Red Sox Offseason Moves - Position Players

Here's how I see the Red Sox roster for position players going forward for the 2014 season. Pretty long position-by-position breakdown so if you are interested - it continues after the break.

Player Comparison

An interesting player comparison occurred to me over the weekend.

Player A - 8 HR / 40 RBI / .299 BA / .867 OPS
Player B - 8 HR / 18 RBI / .212 BA / .650 OPS

What makes the comparison interesting is that Player A is struggling for a MLB roster spot Daniel Nava (who is making just $505,000 in 2013) and Player B is mega-star Josh Hamilton (who signed a mega contract that will pay him an average of $24.6 million per season for the next 5-years).

Player Comparison

Here's a player comparison that I found interesting - keep in mind that both players are 29 years old with not much big league experience:

Player A: 211 AB/ 30 R/ 13 HR/ 28 RBI/ .284 BA/ .890 OPS
Player B: 143 AB/ 26 R/  3 HR/ 26 RBI/ .294 BA/ .873 OPS

The numbers are fairly close. Player A has more power but he also has a third more AB this season. The big difference is the hype around the players. Player A is Cubs prospect (and pride of Worcester) Brian LaHair while Player B is the vastly under-heralded Daniel Nava.

It is supposed to be the on the field performance that counts. It will be interesting to see if that holds for good guy Nava.

Player Comparison

I just found this amusing:

Jason Bay 2010 - .261 BA / .352 OBP / .410 SLG / .762 OPS
Daniel Nava 2010 - .285 BA / .385 OBP / .456 SLG / .840 OPS

This is a perfect example of a small sample size but I'm amused by the thought that if Bay was putting up Nava's numbers in Boston or New York then people would be OK with him. If Bay was putting up the numbers he has with the Mets in Boston - the talk shows would be screaming for Theo to replace him and crucifying Theo for re-signing him in the first place.

EDIT: Just saw this tweet:

@GlobeChadFinn Jason Bay has two fewer homers than Bill Hall and as many as Darnell McDonald.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Heh heh... Glove box? Glove compartment? Why? Do you know anyone who keeps gloves in there? Just wondering... Brian MacPherson points out that Michael Davies had the line of the World Cup so far on U.S.-England; "Best tie since Bunker Hill"... Best Laptop Ever... "I'm a Reagan Republican." That means I want growth-oriented tax policies, a strong, secure national defense, limited government and maximum individual liberty. That quote was from Peter Hannaford from 2003. It just seemed to crystallize my own political beliefs so well that I wanted to share it... Great story on Daniel Nava by Gordon Edes... People think that Andy Kaufman or Jim Morrison may have faked their deaths. Wouldn't it be funny if guy who faked his own death turns out to be Ted Knight?... Battleship - awesome game... Just as an FYI - "Britney Spears" is an anagram for “Presbyterians.”