Curveballs and Sliders 03.05.08: Top Defensive Players & Teams

Posted by Jared Marcus on 03.05.2008

This week in Curveballs and Sliders we continue to preview the 2008 Major League Baseball season with a look at team defense. We rank all 30 teams on the strength of their defense as well as rank the top 10 defensive players at each position. Plus, this week in “The Greatest” we unveil the all-time lineups for all five AL Central teams!!

LEADING OFF

Hello one and all, welcome to another edition of Curveballs and Sliders on the road to Opening Day 2008!!! Last week we took a look at the bullpens and benches and I told you that this week we may or may not rank the rotations. All week long I had planned to get into the rotations, but when I sat down to write I just couldn't justify doing it at this point. There is still way too much uncertainty at the back of most rotations and it is impossible to fairly rank them without at least having a pretty strong idea as to who will make up the five starting slots for each team. As I have said all along, there is clearly still a lot to be decided between now and Opening Day, however the jobs that are up for grab in lineup are not nearly as vital as those in the rotation. For the most part, any job still being fought for in terms of the lineup will not have a great impact on the overall ranking of that team. However, every rotation spot is vital for forming a confident ranking of pitching staffs. For that reason, this week we are going to go back to the lineups, but this time, for the first time ever, we are going to concentrate solely on defense, whereas the previous ranking focused solely on offense.

So let's not waste any more time, let's get to the defensive rankings………….


THE TWO HOLE

Never before in the life of this column have I taken on the arduous task of ranking defenses. That was partially because it is very subjective and partially because I could never quite figure out the best way to undertake the process. Well, thanks to Baseball Info Solutions and the 2008 Bill James Handbook, as well as the brand new Bill James Online site, evaluating defenses has become easier than ever.

I mean, it is still a fairly objective process compared to any other aspect of the game, but with the all the new stats that continue to be developed it becomes clearer and clearer. For the purposes of these rankings I relied on three things, the stats used in the Bill James Handbook, scouting reports from various sources and my own personal views from what I have seen with my own two eyes. Among the statistics that I relied upon most are Range Factor, Assists, Putouts, Errors, Double Plays, Catcher ERA and Plus/Minus. I also weighed up-the-middle defense (2B, SS, CF) as more valuable than the other positions. Now I won't bore you (as I usually do) with all the details, just know that a lot of thinking went into these rankings based on a wide variety of things. Of course they are far from perfect and I am sure many of you will point that out to me in some way or another. If you have any specific questions about how I arrived at the rankings or want to know more about I used the stats exactly, please don't hesitate to ask.

Lastly, in the case of any position battles that are still going on, I just went with the best defensive player who is a legitimate candidate to win the job. This is different from the lineup rankings where I used the current favorite. I still tried to use to current favorite if they are a heavy favorite, like in Boston where I went with Jacoby Ellsbury over Coco Crisp, even though Crisp is the better defender. But in cases where anyone can win the job, I chose the best defender. (Ex. The Blue Jays LF competition is between Matt Stairs, Reed Johnson and Shannon Stewart, I went with Stewart since he is the best of the bunch defensively)


RANKING TEAM DEFENSE

1) Toronto Blue Jays – C Gregg Zaun, 1B Lyle Overbay, 2B Aaron Hill, SS David Eckstein, 3B Scott Rolen, RF Alex Rios, CF Vernon Wells, LF Shannon Stewart
Perhaps this seems like an odd choice for number one, but they really should be that good. There isn't one starter who is below average at their position defensively with the possible exception of David Eckstein. Regardless, the fact that Overbay, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Wells and Stewart all rank among the top ten of their position defensively is enough.

2) Cleveland Indians – C Victor Martinez, 1B Ryan Garko, 2B Asdrubal Cabrera, SS Jhonny Peralta, 3B Casey Blake, RF Franklin Gutierrez, CF Grady Sizemore, LF Jason Michaels
Among this group, only Ryan Garko rates as below average at his position. Cabrera, Gutierrez, Sizemore and Michaels all rank among the top ten as does Victor Martinez who is far from an all-bat, no-glove catcher.

