Red Sox vs Yankees 2014

Tonight is the first match-up between the rival Red Sox and Yankees in the 2014 season. Here's a the first of four position by position breakdowns between the two clubs.

Catcher - Brian McCann was the premiere free agent catcher this past offseason and was a big signing for the Yankees. So far he's been a disappointment with just a .328 OPS (-7 OPS+ - YIKES!). McCann will eventually hit but this start may be a preview of what the end of his contract may look like. In Boston AJ Pierzynski was signed to replace Jarrod Saltalamachia and AJ has gotten flack on talk radio for his lack of plate discipline. Yet even though Salty has a decent .827 OPS to start the season (to AJ's .720 OPS) but it's Salty with 13 K's who may be the one with plate discipline issues. Even with his slow start knowing McCann can break out at any time - I'm going to call this a draw.

First - This was supposed to be Mark Teixeira vs Mike Napoli but Teixeira is hurt (again). Now it's Napoli (.942 OPS) vs Kelly Johnson (1.037 OPS) - who do you think can maintain that level of hitting? Edge Red Sox.

Second - It used to be Dustin Pedroia vs Robinson Cano and now it's Pedroia vs Brian Roberts. Edge Red Sox.

Shortstop - Hall of Famer to be Derek Jeter is on his farewell tour. The Red Sox counter with Xander Bogaerts who is ranked by most as the second best prospect in baseball. I'm going to call this a draw out of respect to Jeter's accomplishments but in reality I think even Yankee fans would admit they would rather have the Xander-man (in your head did you hear John Sterling when you read that?).

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Under the radar - Baltimore's first three in the batting order are all in the top 11 in batting average in the AL - Brian Roberts (.356 11th), Adam Jones (.359 10th) and Nick Markakis (.381 3rd). That's quietly impressive... I get confused - is I Want Revenge the name of the Kentucky Derby favorite or the name of the Selena Roberts book on A-Rod?... I feel bad for Pittsburgh's Ian Snell. In his last three losses he gave up a total of just 6 earned runs. Why is it that some pitchers always seem to have bad luck when it comes to their team's offense always taking a day off when they start?... There are still 4 players who have as many or more home runs as individuals than the Oakland A's have as a team total... People in Boston are very worried about David Ortiz. I imagine that people in Chicago may be similarly concerned about Derrek Lee and his single HR and .200 BA... Not for nothing but if A-Rod had 3 HR but was hitting just .197 - he'd be booed both at home and on the road. Those are Mark Teixeira's numbers so far... Is Julian Tavarez really the Nationals new closer? Wow - things are worse in Washington than I thought.

The Grimsley Trio and Miggie Tejada

I found this interesting post on how the three Baltimore Oriole players named by Jason Grimsley have performed power-wise since being named as supposed steroids users (HT The Big Lead).

Reading the post made me think of two things.

1. How Miguel Tejada's HR power has diminished since Jose Canseco's book came out. In 2004 (the year before Canseco's book Juiced came out) - Tejada hit 34 HR at a clip of 1 HR every 19.2 AB. In 2005 the book comes out and Tejada's HR totals decrease by 8 HR (1 HR every 25.2 AB). Miggies' doubles increased by 10 in 2005 over 2004 to suggest those hits just lacked that extra "oomph" to get over the wall. In 2006 Tejada's HR production again decreased in year over year comparison and this year he has just 5 HR in 213 AB (1 HR every 42.6 AB). Looks like Miggie and the Grimsley trio need B12 shots.

2. The post on the Grimsley trio was prompted by the guy's friend dating a girl who used to date Brian Roberts. This may be awful but my first thought was to wonder whether the friend asked the girl about the size of Brian Roberts testicles.