best infield in MLB - 2003

[Craig]

See poll choices.

[amietron]

Well, seeing that there're only 2 votes, I'm assuming you voted for the Phillies, Craig?

I voted for the Yanks. Giambi at first base, Jeter at shorstop and Soriano at second. =)

JT Snow at first, Kent at Second, Rich Aurilia at SS, Bell at third. The Giants rocked.

[lethal]

Nah, I voted for the Phillies.

[lethal]

Craig, I assume you posted this because of the ESPN story?

[Craig]

Originally posted by lethalweapon@Jan 16 2003, 08:54 AM
Craig, I assume you posted this because of the ESPN story?
I took the poll choices from ESPN as it worked out nicely to 9, plus other; Well actually 11, but the tie for 10 eliminated the Twins and White Sox. Haven't decided/voted yet myself. I thought Bell was a bad choice for the Phillies, he's overpriced and not that good compared to what else is out there and also what else is cheaper.

[lethal]

I think Bell's a bit overpriced too, but for what was on the market, he was decent. And its really only 4 mil a year, not a lot of money in bseball terms. Plus, he supposedly helped lure Thome. My main contention with Bell is the 4th year. In 4 years, he'll have declined significantly and not be worth nearly the amount he is being paid.

I wasn't being objective, of course. The Phillies will be best only if Rollins learns to get on base and Thome hits like he did last year.

The Yanks and A's are probably better though, especially if they play Durazo at 1B.

[Craig]

I think the Phillies could have probably traded for some AAA player who would have performed just as well as Bell, but with an upside. Bell is good as a utility player, but his hitting is weak for an everyday player. (especially at a position like third base) Also, the Phillies didn't need to try only to get a third baseman, they could have tried for a second baseman. What if they had gotten Kent or Durham, etc ?

Yeah, I decided to vote and choose the A's. Hatteberg is kinda weak for a first baseman, especially considering some of the $1 million USD 'baseball bargains' that signed this year.

[lethal]

Kent and Durham were both much more expensive than Bell, so I don't think they were possibilities. If you look around at MLB 3Bs, its a pretty weak. There's the upper tier of Chavez, Glaus, Rolen. Then guys like Hinske and Alfonso. Next are the Lowells and Koskies...Hillenbrand. Its a pretty weak position.

4 mil a year is probably a mil or 2 too much, but to expect a replacement level player to hold down the fort for a team that wants to contend this year wouldn't work. The Phillies are in a PR position too. They had to make a splash this winter and compete next year so they could sell tickets to their new stadium in 2004. Remember that their GM came through the mrketing department of the Phillies.

Defensively the A's are much better than the Yankees. Offensively, the Yanks have an advantage because of the 1B position. Tejeda is in his contract year, so he should have a monster year coming off his MVP season. Jeter might bounce back too.

We'll see what happens. Its likely that all 3 of these teams will make the playoffs. We'll see if the A's can end their nightmare against the Yankees in the playoffs.

[amietron]

Matsuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! :luv:

Ziiiiiiiiiiitoooooooooooooooooo! :luv:

[rakovlam]

Mets... Vaughn, Alomar, Sanchez (but Reyes will be there soon), Wigganton, Piazza.... shit who am I kidding? Oh well, they have what I think the best best pitching staff in NL (Glavine, Leiter, Trachael, Astacio, Baksic . Bullpen: Stanton, Benitez, Franco, Weathers...)

[threemileisle]

Something grossly wrong here. Very, very wrong. Where are the Padres? Why aren't my Padres included in this poll? Come on.. there's Klesko at first. The guy, Loretta, who has 30 homers (career) and a .280 lifetime batting average in 10 years at second, Vasquez, a third year nobody at short.. and an overhyped rookie who may or may not be a superstar at third (Burroughs). But none of that matters. Clearly, they will all have career years this year and their potentials will be realized.

My vote: San Diego Padres.

[BeTheReds]

By best infield, do you mean defense? Or are you talking about offensive power of infield players? My vote goes with the Orioles, paritally because I am biased, but partially because their infield was damn good at defense last year, just the pitching and run support was seriously lacking.

[amietron]

Originally posted by rakovlam@Jan 16 2003, 01:35 PM
Mets... Vaughn, Alomar, Sanchez (but Reyes will be there soon), Wigganton, Piazza.... shit who am I kidding? Oh well, they have what I think the best best pitching staff in NL (Glavine, Leiter, Trachael, Astacio, Baksic . Bullpen: Stanton, Benitez, Franco, Weathers...)
And Shinjo! =)

[BeTheReds]

Shinjo is an outfielder.