3) New York Mets – C Brian Schneider, 1B Carlos Delgado, 2B Luis Castillo, SS Jose Reyes, 3B David Wright, RF Ryan Church, CF Carlos Beltran, LF Moises Alou
For all of my fellow Mets fans who haven't been happy with my rankings thus far, well here you go. The Mets may have taken a step back offensively, but they are definitely improved offensively. Schneider, Reyes, Wright, Church and Beltran are all top ten at their position, while only Alou and Delgado are below average.

4) Detroit Tigers – C Pudge Rodriguez, 1B Carlos Guillen, 2B Placido Polanco, SS Edgar Renteria, 3B Miguel Cabrera, RF Magglio Ordonez, CF Curtis Granderson, LF Jacque Jones
Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera rate as below average at their position, but every other starter is above average. Including Pudge, Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco, wll of whom rank among the ten best at their position.

5) Philadelphia Phillies – C Carlos Ruiz, 1B Ryan Howard, 2B Chase Utley, SS Jimmy Rollins, 3B Pedro Feliz, RF Geoff Jenkins, CF Shane Victorino, LF Pat Burrell
The Phillies have what could be an excellent defensive team, and over the course of six positions they could rate as the best in baseball. The problem is that at the other two positions, first base and left field, they have arguably the worst defensive players at their position in all of baseball. It also remains to be seen how Victorino handles the transition to center, but regardless, this club will be a good one defensively.

6) Seattle Mariners – C Kenji Johjima, 1B Richie Sexson, 2B Jose Lopez, SS Yuniesky Betancourt, 3B Adrian Beltre, RF Brad Wilkerson, CF Ichiro Suzuki, LF Raul Ibanez
The Mariners may not look like it, but they are an excellent defensive team. They have three top five players at their position in Ichiro, Johjima and Beltre, and Ichiro is arguably the best defensive player in all of baseball. Richie Sexson is also surprisingly above average, as is Jose Lopez. Only Raul Ibanez is below average defensively.

7) Pittsburgh Pirates – C Ronny Paulino, 1B Adam LaRoche, 2B Freddy Sanchez, SS Jack Wilson, 3B Jose Bautista, RF Xavier Nady, CF Nyjer Morgan, LF Jason Bay
While hardly a flashy team offensively or defensively, they are very solid defensively. Every starter is average or above average at their position defensively, including Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche who are both underrated and better than most would think.

8) Baltimore Orioles – C Ramon Hernandez, 1B Kevin Millar, 2B Brian Roberts, SS Luis Hernandez, 3B Melvin Mora, RF Nick Markakis, CF Adam Jones, LF Luke Scott
The Orioles have little hope on the mound or at bat this season, but their defense should be pretty solid. With the exception of Ramon Hernandez, every starter is average or above average at their position, including Markakis, Mora and Hernandez, all of whom rank in the top ten.

9) Los Angeles Dodgers – C Russell Martin, 1B James Loney, 2B Jeff Kent, SS Rafael Furcal, 3B Andy LaRoche, RF Matt Kemp, CF Andruw Jones, LF Juan Pierre
The Dodgers really have the makings of a great team, both on offense and defense. Andruw Jones is still one of the best around, as is Russell Martin. Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre are very good defenders and Andy LaRoche and Matt Kemp have potential to be as well. The only real holw is at second base where Jeff Kent's only job at this point is to hit homers.

10) Tampa Bay Rays – C Dioner Navarro, 1B Carlos Pena, 2B Akinori Iwamura, SS Jason Bartlett, 3B Evan Longoria, RF Rocco Baldelli, CF B.J. Upton, LF Carl Crawford
My how far the Rays have come. The youth is finally coming together and for the first time in their history they have both pitching and defense entering a season. Crawford and Upton are excellent defenders, as is Jason Bartlett despite all the errors. Carlos Pena is better than you would think and Akinori Iwamura should thrive at second base. The only real hole is in right field where it depends heavily on the health of Rocco Baldelli and Cliff Floyd.

11) Colorado Rockies – C Yorvit Torrealba, 1B Todd Helton, 2B Jayson Nix, SS Troy Tulowitzki, 3B Garrett Atkins, RF Brad Hawpe, CF Willy Taveras, LF Matt Holliday
Much like on offense, the Rockies have a bunch of outstanding players, and then a few poor ones. Helton, Tulo, Taveras and Holliday are all excellent defenders while whoever mans second base will be decent defensively as well. The problem areas are third base and right field where both players are great hitters, but poor defenders.

12) Boston Red Sox – C Jason Varitek, 1B Kevin Youkilis, 2B Dustin Pedroia, SS Julio Lugo, 3B Mike Lowell, RF J.D. Drew, CF Jacoby Ellsbury, LF Manny Ramirez
The Red Sox have a very solid defensive team that could actually rank higher, but they are brought down by Manny who ranks as one of the worst defensive players in baseball. Of course that is partially due to the Green Monster, but Manny is a poor defender regardless. Youkilis, Varitek and Lowell are all excellent defenders and Pedroia and Ellsbury have potential to be. Julio Lugo is surprisingly at the bottom of his position defensively.

13) San Francisco Giants – C Bengie Molina, 1B Dan Ortmeier, 2B Ray Durham, SS Omar Vizquel, 3B Rich Aurilia, RF Randy Winn, CF Aaron Rowand, LF Dave Roberts
This is clearly the only list the Giants will do well on this season, but they are a pretty good defensive team. Omar Vizquel is still one of the best in the business, and Rowand and Winn are near the top of their positions as well. Everyone else, other than Ray Durham, ranks as average.

14) Chicago Cubs – C Geovany Soto, 1B Derrek Lee, 2B Mark DeRosa, SS Ryan Theriot, 3B Aramis Ramirez, RF Kosuke Fukudome, CF Felix Pie, LF Alfonso Soriano
The Cubs could actually rank much higher, or much lower, so here I have landed them just about in the middle. We know that Lee, Theriot, Aramis and Soriano are all above average defenders, the problem is that the rest of the guys are unknowns. Fukudome, Pie and Soto could all be top flight defenders, or below average, and that's why I cannot at this time rank them any higher.

15) Atlanta Braves – C Brian McCann, 1B Mark Teixeira, 2B Kelly Johnson, SS Yunel Escobar, 3B Chipper Jones, RF Jeff Francoeur, CF Mark Kotsay, LF Matt Diaz
The Braves have three excellent defenders in Teixeira, Francoeur and Diaz, and another one in Escobar who could be very good. Chipper is still solid defensively and McCann rates about average. Mark Kotsay is not what he used to be, but still a solid option.

16) St. Louis Cardinals – C Yadier Molina, 1B Albert Pujols, 2B Adam Kennedy, SS Cesar Izturis, 3B Troy Glaus, RF Skip Schumaker, CF Rick Ankiel, RF Chris Duncan
The Cardinals offense leaves a lot to be desired, but their defense won't be nearly as bad. They have two of the number one defensive players at their positions in Molina and Pujols and a few other above averages defenders around the infield. The problem is in the outfield where all three rate as below average.

17) Minnesota Twins – C Joe Mauer, 1B Justin Morneau, 2B Brendan Harris, SS Adam Everett, 3B Mike Lamb, RF Michael Cuddyer, CF Carlos Gomez, LF Delmon Young
The Twins upgraded their offense a good deal this off-season, but the defense may have taken a hit. They will still be solid with top defenders like Mauer, Morneau and Everett, as well as Carlos Gomez who could surprise in center. But Cuddyer, Harris and Lamb all rate as below average at their position.

