1. CF Jacoby Ellsbury- Is good at everything- especially speed and D- and plays at a position of weakness in the league.

2. 2B Dustin Pedroia- Best defensive infielder in baseball who is also more than capable with the stick. And oh yeah, positional adjustment favors him too.

3. 1B Adrian Gonzalez- The team's best hitter.

4. 3B Kevin Youkilis- Had a down year, but has added value as one of the best power-hitting third basemen in the league. I mean, the worst position in baseball hitting-wise is currently third.

5. SP Jon Lester- More consistent than Beckett, but you wouldn't fully believe that from this year's numbers. But then again, we can't take one season's numbers too seriously.

6. SP Josh Beckett- For as inconsistent as he is from season to season, his averaged out FIP is one of the best out there. The guy is lights out and has the nasty curve to prove it.

7. CP Johnathan Papelbon- Red Sox fans love to dirt on him- they love to dirt on everybody- but this guy is easily one of the best relievers in baseball. I remember a friend was talking about how much he thinks Paps is overrated and isn't a good closer, but I don't think we were watching the same pitcher.

8. SP Clay Buchholz- If he pitched at least 125 innings this year, the Sox would have made the playoffs.

9. RP Daniel Bard- Definitely is a closing-quality reliever, but he is a much needed set-up man. He threw more innings than Paps, so they are still maxing out value. You don't need to be a closer to make your presence felt (Jonny Venters). Outside the triumvirate of Bard, Papelbon, and Alfredo Aceves; there isn't much to like about this team's pen.

10. DH David Ortiz- Yes, I am the guy who penalizes DHs for being just that.

11. LF Carl Crawford- I still think a rebound is in order, but he still won't make this contract look any better.

12. SS Marco Scutaro- A solid hitting shortstop who knows how to get on base and doesn't play bad D either.

13. RF Josh Reddick- J.D. Drew, your time has passed.

14. RP Alfredo Aceves- Eats up innings in the pen but is an extremely lucky pitcher.

15. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia- I've seen worse than this league-average catcher, and I really had a hard time picking somebody for the fifteenth and final slot.

Huge gap between FIP and ERA in over 100 innings out of the pen this year

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: MLB, MLB Rankings, MLB Big Board, Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez, Alfredo Aceves, Carl Crawford, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarod Saltalamacchia, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Josh Reddick, Kevin Youkilis, Marco Scutaro, Jonny Venters

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8/2011 PSW AL Gold Glove Team Update

August 30th 2011 15:05

The statistics used are UZR, DRS, ARM, RngR, and UZR/150, and Fld from www.fangraphs.com.

P Mark Buehrle- He has the best rSB in the AL and the highest DRS as a result of his ability to stop base-runners. That's really the only conceivable asset a pitcher brings defensively.

C Matt Wieters- Again, the ability to snuff out base-runners is the only major asset that a catcher brings to the table defensively. It's definitely the only thing that can significantly separate catchers, and Matt Wieters has been excellent at stopping guys on base.

1B Adrian Gonzalez- A-Gone has clearly been the best defensive first baseman in baseball, and he has the best UZR and ErrR. Only Mark Trumbo has better range, and Gonzalez is the only American League first baseman with a double-digit UZR/150. The metrics say Tex is the second best, and Trumbo follows him at third. It's a pretty tight race between those two at two and three.

2B Dustin Pedroia- Although Howie Kendrick, Ian Kinsler, and Ben Zobrist have been excellent, Pedroia has been in a class of his own. Nobody can match his range at second, and his defense is what has vaulted him into the MVP discussion.

SS Alexei Ramirez- Watch out guys, a new A-Ram is in town. Alexei Ramirez has been a force in the field, and it has definitely made up for some below average hitting. While a case can be made for Alcides Escobar, I don't see how Ramirez doesn't win this award.

3B Adrian Beltre- With all due respect to Mr. Longoria and his fine season in the field, Adrian Beltre is the man to man this spot on the Gold Glove team. His fine defensive career has continued with another terrific display in 2011, and he still has incredible range out there at the hot corner.

