the yearly sox/yanks comparison is up on the globe site:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2013/02/04/red-sox-yankees-how-they-match/zPcnqC6hiOzqYYzdTzabbM/story.html?pg=1

i always enjoy reading this article every year. See how we stack up tlt for tat with the EE.

i will post the matchups here but i want to hear your opinions on it.

Let's keep this civil BTW :)

1B: Napoli vs Tex

i'll give the yanks the edge on this one. Naps will likely give you just as much offensive production as Tex (i would bet on more production but that's just me) but without the GG defense.

2B: Pedroia the destroya vs Robbie Cano

Gotta call this one a draw, gun to my head i'd give it to Cano. Pedroia is better defensively (not by much) and Cano is better offensively (not by much). Very evenly matched.

SS: Drew vs Jeter

I give this one to Jeter, he is going to be the Ray Lewis of the yankees. Not going to give you much this season due to his age and recent injuries but his presence and leadership will make the team better. Both are question marks but no sane person would take drew over jeter....

3B: Will Middlebrooke vs Youk

WMB for sure. Youk has been in decline for a couple years now and can't stay on the field. Is it possible for a comeback?? absolutely. But there's so much to like about the dreadnaught that i can't vote against him.

LF: Gomes vs Gardener

i agree w/ the article on this one. Pretty even. They are the opposite of eachother, BG has no stick but a great glove and JG has no glove and a good stick. If Gomes is used properly (strictly in a platoon role) i think he will be more valuable than gardener.

CF: big numbah two vs Granderson

do i even need to say anything about this? your looking at the numbah one big numbah two fan. While Granderson is a very good ballplayer he strikes out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much (195) and is a liability in the field. take him out of yankee stadium and he is simply sub-par (.223/.310/.445 on the road in 2012)

RF: Victorino vs Ichiro

Age aside and i would give this matchup a draw. But i can't ignore the age difference. Edge-SV.

C: Salty vs Cervelli

Salty all the way. the Yanks catching situation is a big problem while Salty seems to be coming into his own. See Salty thread

DH: big papi

no need to discuss this one. or even put up an opponent. the article puts it nicely: Big Papi is AMERICAS DH

P: Lester vs CC

Edge goes to captain crunch. Lester is coming off of the worst season of his career and while CC has dealing with injuries all year he was still impressive. No debate here.

P: Dempster vs Kuroda

their 2012 seasons were strikingly simillar. only .06 difference in ERA between the two. both are old, both will give you 200+ innings. i'll give the edge (barely) to Kuroda. his entire 2012 season was spent in the AL while only half of Dempsters season was in the AL.

P: Buch vs Pettite

edge to Buch. Pettite AKA Old MAn Rivers AKA OMAR is just too old. I think he is going to be replaced by Pineda before seasons end.

P: Doobie vs Hughes

slight edge to doobie here (wanted to call it a draw). hughes is pretty inconsistent but has decent upside. Doobie is poised to have a breakout season but has consistency/effeciency issues as well. Homerism FTW :p

P: Lackey vs Nova

edge to Nova simply because i have no idea how Lackey is going to come back from TJS. Nova is unimpressive but Lackey was garbage in 2011. I wouldn't be surprised if Lackey posted an ERA under 4 with 180 IP. It's been awhile since he's pitched with a healthy arm. time will tell.

BP: Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Bailey, Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard, Craig Breslow, Andrew Miller vs David Robinson, Boone Logan, Clay Rapada, Joba Chamberlain, David Aardsma, Michael Pineda, David Phelps

Edge to the Bosox obviously. They have one of the best BPs in baseball as it stands now and the season will likely confirm that claim.

Closer: Hanrahan vs the sandman

to quote the article: "Yankees. simply out of respect". If I had to pick one 43 year old coming off an ACL tear to have a big comeback it would be the sandman.

 

Every year i keep saying the yankees age is going to catch up with them and every year it never seems to be a factor. i'm gonna stick to my MO and say that age and injuries will finally take their toll. I don't think either team will run away with the division (the ALE is going to be extremely close IMO). Overall, the IF is a draw, the sox have the edge in the OF, Yanks have a better top of the rotation while the sox have a better back end (yankees edge in starting 5), Bosox have a better BP by a mile and i love the Sox depth (can't comment on the yankees depth). I give the team edge to the sox (SHOCKER).

Both teams pretty much balance eachother out. I think its a draw...

Lots of question marks with both teams...Its gonna be fun to see how it all unfolds this year.