18) Arizona Diamondbacks – C Chris Snyder, 1B Conor Jackson, 2B Orlando Hudson, SS Stephen Drew, 3B Mark Reynolds, RF Justin Upton, CF Chris Young, LF Eric Byrnes
The D-Backs have some of the very best defensive players at their positions in Snyder, Hudson and Byrnes. However, they also have a couple of the very worst in Jackson, Reynolds and Young.

19) Kansas City Royals – C John Buck, 1B Ross Gload, 2B Mark Grudzielanek, SS Tony Pena Jr., 3B Alex Gordon, RF Jose Guillen, CF David DeJesus, LF Mark Teahen
This is a team full of average to good defenders. No one, with the exception of possibly Teahen, stands out as an excellent defender, but no one is a poor defender either.

20) San Diego Padres – C Josh Bard, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 2B Tadahito Iguchi, SS Khalil Greene, 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, RF Brian Giles, CF Jim Edmonds, LF Scott Hairston
There are some bright spots in San Diego, most notably Adrian Gonzalez who is underrated defensively and Khalil Greene who is a good defensive shortstop. Jim Edmonds is no long a gold glove caliber center fielder, but he is still above average. Brian Giles on the other hand has fallen to the bottom of the pack among right fielders and Kevin Kouzmanoff is one of the worst defensive third basemen in baseball.

21) Los Angeles Angels – C Mike Napoli, 1B Casey Kotchman, 2B Howie Kendrick, SS Erick Aybar, 3B Chone Figgins, RF Vlad Guerrero, CF Torii Hunter, LF Garret Anderson
The Angels used to be a strong defensive team, but have really fallen off as of late. Vlad Guerrero is not the defensive presence he once was and Torii Hunter, while still great, has lost a step. Chone Figgins is better defensively in the outfield and Garret Anderson is now more of a DH. That being said, Casey Kotchman is excellent and Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar could be excellent.

22) New York Yankees – C Jorge Posada, 1B Jason Giambi, 2B Robinson Cano, SS Derek Jeter, 3B Alex Rodriguez, RF Bobby Abreu, CF Melky Cabrera, LF Johnny Damon
This team is a great offense and full of big-time names, but it really isn't a very good defensive club. Cano is a great defender and Melky Cabrera is underrated, but everyone else rates average or below average. Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu have long been overrated and Johnny Damon has fallen off greatly the last two seasons. Even if someone besides Giambi mans first base, this team is still below average as a whole.

23) Cincinnati Reds – C David Ross, 1B Joey Votto, 2B Brandon Phillips, SS Alex Gonzalez, 3B Edwin Encarnacion, RF Ken Griffey Jr., CF Jay Bruce, LF Adam Dunn
The Reds have some very good defenders in Phillips and Ross, while Votto is a bit of unknown but expected to be an above average defender. Griffey is not near what he used to be, but still adequate. What drags the Reds down is Gonzalez, Encarnacion and Dunn, all of whom rank towards the bottom of their positions.

24) Houston Astros – C J.R. Towles, 1B Lance Berkman, 2B Kaz Matsui, SS Miguel Tejada, 3B Ty Wigginton, RF Hunter Pence, CF Michael Bourn, LF Carlos Lee
The Astros retooled their lineup and made it one of the league's best, but their defense will suffer as a result. Kaz Matsui is a top ten player at second and Hunter Pence could be a defensive star, but everyone else ranges from average to below average.

25) Oakland A's – C Kurt Suzuki, 1B Daric Barton, 2B Mark Ellis, SS Bobby Crosby, 3B Eric Chavez, RF Travis Buck, CF Chris Denorfia, LF Emil Brown
The A's are really in for a long season this year. No offense, not great pitching and sub-par defense adds up to a last place finish. Mark Ellis is the best in the business at second and if Eric Chavez is healthy he is still a great defender. Emil Brown is decent as well, but the rest of the guys are either unknowns or below average.

26) Milwaukee Brewers – C Jason Kendall, 1B Prince Fielder, 2B Rickie Weeks, SS J.J. Hardy, 3B Bill Hall, RF Corey Hart, CF Mike Cameron, 3B Ryan Braun
Another powerhouse lineup that may be lacking on the defensive side. Corey Hart and Mike Cameron are top 10 players at their positions, but everyone else is in the bottom half of theirs. Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy are in the bottom five and it's anyone's guess how Ryan Braun handles the transition to left field.

