Top 5 Lineups In the AL

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Question, Al. How has the Twins' W-L record been over the past few seasons compared to their pythagorean W-L? Also, their roster is usually down around seven or eight on the list, so I'm wondering if the Twins' manager is very good or if the managers of other AL Central franchises are just very bad.

 

Finally, do you really think that the Twins will finish behind both the Indians and the Tigers this year?

 

These rankings are rankings only of the nine players that form each team's projected starting lineup. The Twins have a mediocre offense, but their pitching would easily top the AL Central, and they are the division favorites.

 

Boston's line-up is more balanced and thus better overall. This is one case where your numbers thing doesn't work because they get alot of it from 2 or 3 players, where-as Boston can hurt you right down the line.

 

Balance does not equal quality.

 

Please remember, again, that this only grades the lineups. The Red Sox' offense is better than the Yankees. But the article grades only the starting lineup, and that's why I ranked the Yankees ahead.

 

Tino was "pretty good" in his prime?

 

144 RBIS in 97 is better than pretty good.

 

It is the product of having Derek Jeter (.370 OBP), Paul O'Neill (.399), Bernie Williams (.408), Wade Boggs (.373), and sometimes Tim Raines (.403) batting ahead of Tino in the lineup. Any scrub hitting fifth in that lineup would knock in 100 runs. The only statistic Martinez led the league in that year was sacrifice flies. And that was his best year. I'm sorry, but zero times leading the league in any important offensive category, and just two All-Star appearances, does not rank a player above "pretty good."

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Darin Erstad is the worst hitting first baseman in the American League.

Was it only four seasons ago that Darin Erstad was among the top five hitters in the AL?

 

.355/.409/.541, 25 HR's, 100 RBI, 240 hits, 39 doubles, 121 runs, 366 total bases.

 

Boy, I remember having him in a Sandbox.com fantasy league, and he was just a point machine.

That season more and more looks like one of the all-time fluke seasons. He's essentially the second coming of Willie McGee, except no team was ever stupid enough to place McGee at first so they could play a 39 year old Jose Cruz Sr. in center field.

[Fökai 0]

Make that five seasons - my mistake, and I edited it.

 

Judging by the stats proceeding the 2000 season, you are correct about the term "fluke".

[Guest LooneyTune]

Tino was "pretty good" in his prime?

 

144 RBIS in 97 is better than pretty good.

 

It is the product of having Derek Jeter (.370 OBP), Paul O'Neill (.399), Bernie Williams (.408), Wade Boggs (.373), and sometimes Tim Raines (.403) batting ahead of Tino in the lineup. Any scrub hitting fifth in that lineup would knock in 100 runs. The only statistic Martinez led the league in that year was sacrifice flies. And that was his best year. I'm sorry, but zero times leading the league in any important offensive category, and just two All-Star appearances, does not rank a player above "pretty good."

This should kill that argument... kinda like how Brady Anderson had one great year (50 Home Runs I think), which meant to everyone in Baltimore that he was the greatest player alive.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The Orioles lineup is going to be awesome. They have, without a doubt, the best 2-6 (Mora,Tejada,Sosa,Lopez,Palmeiro).142 HR and 508 RBI between them last year.. Its just ashame that the back end of the lineup wont be as strong (Gibbons,Bigbie,Matos). If Gibbons can have a halfway decent year this year after his injury plagued season last year, it will be even better. Brian Roberts fulltime at the leadoff spot will probably also be a good thing. If the Orioles ONLY had a halfway decent pitching staff, I could probably come on here and say that they would AT LEAST Finish in 2nd in the AL East with a winning record and maybe have a shot at the wild card. As it is, Id be shocked if they finished in 3rd again and even more shocked if they finish with a winning record, even with the offense as it is.

[Precious Roy 0]

Tino was "pretty good" in his prime?

 

144 RBIS in 97 is better than pretty good.

 

It is the product of having Derek Jeter (.370 OBP), Paul O'Neill (.399), Bernie Williams (.408), Wade Boggs (.373), and sometimes Tim Raines (.403) batting ahead of Tino in the lineup. Any scrub hitting fifth in that lineup would knock in 100 runs. The only statistic Martinez led the league in that year was sacrifice flies. And that was his best year. I'm sorry, but zero times leading the league in any important offensive category, and just two All-Star appearances, does not rank a player above "pretty good."

This should kill that argument... kinda like how Brady Anderson had one great year (50 Home Runs I think), which meant to everyone in Baltimore that he was the greatest player alive.

No, it's not like that at all. Brady Anderson is like the aforementioned Darin Erstad, one great year, a couple good years, then nothing. Tino Martinez was never a "great" player, but he was a hard worker who maximized his talent and strung together many consistent quality seasons. Don't insult him by comparing him to a failed experiment in steroids.

 

Tino is at a stage where players decline every year with the exception of a few.

 

True, but his season with Tampa Bay last year was much more productive than the previous two in St. Louis, which kind of shoots the steady decline theory out of the water.

