today, the series continues with a look at the first basemen.
If anybody has got it made in the game of baseball today, it’s Albert Pujols. He is currently the hot topic of debate in the newspapers, on websites, on television, and even in conversation. He’s currently entering the final year of his current contra – as if you all didn’t already know that – and he’s contemplating on taking his unmatched skill elsewhere.
Pujols has declared that he will not negotiate a contract extension with the Cardinals after the onset of Spring Training, and has said that he will use his no-trade clause to veto any potential trades that may be executed midseason.
Even if the Cardinals don’t entice Pujols with what he feels is a respectable offer prior to the season, they are far from out of the hunt. Frequent big money spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox are currently not in the market for a heavy hitting first basemen, as they have Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez, respectively.
Although Gonzalez is not currently under contract for more than this 2011 season, it is assumed around the league that the Sox will retain him for most of the near future.
The Cardinals would most likely have to compete with the Cubs (Carlos Pena is only under contract for this season), Blue Jays (you never know with Alex Anthopolous), Dodgers (if they part with James Loney), and Angels (if Kendry Morales shifts to the DH position).
Pure speculation on my part, as other teams will surely be in the mix. From the teams mentioned above, I see the Angels with the most legitimate shot at Pujols, but again, pure speculation.
If Pujols was smart, though, he’d stay right where he is in St. Louis.
He has that city in the palm of his hand. Albert Pujols is a baseball god to Cardinals fans, fans who are very educated about their past baseball heroes. If he continues his career in St. Louis, he could realistically lead the franchise in just about every career offensive category.
That’s saying something. There have been tons of great players in Cardinals history, and to be considered amongst them is a true honor.
Even though they may be expecting somewhat of a home town discount, the Cardinals will stay pay Pujols a large chunk of change. Although he’s never had a reason to be hated, accepting a smaller contract to play for his current team would only boost his popularity.
Baseball needs another one-team superstar, and being one of them would enhance his popularity even more. Players today just don’t stay with one team anymore, as they are always interested in “testing the market.” Money speaks in today’s game and hopefully Pujols chooses not to listen.
As good as Pujols is, and he’s really good, there is always an adjustment period when playing for a new club. Optimistically, he’d love for those new team jitters to get played out in Spring Training, but you never know what could happen.
Realistically, it won’t lead to that much of a drop in his production because, well, he’s Albert Pujols, but fans love to see newly acquired players produce. If he stumbles out of the gate, he may be in for one heck of a tenure with his new team.
Do I want Pujols to stay? Yes, I most certainly do.
Do I think he will? It’s very tough to gauge it at this point.
He seems very serious at this point, and a serious player is a dangerous player. Look out for Albert this season, as he’s motivated and playing for that next contract.
As if pitchers needed to worry any more about him.
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Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one by one until the Top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.
Mark Teixeira has displayed impressive consistency and durability over the last three seasons, posting no less than 100 runs, 30 HRs and 100 RBI each year while missing a total of just 15 games.
Normally a .300 hitter (.306, .308, .292 from 2007 to 2009), the Yankees first baseman hit a career-low .256 in 2010. Most will point to his “unlucky” .268 BABIP to explain his 2010 shortcoming, and while that may be partially to blame, there may be other factors involved as well.
Teixeira has seemingly changed his swing in recent years, as a noticeable trend has surfaced in his batted ball rates:
Fly-Ball Rate
Likewise, his line-drive rate has decreased in recent seasons:
Line-Drive Rate
High fly-ball rates in addition to low line-drive rates generally yield below-average (supposedly “unlucky”) batting averages on balls in play, and thus, low batting averages. This case is an example of that.
Even his above-average plate discipline has declined in recent seasons, judging by the increase in his strikeout rate:
Strikeout Rate
While it’s reasonable to expect a bounce-back 2011 in terms of batting average, these patterns are especially discouraging. Teixeira is entering next season at age 31; draft with caution.
| PA | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | |
| 2010 stats | 712 | 113 | 33 | 108 | 0 | .256 |
| Three-year average | 701 | 106 | 35 | 117 | 1 | .285 |
| 2011 FBI Forecast | 690 | 105 | 34 | 115 | 1 | .270 |
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS
Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ 2011 Big Board:
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With Boston’s offseason spending spree and Tampa Bay’s everything-must-go jumble sale, one can make a pretty good stab at how the AL East will play out in 2011.
The Yankees and Red Sox will fight it out for the top spot, the Blue Jays and Rays will compete for third and fourth and the Orioles will still languish at the bottom.
Obviously, any of the bottom three could make a run to the postseason as the Rays did in 2008, but it would be a staggering turnaround.
At first glance, this article may appear overloaded with players from Boston and New York but bear in mind, there is a simple reason they will be the favorites for the AL pennant: they have the best players.
If the O’s had more players on this list, they would not have had 13 consecutive losing seasons.
When fans, analysts, and experts alike begin to determine a player’s value, defense is often second nature. It doesn’t jump off the back of a baseball card like Albert Pujols’ home run totals, Ryan Howard’s RBI totals, or Jose Reyes’ stolen bases. However, defense is a crucial part of the game of baseball. It makes great offensive players elite, and players who lack the offensive wherewithall a positive outlook on their game.
So, how do you go about ranking the best defensive players in baseball?