27) Washington Nationals – C Paul LoDuca, 1B Dmitri Young, 2B Ronnie Belliard, SS Felipe Lopez., 3B Ryan Zimmerman, RF Austin Kearns, CF Lastings Milledge, LF Wily Mo Pena
The Nats have two top five defensive players at their position in Zimmerman and Kearns, but little else beyond that. LoDuca has slipped as has Lopez and Belliard. If Nick Johnson wins the first base job from Dmitri Young the team could move up a few spots.

28) Chicago White Sox – C A.J. Pierzynski, 1B Paul Konerko, 2B Danny Richar, SS Orlando Cabrera, 3B Josh Fields, RF Jermaine Dye, CF Nick Swisher, LF Carlos Quentin
The White Sox improved their offense a lot this winter, but you can't say the same about the defense. Orlando Cabrera is a huge upgrade at short, but Josh Fields is a huge downgrade from Joe Crede. Dye and Pierzynski rank near the bottom and Nick Swisher will be below average in center. Carlos Quentin may surprise if given the chance in left.

29) Texas Rangers – C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 1B Ben Broussard, 2B Ian Kinsler, SS Michael Young, 3B Hank Blalock, RF Milton Bradley, CF Josh Hamilton, LF Marlon Byrd
There isn't one above average defender in this bunch. Marlon Byrd could surprise in a full season in left and Kinsler and Young are solid, but everyone else ranks in the bottom half of their position.

30) Florida Marlins – C Mike Rabelo, 1B Mike Jacobs, 2B Dan Uggla, SS Hanley Ramirez, 3B Jorge Cantu, RF Jeremy Hermida, CF Cameron Maybin, LF Josh Willingham
The Marlins lineup may not be that terrible offensively, but defensively this team is the worst in baseball. Sure Jeremy Hermida is good and Cameron Maybin could be great, but every other player is below average at their position and Hanley Ramirez and Josh Willingham both rank towards the very bottom of theirs.

That's all for the team defenses. Now let's move on to the individual players…………


BATTING THIRD…………….


Ranking the benches was more difficult than the bullpens because of the fact that it is almost impossible to predict what reserve players will do from year-to-year. Often times the top bench players emerge as the season goes on and have more to do with mindset than actual talent. Looking at benches on paper and how they actually perform are two drastically different things. Some teams could have big names on the bench, guys that could be starters for other teams, but that doesn't mean their bench will be any better than a team with a bench full of lifelong reserves. Being able to pinch hit and sub in on the fly is an incredible skill that is hard to quantify and is makes being a reserve in baseball much more difficult than it is in any other sport. While benches are not nearly as important as bullpens, they are similar in the fact that they could make the difference between being a very good team and a great one. Obviously benches in the N.L. are much more important than benches in the A.L. because of the lack of a DH, and because of that the N.L. benches usually carry more players. For the purposes of this exercise I have given every N.L. team a six man bench and every A.L. team a five man bench.

Just like the pitchers above, these are the projected benches at this time and are subject to change, but for the most part, any changes that may come between now and Opening Day probably won't be significant enough to affect these rankings. So let's stop wasting time and get to ‘em………………….


RANKING THE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS


CATCHER

1) Yadier Molina (Cardinals)
2) Joe Mauer (Twins)
3) Kenji Johjima (Mariners)
4) Russell Martin (Dodgers)
5) Jason Varitek (Red Sox)
6) Chris Snyder (Diamondbacks)
7) Pudge Rodriguez (Tigers)
8) Victor Martinez (Indians)
9) David Ross (Reds)
10) Brian Schneider (Mets)

No real surprises here. Molina is clearly the best of the bunch and the next five to six names on the list all rate pretty even. Carlos Ruiz just missed the list, but could easily crack it with a strong sophomore season.