LF Brett Gardner- Most left fielders can't play any D, but that description definitely does not hold true when you look at Brett Gardner. Even though Dustin Pedroia has been exceptional defensively this season, Gardner has been the best defensive player in 2011. He has an accurate arm, and range that no outfielder in the game can dream of possessing. He is far and away the best defensive player at his position, and I don't think anybody- save Pedroia- can compare with him defensively.

CF Jacoby Ellsbury- Poor Peter Bourjos, his wonderful season in the outfield spent chasing flyballs pitched by Jered Weaver will not net him a Gold Glove award. Unfortunately for him, Jacoby Ellsbury has been even better this year. His defense has cemented his status as an MVP candidate, and he is certainly making up for lost time last season. Even though Bourjos does have the better arm, Ellsbury is more consistent and has even better range. That's not so say that Bourjos is a slouch in the range department, it's just that Ellsbury is such a beast.

RF Nick Swisher- Before the season started, it would be crazy to name Nick Swisher as a Gold Glove candidate. But here we are at the end of August, and I am sitting here and telling you guys that Nick Swisher is my pick for the Gold Glove winner in right field. He has the arm, the range, and Swishalicious is probably one of the most consistent outfielders in the game. The highlight shows don't reward this kind of consistency enough, but the metrics do.

AL Gold Glove SS

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: MLB Teams, Brett Gardner, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Wieters, Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, Alcides Escobar, Alexei Ramirez, Mark Buehrle, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Howie Kendrick, Peter Bourjos, Jered Weaver, Mark Trumbo

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8/2011 Team Scope: Boston Red Sox

August 5th 2011 15:31

Even though it's tough to say it, the Boston Red Sox are the best team in baseball. Their pitching may be too thin, but their hitting is incredible. Only the Yankees can compete with these guys offensively, and the Red Sox have three players who are getting serious MVP recognition right now; Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Adrian Gonzalez.

I must say this; Pedroia has been nothing short of spectacular in 2011. His WAR is at 6.7, he's stolen 22 bases, his RC is 148, he is hitting .311, Pedroia is walking more than he is striking out, and he has been flawless on defense. While Jose Bautista is still my pick for MVP, Pedroia is just a hair under him right now.

Jacoby Ellsbury is third in my MVP rankings, and man has he been playing great ball this year. Not only has he stole 31 bases and scored 83 runs; but he's also hitting .319/.376/.514 with an RC of 147. Ellsbury has also played some great D in center this season, but Pedroia's level of play in the field has just been unattainable.

With a 165 RC , Adrian Gonzalez has been the best hitter on the Sox, and he is fifth in my MVP rankings. A-Gone has driven in 91 runs, and his triple slash (.356/.416/.568) is certainly mirrors that of an MVP-type season. He's been nothing short of the lofty expectations put on him in the preseason.

There's no point in continuing to heap praise on the Red Sox offense, so I might as well just move on to the pitching. Injuries have certainly played a huge role for the Sox pitching-wise, but there is one pitcher who has really taken the lead this season.

For some reason, Josh Beckett has great seasons when the year is an odd-number, but he then disappoints when it is an even-numbered year. Beckett is reaping the rewards of 2011, and his 2.20 ERA leads the staff. However, he is getting extremely lucky (38.6 GB%, 83.6 LOB%, 6.8% HR/FB, .222 BABIP) so regression is almost certain- if not this year, then 2012.

With Beckett, normalization in statistics often comes year by year; hence the huge gap in play in even and odd numbered years. Still, there's no reason that his ERA should climb over 3.00; but I would expect it to be a lot closer to that number than what it is currently at.

Jon Lester is going to keep pitching as he is now, so don't expect the ace's 3.17 ERA to drastically increase or decrease. Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard are easily the best 1-2 bullpen punch in baseball. Without one of the two though, this bullpen could easily be much worse. Although Bard has the better statistics, Paps has been pitching better this season.

