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Since Cliff Lee teamed up with Cole Hamels in Philly, the Phils now feature a great 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. Two very good left-handed pitchers, both with great seasons behind them, and much greatness left in front of them. They make up what is easily one of the best in the game.  And come playoff time, that matters a lot.

So I decided to take it upon myself to rank the five best "1-2's" in the game. And there are plenty of good ones, so it was difficult to narrow it down to just the five. I could have gone ten deep with this post...

The five best 1-2's are:

Tim Lincecum/Matt Cain: Lincecum is arguably the best pitcher in the game. A great righty, short in stature, large at heart--and in the numbers. Lincecum has posted the highest 'WAR' in baseball the past two seasons with an awesome 14.8 (among pitchers). In addition to that, he also has the lowest FIP, and the lowest ERA.  Lincecum is definitely the better of the two, but his counterpart can hold his own, without a doubt.

Matt Cain, as mentioned, is the second best pitcher in the Bay area. But that is no knock on Cain. His FIP doesn't match up well with his ERA, meaning he may see a small jump in that eventually. But young pitchers are always learning how to pitch, and Cain will only get better, it seems. Cain's 'WAR' the past two years is only 6.6, which is really good. But it falls well, well short of Lincecum's.

Josh Beckett/Jon Lester: Josh Beckett, the every-other-year wonder. He makes it look so awesome, so prolific when he is on. And when he is on, I may want no other pitcher in baseball on the mound. With that being said, he hasn't been great the entire time, just most of the time he has spent in Boston, post-2006 of course. When things are going well, Beckett has command of two nasty breaking balls, the four-seamer, and what can be an unhittable two-seamer at times.

Lester is as good as ever. Even though his ERA may not indicate he was much better than last year, trust me he is. He has become a dominant strikeout pitcher who is a little less reliant on his porous defense. His 10.3 'WAR' is less than Beckett's 11, but Lester isn't much different in terms of results than Beckett. This season, Lester has over ten K's a game, to less than three walks.

Yea, the guy is good. I know.

Cole Hamels/Cliff Lee: The aforementioned left-handed duo. I can tell you what, no one wants to face this pair come playoff time. You know how you always feel uncomfortable when a lefty is on the mound? Yes, I do as well. Just imagine having to see these guys in a short series, both being left handed. But not only left-handed, also great.

Hamels has been somewhat unlucky, but isn't exactly having a year that tops last season either. His 'WAR,'
again, over the past two seasons is 6.6, actually tied with Cain. So while he hasn't been dominant of late, it is probably just because of luck, and possibly being worked hard in 2008.

Cliff Lee is a bonafide ace. He was the Cy Young winner of course last season, in the superior AL. And ever since his arrival to the weaker NL, he's been carving up the competition. His WAR is third only behind Lincecum's and Halladay's. Command is Lee's specialty, as he will not overpower you. And he "commands" very well...

CC Sabathia/AJ Burnett: CC Sabathia is one of the five best pitchers in all of baseball.  And his WAR helps prove that, finishing 4th in that category.  CC really broke out in 2007, having a Cy Young caliber season.  2006 was good too, but people really took notice in 07.'  The lefty is the real deal, and is showing everyone why the money was spent on him, rather than not.

AJ Burnett hasn't had many great seasons.  But his WAR is very good over the past couple of years.  I was never a supporter of Burnett being an "Ace,"  but he has pitched very well, under the lights in New York--something that not everyone can handle well.  CC is the main reason this tandem is so high, but Burnett is definitely a good pitcher.

Dan Haren/Brandon Webb: I know that Webb is hurt, but just last season these two were arguably the best 1-2 in the game.  Different styles, but both use an array of pitches to get batters out.  I guess with the injury to Webb, we can place Haren in the number one slot.  But in fairness to Webb, he was truly great.  And hopefully he can get back into form someday.

Haren is underrated, maybe the most underrated in the game.  His transition from a pitchers park in Oakland to a hitters park in Arizona has probably gone better than any scout could imagine.

Duo's that just missed:

Javier Vazquez/Jair Jurrjens

John Danks/Mark Beurhle

Chris Carpenter/Adam Wainwright

Zack Greinke/Gil Meche

Justin Verlander/Edwin Jackson

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Jarrod Washburn was having a heck of a season up in the northwest of Seattle.  An ERA+ of 164.  An FIP well under 4.00.  It was an unlikely occurrence, given his lack of greatness in recent seasons.  But it was a welcomed occurrence on his part, for who wouldn't want to have a good year?

Washburn was then moved to Detroit, a team in contention, for a return of a few young, semi-promising players.  And since that day, he has been struggling.

A 6.04 ERA.

But what is the reason?  Is Washburn finally regressing back to himself?  Or is it simply a guy adjusting to a new environment? After all, he is human right?  He is not the FIP-bot, or robo-ERA man.  He is a dude learning a new life, in a new city.  The sampling is much too small to begin with.  But the struggles have still been there.

Not sure of the reason, but Washburn seems to be having issues on a team that went out and acquired him based on the notion that he'd help them get over the hump in the AL Central.

And so far, he hasn't accomplished that, not even close.

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As you may have heard, Marco Scutaro is going to be a free agent after the season.  And he will be sought after by multiple teams looking to shore up the shortstop position.  But if a team decides to ink Scutaro to a multi-year deal, what exactly will they be getting?