FIRST BASE

1) Albert Pujols (Cardinals)
2) Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox)
3) Todd Helton (Rockies)
4) Casey Kotchman (Angels)
5) Mark Teixeira (Braves)
6) Justin Morneau (Twins)
7) Lyle Overbay (Blue Jays)
8) Derrek Lee (Cubs)
9) Adrian Gonzalez (Padres)
10) Paul Konerko (White Sox)

Like Molina, Pujols is clearly the class of the first basemen defensively, though unlike Molina he is the class of the position offensively as well. Casey Kotchman has emerged as a top flight defensive player and Todd Helton is still one of the best. The bottom half of the list really could be ranked any which way, they are all interchangeable. Daric Barton and Joey Votto are the top candidates to crack this list as the season goes on.


SECOND BASE

1) Mark Ellis (A's)
2) Aaron Hill (Blue Jays)
3) Robinson Cano (Yankees)
4) Brandon Phillips (Reds)
5) Placido Polanco (Tigers)
6) Orlando Hudson (Diamondbacks)
7) Jose Lopez (Mariners)
8) Asdrubal Cabrera (Indians)
9) Chase Utley (Phillies)
10) Kaz Matsui (Astros)

The second base rankings have changed a lot the last two years as probably in 2006 the only guy that would still have been on the list is Orlando Hudson. Hudson is falling a bit, though he probably still deserves to be ranked higher just on past accomplishments. Cano and Phillips both emerged last year as top tier defenders and Asdrubal Cabrera could quickly become a defensive star in 2008. Tadahito Iguchi just missed the list.


SHORTSTOP

1) Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies)
2) Adam Everett (Twins)
3) Jimmy Rollins (Phillies)
4) Omar Vizquel (Giants)
5) Jack Wilson (Pirates)
6) Orlando Cabrera (White Sox)
7) Rafael Furcal (Dodgers)
8) Jose Reyes (Mets)
9) Khalil Greene (Padres)
10) Luis Hernandez (Orioles)

After being the standard bearer for the past few seasons, Adam Everett this year slips to number two as Troy Tulowitzki inherits the title of best defensive shortstop in baseball. He's not too shabby offensively either. Jimmy Rollins is right up there with them though and amazingly, Omar Vizquel is still doing it as well as anyone. Luis Hernandez gets the 10th spot over more proven commodities like Ryan Theriot and Jason Bartlett, well, just because I think he is going to be that good defensively.


THIRD BASE

1) Pedro Feliz (Phillies)
2) Ryan Zimmerna (Nationals)
3) Scott Rolen (Blue Jays)
4) Adrian Beltre (Mariners)
5) David Wright (Mets)
6) Aramis Ramirez (Cubs)
7) Eric Chavez (A's)
8) Mike Lowell (Red Sox)
9) Melvin Mora (Orioles)
10) Troy Glaus (Cardinals)

No one is a bigger David Wright fan than I am, but Pedro Feliz should have won the NL gold glove last year, not Wright. Feliz is the best in the business, with Zimmerman and Rolen not far behind. Wright still cracks the top five, a shade ahead of Aramis Ramirez. Troy Glaus nets the last spot over young guys with potential like Alex Gordon and Evan Longoria, mainly because the move to natural grass should greatly help his fielding and ability to stay on the field.


RIGHT FIELD

1) Austin Kearns (Nationals)
2) Alex Rios (Blue Jays)
3) Jeff Francoeur (Braves)
4) Randy Winn (Giants)
5) Franklin Gutierrez (Indians)
6) Corey Hart (Brewers)
7) Nick Markakis (Orioles)
8) Ryan Church (Mets)
9) Geoff Jenkins (Phillies)
10) Jeremy Hermida (Marlins)

Right Field is an interesting position as there are a lot of awful defenders, a lot of good defenders, a lot of young players and very few great players. Kearns' track record earns him the number one spot but it could belong to Rios long before the season is through. Ryan Church and Geoff Jenkins both thrived mainly in left field last year and should have no problem with the transition. Young guys to keep an eye on include Hunter Pence, Justin Upton and Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome, any of who could crack the top ten by season's end.