Most Boston fans can't wait until Papelbon is traded and a new era in closing can begin in Boston. A trade would certainly make sense financially, but many fans think that Papelbon isn't pitching well enough. That simply isn't the case, and I am sick of hearing the same ignorant drivel beat into my head As Jerry says, "It's like getting beat by a bag of oranges." It's just stupid.

I get that Paps's 3.35 ERA is less than ideal, but the man's FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) is just 1.87. His raw stats are incredible! He's striking out 12.22 helpless hitters every nine innings, and he's only giving out 1.58 walks per nine too. Throw that in with a .327 BABIP, and you get a guy who is pitching much better than his ERA.

However, there is always the darkside; Tony knows that much. Papelbon's HR/FB ratio is too low, and he only gets grounders a third of the time. I still think he is pitching much better than 3.35, but his "true ERA" is probably around 2.50. Bard's "true ERA" is probably around 2.75. Both guys are pitching great, but Bard is getting a little bit too lucky.

Is He The MVP?

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: MLB, MLB Teams, Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez, Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett

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8/4 MLB News: A-Rod and poker

August 4th 2011 13:53

I thought Alex Rodriguez was just about done with his shenanigans, and then this came up. We've always known that A-Rod has had some gambling problems- namely poker- but this is the farthest it's ever gone. He was in trouble with the league for gambling in 2005, and then he held a charity poker game. The current allegations against Rodriguez are far more serious with this incident.

Bud Selig has definitely had enough of A-Rod's circus in the past few years, and this is just another major headache for the commissioner. It's a known fact that Rodriguez is going to be suspended, but the question really is the length of his suspension. Because he's done this before, I suggest that Rodriguez is suspended for the same length as players who take PEDs; 50 days.

The punishment stated above is fair for both parties. Selig needs to come up with a Stern- geddit- punishment here, not only because Rodriguez needs to be punished, but also because Selig has a reputation for being weak in his rulings for the most part. This is his chance to make a big statement, and this is, of course, if A-Rod really did take part in these celebrity poker games.

I realize that playing poker isn't a serious offense, but A-Rod ignored Stern warnings from Selig about his involvement in gambling in 2005. He was told not to play poker again, but Rodriguez did not listen. Maybe 50 games is a little harsh, but it would be sweet revenge for Selig. I mean, it's not like A-Rod doesn't deserve it for all he's done in the last ten years or so.

Jacoby Ellsbury's second straight walk-off hit- for a home run no less- has people buzzing about his MVP case. I think Ellsbury's been the third best player in the AL this season, but he hasn't been the best player on his team. No, that honor belongs to Dustin Pedroia. Not only has he hit well, but he's been incredible in the field. I can't even begin to describe how well he's been in the field though. My MVP has to be Jose Bautista just over Pedroia, because he was mashing at the beginning of the season. He's still going strong, and his numbers resemble Bonds's in the early 2000s. Nobody wants to pitch to him.

As for the NL, I still think Jose Reyes has been slightly better than Matt Kemp. CC Sabathia has been outstanding this season, and he and Roy Halladay are unquestionably the two Cy Young winners. Guys like Justin Verlander have had great seasons, but no pitcher can touch the dominance of Sabathia and Halladay this season.

Without a question deserves suspension

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: MLB, MLB Rumors and News, Yankees, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Jose Bautista, Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Verlander, Roy Halladay, Jose Reyes, Matt Kemp

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3/2011 Team Scope: Boston Red Sox

March 30th 2011 14:52

The Red Sox made huge acquisitions in this off-season. They two of the best hitters in the game in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. The Sox also added former star closer Bobby Jenks as well as solid reliever Dan Wheeler from their division rivals in Tampa. It's going to be a big year and another division win for the Red Sox. I just can't see how any team in the AL will keep up with this juggernaut.

Gonzalez is primed for a huge year after having several great ones in one of the heaviest pitchers' parks in baseball. Gonzo is ready for an MVP year on his new team, and he's going to be well acquainted with Fenway. Dustin Pedroia is solid as ever at second, and Marco Scutaro can score runs at short. The Youk moves over to the hot corner, and he's one of the most consistent hitters in the MLB

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