Re: ESPN: Yankees out of the run for Cliff Lee
You're kidding right?
Crawford > Gardner.
Gardner is completely outclassed here. Name something Gardner does and Crawford does it better.
They both stole 47 bases last year. Gardner did so with 98 fewer plate appearances though. So Crawford isn't better there.
OBP Gardner > Crawford. By about 30 points. Critical for a lead off hitter which is what Gardner is/will be.
P/PA Gardner led all of baseball in pitches per plate appearance at 4.61 per. Crawford was #118 at 3.74 per. This is why Crawford can't lead off, and Gardner can.
Oh, and Gardner is a better defender. He actually ranks as the best defensive LF in baseball. If you believe in the metrics thing. I tend to apply salt to them whenever possible.
Major League Leaderboards 2010 Left Fielders Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
Remember, I think Crawford is a terrific player, and better than Gardner overall. I just think Gardner has some very good qualities that aren't noticed if you don't follow the team alot.
Ellsbury > Granderson
Granderson may have more pop in his bat but he is a strikeout machine and sports a sub .250 BA. When healthy Ellsbury also has the speed, BA, and OBP edge.
Ellsbury is a good player, but Granderson is the more complete player. 25-30 homers in CF is production that SB's just don't match. I'd take either one on my team, but if I have Gardner already, I take Granderson over Ellsbury. Remember, I'm talking the best outfield. Not the best of two players. Which 3-some is better is what I'm shooting at. I think both are very good. I'm just saying if I had to pick one, I could make an "arguable" case for Gardner/Granderson/Swisher. Which means someone could make an arguable case the other way as well.
Drew = Swisher
Offensively I'd say they are a draw. Swisher hits for slightly more power but Drew hits for better OBP and strikes out far less. Drew's outfield defense is also superior. Swisher has better health though and is a switch hitter, I don't know his splits but that is a plus when drawing lineups. So basically we're trading off better defense vs better health here. I'll call this one a wash, but when healthy Drew is the better overall player for sure.
Drew's more talented, but he's china doll, and loses by default. Drew's per year averages in his 4 years in Boston are .270/19/66, meh. Swisher's 2 year averages in NY are .270/29/85 and their OBP's in that time are .12 apart. I say edge Swisher in a one on one, but like I said before, I'm more focused on judging the outfields as a group.
I think the two outfields are pretty close. Sox should steal more bases, and hit for a higher avg, but the Yankees should get on base more, steal about 70 bases in their own right, and club a good 60+ homers. Man, when you think about steals, the Sox should duo should swipe like 100-120 bags between the two of them. That's really nuts.