CENTER FIELD

1) Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners)
2) Curtis Granderson (Tigers)
3) Carlos Beltran (Mets)
4) Andruw Jones (Dodgers)
5) Aaron Rowand (Giants)
6) Torii Hunter (Angels)
7) Grady Sizemore (Indians)
8) Melky Cabrera (Yankees)
9) Mike Cameron (Brewers)
10) B.J. Upton (Rays)

This was easily the most difficult position to rank. Mainly due to the fact that there are so many quality defenders, of course that is why they are playing center field. In fact it's probably a safe bet that the 20th best center field is a better defensive player than just about any right or left fielder. Making things even more difficult is the influx of young talent at this position going into 2008, many of whom could be breakout defensive stars. For now, Ichiro still is my easy choice for number one, as I said earlier, I think Ichiro may be the very best defensive player in all of baseball, at any position. Granderson is a good choice at two and Andruw Jones, despite reports of him slipping, is still one of the best in the game. All excellent defenders round out the list, including the underrated Melky Cabrera. However, there are a large number of players who could crack this list at some point this season including Shane Victorino, Cameron Maybin, Felix Pie, Nyjer Morgan, Michael Bourn, Vernon Wells, Carlos Gomez and Jacoby Ellsbury.


LEFT FIELD

1) Eric Byrnes (Diamondbacks)
2) Carl Crawford (Rays)
3) Alfonso Soriano (Cubs)
4) Matt Holliday (Rockies)
5) Shannon Stewart (Blue Jays)
6) Matt Diaz (Braves)
7) Carlos Quentin (White Sox)
8) Mark Teahen (Royals)
9) Jason Michaels (Indians)
10) Jason Bay (Pirates)

Of course left field is the weakest of all positions defensively, as that is where the weakest defenders are usually placed. Other than Eric Byrnes, who can play all three outfield positions well, and probably Carl Crawford and Alfonso Soriano, none of the other players would crack the top 10 of the other two outfield spots. However, these guys are all very good defenders, and Mark Teahen and Carlos Quentin could be big defensive surprises.


Ok., that will do it for our look at the defenses, get that feedback in ASAP, I am sure you all have many, many, many complaints…LOL!! No seriously, I want to hear from you. As I said in the intro, defensive rankings can be very subjective and no matter how many stats and opinions you look at, nothing is as valuable as the people that actually watch the games. In other words, fans of the team always have the best input on the defensive value of their players and they see things that no stats can tell you. Now let's move on…….


CLEANING UP

As promised last week, this week we are beginning a brand new, six week feature in the greatest. In previous installments we have tackled hometown heroes, the best players from each state, as well as the top ten players for each franchise. This week, we begin to unveil the all-time best lineups/rotations for every single team.

Let's go through a few quick rules before we get to the lists.

First, keep in mind that these are the best players FOR that particular team, not the best players to have ever played for a team. That means for example that Willie Mays will not make the Mets list. Of course he was a better player than Tommie Agee or Lenny Dykstra or Carlos Beltran, but he wasn't a better player for the Mets, so he won't make it over any of those guys when it comes time to make out their all-time lineup.

Second, positions do matter, with the exception of the outfield. For the outfield I will just choose the three best outfields in the team's history and assign them spots, trying my best to make it actually align to a RF, CF, LF situation. By contrast, I will not finagle infield positions to suit my needs. I toyed with idea of doing this in order to make the lineups more complete, but in the end decided that it would defeat the entire point of the exercise. For example, Lou Whitaker deserves to make the all-time Tiger team, however, unfortunately for him, the Tigers second base job has to go to Charlie Gehringer. I thought about putting Whitaker in at third to get him a spot, but then it turns into another top ten list rather than an all-time lineup. The idea is to see who the best player at each position for each team is, and in that case the beneficiary was Travis Fryman. However, in cases where a player has played a large amount of games at multiple positions, I may move them to the position that isn't considered their primary position to better make out the lineup. For example, Harmon Killebrew is known as first baseman, but he also played over 500 games at third, so do to the abundance of first basemen for the Tigers and lack of third basemen, below I used Killebrew at third.