If you follow baseball astutely, then you probably understand that this would be a career year for the Blue Jays shortstop.  A guy that has never posted an OPS+ greater than 96, all of a sudden posts one that is 118.  A hitter that was basically league-average in the category of getting on base, all of a sudden reaches base well over 38 percent of the time.  And a player, Scutaro, that has never Slugged over .400, now sits with a .442 Slugging percentage.

That would be defined as a career year, my friends.

And all this comes at age 33.  Meaning it is not likely to repeat itself, not to this degree anyway.

But hey, I am not getting on Scutaro.  Good for him.  I am glad to see someone experiencing success late in their career.  I just wonder whether or not it will be sustained, even for another year.

See, players at the age of 33 don't generally learn the game, and take their game to another level.  They don't typically become 5 'WAR' players, when they have never topped anything over 2.7.  So forgive me, I may end up being wrong.  But I just don't think Scutaro will ever come close to repeating this performance.

Here are hiw 'WAR' totals since 2002:

-0.1, 0.3, -0.3, 1.6, 1.0, 0.2, 2.7, 4.7

There is an outlier there.  And of course it is 2009.  Marco can probably be that player of 2008, the one with the 2.7 'WAR.'  But to ask him to be a star, as he has been this year, is simply asking too much.

One aspect of his 'WAR' that is much improved--along with his bat.  Is his defense.  He has been mediocre with the glove, according to UZR, his entire career while manning short.  But this season in 115 games, his UZR sits at a pretty 7.6.  Is it actually better?  Or is it a flaw in the metric?  I really don't know the answer to that, for I am not a scout, and I do not watch the Blue Jays enough to evaluate an individual defender.

If a team, say the Red Sox, is interested in Scutaro this off-season, then be aware.  Be aware of what he might revert to.  It wouldn't be a bad signing by any means, but the price and length have to be looked at long and hard.

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Since UZR has been looked at as "suspect" recently, with it's grade on Mark Teixeira.  Here are the top five at each position over the past three seasons.  And three seasons is much better than one...

1B:  Albert Pujols, Casey Kotchman, Kevin Youkilis, Todd Helton, Lyle Overbay.

Does anyone dispute that?  Pujols has been regarded as the best defensive 1B in the game for a few years now.  Kotchman is notorious for being a powerless wiz with the glove.  Youkilis is solid, albeit unspectacular, and really doesn't make many errors at all at first.  Helton and Overbay both have been known to flash the leather.  I do think Tex is of quality on the defensive side.  But I am no scout either.  He makes plays look great, but are they great plays?  I'm sure some of them are...

2B:  Chase Utley, Brandon Phillips, Mark Ellis, Dustin Pedroia, Placido Polanco.

Utley is going to go down as one of the best 2B ever, and his defense has a lot to do with it--whether the casual fan knows about it or not.  Phillips has the rep.  Ellis is kind of like a lesser Derek Jeter, that has always been the better defender with respect to position.  Pedroia is a good defender, and Polanco has that same reputation.  More sure handed, then rangy I've heard on Polanco.

3B:  Ryan Zimmerman, Pedro Feliz, Rolen, Inge, Beltre.

If there is evidence that UZR is legit over a three year sample, then this is the position that should be used as an example.  Zimmerman is probably the best of the bunch now, although it's very close, and disputable.  Feliz was the best just a few years ago.  Rolen may be the greatest of all time, if not, then top three.  Although I really cannot name anyone other than Schmidt that would be in that top three.  Inge, although qualifying as a catcher too, is a great defender who never hit much until this season.  And Beltre's greatest strength has been his glove.  Yes, hacking away wasn't Beltre's strength.

SS:  JJ Hardy, Jimmy Rollins, Jack Wilson, Troy Tulowitzki, Orlando Cabrera

Hardy being the best in UZR over a three year period kind of gives me the urge to acquire him to field SS with the Red Sox.  I knew he was capable, but did not know that he led the league in UZR over this stretch.  Rollins looks slick in the field, so the metric backs that up.  Jack Wilson is notorious for his glove-work.  Tulo, ditto.  And O-Cab was good before this year, when he has seemingly taken a decline on defense.

RF:  Randy Winn, Austin Kearns, Alex Rios, JD Drew, Jeff Francouer

Well, Winn apparently gets the job done.  Kearns doesn't look the part, but I have never heard anything bad about his defense.  Rios is a guy that could play center, as he will in Chicago, it seems.  Drew has the range, and gets good jumps.  But he doesn't seem to field ground balls well, something that doesn't apply much to an outfielder anyway.  And Drew definitely doesn't won't run through a wall for you, or even lay out very often.  Francouer has a cannon for an arm.  If he could learn to lay off a pitch, or two, then he would be a fine player--maybe.

CF:  BJ Upton, Coco Crisp, Carlos Beltran, Aaron Rowand, Mike Cameron

Upton likes to make his plays look good, but I never questioned his brilliant range.  Crisp is awesome when healthy out in center.  Beltran too.  Rowand will actually run through a wall for his team, and seems to be a great teammate.  He is actually higher than I might have thought thought, based on what I have heard recently.  Mike Cameron is known for his defensive prowess as well.

LF:  Matt Holliday, Carl Crawford, Alfonso Soriano, Josh Willingham, Carlos Lee.