It’s no simple task. First, you must take into consideration that not every player plays the same position. A second baseman, for example, must make all the routine plays with ease, and provide good range to both his left and right side, and have the cunning to make up one half of a double play combination. An outfielder, on the other hand, must have a bevy of tools at his disposal, including range, skill with the glove, athleticism, and a strong arm. How do you rate one over the other?
A second challenge is the number of SABRmetric statistics that the baseball world has to offer, or more directly, their inaccuracy. For example, Juan Pierre’s Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) is one of the best in the game, but the man has no arm and couldn’t throw out a runner if his life depended on it. Combined with any normal statistics, like fielding percentage and errors, and it is hard to get an accurate measure, so those have been taken with a grain of salt.
Finally, the recipient of the Gold Glove Award will have absolutely no measure on a player’s positioning in the rankings. While it shows that a player has earned respect for his defense, the Gold Glove Award is voted on by a number of different players and coaches, and does not provide an accurate measure of a player’s defense. I think Derek Jeter, while a great defensive shortstop, winning the award this year over Elvis Andrus is a perfect example.
So how were the rankings calculated? I took into consideration a number of different things. For the first and maybe last time, stats did not play a large role in my rankings. While I looked at and evaluated things like fielding percentage, UZR, runs saved, and errors, I found that defense is hard to put on the back of a baseball card. One of the things that played a large part in my ranking was longevity. I didn’t exclude any young defensive wizards like Andrus, but veterans got a big thumbs up. I also looked at a player’s “tools,” so arm strength and range were also big factors.
So, without any more of a drawn out explanation, here are the 30 greatest defensive players in the MLB today.
Cast your minds back two years. Philadelphia had just won the World Series; New York had finished third in the AL East; CC Sabathia was a hero in Milwaukee; Cincinnati, San Diego and Atlanta were irrelevant and Angels slugger Mark Teixeira was about to sign a blockbuster deal with Boston.
How things have changed.
Seemingly from nowhere, the Yankees reminded everyone why they were the Yankees and signed Teixeira to an eight-year/$180m deal. They also landed Sabathia and AJ Burnett, although they might like to forget about the latter.
18 months later, the new-look bombers were the World Champions; the Reds, Padres and Braves were amongst the best teams in baseball and Boston was desperately patching their team together with Minor Leaguers.
Losing Teixeira – especially after being so close to landing him – was a cataclysmic blow for the Red Sox and, in particular, the ownership and front office. It made Red Sox Nation doubt John Henry’s willingness to spend the money and further mistrust Theo Epstein’s ability to handle the free agent market.
Now, it looks as if all is well in Boston – at first base, at least.
With Adrian Gonzalez donning a Boston uniform in 2011, the Red Sox have gotten back much of what they lost in Teixeira.
Next year looks like it could be another great one in the storied Sox-Yanks rivalry. And when people compare the teams, they will focus specifically on first base.
It is reported that Boston and Gonzalez have reached an agreement on a seven-year extension worth $154 million. If that is the case, we will not find out until April, so that the Red Sox can avoid the luxury tax. For the sake of argument, and in the absence of any other figure, let’s go with that.
With both teams set up at the position for at least six years with very similar players, the question will be: who is better? And by extension, did it all work out better in the end for the Sox?
Let’s start with the basics: Both are multiple-Gold Glove-winning first basemen, with the ability to hit for both average and power, playing in ballparks very well-suited to their respective swings.
Teixeira will be 31 next season, Gonzalez will be 29, so both were 28 when they were acquired by their respective teams.
Both will have eight-year contracts, but Adrian will average $20m a year whilst his pinstriped colleague will make $22.5m. Slight difference, but it does add up to a rather significant $20 million over the life of the deal.
As for the numbers, they are very close to one another. Teixeira has played three more years at the Major League level and each season has been outstanding. In his last seven seasons he has clocked up 30 HRs and 100 RBIs and has finished in the top 20 in the MVP race five times. Last year, he had the worst average of his career, hitting .256, but he still slugged 33 homers and collected 108 ribbies.
In the last four years, Gonzalez has averaged 161 games, 34 HRs, 105 RBIs and a .284/.377/.517 line.
Over the same span, Teixeira has averaged 151 GP, 34 HRs, 114 RBIs and a .290/.389/.539 line.
Remarkably similar stats, but then we get to the biggest plus for Adrian Gonzalez.
Whilst Teixeira was putting those up those numbers (for the last two years in particular) in good hitting parks, Gonzalez has been playing at Petco, which is renowned for being incredibly pitcher-friendly.
Also, he was batting in a lineup of weak hitters, unlike Tex. Frankly, if anyone batting cleanup for the New York Yankees does not drive in 100 runs, he should be in the Minors.
The last two seasons, Gonzalez’ OPS+ (which is adjusted to account for the ballparks in which they play) is 157. Teixeira’s is 133.
One big plus for Tex is that he is a switch hitter. He would have been wonderfully suited to Fenway Park. However, he is also well-built for the sandbox that is New Yankee Stadium. If one were to move him to the Fens, his numbers would be very similar.
Adrian Gonzalez on the other hand, has put up very comparable stats in Petco. Move him to Fenway – as a left-handed hitter with great opposite-field power – and his numbers could improve drastically.
In all fairness, it is very hard to choose between the two, especially when we are yet to see Gonzalez play in his new stadium.
However, if his offense improves to the degree most people expect, one would have to say that it all worked out for the best for the Red Sox.
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