In the case of DH's, I did not go only with players who were DH's, but rather left that as a flex spot to fill in with the best player who did not fit in at any position. The NL will just go with standard eight man lineups and will not use a DH, utility player or pinch-hitter. If you have any other questions about these lists, please let me know.

Lastly, I have used the entire franchise index listed on baseball-reference.com as my source for this feature. Meaning that in the case of the Twins below, we are using both the Minnesota Twins and Washington Senators. And that will be the case with all franchises going forward.

Now, as usual, I have stalled and bored you long enough, let's jump to the lists.


"The Greatest" All-Time Chicago White Sox (1901-present) Lineup/Rotation….

MGR – Al Lopez
C – Carlton Fisk
1B – Paul Konerko
2B – Eddie Collins
SS – Luke Appling
3B – Robin Ventura
RF – Harold Baines
CF – Minnie Minoso
LF – "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
DH – Frank Thomas
SP – Ted Lyons
SP – Red Faber
SP – Ed Walsh
SP – Eddie Cicotte
SP – Billy Pierce
CL – Bobby Thigpen


"The Greatest" All-Time Cleveland Indians (1901-present) Lineup/Rotation….

MGR – Mike Hargrove
C – Sandy Alomar Jr.
1B – Jim Thome
2B – Nap Lajoie
SS – Lou Boudreau
3B – Ken Keltner
RF – Earl Averill
CF – Tris Speaker
LF – Larry Doby
DH – Joe Sewell
SP – Bob Feller
SP – Bob Lemon
SP – Addie Joss
SP – Early Wynn
SP – Stan Coveleski
CL – Jose Mesa


"The Greatest" All-Time Detroit Tigers (1901-present) Lineup/Rotation……

MGR – Sparky Anderson
C – Bill Freehan
1B – Hank Greenberg
2B – Charlie Gehringer
SS – Alan Trammell
3B – Travis Fryman
RF – Al Kaline
CF – Ty Cobb
LF – Sam Crawford
DH – Harry Heilmann
SP – Mickey Lolich
SP – Hooks Dauss
SP – Hal Newhouser
SP – Jack Morris
SP – George Mullin
CL – Todd Jones


"The Greatest" All-Time Kansas City Royals (1969-present) Lineup/Rotation….

MGR – Dick Howser
C – Mike Macfarlane
1B – Mike Sweeney
2B – Frank White
SS – Freddie Patek
3B – George Brett
RF – Willie Wilson
CF – Amos Otis
LF – Danny Tartabull
DH – Hal McRae
SP – Paul Splittorff
SP – Dennis Leonard
SP – Kevin Appier
SP – Bret Saberhagen
SP – Larry Gura
CL – Dan Quisenberry


"The Greatest" All-Time Washington Senators (1901-1960)/Minnesota Twins (1961-present) Lineup/Rotation….

MGR – Tom Kelly
C – Earl Battey
1B – Joe Judge
2B – Rod Carew
SS – Cecil Travis
3B – Harmon Killebrew
RF – Tony Oliva
CF – Kirby Puckett
LF – Sam Rice
DH – Kent Hrbek
SP – Walter Johnson
SP – Jim Kaat
SP – Bert Blyleven
SP – Johan Santana
SP – Brad Radke
CL – Rick Aguilera



So that will do it for this week's column. I hope you all enjoyed it. See you all next week as the Curveballs and Sliders countdown to the 2008 MLB season continues when we will finally get into the 2008 rotations. All 30 rotations will be ranked as well as breakdowns of the best rotation tops and bottoms. Plus we will continue to look at the all-time lineups and rotations for another MLB division. Don't miss it!!!! Until then………………………..

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