It's NYY in another runaway at 3B. Moving from IF to OF ... who has the 2008 AL East's top starting LF?
| BAL (L. Scott) |  0 (0.00%) |
| BOS (M. Ramirez) | 52 (49.06%) |
| NYY (H. Matsui) | 1 (0.94%) |
| TB (C. Crawford) | 53 (50.00%) |
| TOR (R. Johnson) | 0 (0.00%) |
106 votes | 9 featured comments
As good as Matsui and Crawford are, respectively, the question here is, does Manny top the 93 percent A-Rod got at third base?
No contest - Manny's one of the great natural hitters of this generation.
However, Johnson is NOT our LFer. Stairs is. Reed will only be there when we face lefties. Offensively, the platoon of S/J is second to Manny. Defensively the platoon of S/J is...well...at least a bit better than Manny.
I voted for Manny.
However, what is working against Manny is the fact that he had a markedly 'off' year in 2007. Furthermore, this didn't much bother the Red Sox, who were the best team in baseball anyways and won the World Series. How valuable is this guy, really? Can he single-handedly terrorize his opponents? Because as a Jays fan, I know one left-fielder on this list who can.
Manny's OPS+ was 126. Crawford's was 117. You would expect a bigger gap. Then throw in other factors, like the difference in fielding (I know Manny can play the ball well off the monster, but come on ... I also remember a game against the Jays when Manny threw the ball in from left field and instead of hitting the cut off man, the next guy to touch it was, I believe, the CF), and Crawford's work on the basepaths (he got caught 10 out of 60 times, but shhhh, I'm playing devil's advocate), and the case gets closer still. Crawford also has less of a chance of missing games or hurting his team due to various factors associated with "being Carl." If we want, we can even pretend that all of the havoc Crawford wreaked on the basepaths disrupted pitchers so much that it contributed to Carlos Pena's monster season.
But as I said, I voted for Manny.
However, what is working against Manny is the fact that he had a markedly 'off' year in 2007. Furthermore, this didn't much bother the Red Sox, who were the best team in baseball anyways and won the World Series. How valuable is this guy, really? Can he single-handedly terrorize his opponents? Because as a Jays fan, I know one left-fielder on this list who can.
Manny's OPS+ was 126. Crawford's was 117. You would expect a bigger gap. Then throw in other factors, like the difference in fielding (I know Manny can play the ball well off the monster, but come on ... I also remember a game against the Jays when Manny threw the ball in from left field and instead of hitting the cut off man, the next guy to touch it was, I believe, the CF), and Crawford's work on the basepaths (he got caught 10 out of 60 times, but shhhh, I'm playing devil's advocate), and the case gets closer still. Crawford also has less of a chance of missing games or hurting his team due to various factors associated with "being Carl." If we want, we can even pretend that all of the havoc Crawford wreaked on the basepaths disrupted pitchers so much that it contributed to Carlos Pena's monster season.
But as I said, I voted for Manny.
Well I DIDN'T vote for Manny. Manny is going down and Carl is getting better. A year or two ago it would have been Manny but not now. He's starting to look real bad in the outfield and Carl has it all over him on the basepaths as well.
Crawford. It's not a certainty that he is going to be a great player over the next 5 years (Claudell Washington was a very comparable player, and did not achieve greatness), but the odds are good. Manny's still a much better hitter, but he gives it away in the outfield and on the basepaths.
It's a horse race and Carl is coming up on the outside. He ran wild and at will against the Blue Jays a few times, whereas youneverknew when the Manny Factor might become a blown Assist that rallies the troops. Carl Crawford is Bad.
Ok, seriously.
Last year the gap between Crawford and Ramirez wasn't that large. But Ramirez' off year followed years with the following OPS+'s (in reverse chronological order): 165, 153, 152, 160, 184, 161, 186, 173. So I just feel like maybe last year's 126 was an anomaly. Manny also received MVP votes in each of those 9 seasons, finishing in the top 4 three different times.
Judged on last year alone, this could be a close vote. But if you gave me the choice between either player for next year alone, I would take Manny in the blink of an eye.
Last year the gap between Crawford and Ramirez wasn't that large. But Ramirez' off year followed years with the following OPS+'s (in reverse chronological order): 165, 153, 152, 160, 184, 161, 186, 173. So I just feel like maybe last year's 126 was an anomaly. Manny also received MVP votes in each of those 9 seasons, finishing in the top 4 three different times.
Judged on last year alone, this could be a close vote. But if you gave me the choice between either player for next year alone, I would take Manny in the blink of an eye.
I guess this result is understandable if people have only watched Crawford play against the Jays the past two years. Neverthess less Manny is still Manny and, well, Manny.
WoW, that was as close as the Quebec referendum.