An annual tradition here is one that has been done twice, so let’s call this an annual tradition. I’ll do my best to rank each position for each team in the NL East, seeing who has the best pieces to their team. It’s quite simple – there are 5 teams in the division, so if someone has the #1 player at a position, they get 5 points for it. If they have the worst, they get 1 point. At some point I have to make judgments about who is there, and playing time, on top of assessing their abilities. Such is life. Starting with the position players:
CATCHER
1. Braves – Brian McCann
2. Marlins – John Baker/ Ronny Paulino
3. Phillies – Carlos Ruiz
4. Nationals – Ivan Rodriguez/ Jesus Flores
5. Mets – Rod Barajas
Obviously McCann is the class of this group and wins all offensive categories including beardiness, but I actually the potential platoon in Florida. How about this for career splits – Ronny Paulino has an OPS of .877 against lefties, John Baker’s is .814 vs. righties. Neither can hit from the other side, but with the buddy system, they won’t need to. I expect some sort of recovery for Ruiz, who isn’t a terrible hitter. As for the bottom of the group, who knows if and when Flores will hit, but we know he can. If he managed to get in 100 games (not likely) I might rank him as high as second. Barajas may get a slight hitting edge over Pudge, but not a defensive one, and the more Flores plays, the more the Nats catching tandem will beat out what the Mets have.
SCORE: Braves(5), Marlins(4), Phillies(3), Nationals(2), Mets(1) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Charlie 
