Posted May 25, 200520 yr comment_2264627 Buster Olney recently posted a weblog, posing the question of who is the most important position player for each team. Basically, what player could each team afford to lose the least? I will start with the American League teams, posting Olney's pick and then my own. Baltimore Orioles Buster says: Miguel Tejada Al says: Miguel Tejada A no-brainer here really. This is not to say the loss of Brian Roberts will not hurt the team. But Tejada is a legitimate power threat at shortstop, and those players are hard to come by. Boston Red Sox Buster says: Manny Ramirez Al says: Manny Ramirez Best hitter on the team. Again, straightforward Chicago White Sox Buster says: Paul Konerko Al says: Paul Konerko De Fault. The two sweetest words in the english language! How the hell is this team scoring runs? I must say I like Podsednik's approach. Get on base and do not worry about power. Steal second instead of hitting doubles. Cleveland Indians Buster says: Victor Martinez Al says: Travis Hafner Olney notes that Martinez's lack of production has hurt the Indians, and I agree. Still, would the lack of an unproductive player hurt that much? Detroit Tigers Buster says: Carlos Guillen Al says: Carlos Guillen A shortstop who has really blossomed. Anyone remember last year when I took the Mariners to task for trading Guillen? With this pick I stopped looking at Buster's before making my own. Kansas City Royals Buster says: Mike Sweeney Al says: Mike Sweeney The Royals have a hard time finding ANYONE who can hit. Los Angeles Angels Buster says: Vladimir Guerrero Al says: Vladimir Guerrero Despite the raves about the Angels, Vlad is the only legitimate hitting threat on this team. Minnesota Twins Buster says: Al says: Joe Mauer A catcher with a .396 OBP and more walks than strikeouts? And he's 22? And healthy? No wonder the prospect hounds were so high on this guy. The real deal. New York Yankees Buster says: Derek Jeter Al says: Alex Rodriguez Here we go. Let's remember this. If the Yankees lost Jeter, A-Rod could play short. For all the drooling done over Jeter's leadership abilities, the Yankees have failed to win a World Series since Paul O'Neill left the club. Meanwhile, Rodriguez's On Base Percentage is better than Jeter's slugging percentage. Oakland Athletics Buster says: Eric Chavez Al says: Eric Chavez Despite Chavez's poor hitting, he's still a Gold Glove fielder. Seattle Mariners Buster says: Adrian Beltre Al says: Ichiro Suzuki Olney's excuse is that the Mariners finished last with Ichiro having a monster year. Of course, they are doing a little better with Beltre having a poor year. I think that Richie Sexson kid is helping. In any case, it is Ichiro because he is a legitimate gate attraction. Tampa Bay Devil Rays Buster says: Carl Crawford Al says: Aubrey Huff If the Rays lost Crawford, they still have Gathright. Huff's departure would give Lou Pinella even more opportunities for an entirely punchless outfield of Crawford, Alex Sanchez, and Chris Singleton, while Jonny Gomes sits at AAA. Seriously, this franchise is a joke. They have two players at AAA who could probably outperform the big league regulars. Every time a team dumps a second rate veteran (Sanchez, Hideo Nomo, Charles Johnson), the Devil Rays pick him up, like the name will somehow spur the team to victory. The Devil Rays of the next three or four years could easily go on record for wasting the most minor league talent in baseball history. Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Aubrey Huff, Scott Kazmir, Jonny Gomes, B.J. Upton, Delmon Young. I have doubts this team will win a division title, and it won't be because of the Yankees. Texas Rangers Buster says: Michael Young Al says: Mark Teixeira You take the league average shortstop. I'll take the switch-hitting first baseman with a fondness for clobbering baseballs into the upper deck. Toronto Blue Jays Buster says: Vernon Wells Al says: Vernon Wells Out of necessity really. I probably will not do the NL ones, as this got old even before I finished. Still, there's a good rant in there on the Devil Rays that I did not want to lose.
May 25, 200520 yr comment_2267838 I'm more curious about the National League and the Cubs in particular. My vote would, most likely, go to a pitcher. Although I do like Aramis.
May 25, 200520 yr comment_2267995 I dunno. I won't go out and say Nomar is the player they can least afford to lose, but you'd imagine they wouldn't have this hard of a time scoring runs if he were in there. Lee is the obvious guy right now and you could make a case for Ramirez, since he's been abysmal so far this season. I'd also like to point out that the Cubs were without Prior and Wood for a couple of months last season and didn't fall off the map. Granted, this is a different team, but what's the point of great pitching if you have no offense?