 

I've got a feeling Tino's got a little magic left in him. Just playing in Yankee Stadium again is going to energize him, because he'll easily be one of the most popular guys on the team.

[Guest LooneyTune]

I'm not insulting Martinez. I have said numerous times already he was a pretty good player during his prime, but I'm not going to pretend he's still in his, which ended quite a few years ago. For someone in his part of his career though, he did have a pretty productive season last year, and he wasn't a full time starter either (he won't be this season either unless something major happens)

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

The only way Seattle will suprise me is if they dont score a fuckload of runs. Theirlineup rocks. Well except for the legendary Pokey Reese obviously.

 

I'd probably go like

 

1A - Yanks

1B - Sox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(yes, that was on purpose)

 

3. Seattle

4. Baltimore

5A - Cleveland

5B - Anahiem Los Angeles Angles of LA

6. Texas

[mike546 0]

Tino was "pretty good" in his prime?

 

144 RBIS in 97 is better than pretty good.

 

It is the product of having Derek Jeter (.370 OBP), Paul O'Neill (.399), Bernie Williams (.408), Wade Boggs (.373), and sometimes Tim Raines (.403) batting ahead of Tino in the lineup. Any scrub hitting fifth in that lineup would knock in 100 runs. The only statistic Martinez led the league in that year was sacrifice flies. And that was his best year. I'm sorry, but zero times leading the league in any important offensive category, and just two All-Star appearances, does not rank a player above "pretty good."

This should kill that argument... kinda like how Brady Anderson had one great year (50 Home Runs I think), which meant to everyone in Baltimore that he was the greatest player alive.

You can't compare Tino to Brady Anderson. Anderson had one great year, while Tino had 6 out of 7 years of more than 100 RBIs, and 6 out of 7 years of 25+ Home Runs.

 

EDIT: Didn't see Roys post.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Do all Yankee fans not understand the fucking words "VERY GOOD"? Jesus Christ...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Tino was "pretty good" in his prime?

 

144 RBIS in 97 is better than pretty good.

 

It is the product of having Derek Jeter (.370 OBP), Paul O'Neill (.399), Bernie Williams (.408), Wade Boggs (.373), and sometimes Tim Raines (.403) batting ahead of Tino in the lineup. Any scrub hitting fifth in that lineup would knock in 100 runs. The only statistic Martinez led the league in that year was sacrifice flies. And that was his best year. I'm sorry, but zero times leading the league in any important offensive category, and just two All-Star appearances, does not rank a player above "pretty good."

This should kill that argument... kinda like how Brady Anderson had one great year (50 Home Runs I think), which meant to everyone in Baltimore that he was the greatest player alive.

You can't compare Tino to Brady Anderson. Anderson had one great year, while Tino had 6 out of 7 years of more than 100 RBIs, and 6 out of 7 years of 25+ Home Runs.

 

EDIT: Didn't see Roys post.

You're underscoring Brady Anderson here. He did have one great season of home runs when he smashed 50. But while he never came close to that home run total again, he was a very productive player otherwise. In 1992 for example, he posted a .373 OBP, hit 21 home runs, and stole 53 bases. That's pretty damned good. Anderson also played a key defensive position.

 

Career Win Shares

 

Brady Anderson 214

Tino Martinez 209

 

Martinez will pass Anderson this year, but the margin between the two players is very close. By no means is Martinez CLEARY better than Brady.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

Brady played center?

[Styles 0]

Brady played center?

Of course! He was mainly a centerfielder for his whole career. In the mid 90s they shifted him to left field and then he sort of shifted between all 3 outfield positions before being shifted to an awful DH and being released...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Actually, Anderson played mostly left for the first half of his career, before the Orioles realized that Curtis Goodwin or Mike Devereaux were not going to get them a pennant. Anderson played center for the next five years, before Melvin Mora moved him out of center, and Anderson left soon after.

[Vern Gagne 0]

These rankings are rankings only of the nine players that form each team's projected starting lineup. The Twins have a mediocre offense, but their pitching would easily top the AL Central, and they are the division favorites.

 

That could change if Mauer and Morneau can both stay healthy and productive all season.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

My projections allotted 371 ABs for Mauer, and 448 ABs for Morneau. Mauer's projection is already in the I-Rod/Posada range.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Nice. Mauer only needs to stay healthy, and he's one of the best catchers in the game. What about Morneau? What kind of numbers is he projected to put up?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

.282/.351/.513. 25 HRs. He's rated below the elites, but above the Jason Giambi/Carlos Pena level of first basemen.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Al, do you only have a certain number of AB's, you can give a player?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm just taking these from Baseball Prospectus. If you feel a player will garner more at bats, we can simply run some basic algebra. Divide home runs by projected at bats (creating a rate stat), and multiply by your own projected At bats. A 162 season would likely net Morneau around 575 ABs.

 

HRs/ABs*575= 32 HRs

 

Adjust as needed.