8-12-2011 Links: Pedey vs Cano, Sabathia vs Sox, Gonzalez grounded, defense, prospects report card
August 12, 2011 3 Comments
Dustin Pedroia is in the midst of his best season ever, and it has sparked discussions about whether he or Robinson Cano is the best second baseman in baseball. Here is Jonathan Scippa’s interesting take. As for me, give me Pedey every time.
Coming into the year, we were worried about our lefty-leaning lineup and some very tough starters in our division. So why is CC Sabathia so bad against Boston this season? David Pinto takes a look.
Mike Axisa at FanGraphs has some nice plots which show how Adrian Gonzalez has fallen into hitting a ton of grounders since about June 18, and how that has directly sapped his home run power. He could be headed for about a 27 HR season, which is lower than most people predicted, but is pretty well in line with the 30 HRs I predicted.
As Sox Therapy points out, the Red Sox defense has gone from very good to great this season, and it’s been a huge reason for our success in June and July.
Wondering how our top prospects are doing on the farm? John Sickels has a summary for you. (SPOILER: It ain’t pretty.)
Call me a homer, but I don’t think the Pedroia/Cano debate is as close as it seems. Their wOBA is pretty equal (looking at the past few years) but the huge difference is the defense. Pedroia has just been one of the best, if not the very best defender at 2B. Cano is average at best.
I think if you consider offense only, I’d probably give Cano a slight edge because of his power in addition to raw hitting ability. But, as you mentioned, I think Pedey’s defense is superior and he’s a great leader and class act to boot. Add all that up, and I’d want Pedroia over Cano, though both would be great options for any team.
Plus, I love that Pedey’s just this 5’6″ guy who isn’t intimidated and can compete with anyone. That makes him my favorite player.