This is simply a lack of fielders that qualify.  Holliday above Crawford though?  Maybe the Red Sox will look at Holliday to improve their sub-par defense, as Bay is not good out there.  But Holliday will probably command too much on the open market.  Crawford is great, and could probably play center if given another opportunity.  Soriano is surprising because he seems to make some blunders.  Both Willingham and Lee are pretty terrible, but only nine left fielders qualify.  They are both well into the negatives.  If I were to change the minimum innings requirements, then Eric Byrnes and Fred Lewis would take their spots.

So there you have it.  UZR for the past three seasons.  Much greater, and more reliable then simply looking at this season.  If you are wondering, Tex falls in 7th among 18 qualifying first baseman.  So yes, he is an above average defender at first, but he might not be great.

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I don't want to beat the subject down anymore, as Joe Posnanski does that on a daily basis.  But Joe Mauer hit two more homers, and had three more hits yesterday.  One homer to straight away center, and the other to left center.  He is batting .383, and he's a catcher.  Poz's message board is scattered with people saying that up until now, this is probably the greatest season by a catcher of all time.  An OPS+ north of 190, he's a catcher, Slugging over .600, he's a catcher.  Well, you must get my point by now.

After all those numbers suggesting he is easily the MVP, we find out that Joe Morgan is off base again.  In a chat yesterday, which I went back and read out of boredom, Joe Morgan said something I didn't agree with (what a surprise). I don't mean to bash the guy to simply bash him, but I felt that this was off base.  Here's what he said:

"I can't call him the best player, because it's hard for a catcher to be the best player. The reason I say that is that he's not the best defensive catcher in the game and he doesn't run as well as some of the other players. But he's definitely the best catcher in the game. And he's not better than Albert Pujols. However, Mauer is an unbelieveable talent. We've never had a catcher win a batting title before. Now he's on to his, what?, 2nd or 3rd batting title? He is by far the best hitter in the league. But as an MVP, the Twins might finish 3rd or 4th in their division."

So Joe can't call Mauer the best player because he is a "catcher?"  This is subjective once again.   See, Morgan was the best player on a great Reds team that one two World Series rings in the mid-70's.  Yes, he was better than Johnny Bench.  Joe was a great defender at an up-the-middle position, who stole a ton of bases, hit for power, got on base a bunch.  He could very well be the best second baseman of all time.

So anyway, Morgan was better than Bench.  He could do more on a baseball field, his career WARP1 is significantly higher.  I seriously would not be surprised if this is where this all comes from.  Morgan saw firsthand that he was better than his catcher.  Result:  This conclusion.

Maybe I am off base in this regard, but it wouldn't be entirely unlikely.

"He doesn't run as well as some of the other players."

Okay, but just last season he was 2oth in base-running according to BP.  Although this season, he isn't even in the top 100.  But he isn't a poor base-runner by any means.  He may not run as well as Jacoby Ellsbury, but that isn't really what Joe Mauer does that makes him so valuable.

"We've never had a catcher win a batting title before. Now he's on to his, what?, 2nd or 3rd batting title? He is by far the best hitter in the league. But as an MVP, the Twins might finish 3rd or 4th in their division."

So he is by far the best hitter in the league?  But he isn't the best player because he is a catcher?  Morgan doesn't understand positional adjustment whatsoever.  Joe Mauer is a catcher, he gets points for simply being able to be a catcher.  Kind of like how Jeter or Hanley get points for simply being ****.  They field the position well enough to play it--although it may not be quality defense, they aren't so horrendous that they absolutely must be moved off the position, like BJ Upton had to be.  But Joe Mauer, by all accounts, and all that has been said, is actually a really good defensive catcher.  He is a great athlete, and constantly has to work with young pitchers, and does pretty well at it, outside of this season.  But again, that may not be Mauer's fault at all.  It may be the actual pitchers simply not faring well.

As for the MVP part of that quote?  Well, that is Morgan's opinion.  I personally do not feel that a player should be excluded from an MVP award simply because the team around him is not supportive enough--at least in terms of performance.  If Joe Mauer doesn't have the supporting cast to make a playoff run, then how is that his fault?

It isn't.

But I also understand that people's definition of "value" differs.  Although I may not agree with this, I do keep an open mind.

However, just to reiterate, Mauer is my MVP.  So don't think that I do not understand how little one player can impact a team, and how much is needed in order to surround said player.

"And he's not better than Albert Pujols."

Joe Morgan, you've done good.  Although Mauer might very well be having the better season (It's close),  he may not be better than Albert.  For Albert has been the best player in the game for years now, and knocking him off isn't as simple as putting up a .383 batting average in less than a season.  As great as Mauer is and has been, I will accept Pujols as the best player in baseball.

So Joe Morgan, Joe Mauer is the MVP.  That is firm within my mind.  Entrenched, one might say.  There is still some season left to play, and what will happen is unknown.  But a "catcher" is in fact the best player in the American League.  And it isn't far fetched to say that he's the best in the game.

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Is Ryan Zimmerman now the best defensive 3B in baseball?

His UZR this season is 16, which is tops in baseball at the hot corner.  And his 35.5 UZR over the past three seasons is also best at the position.  And unlike some stat guys, I will admit I haven't seen a whole lot of Zimmerman's play.  But I have seen him play.  And his defense is not just statistical gibberish.  Zim's definitely the real deal on the defensive side of the ball.

