Pelletier's Perspective 05.07.08: Decade of Dominance
Posted by Justin Pelletier on 05.07.2008
Is the American League turly superior to the National League? Join 411's Justin Pelletier as he takes a look at the very best in each of baseball's six division in this week's Pelletier's Perspective.
Since the beginning of time the AFC has been superior to the NFC, the NBA's Western Conference has dominated its Eastern and the American League has beat down the National.
OK, so "the beginning of time" may be an exaggeration, but not much of one.
In football, the AFC has ruled supreme since Elway's Broncos downed Favre's Pack in Super Bowl XXXII. That's a decade of dominance.
The same can be said in the NBA, where it was Jordan's Bulls which last gave the East a dominate franchise.
It is even longer in the Majors where American League superiority can be traced all the way back to the Blue Jays back-to-back world titles in '92 and '93!
The point is that each sport seems to be in a prolonged era of one-sidedness. Today, we here at the Perspective will create an All-Star from each of the six divisions to see if the AL truly is king.
NL East
The NL East is a deep division, as it's home to three teams with playoff aspirations. It is also home to two awful franchises. Here's a look at how an NL East team would shake out.
1. Hanley Ramirez, DH, Marlins
2. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies
3. David Wright, 3B, Mets
4. Ryan Howard, 1B, Phillies
5. Carlos Beltran, CF, Mets
6. Pat Burrell, LF, Phillies
7. Jeff Francoeur, RF, Braves
8. Brian McCann, C, Braves
9. Jose Reyes, SS, Mets
Pitching Staff
1. Johan Santana, Mets
2. Cole Hamels, Phillies
3. John Smoltz, Braves
4. Tim Hudson, Braves
5. Brett Myers, Phillies
CP. Billy Wagner, Mets
The Perspective: The lineup is a nice mix of speed, power and contact from top to bottom but, after Santana and Hamels, the staff is a question mark. Smoltz claims he's retuning to the pen, Hudson has been up and down for years and Myers is in an awful funk. Washington's Ryan Zimmerman and Philly's Jimmy Rollins would provide excellent skills off the bench. Overall, the NL East matches up well with any other division.
Toughest Position Battle: Short Stop - Three MVP type players play SS in the East. Reyes won the job due to his excellent defense. Jimmy Rollins would be the best bench player in the history of baseball.
NL Central
Every team in the Central is represented in the starting lineup, although the Cubs lead the way.
1. Alfonso Soriano, LF, Cubs
2. Brandon Phillips, 2B, Reds
3. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals
4. Prince Fielder, DH, Brewers
5. Carlos, Lee, RF, Astros
6. Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Cubs
7. Miguel Tejada, SS, Astros
8. Geovany Soto, C, Cubs
9. Jason Bay, CF, Pirates
Pitching Staff
1. Roy Oswalt, Astros
2. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs
3. Ben Sheets, Brewers
4. Aaron Harang, Reds
5. Ted Lilly, Cubs
CP. Jose Valverde, Astros
The Perspective: First-base is stacked in the Central as Lance Berkman is regulated to the bench. Catcher was a concern but Geovany Soto seems to be the real deal. Kosuke Fukudome, Ken Griffy, Adam Dunn and Ryan Braun add a ton of outfield power off the bench. The staff is shaky, after Oswalt and Zambrano, due to Sheets injuries and the fact that Lilly is the number five. If the Reds young aces prove to be the real deal, the Central could have the big-league's best pitchers.
Toughest Position Battle: First Base - Like the East at SS, the central has three MVP caliber first basemen but only two slots to award (1B & DH). Lance Berkman was the odd man out.
NL West
The Giants offer no help to a division that is loaded in the rotation, but light with the lumber.
1. Chris Young, DH, D-Backs
2. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies
3. Matt Holliday, LF, Rockies
4. Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies
5. Eric Byrnes, CF, D-Backs
6. Garrett Atkins, 3B, Rockies
7. Russell Martin, C, Dodgers
8. Jeff Kent, 2B, Dodgers
9. Justin Upton, RF, D-Backs
The Perspective: This further illustrates why I picked Arizona to reach the NLCS. Along with Colorado, the D-Backs make up the majority of the lineup, while also boasting the number two and three starters. The rotation is where the West separates itself, with five pitchers who could be aces on almost any team. Trevor Hoffman's struggles this year could be a concern as the West lacks quality closers.
