Replacing A-Rod Should Not Be Top Priority

While Alex Rodriguez is obviously a Great player, with that being said there is NO WAY I would want him as a member of the RedSox! I would MUCH RATHER that Mike Lowell stay as a member of the RedSox! Overall he is a much classier and better player on and off the field. Most importantly there is no other player that i want as my third baseman in October than Mike Lowell.

Shappy,

There's really no contest as to who is the better player. A-Rod's the best player on the planet, Lowell is a good third baseman in a very good situation (Fenway) with a great glove. That being said, I completely understand why Red Sox fans want him to stay. He's a great fit up there, he seems like a good guy, he has a great glove, and there's a history. It's the same reason I don't want Lowell in NY, just from the opposite perspective.

If I was a Sox fan, I'd be saying the exact same things. Fans have loyalty down, for the most part. Sometimes I wish the players and owners would take their cue from the fans.

a real good article , Brian. I really like what Brian Cashman is doing, I think he'll come through, i feel like he has total control over things now, and he didn't previously (last 4 years). maybe its just me, i dunno.

we need releivers, seeing as our reliable releiver count with mariano stands at a whopping ONE. And i'm no sabrmetrician, but i think the sox and indians each had at least 3 reliable non closers...

Thanks Prez. I agree about Cashman, the only questionable move the Yanks have made over the past two years (since he took control) was the Igawa signing, and I think we can chalk that one up to George insisting on not being upstaged after the Dice K signing in Boston.

I'm not sure what the answer is for the bullpen. The best pen they can assemble includes Joba, but they seem pretty dead set on using him in the rotation. I think Ohlendorf and Veras will get a shot. I heard they want to bring the Viz back, plus there's always Farnsworth :)

Overall decent way of looking at it. It's really hard to consider the value loss when ARod ultimately departs and leaves the lineup in shambles, honestly.

I would hope that these guys could put up similar numbers next year, like they did this year but also consider this, ARod was the centerpiece of the lineup. Who is going to bat clean up? Can we honestly assume that Posada is going to bang out another season at the plate like he had this year? Outside of Jeter and Cano, none of the guys in the lineup have produced steady numbers outside of ARod.

In closing, I like where your head is at on this one. You only have this past year's stats to go off of, but the remaining guys in that Yankees' lineup could not produce in the 4 hole without triggering a trickle down effect to the other hitters, which will lower their overall "VORP".

Boney,

Posada's number is going to drop, I don't think there's any question about that. Cano and Melky I think will rise because they're young, and progressing.

The Yanks aren't going to be as good offensively as they were last year, probably not even close. The point is that they don't have to be. I'm not sure how much trickling down A-Rod did, either. Posada was the only Yankee who had a career year, and he didn't bat after A-Rod for most of the season. The protection A-Rod provided for Abreu may have actually hindered his game, which is largely dependent on walks and working deep into counts. I wouldn't be surprised if Abreu's VORP goes up this year, along with his walk total.

I think it's also safe to consider though, and again I do like your train of thought, that Abreu isn't going to post # like he is accustomed to doing. He hasn't been the same offensively, or defensively, since he hit the record amount of homers in the derby a few years back. I know it's cliche to throw that out there, but that's almost the exact turn of events of his career. He's been on the downturn and yeah, he gets on base, he can steal a base or 2 (a la Bernie Williams), but he's only going to continue to go down.

I think ARod offered a lot of protection to the 1-3 hitters in that lineup, face it, even in '05 in the ALDS I was afraid to pitch to that lineup (as a Tigers' fan) simply for the fact of the potential Abreu/ARod matchup, now who's going to hit 4th? Abreu doesn't look so tough when he's only smacking out a smattering of bombs while the 5th-9 batters don't appear to have near the impact they will last year once you get past the first 3.

You have to admit, yeah, the Yanks don't need to be as productive based off of this year's stats in comparison to everyone else, but ARod was also one of the youngest guys in the lineup besides Melky and Robinson. Their power numbers and/or production aren't going to go up significantly (RBI, HR, AVG). I'd say Cano has topped out at where he can get, and that's a great level to be at, while Melky... well, I'd expect a spike maybe for Melky but he's more of a young Abreu without all the walks and power.