But just for good measure, his Plus/Minus from 2006-2008 was sixth, which is still really good.  But he was still evolving as a baseball player.

I think that Zimmerman has grabbed the torch from the Inge's and Feliz's of the world.  But I may be underestimating their greatness...

If there was one guy I needed to defend third, how could I go against Zim?

 

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Tony Masserotti via Boston.com:

"And before anyone suggests that Damon has benefited solely from the laughable right field at Yankee Stadium, let's remember that his game-tying home run last night was a laser that landed in the Yankees bullpen, just to the right of the 385-foot mark. Even fireballing young righthander Daniel Bard couldn't get his fastball by Damon. Over the last three years of a contract during which Red Sox officials believed Damon would be grossly overpaid, Damon has more hits (424 to 311), runs scored (267 to 222), home runs (50 to 42) and RBIs (199 to 171) than J.D. Drew, who makes an average of $1 million more per season (edge Drew, $14 million to $13 million) and is signed for two more years. Damon, by the way, will be a free agent in the fall.

Oh, and did we mention that the Red Sox rank 13th among the 14 American League teams in on-base percentage from the leadoff spot since Damon departed? Damon might not be hitting leadoff for the Yankees anymore -- he bats second -- but he certainly could do it for the Red Sox."

Johnny Damon has played much better, on the wrong side of 30, then most would have expected.  In fact, he has been a better player the past two seasons, than he was the previous two.  But how could anyone have foreseen that?  How could anyone have known that he would age so well?

The Red Sox made a choice to let Damon walk, they let him accept more money.  And that is the other part of this equation; the Yankees offered him more money and an extra year if I recall.  So naturally, Damon went elsewhere.

But comparing him straight up to Drew isn't necessarily fair.  Coco Crisp was Damon's successor, not Drew.  Crisp was brought in, and the results were mixed.  Sure, he couldn't hit much at all.  But Crisp was arguably the most valuable defender in all of baseball during a 2007 World Series run that resulted in a bunch of rings.  Crisp was then moved to give the role to Ellsbury of course.  So let us just say that it could be much worse in center field.  Ellsbury is still learning the game, and should be a solid all-around player, eventually.

Drew was brought in to replace Trot Nixon, and a declining Nixon too.  At age 32 Nixon was a sub-par player, so Drew gave them a player on par with the average player, if not a little better than that.  Nixon disappeared off the face of the baseball planet, while Drew actually played some decent baseball.

Now, I have never defended that Drew contract.  Not the length of it, not for a player that misses time each and every season.  But I understand the reasoning.  They wanted to get better, plain and simple.  Nixon was the hometown favorite, but he was finished.  And the front office knew that, much more than most of the fans did.

Masserotti also states that Drew is having a "disappointing" year.  Disappointing how?  Is it disappointing because people still feel like he is all of a sudden going to become a great player?  He isn't.  He is a pretty good player, and that is all he will ever be.  The guy has had one truly great season, and I would be very surprised if he had another. 

But to the stat archive...

Drew and Damon have been remarkably similiar in terms of overall value over the 2+ seasons that Drew has been in Boston.  Damon leads in total 'WAR' 8.4-8.1.  In terms of dollars, according to Fangraphs, Damon has been worth $37.1-$35.8. 

Drew has the higher OPS of .867-.821. 

Drew also has a significantly better UZR at 6.6 to Damon's -2.1.  Drew is clearly the better defender.  But Damon leads all the counting stats because he plays more often, and his overall 'WAR' is slighty better.  If one were to compare th past three years, the players could almost be interchangeable.  So I guess, comparatively, since Damon is paid a small margin less, that he is the better baragain.  But the difference is marginal.  

Anyway, Drew was brought in to play right field.  Not center field as Damon was playing when his contract expired with the Red Sox.  I guess the Red Sox could have projected that Damon would need to shift to a corner outfield spot a year or two down the road.  But who in their right mind would have felt that his bat could have also "projected" for a corner outfield spot?  At age 34 and 35 nonetheless?

And let us not forget those home/road splits.  On the road this season, Damon has an OPS of .788, compared to .979 in new Yankees stadium.  Maybe that stadium IS freakishly helping these players numbers.  Damon isn't failing much at home.  But on the road he is average at best.  In past seasons, his splits have been similiar.  But not this season.

According to that pesky 'WAR' metric, both Damon and Drew are having about the same year, with Drew actually having a better number.  But again, the difference is marginal. 

So Tony Masserotti, the difference between the two players isn't much.  And the positions aren't the same anyway.  Damon would have been resigned to play center field and would have had to shift to a corner slot eventually.  So in theory, he could have played right, I guess, if they wanted an arm that wouldn't thrown any base-runners out.  And he couldn't have played left, because that spot was locked up, and has been locked up during Damon's current contract. 

The Yankees valued Damon more, they got him.  Are we really getting to get on the Red Sox organization for not wanting to pay Johnny Damon?  His play at this age has been somewhat of a surprise to anyone around baseball, I'm sure.

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Many across the blogosphere, across the message boards, across the baseball world, have acknowledged that Derek Jeter might be more valuable than Mark Teixeira this season.  This all of course is in response to the original "Tweet" put out by Tyler Kepner, writer for the New York Times.