G M mef

Every year i keep saying the yankees age is going to catch up with them and every year it never seems to be a factor. i'm gonna stick to my MO and say that age and injuries will finally take their toll. I don't think either team will run away with the division (the ALE is going to be extremely close IMO). Overall, the IF is a draw, the sox have the edge in the OF, Yanks have a better top of the rotation while the sox have a better back end (yankees edge in starting 5), Bosox have a better BP by a mile and i love the Sox depth (can't comment on the yankees depth). I give the team edge to the sox (SHOCKER).

excellent

agree with 777 teams R pretty close

and neither is pretty

the lack of yankee depth should cause the age to finally become their downfall

understandably I disagree with some of your break down

2B: Pedroia the destroya vs Robbie Cano

Gotta call this one a draw, gun to my head i'd give it to Cano. Pedroia is better defensively (not by much) and Cano is better offensively (not by much). Very evenly matched.


1st off I like the name  'laser show '' much better

and don't agree about pedey being better on D

comfortable edge to cano

CF: big numbah two vs Granderson

do i even need to say anything about this? your looking at the numbah one big numbah two fan. While Granderson is a very good ballplayer he strikes out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much (195) and is a liability in the field. take him out of yankee stadium and he is simply sub-par (.223/.310/.445 on the road in 2012)

17 road HR for a CF doesn't come along everyday

even though the writer agrees with you

I don't buy that grandy is a liability in the field compared to ells

seems to be their were some ugly fancy  D  stats 4 ells a few yrs back

while I admire '' the year '' somewhere ells must lose points

while grandy gains for showing up everyday to play

a draw

RF: Victorino vs Ichiro

Age aside and i would give this matchup a draw. But i can't ignore the age difference. Edge-SV.

don't see much if any edge there

both players declining

a draw


I like both BP's

with mo coming back after a yr

I have NP with giving the sox the edge

but as you know BP guys aren't the most consistent

which usually is the reason they are BP guys


that brings us 2 IMO the most interesting one


3B: Will Middlebrooke vs Youk

WMB for sure. Youk has been in decline for a couple years now and can't stay on the field. Is it possible for a comeback?? absolutely. But there's so much to like about the dreadnaught that i can't vote against him.


while I'm concerned more about youks health than his production

if I was a sox fan I'd be not only concern about the sophomore jinx

it would bother me a tad  that he was automatically handed the job for this yr

that can play out both ways

slight edge mbrooks


nice job mef

the sox are going nowhere but i do think that this is the year the yanks finally get old....

it's all about the other teams in the east for a change imo

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I also enjoy the Red Sox vs. Yankees comparison especially when both teams dominated not only the AL East but also all of MLB. 

But this year, the AL East is very well-balanced among all five teams.  I would not be surprised if both the Red Sox and Yankees do not make the playoffs. 

In response to Ice-Cream's comment:

I won't be shocked either Ice

so you think any mods working today ;-(

In response to pinstripezac35's comment:

It's a 5 team race for 2nd place....attrition and health will determine the division. If I were a betting man. I'd probably put my money on Tampa to finish on top with Toronto a legit threat...Though I'm still not convinced that the Rays made a good move trading away Shields...33-220 is tough to replace...Toronto has a couple of health questions Morrow & Johnson are both "DL candidates"...

 

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In response to Beantowne's comment:

Toronto looks great on paper.  Toronto has not made the playoffs since 1993 but I think in 2013, they will finally make the playoffs. 

 

 

In response to HelloItsMeAgain1's comment:

This is an opinion piece babe, if you don't like my analysis feel free to make your own.

In response to pinstripezac35's comment:

thanks zac, hard to disagree with your qualms. All are valid. Except the one about WMB :)

not sure why he should be fighting for his spot. He definitely earned it last season with his explosion into the majors (granted there was a swoon somewhere in the middle). He was adjusting to opposing pitchers pretty well before his unfortunate injury cutting his season short. With no one in the organization to challenge him for a spot and no better 3Bs on the market i thought it was pretty clear to assume he would be our 3B for this year and many years to come.

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In response to Ice-Cream's comment:

They certainly stepped up and made some big moves... "Pn paper" they're among the better teams in the league. Health of thier rotation IMHO will determine how legit they are...could be a 100 win team if everything breaks right (which seldom does). 90 to 95 wins gets you in the race for both the division and the wildcard.

If I were to handicap the ALE I'd say that today "On paper" the Rays, Yank's & Jays are all legit 90 win teams with the O's and the Sox capable of making some noise...Parity seems to be the word of the day in the AL with three teams in the AL West in the mix (Texas, Anahiem & Oakland) ...The AL Central might well prove to the division that swings both races with only the Tigers a real threat to the 90 win threshold...The Royals might be the 2nd best team in that division...The Indian, Twins and White Sox are all in the .500 club along with the Mariners (who will be looking up from the cellar of the west once the calendar turns to summer...

