The poster ‘ThisIsOurHouse’ on Orioles Hangout, posted a visual representation of how he would rank AL East players, as he compared the respective rosters.
Obviously red = Boston, orange = Baltimore, navy blue = New York, light blue = Toronto, and green = Tampa.
I think we could quibble with some of the individual rankings, but I think looking at the rosters in these terms is the more interesting discussion.
Catcher:
Martinez, Wieters, Posada, Buck, Navarro
1st Base:
Teixeira, Youkilis, Pena, Atkins, Overbay
2nd Base:
Hill , Zobrist, Cano, Pedroia, Roberts
Shortstop:
Jeter, Bartlett, Scutaro, Izturis, Gonzalez
3rd Base:
Longoria, Rodriguez, Tejada, Beltre, Encarnacion
Left Field:
Lind, Crawford, Reimold, Ellsbury, Gardner
Centerfield:
Granderson, Jones, Cameron, Upton, Wells
Right Field:
Markakis, Drew, Swisher, Snider, Joyce
DH:
Johnson, Scott, Ortiz, Burrell, Ruiz
Ace:
Sabathia, Beckett, Shields, Millwood, Romero
2nd Pitcher:
Burnett, Lester, Garza, Marcum, Guts
3rd Pitcher:
Lackey, Vasquez, Matusz, Niemann, Morrow
4th Pitcher:
Pettitte, Price, Dice K, Bergesen, Rzepcynski
5th Pitcher:
Hughes, Buckholz, Davis, Hernandez, Tallet
Closer:
Rivera, Papelbon, Gonzalez, Soriano, Fraser
Basic Thoughts:
1) The O’s can contend when Matusz, and Tillman prove to be a 1-2 comparable to the duos of NY, Boston, and Tampa. Personally I believe that can happen in 2011. Baltimore’s two will not be equals to Beckett, and Lester; but I see them being right in the conversation with the NY and Tampa pairs. (I also think Bergesen, Hernandez, Arrieta, Britton will give the O’s a chance to match-up with the back of the rotations within the division during the coming years. When people talk about the AL East being the best division in baseball, the discussion really begins with how talented and deep these rotations are. Even Romero, Marcum, Morrow is a very talented trio.)
2) Wieters, Jones, and Markakis can (and probably should) each end the 2010 season as the best players at their position within the division.
3) Baltimore is going to continue to regret not drafting Grant Green in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft. Had the O’s drafted Green, he probably would have headed into the ’11 season being the projected Oriole starter at SS.
3a) The Orioles should continue to see if Tampa is willing to move either Bartlett or Brignac. My guess is that Bartlett is currently unavailable, as the Rays want to have their full team available to make a 2010 run for the title. However, it is possible that at some-point Tampa decides to move Bartlett and promote Brignac. This would allow the Rays to save a few dollars, while still putting a talented option out at SS everyday. Those dollar savings could allow Tampa the means to further address their bullpen. Of course, if Tampa is committed to Bartlett long-term, than they have a commodity available in Brignac. He might cost more for the O’s to obtain as a division-foe, but he would be infinitely better than anything existing within the Oriole organization.
Brignac 2009 season, Age 23
AAA: .744 OPS, 28 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers. .282 avg, 27 walks, 69 k’s, 415 at-bats.
MLB: .745 OPS, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer, .278 avg, 3 walks, 20 k’s, 90 at-bats.
Not overwhelming stats by any imagination, but again far better than what you have.
4) No real secret here, but the dominance of Rivera and Papelbon can not be overstated.
5) It is amazing how loaded 2nd-base is within this division. Over the last 3 seasons, Roberts has averaged 157 games. If you want Roberts to hold-up, and be able to compete against his division foes for the duration of his contract (signed through 2013) you need to find him some additional rest. If the O’s limited Roberts to 148-150 games, that would probably greatly benefit him. With Wigginton on the roster, the ability to do that exists.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.