Joe Mauer is the MVP.  That is pretty obvious to me, Joe Po, and Rob Neyer.  Two that I have learned a lot from over the years.

But as far as more deserving out of the two Yankees players?  Both are having great seasons, and both should finish in the top ten.  With the market they play in, there is little doubt that they will finish in that top ten.  But aside from the market, they both deserve it.

But who has been more valuable?

Let us start with the most telling metric/statistic:  WAR.  'WAR' likes Jeter more, although not by any significant margin.  Jeter's is 4.9, Tex's is 3.9.  So according to that, Jeter's been worth an extra win compared to Teixeira.  Okay, so maybe a win is pretty "significant."  But that isn't the only metric that should be taken to heart.

WARP1 actually suggests that Tex has been more valuable.  5.4 "Wins above replacement player."  That is superior to Jeter's 4.2.  Of course, David Aardsma is ahead of Jeter, so I don't know how seriously WARP should be taken in the first place.

Another look, another flaw in WARP.  There is no way that Jeter is less valuable than Aardsma.  I'm sorry, but I cannot be convinced.  Jeter plays every day, while Aardsma appears a few innings a week.

Just for the record though, Joe Mauer's WARP is 7.0.

Runs created you say?  Jeter trails by a mere four runs.  Tex with 83, Jeter with 79.

Look, metrics give us some perspective based on positional adjustment.  Something that isn't so easy to discover based on simply watching.  Jeter plays SS, so the value in that is great, much more so than Tex's quality play at first.  If Jeter was sub-par at short as in past seasons, then a different case would be made.  But Jeter's glove has actually been worth quite a bit this season, more than Teixeira's.

Anyway, to simplify the batting, here are the line's:

Jeter:  .320/.387/.463

Tex:  .288/.385/.562

Tex has a huge edge in Slugging.  But couldn't the difference very well be made up in positional adjustment?  Couldn't the fact that Jeter plays short close that gap by a wide margin?  And remember, he's played a solid SS according to every metric out there, so it isn't like he is hurting his team in the field.

I guess the point is, both are having great seasons for the best team in baseball--as much as it pains me to say the "best team" statement.  The first part would never "pain" me.  I don't care how many "MVP's" the Yankees have if the Red Sox are the better team.  But as of now, the Yankees are clearly better.

So Joe Mauer is my MVP, obviously up until this point.  And Jeter and Tex are close as to who is the more viable candidate in terms of Yankees players.

I guess this all stems from Kepner's tweet being seen by Rob Neyer, who in turn wrote a post.  Then Poz decided to write a post, then another...

The blogosphere is a funny place to be sometimes.

Tyler Kepner posted a "tweet" that stated that Mark Teixeira is the AL MVP, no question.

That is when Rob Neyer and Joe Posnanski went off.

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Look, Teixeira is a great player.  A Gold Glove caliber first baseman.  And a switch hitting beast at the plate.  But is he more valuable than Joe Mauer?

According to 'WAR'--probably the best metric out there--no, he isn't.  Mauer has a 5.7 'WAR' and that is tops in the American League.  Tex fares significantly worse in that category, with four wins over a replacement player.  So according to this, Mauer has been worth nearly two extra wins to the Twins, than Tex has to the Yankees.

Granted, the metric isn't perfect.  For Marco Scutaro to me, does not have the impact that Tex has had, and for some reason he is above Teixiera.  But he IS ****, and has had an above-average bat this season.

Do people understand the value of a great hitting catcher?  One that is batting .375 nonetheless?  It is quite ridiculous how much one can underrate this position for the guy with the most home runs.  And of course, Tex gets all the love in the media because he is in the spotlight all the time.  He plays in the largest market, he is on television all the time, is great of course, and surrounded by great players, giving him more of an opportunity than Mauer to succeed--from a team standpoint.

Statistics aren't everything.  But Joe Mauer is the best player in the AL.  Period.

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"Just a bit outside.  The first pitch sails just wide of the strike zone.  And I mean just wide, may even be a generous call by the ump.

And the windup...a tad inside with the breaking ball.  Ausmus was set up away, chose to go with the breaking ball in the 1-0 count.  But the ball chose a different direction out of the pitchers hand.

...A fastball clocked at 91, on the outer half of the plate.  3-1.  Great pitch in a hitters count.  Location, Location, Location.  If he misses on the inner half there, that ball is probably rocketed.  If not rocketed, then the pitcher would have been extremely lucky.

The pitcher comes to the plate, and that ball is scorched into the left-center field gap!  The center fielder was playing for the lefty to pull the ball.  But the pitch, which was middle-middle, was lined into the gap for a double.  A great piece of hitting.  Worked the count into his favor, got his pitch, and didnt' miss..."

What is a great hitter?  Is it a Victor Martinez?  Someone that posts a high batting average, can hit to all fields, and can hit both lefties and righties (switch hitter).  Or is a great hitter, one that is considered great, more just a great "offensive player."

Tony Gwynn was a great hitter.  He batted .338.  And because of that, he was also a great offensive player.

Placido Polanco has a career .304 batting average.  One could say he is a great "hitter" if that is their definition of what it entails to be a great hitter.  But many will say he isn't, as well.  He doesn't draw many walks, and his power is far from spectacular.  Actually, his career Slugging percentage is sub-par when compared to a league-average bat.