Toughest Position Battle: Right Field - Colorado's Brad Hawpe received careful consideration but Upton's upside was too great to leave off the squad.
AL West
A four team division, with two teams bereft of talent, means LA and Seattle have to carry the way.
1. Ichiro, LF, Mariners
2. Chone Figgins, 3B, Angels
3. Josh Hamilton, DH, Rangers
4. Vladimir Guerrero, RF, Angels
5. Torri Hunter, CF, Angels
6. Ian Kinsler, 2B, Rangers
7. Michael Young, SS, Rangers
8. Casey Kotchman, 1B, Angels
9. Kenji Johjima, C, Mariners
Pitching Staff
1. Erik Bedard, Mariners
2. John Lackey, Angels
3. Felix Hernandez, Mariners
4. Rich Harden, A's
5. Jon Garland, Angels
CP. Francisco Rodriguez, Angels
The Perspective: - The West, clearly, has the must punchless lineup, with only Vlad Guerrero capable of striking fear in an opposing pitcher. Ichiro, Figgins and Hunter give the West plenty of speed on the base paths but Kotchman leaves quite a bit to be desired from a position with traditionally provides the power. If Harden ever gets healthy and Hernandez continues to improve the pitching staff would be quite nice, especially with K-Rod nailing it down in the ninth.
Toughest Position Battle: Closer - K-Rod gets the spot due to J.J. Putz's recent injury.
AL CENTRAL
The pitching staff might be iffy or it might be dominate. Most would believe the lineup to be explosive, it they hadn't seen the Tigers play this season.
1. Curtis Granderson, CF, Tigers
2. Joe Mauer, C, Twins
3. Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins
4. Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Tigers
5. Magglio Ordonez, DH, Tigers
6. Grady Sizemore, LF, Indians
7. Delmon Young, RF, Twins
8. Edgar Renteria, SS, Tigers
9. Placido Polanco, 2B, Tigers
The Perspective - I was shocked to see how Twin and Tiger heavy the lineup was. Grady Sizemore was the only position player who plays outside of Detroit or Minnesota. The staff was nearly as loaded with Twins and Tigers, although the Indians are well represented. Not surprisingly, there are no Royals on the squad, but the exclusion or any, and all, White Sox comes as a shock. I guess Ozzie Guillen has a point when he says people believe they are a horse shit team.
Toughest Position Battle: DH - Leaving Cleveland's Travis Hafner was difficult, but his lack of production lately made room from Ordonez.
AL EAST
1. Carl Crawford, RF, Rays
2. Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees
3. David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
5. Manny Ramirez, LF, Red Sox
6. Carlos Pena, 1B, Rays
7. B.J. Upton, CF, Rays
8. Jason Varitek, C, Red Sox
9. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox
Pitching Staff
1. Roy Holliday, Blue Jays
2. Josh Beckett, Red Sox
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox
4. Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees
5. Scott Kazmir, Rays
CP. Mariano Rivera, Yankees
The Perspective - You read that right. There are as many Tampa Bay Rays on the squad as New York Yankees (and that's excluding Tampa's other two fine young pitchers Matt Garza and Scott Shields). Tampa is the future of baseball and, as evident by having only one starter, the Yankees are struggling to hold on to their crown. As would be expected, the reigning champs are well represented in both the field and on the mound. Two of the toughest decision came in the East and both were between Yankees and Sox, with each winning one.
Toughest Position Battle: Catcher - Varitek won the catching job over Jorge Posada based on his superior defensive ability.
The most well represented teams were the Angels and Tigers with seven players apiece. The best lineup has to go to the NL East, which boasts an MVP first baseman, as well as, the best second baseman and, offensive, short stop in the game. Not to mention a possible MVP at third and the reigning MVP on the bench.
As far as pitchers go, nobody can touch the NL West. Each of the five could be the number one, ace, on any staff in baseball.
If these teams were to play in a World Baseball Classic style format the AL Central and AL West could be discounted immediately. The Central, due to the bottom of its rotation, (Bonderman and Rodgers) the West due to its weak offense.
The NL Central has a nice mix but would suffer defensively with Soriano forced to play center and Lee in left. (That's the main reason Bay was included).