I read through Silva's piece and I think the only thing I disagreed on was the Victorino/Ichiro comparison.  I would much rather have Ichiro in RF than Victorino, despite Ichiro's age.  He has the sweetest swing in baseball and a great arm.

That said, the overall analysis as is, leads one to the conclusion that the Sox should outperform the Yankees. 

However, there is one area of comparison that is not included, and will be the dfference maker, IMO.  That is, GM.  Edge to Yankees, by a lot. 

What Cashman has been so good at is replacing faltering or injured players with great role players.  The Sox have been miserable at doing that, especially under Cherington.  If the Sox have injuries again, and the Yanks have injury/age-related issues, I fully expect Cashman to solve his issues well and Cherington to do little at all.  The only way this works in the Sox favor is if Brentz, Webster, Barnes, Wilson, Bradley, and Bogaerts are all ready to step up and perform at a high level when needed.  That is a lot to ask from some pretty young players (Bogaerts and Webster in particular).

So, while I hold out hope that the Sox can be the surprise team of the ALE, if all goes right, realistically I have to think that the Yankees, though not division winners at all, will end up with more wins than the Sox in 2013.

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In response to HelloItsMeAgain1's comment:

I don't think you read his whole post.

In response to HelloItsMeAgain1's comment:

what color are your yank-em glasses?

The better question might be which team is in a better position from this day forward. While most would agree neither the RS or Yanks will win a WS in 2013. Who will get back there sooner? IMO RS are the team that has the brighter future. With MLB changing most of the rules that gave Big Mkt teams a clear advantage over Small Mkt teams, $ allotment for draft picks, no more signing all the top International FA's available. This means smart baseball decisions and a productive farm system will more dictate success.

The Yankees are a aging team that is desperately trying to get under the salary cap by 2014 which will help insure the [1] advantage it has over all of baseball = more $. If they can reset the payroll salary tax % it will greatly help them to outspend all others, if they continue to pay a high tax of 40-50% much less of an advantage. But they will also have to decide on what to do w/ Cano and Granderson who both have expiring contracts in the very near future. IMO will not be able to resign both, not to mention what happens if Jeter puts up a yr similar to last yr, whats he worth? They've already let both Swisher & Martin walk and both will be missed, Swisher was a very consistent and productive Yank and Martins defense and work w/ staff will be missed. Their pitching staff the strength of the team includes 2 pitchers age 38/40, staff ace CC who is trending down and coming of surgery. Hughes and Phelps both are young and getting better, Nova 1 good yr / 1 bad yr not sure what to expect. The position players Tex/Granderson/Arod are trending down. Bad contracts [Arod/Tex/CC] lots of $ tied up for lots of years. Jeter/Petitte/Mo all very near retirement. The farm has some talent but not enough to replace the aging players on its roster and if not allowed to spend for next 2 yrs not sure how long Yanks will stay in contention in tough AL east?

The RS on the otherhand were already out of contention last year and unless much breaks right might not contend this yr as well. But the future is much brighter. The RS don't have the payroll tax issues the Yanks have. The farm is loaded and ready to pop. The staff has 3 guys under the age of 30 in Lester/Buchholz/Doubront and could add Morales. The farm has talent ready now and in the future, De La Rosa we'll probably see this year, also very shortly Barnes/Webster, not to distant should include Owens/Buttrey/Kukuk/Johnson/Montas. Position players RS have a budding star in Middlebrooks, Pedroia, 2 C's in Salty/Lavarnway, Ellsbury should they resign [which is doubtfull and not neccesary] and a farm ready to provide much needed help in Boegarts/Iggy/Bradley/Brentz/Swihart/Marrero. The RS roster is not bloated w/ long term contracts to old declining players the way the Yanks are. Most RS veteran are 3 yrs or less, making the transition much easier for RS or adding a FA if needed. The [1] position the RS will need help is 1B, Napoli in my opinion is a backup C / DH and don't have anyone on farm, unless they were to move Middlebrooks there and play Boegarts @ 3B w/ Iggy or Marrero @ SS's if they don't see Boegarts as a SS in the future. 

IMO RS have a brighter future than do Yanks, but a lot can happen. Injuries, prospects don't pan out, FA signings could all change things. But if I had to put $ down on it I would pick the RS as having a better chance of getting back to WS first. Not sure what Yankees fans think with everything that is going on there and there current predictiment?

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In response to HelloItsMeAgain1's comment:

Yeah, well, you were pretty selective with what you quoted, especially since he went on to say that he expected the Yankees to finish ahead of the Sox.

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