So does "great hitter" and "great offensive player" mean the same thing?  I mean, Adam Dunn is a great offensive player, but is he a great hitter?  His defense, and positional adjustment make him less than great, but his bat is very, very good.  I take that bat over Polanco any day of the week.  (Polanco does possess skills that Dunn doesn't have in other facets of the game though).  But do I want a lineup of nine Adam Dunn's?  Or nine Placido Polanco's?  Take defense out of that equation for a second, simply concentrate on offense.

I watch a player like JD Drew, or Adam Dunn work their walks.  They hit for some power.  They do what they do, and reach base often.  But they aren't Tony Gwynn, they aren't Victor Martinez.  They can't cover the plate like those two.  They cannot hit the ball to all fields as well.  They both, Dunn and Drew, have more weaknesses.  But all are considered pretty good.  They just do different things.

A great hitter is definitely more intriguing, more entertaining.  I love watching a hitter that can take pitches just out of the strike zone, and recognize they are balls.  But watching a ball hit on a line into a space where the outfielder is not, is more fun to watch.

I guess the simple answer is that a hitter that can take pitches, work walks AND hit over .300 is where it's at.

But that would be too obvious I guess.

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Have you seen Erik Bedard pitch?  He is nasty, or was nasty anyway.  But once again, the once "lights-out" lefty is hurt.  A torn labrum in his shoulder.

But really, did you ever see him pitch?  If you blinked you may have missed it.  But I have seen that great Bedard, the awesome lefty with an average fastball, velocity wise (But above-average results).  And a straight nasty breaking ball, easily one of the best in the game, or was when he actually pitched.  Bedard could shut down any lineup in baseball on any given day.

But he is hurt again.  The 3.19 FIP from 2007 is long gone.  And the Bedard of old probably is to.

That trade looks terrible now...

Do you know who I think is the best pitcher of all time?  Yes, you guessed right.  Well, you didn't guess if you read this blog regularly.  But whatever, the answer is Pedro.  I take into account peak years a little more, obviously.

So last night, Pedro Martinez flashed a little brilliance--at times anyway.  He "lit" up the radar gun, according to the highlights, hitting 92 and as high as 93 MPH.  There are signs that point to league-average, rather than sub-par, or even horrendous.  After all, that velocity is greater than expected.

But is dialing up at this age, with this kind of stuff, going to cost him?  I can't say for sure, because I didn't get a chance to watch the game, only the highlights.  And maybe the guns were pitcher-friendly last night.  But it is possible that he threw a few of those pitches with a little extra "oomph" behind them.

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Anyway, Pedro struck out five, in a typical "Shell of Pedro" outing, as he went only five innings.  He only allowed one base-runner to reach via the free pass.  So those two statistics are very good after a mere one start.

But from watching the highlights, it looked like some balls were being hit well off of Pedro.  Maybe a little luck was involved.  But then again, it was his first Major League start of the season, so we should cut him a little slack.

Moving forward, Pedro probably will give the Phillies a few quality starts if he stays healthy.

But...

A) Health is a huge question mark at this point in his life/career.

B)  Those quality starts will probably be mixed in with some of these five inning, three runs, maybe four runs allowed games.

Pedro Martinez was great, and will be great either way.  But it angers me when I see his adjusted ERA falling, as it does just about every time he takes the hill.

But it was definitely encouraging to see that velocity...

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Fangraphs has a good, short and sweet piece about Justin Speier.  And I guess this is why four year deals should be reviewed very long by the club doling them out, especially when it comes to relievers.

Speier had one really good year with the Blue Jays in 2006, FIP of 3.56.  Then, in his first season with the Angels, Speier had anoter solid season (3.88 FIP).  But since then, he has been nothing short of horrendous, at least in terms of relievers.

Over the past two seasons, Justin Speier has shown us an FIP over 5.00, and ERA's that reside above 5.00 as well.  His K rate and walk rate are still solid enough, but as Fangraphs mentioned, his home runs allowed are ridiculous.  This season, per nine, he was allowing 1.58 homers.  That is too high for a guy that comes in to get out only a few outs, too high for anyone for that matter.

And this is why I should do my blogging before I peruse the blogs/articles on other sites.  I always come across something that I wanted or could have written, but then read it, and feel compelled do give these guys credit.  Fangraphs is a great site, but I don't always need their help figuring out the quality of a player :)

Justin Speier could potentially help a team, because it is difficult to believe that these past two seasons are actually indicators of his true talent level.

So who will take the chance on him?

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After Vlad Guerrero clubbed his 400th homer, people are talking, whispers are whispering, journalists are journaling.  And what they are talking about, thankfully, is not steroids.  Because for the past decade or so, everything Hall of Fame seems to include all that other junk too.

But is Guerrero worthy?  Is he worthy of being in the same place for eternity, a place that includes Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and the greatest of them all:  Jim Rice?  Is he going to have done enough to deserve induction?

Let's get the numbers out of the way:

WARP1:  69.4

OPS+:  146

Line:  .322/.387/.571

Vlad needs more time however.  Although at first glance it seems that he will have enough to be enshrined into the Hall one day.  After all, he was a great player for many seasons.  Never one to take a walk...or lay off a pitch even if it is out of the zone.  Vlad raked, and I mean raked for several seasons.  Some were lost in Montreal, as he wasn't recognized nearly enough.  But then he took his show to the national stage as the Angels actually had talent to surround him, and they were good enough to give him postseason AB's.