That leaves the NL West, NL East and AL East. The NL East has a loaded lineup and the game's best pitcher. The NL West has the best rotation to go along with Colorado's bats and Arizona's speed. Each has its flaws though. The East as a weak backend of the rotation (Myers and Hudson) while the West could suffer with Hoffman as its closer.
Not surprisingly, the AL East has the most well-rounded team. It has aces up and down the staff and the game's best closer. There is speed at the top of the order, power in the middle with clutch players and glue guys sprinkled throughout.
So, does the belief that the AL is superior to the NL hold up?
At the top, namely Boston and New York, it does but upon closer examination, it's clear the Senior Circuit is catching up.
wow ted lilly over adam wainright? are you a cubs fan?
Posted By: derek (Guest) on May 07, 2008 at 12:11 PM
I would've liked Youk over Carlos Pena, but still a pretty spot on list.
Still think the AL is better.
Posted By: Csonkaholic. (Guest) on May 07, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Varitek over posada, uhh no
Posted By: mmack23 (Guest) on May 07, 2008 at 11:30 PM
How the fuck can you pick David Wright at 3B over Chipper Jones???
He's hitting .429 on the season, and over .500 for the last week.
Let's have that sink in. His season batting average is the highest in the majors, by .063 -- That's not even close.
He's also 3rd in the NL in home runs, and 4th in RBI. David Wright is 5th in RBI, but he's nowhere else near the top of the leaderboard in other categories.
You sir, are a Mets fan and an idoit.
Posted By: Alex (Guest) on May 08, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Decent point Derek. I suppose wainright would be been a better pick.
The reason I picked Varitek over Posada is simple. The East lineup is loaded and Posada couldn't throw out my grandmother trying to steal second.
Picking Varitek meant that I needed another bat, thus Pena at first.
Alex, I'm not sure exactly why you are so angry. Clearly you are a Braves fan (although I'll refrain from calling you an idiot). Jones is having a great year but over the last three seasons he's simply not the player Wright is. He's great, probably a Hall of Famer, but need I remind you that Mike Jacobs is near the top of the leage in many offensive stats. Also Chris Shelton led the AL in HR for quite a while last year. One month does not a season make.
Posted By: Justin (Guest) on May 08, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Sorry, I've got to disagree with you again. Jones almost won the batting title last year, and has been hot all of this season. Yes, Chris Shelton did have 8 or 9 home runs a few Aprils ago, but he also was out of the majors a few months later, and is in the Rangers minor league system right now.
I don't think that Mike Jacobs will have the same fall from grace that Shelton did, but he won't sustain those numbers all season either. Nor do I think Chipper will have a .400 batting average after the season, but I think he'll finish somewhere between .330 and .370.
That said, David Wright has a had a short, productive career thus far, and looks to be better in the years to come. To be honest, I despise the Mets (and Yankees), but I agree that Wright is a great 3B, and one of the best in the game. It's too bad they both play in the same division.
Also I hate to nitpick, but I wouldn't say the "decade of dominance" started with the Blue Jays. That team was never the same after the '93 World Series, so you could hardly associate them with a dynasty. The Expos were the best team through the Summer of '94, and the Braves won in '95. Yes I'm a fan. Most people associate the AL Dominance with the All-Star game, since the AL has won every season since 1997, with exception of the 2002 7-7 tie.
I agree with you that the lineups of both East divisions are the best, and it would be a hell of a series if those lineups played each other.
Posted By: Alex (Guest) on May 08, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Um, how can you leave the best pitcher in baseball this year (Cliff Lee) off an AL staff? And how can you put two of his teammates that are not having nearly as good seasons (and in Sabathia's case, not even close)? Lee is 6-0 with a 0.81 ERA, and his strikeout to walk ratio is 39-2!
Posted By: John (Guest) on May 08, 2008 at 09:51 PM
If you look at the names on the lists, it appears to be based on last year's performances. Else we should see guys like Cliff Lee or Micah Owings on the lists. But hey, maybe the guy is just an "idoit" (ROTFLMAO, oh the irony)
Posted By: Mark (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 09:36 AM
Thanks Alex.
As for Lee, one month doesn't make him a top pitcher IMO. CC is still the better pitcher.
Posted By: Justin (Guest) on May 09, 2008 at 10:31 AM
