CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Mets vs. The Rest: 1B Edition

Many of you may not know that i have started a "Mets vs. The Rest" series of articles. This series of articles will be an in depth analysis of the NL East division. I will score each team kind of like the MVP voting system..

5 points for first place
4 points for second place
3 points for third place
2 points for fourth place
1 point for last place

Today, we will do 1B... Remember that the 2007 season statistics are listed.. not the projected 2008 statistics.

Starting First Baseman...

Mets: Carlos Delgado .258 AVG 24 HR 87 RBI
Braves: Mark Textiera .306 AVG 30 HR 105 RBI
Phillies: Ryan Howard .268 AVG 47 HR 136 RBI
Nationals: Dimitri Young .320 AVG 13 HR 74 RBI
Marlins: Mike Jacobs .265 AVG 17 HR 54 RBI

Wow. There are some good starting 1B in the NL East. Ryan Howard has to be ranked first here. No doubt about it he is one of the most powerful hitters that i have ever seen. Mark Textiera is the complete package with power, fielding, and average but he got trumped by Howard. Delgado had an awful first half of 2007 but his second half numbers could be a sign of whats to come for 2008. He comes in at 3rd place. Following him, is the NL Comeback Player of the year.. Dimitri Young. Last year, he was phenomenal, but this year will be different. Nick Johnson is coming back from surgery and he might take this starting slot. Mike Jacobs rounds out the pack due to his injury bug, and lack of producing against lefties. In most other divisions, he would be in the middle of the pack but the NL East is just stacked with first baseman. The final tally goes like this Howard, Textiera, Delgado, Young, Jacobs

Backup First Baseman...

Mets: Damion Easley .280 AVG 10 HR 26 RBI
Braves: Scott Thorman .216 AVG 11 HR 36 RBI
Phillies: Greg Dobbs .272 AVG 10 HR 55 RBI
Nationals: Nick Johnson .000 AVG 0 HR 0 RBI
Marlins: Jorge Cantu .252 AVG 1 HR 13 RBI

The Phillies dont really have good depth in the anywhere else in the infield, but at 1B they do. Greg Dobbs mashed last year in a limited role. He may be the starting 1B, but if not he is surely a pinch hitting threat and a great backup. I can still remember that Grand Slam that he hit against the Mets.. it made me almost break my hand on the wall.... Damion Easley is the super-utility guy for the Mets and I have a feeling that he and Marlon Anderson will be getting some playing time at 1B for the Mets when Carlos Delgado goes down with an injury or sits vs. a tough lefty. Scott Thorman was a serviceable starter in April but after that, he was very bad... but he can be a solid bat off the bench and a good backup against right handed pitchers. Nick Johnson will solidify himself as a middle of the order hitter as soon as he gets back to playing regularly. Johnson won't be the backup for long because he will take Dimitri Young's starting spot as soon as he is healthy. Jorge Cantu was once an All-Star caliber player with the Rays. Those days have since passed and he is now a backup with the Marlins. He might get alot of playing time with the Marlins but don't expect him to produce like its 2005. The order goes like this.. Dobbs, Johnson, Thorman, Easley, Cantu.

The Final Tally is

Phillies: 10
Braves: 7
Nationals: 6
Mets: 5
Marlins: 3

I do not think that the Mets have it worse off than the Nationals at 1B, but if Carlos Delgado proves to be a force again, it will really strengthen our lineup and establish us as one of the top runs producing teams in the league. The Phillies took this one hands down, but the 1B position definitely has a lot of depth in the NL East.

0 comments: