Sliding into Home, a terrific Yankees blog, first talked about this little piece HERE. I respect Sliding into Home's not even commenting on the piece. But I have to, because it's eating my insides. Anyone who thinks that a team who hasn't played their season yet is better than the 1927 New York Yankees is sadly misguided. A "bold" comparison before pitchers and catchers.
To put it simply, come talk to me when the season is complete. Then we can have a thoughtful debate about the subject, throw around stats, all of that. And come talk to me when Jacoby Ellsbury is out of the lineup for 8 weeks with a muscle strain in 2011, or when David Ortiz has a bad back in August, or hey, come talk to me when your catching platoon of Varitek, Saltalamacchia isn't working out the way you'd hoped. How about this, come talk to me when Josh Beckett can't get out of the 4th inning and Dice-K looks more dicey than 2010. Yes it's true, you can analyze how great the Red Sox lineup is on paper. But let's face it, it's ON PAPER. The 1927 Yankees had 110 wins. It was a truly tremendous feat. I'd tell you how many the 2011 Red Sox had but, guess what... IT DIDN'T HAPPEN YET.
Pedroia, Crawford, Youklis... I'll give you those guys. They are scrappy, they are gamers, they can hit home runs, triples, and can field like nobody's business, but even Youk and Dustin were out last year with injury. First you need to put a healthy team on the field, then talk to me about challenges.
And let's face facts, Ortiz is getting old. We all know the Sox gave Ortiz a freebie option this year because he's helped out the team all these years, but the reality is, he's not the hitter he used the be. Yes, he can still hit home runs, but he looks like he's 45 years old up at the plate. He's one of the 5 Heartbeats, who, after a strikeout, you can hear him muttering to himself, "I still got it, I still got it" as he's hobbling back to the dugout.
And learn something from the Yankees, when it's noticeable that your catcher is aging, make a move to slide him out of the catching role. Varitek, while he will be replaced that Saltalamacchia, will still be the Red Sox catcher, I don't care what you think. Why? Because he's the Red Sox Captain. I know that because of that ridiculous "C" on his chest. Answer me this... Why do the Red Sox find it necessary to let the world know that Vartiek is the captain of the team? It's like screaming for attention. "Look at me! Look at me! I'm the Captain." The world knows Derek Jeter's the captain of the Yankees and he blends in with the rest of the ballclub.
And while I'm ranking on 38 year old Jason Varitek, let me pass this piece of advice to the V-tek: The next time you want to fight a Yankee player, remember to take your face mask off. I was at Fenway on July 24, 2004 when you and A-Rod got into your scuffle. What's wrong, you didn't want your teeth to get knocked out?*sigh*
Okay, rants over. I had to get that off my chest. So why you ask... Why am I full of piss and vinegar today? Because I just don't see it. I just don't see why a Red Sox writer can look at a 2011 Red Sox lineup card and think it's better than Murderer's Row of 1927. That is of course, unless he's Biff from Back to the Future, and then it all makes sense.
Are you telling me that Sox pitching of Beckett, Lester and Lackey is better than Hoyt (22-7), Pennock (19-8) and Shocker (18-6)? Really. And look at Murderer's Row (first 6 players on the Yankees 1927 team) which was:
1. Earle Combs .356 AVG, 6 HR
2. Mark Koenig .285, 3 HR
3. Babe Ruth .356 AVG 60 HR 164 RBI's
4. Lou Gehrig .373 AVG47 HR 175 RBI's
5. Bob Meusel .337 AVG, 8 HR
6. Tony Lazzeri .309 18 HR
You're going to compare it to this?
1.Jacoby Ellsbury .301, 8 HR (2009 stats because he barely played in 2010 due to injury)
2.Dustin Pedroia .295 AVG, 15 HR (2009 stats because he barely played in 2010 due to injury)
3.Carl Crawford .307 AVG. 19 HR (2010 stats)
4.Adrian Gonzalez .298 AVG, 31 HR, 101 RBIs
5.Kevin Youkilis .312 AVG, 29 HR, 115 RBIs (2008 stats is his best season)
6.David Ortiz .270 AVG, 32 HR, 102 RBI's (2010 stats)
Anyone agree with me? Disagree? Comment, let me know, because I'm not getting it. Hell, maybe Sliding into Home was right. Maybe commenting on this piece from NESN was a stupid idea after all. I do feel better however.
By the way... check out Confessions of a She-fan today as well. Jane knows what time it is. Check THIS out.
Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.
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