Although, Guerrero has been horrendous in his postseason chances.  A .240/.329/.293 line.  Small postseason chances should not be emphasized too much into the equation.  However, they should be emphasized to an extent.  The games mean more, and Vlad hurt his team in those games.

His defense hasn't been good, according to UZR.  First, positional adjustment (corner OF) hurts him a little.  And those UZR numbers are almost always in the negative, at least dating back to 2002.  A liability though?  I doubt that.  Not through his healthy years at least.  Now, different story, as he almost has to be a DH.  But he did have a cannon for an arm, and I have a difficult time believing he was truly atrocious out in right.

The main statistic that should be focused on is WARP.  It's a cumulative metric, and takes into account both sides of the ball.  I like that.  I like when defense and offense are accounted for into one nice little measure :)

So his WARP is better than the vaunted Jim Rice's, which was 58.

But 69 with a few good years left in him, will potentially be enough, if it isn't already.  Edgar Martinez finished with roughly the same OPS+--although to be fair, Vlad's will only decline some as he ages.  But Vlad also added an element, even though it was probably sub-par--by playing defense.  Something that Edgar didn't do.

So is Vlad going to be a Hall of Famer?  I think so.  No one noticed much until he came to the Angels, but he was truly great in Montreal as well.

Your thoughts?

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If Vladimir Guerrero can get on track down the stretch, then dare we say the Angles offense could be deadly?

Recently, articles have been written praising this Angels offense, as it has unexpectedly been very, very good.  I don't think anyone could have known it would break out like this, and that "mediocrity" of the past could start to hit like they have, rather than they are.  But things are looking up, in Angel-land.

One reason; Mike Napoli.  Getting his big slow, on base percentage, hitting for power-self in the lineup every day was very important, and is an integral reason why this offense is doing well right now.  He can't hurt the team behind the plate--if that is what he does back there--if he isn't actually back there.

And there are other important reasons why the offensive unit has found success:

1)  Juan Rivera has become that guy:  The Angels saved a bunch of money by letting Tex walk, and they went in a different direction by resigning Rivera and going with Kendry Morales at first.  Rivera hasn't been a great player, but he's been very good.  And that eases the loss of a true impact player like Teixeira.

2)  Morales has been great:  As mentioned, Morales was used, freeing up a lot of money, but also taking a chance.  Because no one knew how good Morales was.  Well, Tex has been better, but Kendry has been very good posting a 'WAR' of 2.8, compared to Teixeira's 3.8.  At $600,000, that is an absolute bargain for the Angels.  I don't know if Morales will sustain this kind of production, but right now it appears very good, and smart of the Angels organization to go in his direction.

3)  Bobby Abreu great again:  Once upon a time, Abreu was a truly great player.  Then he became good.  Then he was okay for a year.  Now, he is back to really good.  Posting an OBP over .400, batting over .300, and swiping 24 bags thus far.  The Angels found themselves another item in the bargain bin.

4)Chone Figgins is hitting again:  Figgins doesn't have power, really any of it.  But he gets on base a ton, .391 to be exact.  He has 33 stolen bases, and is batting .300.  Figgins is another example of how everrything has gone right for the Angels this season on the offensive side of the ball.  A 3B with no power isn't exactly compelling.  But one that is speedy and can get on base a ton, that is a different story.

Now, back to Bad-Vlad.  If he can stay healthy and hit some, then it will offset some of the potential regression that may occur from a few others on the team.  If Napoli can catch, then that lineup, with the exception of the underachieving Howie Kendrick, is very strong.  How much Nap hurts the team while behind the plate is beyond me.  But I have to say, I firmly believe that Napoli as a catcher, because of that bat, is significantly more valuable than Jeff Mathis.

With all due respect, Mathis simply cannot hit.  Not at all.  And I have a hard time believing that his skills behind the dish are enough to make up for an OPS+ of 60.

Anyway, in Guerrero's last 14 games, his OPS is way north of 1.000.  And that is a great sign as he has been injured seemingly all year long.  Guerrero is not done if he is rested adequately.  Sure, he isn't the player he used to be.  But if he can post, say, an OPS+ of maybe 130--which is very possible--then he will have value.  And luckily, the DH position is terrible around baseball, so the Angels might actually have the best DH in the game if Vlad stays as he has been lately.  If not the best, then right up there with the best.

The Angels offense, as Fangraphs mentioned a while back, is third in wOBA.  And the front office looks great for the moves, and non-moves that they made this past offseason.  Sure, some of it has some luck involved, but the philosophy seems to have changed a little, and for the better.

If two people were talking on the side of the street.  Standing there with a coffee in hand, on a cold day, on a day that was not really associated with anything baseball.  But those two people, they somehow touched up on the subject of Andruw Jones.  And somehow, they mentioned the Hall of Fame as well.  Would those two people be dreamers?  Would they be simply unrealistic in terms of their approach in the conversation?  Or would they be onto something?  Could they be onto something?