May 25, 200520 yr Author comment_2268028 I'm more curious about the National League and the Cubs in particular. My vote would, most likely, go to a pitcher. Although I do like Aramis. The introduction clearly states position player in the article, don't know if I made that clear. For the Cubs, it's obviously Derrek Lee. You can't lose a player playing at an MVP level.
May 25, 200520 yr comment_2268179 Yeah, I missed the player posistion part because apparently I'm illiterate. I was also under the impression that it was the person that the team couldn't afford to lose, period. Not the person they couldn't afford to lose this current year. I'd rather the Cubs lost Lee instead of Ramirez in the long run. Aramis is young as hell and still a great player. I mean, he's not a gold glover but in the lineup he'll be able to provide offense for many years. Lee is 30 already. Aramis is three years younger. That's three more seasons.
May 25, 200520 yr comment_2268575 I guess I'll go ahead and give a stab at the NL. Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones This team hasn't had a clear-cut superstar since 2003, IMO. But when Chipper got off to a terrible start last year, the team was playing the same way. I don't know if it's a coincidence that when he picked things up, the Braves did, too. Florida Marlins: Miguel Cabrera It's clear their pitching is what's keeping them in it, but Cabrera is one of the few consistent punches in their offense. He goes down and things get ugly for the fish. New York Mets: Carlos Beltran They weren't lighting it up when he was in the lineup, but they haven't won a game since he got sidelined. Philadelphia Phillies: Bobby Abreu Thome's a close second, but Abreu gives you strength in so many areas. He's got a great glove, speed, walks, hits for power. He makes things happen and if it weren't for his hot May, the Phillies would probably be worse off than they already are. Washington Nationals: Jose Guillen I was gonna pick Levan Hernandez, but since I can't, why not Guillen? He's been about as productive as anyone on the team, if not more so. St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols Duh. He's their franchise. He got booted in the sixth last night and it took them until the 12th to win it. They win it sooner than that if he's there. Without him around, the offense looked annemic. Chicago Cubs: Derrek Lee Not last season and maybe not even later in the year. But right now, he's the only one who's keeping this team with it. He's single-handidly won several games for them this season and his glove has anchored an otherwise bad defensive team. Milwaukee Brewers: Carlos Lee Call me crazy, but he's been right in the midst of their hot streaks. As well as Podsednik's doing, I think this was a superb acquisition for Milwaukee. Houston Astros: Morgan Ensberg This team is absolutely worthless if you take out its pitching. Ensberg is still the only one compiling good stats, though. Pittsburgh Pirates: Jason Bay Not close. Cincinnati Reds: Adam Dunn Some will make a case for Casey, but Dunn is the most imposing guy in this lineup. He K's a lot, but conversely, he walks a lot and his production more than makes up for his whiffs. Not a bad glove, either. Los Angeles Dodgers: Jeff Kent You'd figure it'd be JD Drew later down the road, but to this point, Kent's been laying the smack down on NL pitching. San Francisco Giants: Barry Bonds Not sure if it counts, since he's yet to play an inning this season, but he's still a member of the team, and they are dying without him. San Diego Padres: Brian Giles You could make an argument for Loretta, but I think Giles is one of the big bats in the lineup they can't afford to lose. Arizona Diamondbacks: Troy Glaus Honestly, no one in the lineup dazzles me, but Glaus seems to be the most productive, so why not? Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton Thanks to Clint Barmes, this was closer than you'd imagine. But Helton's an all-star on a glorified AAA team.
May 26, 200520 yr comment_2271066 Al, did Buster think NO ONE on the Twins was considered to be the most irreplaceable player on the team?
May 26, 200520 yr Author comment_2271561 Al, did Buster think NO ONE on the Twins was considered to be the most irreplaceable player on the team? Sorry. Buster picked Joe Mauer as well.
May 26, 200520 yr comment_2276529 The only AL pick I would disagree with you on, Al, is Travis Hafner. Victor Martinez would've been my choice. The two posted similar offensive numbers (with OBP and SLG being the only two areas where Hafner was significantly superior), but Martinez gives them defense, where as Hafner's still an awkward defender, DHing most of the time. Plus he's usually worthless against lefties, while Martinez can just turn around and bat from the otherside of the dish. Both guys need to step it up, but Victor's awful start has been a huge reason why the Indians' offensive stats are so bad.
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