Baltimore vs. Toronto Part 2
Well before we get to a bit of a statistical analysis, there's some required reading
- Dayn Perry weighs in on the Mets off-season and says that it helps Minaya's rep
- Kevin Kennedy uses the Cardinals as a model for General Managers
- Slezak compares Ken Williams to Billy Beane...and uses the Beane Count title...
- I also updated the AL East Review and will work on updating the free agents table throughout the day
- The Jays have an advantage offensively, but the Orioles offense should not be dismissed, they have a better catcher, second baseman and shortstop, along with a better bench. The Jays' position players are not as versatile as the Orioles and therefore, since a couple have injury histories, it will be tougher to adjust if injuries hit. The lineup is also very right-handed, Stairs and Overbay are the only dependable lefty bats.
- The biggest difference is, surprise surprise, at shortsop where Tejada is a much superior player than the Clayton/McDonald combo
- The rotation advantage goes to the Jays because of their top duo of Halladay and Burnett , however Bedard is getting better and Mazzone's impact should not be dismissed in his second season. Also, the Jays have injury concerns with two of their top three starters (Chacin and Burnett) and although they have tremendous depth at the position...the depth starters should not be counted upon to replace Halladay or Burnett for an extended period of time
- The Jays have the better closer after having signed him away from the Orioles last season but the Orioles have great veteran depth in the pen and the Jays do not yet know who will be relied upon as their top reliever after Ryan. So the bullpen is better in Baltimore until the ninth inning
7 comments:
Baltimore looks okay on paper. The Jays look much better however. Even with injuries, I still believe Jays over Orioles.
Gut vs stats is an interesting battle...I guess we can't go against your gut but as you found the Jays are the better team.
I think the Jays need to package a couple young arms and get a real third starter so we can stop worrying about an injury to Roy or AJ
What makes you think the Orioles have better pitching depth?
I evaluate pitching depth as pitchers who can step in as a starter for a few weeks.
The Orioles may have their ace in Bedard, but Benson hasn't done well and Cabrera is inconsistent. Jaret Wright and Lopez?
How about their young guns? Loewen and Penn? Well their performance at the MLB so far has shown no indication that they will get better. You can't automatically assume that since they have done well in the minors, they will do well in the majors. If thats the case, then the Jays have much better depth.
Taubenheim did pretty well after the infection.
Marcum did well down there.
McGowan did a solid job
As did Rosario.
Just because the Orioles have their 5-man rotation set-up doesn't mean that they will have better numbers.
Burnett is so overrated!!! Plus Benson will have a spot in the rotation instead of Lopez...
Thanks for doing that comp DJ. Baseball is funny, the O's could surprise however I still think their chances at competing are slim. Love going with gut predictions though, so I can understand what you're going on.
PS, I think Hill will outperform Roberts starting next year.
The O's get preseason praise every year to some extent, and end up sucking every year to a greater extent. This season will likely be no different. It may take 50 - 100 games for things to settle, but they will be down with the d-rays like they always are.
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