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• Why no love for Miggy?: Miguel Cabrera is great, and having a great season.  But is he getting the praise he deserves?  Because I just don't see it.  Cabrera is hitting .334/.396/.554.  Those are easily MVP caliber numbers.  I know the praise was there earlier in the season, but it seems to have begun to disintegrate to some extent.  His defense has improved by leaps and bounds, as he has shed weight and also had some time to actually learn the position.  And because he is such a great fastball hitter, he is seeing as few of them as ever, 54 percent.  Luckily though, such a great hitter, one of Cabrera's caliber, he is having success on every pitch imaginable, with all of his "Pitch Type Values" in the positives.  He's been handling everything off-speed, and killing the fastball as usual.  A great hitter doing what they do I guess.

• How good is Latos?: Mat Latos has some impressive numbers in the Minors.  Only one posting over a 2.19 FIP, and that was a 4.01 FIP in only five starts at Single-A.  His current 5.22 FIP--over a very small sample--is not good.  But Latos is very young.  Baseball Prospectus had him ranked in the 60's before the season.  Saying that he is a "power pitcher" and that he "separates himself with his great command."  Well, a power pitcher with great command is probably going to have success.  It's true, the Padres have something to look forward to.  There is only so much excitement surrounding Chad Gaudin.

• Utley the best this season?: Utley just recently passed Albert Pujols in 'WAR' at 5.5.  Pujols is trailing down at 5.2 nowadays, with Ben Zobrist actually second.  So is Utley the best in the game this season?  It wouldn't be out of the question to declare that.  He's hitting .301/.420/.546, which is ridiculous for a good fielding middle infielder.  So he hits for average, power, gets on base, plys defense.  What can't he do?  Chase Utley just might be more valuable than Pujols in 2009...

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Building around a player does not simply mean the best three catchers in the game of baseball.  Some will forget to read the title and argue with this like it is illogical because they are not ranked by performance.  But anyway, it isn't like there are many readers here anyway  :)

But the catching position is a delicate place to reside on the defensive side of the ball.  Players who play the position wear down more quickly, and they tire during a season faster than at other positions.  It is natural, for it's the most demanding position on the field.  No other position has to block the plate on a consistent basis, not to mention squat down for well over a hundred pitches a game.

Anyway, the position is tough.  You get that yet?  :)

The three catchers that I would build around, in order:

Joe Mauer:  .355/.426/.592: Is there anyone else?  Look at the picture on the front of my blog, notice who the guy swinging the bat happens to be.  Yes, it is none other than Joe Mauer.  I have said most of what I am going to say in the past, but Mauer is the player that I think best embodies what the game of baseball should be.  Well, I shouldn't say "the best" necessarily.  But one of the best would be more accurate, and more fair I would imagine.  But Mauer displays incredible patience/pitch selection/pitch recognition to go along with actually putting the ball where they ain't, more often than anyone else does.  He reaches base a boatload of times per plate appearance.  He can square up a baseball and drive it out of the park with his new found power stroke.  And his defensive prowess is unparalleled among the great hitting catchers in the game.  For example: the Red Sox just acquired another great hitting catcher in Victor Martinez.  But all indications point to him being a sub-par defender, based on both reputation and controlling the running game.  If Martinez is catching only a few times a week, then it will be fine.  Giving the aging Tek rest kind of offsets the inability to do what is required back there.  But it just shows how difficult it is to be the complete package--as Mauer is--and even more so from this position.  Joe Mauer is the best player in the AL, and may be the best player in baseball in just a few seasons.  Unfortunately, because of the fragile nature of the catching position, his peak will last fewer seasons than at other positions.  Which may be a reason he eventually moves off the position, to savor his bat for a few additional years.  Mauer's contract is very reasonable right now, but if I wasn't playing with some extra income, then I may shy away from Mauer and head toward a more club friendly contract.  Only one more season before Joe Mauer reaches free agency...

Brian McCann:  .298/.370/.515: McCann holds the title of "Best catcher in the National League."  And it probably isn't all that close.  Brian Mc-CAN hit the crap out of the ball.  And yes, I am sure that the previous joke has annoyed Braves fans since his arrival.  But that is okay because Jorge CANtu jokes probably piss Marlins fans off as well.  Anyway, McCann's real strength comes from swinging the stick.  To be able to hit the ball like that is a luxury, and to do it from the catcher position is even more so--much more so actually.  McCann currently has a 3.2 'WAR' which is on pace to come very close to the awesome 5.8 WAR he posted last season.  To be honest, I have a hard time not choosing this guy first, as he is under club control for four more seasons.  Mauer could be extended, but McCann already is.  Making it very hard to choose Mauer.  Joe's the best catcher, but Brian's actually pretty darn intriguing...

Matt Wieters:  .275/.319/.386: Letting this kind of talent, at such an inexpensive cost, under control for so many years, would be collectively foolish.  By "collectively," I mean that anyone helping you make that decision would be aiding in the process.  Wieters still has much to prove.  Much.  But he plays on both sides of the ball (or so I've heard).  And he can do a little, no a lot, of everything.  Anyone with that kind of talent needs to be recognized in an exercise such as the one we are currently exploring.  A switch-hitting catcher with Minor League numbers like he has put up, and with scouts drooling all over him.  Well, it doesn't get much better than that.  it wouldn't surprise me in three years if this guy is helping his team win more games than anyone else in baseball is helping their respective team win games.