Which MLB team looks better in 2009: The New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox?

Red Sox

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by Patrick Thorman

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Determining who looks better for 2009 between the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees is akin to asking the same question about Jessica Alba and Megan Fox. The both look spectacular, but upon closer inspection there are potential downsides. If the bottom of the Boston lineup consistently gets on base, and New York gets reasonably healthy seasons out of a several of their aging players, there really are no major weaknesses to point to on either roster. They both are extremely well constructed by general managers Theo Epstein of Boston and Brian Cashman in New York.

The Yankees have dramatically overhauled their starting rotation, bringing in the pitching prize of the free agent market in burly lefty C.C. Sabathia. He has been an innings horse during his career and is just what the Yanks need to head their rotation. Sabathia is well known to be an ace, but will also help to improve a clubhouse vibe that at times has an overly stuffy and corporate feel. This aspect of their free agent additions is often overlooked, but will play a large role in keeping the team pointed in the same direction during what is a long, and oftentimes unavoidably tumultuous, season. The fact that he is a lefty will play well in the new Yankee Stadium which has the same field dimensions as its former incarnation, including a short right field porch and cavernous left-center field.

A.J. Burnett is one of the toughest pitchers to face in the American League when he is healthy, which has not been a given during the course of his career. He seemed to turn a corner last season under the tutelage of Toronto Blue Jay staff ace Roy Halladay, who convinced him he does not need to throw his fastball at maximum effort every pitch to be effective. This led to perhaps the best season of his career and a AL-leading strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 9.39 (min. 160 innings pitched). The Yankees paid a lot for an injury prone Burnett, but in addition to being a high-risk move it is also an extremely high-reward gamble.

Rounding out the improved rotation is former staff ace Chien Ming Wang, who missed half of the season with a freak foot injury. An average season for Wang would be a welcome development for New York. Andy Pettitte, who batted left shoulder soreness in the second half of 2008 appears to be healthy and should pitch to his usual consistently solid standards as long as that is the case. Joba Chamberlain, now fully prepared as a starting pitcher instead of a bullpen arm, has a very high ceiling but also has battled the injury bug. It has the makings of the best starting pitching staff in the majors, and at the same time could devolve into an episode of House M.D. with considerable time spent in the trainer's room by pitchers dealing with physical issues.

Perhaps the most overlooked, as well as underestimated, aspect of the Yankees heading into the 2009 season is their bullpen. They do not have a lot of well known names headlining the pen, aside from the immortal Mariano Rivera racking up saves. They have a mix of moderately regarded veterans like righty Brian Bruney and lefty Damaso Marte, as well as up-and-coming young arms like impressive lefty Phil Coke, changeup specialist Edwar Ramirez, and power righties Jose Veras and Jonathan Albaladejo. The whole projects to be more impressive than the sum of these parts, and that is something the Yanks are banking on heavily.

Adding more strikeouts to the rotation will benefit the New York by aiding them with what was a poor defensive team in the field last season. With fewer balls in play because of the additional strikeouts, the fact that they are still sub par defensively in a lot of areas will be somewhat mitigated. The free agent addition of Mark Teixera received a lot of attention because he is an excellent hitter, but he also represents a significant upgrade defensively at first base over the lead-footed Jason Giambi, who departed in the offseason. Sliding an aging Johnny Damon over to left field, where he is a defensive asset as opposed to the liability he was while playing center last season, will also help. The insertion of the young and speedy Brett Gardner in center field is another upgrade. However they still will deal with shortstop Derek Jeter's diminished range, especially to his left, as well as rough defense in right field from Xavier Nady. It is an area that has improved, but still cannot be counted as an asset.

Apart from the early season disabled list time that Alex Rodriguez faces coming off hip surgery, the New York Yankee lineup appears poised to resume it's bludgeoning of American League pitching staffs after what was a down year by their standards in 2008. That was mostly brought upon them by injuries to longtime lineup mainstays catcher Jorge Posada and left fielder Hideki Matsui. Both missed much of the season due to injury and look to be back on track for 2009. Matsui will primarily DH to lessen the strain on his two surgically repaired knees and Posada will be limited to about 120 games behind the plate to lighten the load on his shoulder, which underwent surgery as well. With these two back in the heart of the order behind Jeter, Damon, Teixera and Rodriguez, it will regularly be a tightrope walk for opposing pitchers. Second baseman Robinson Cano, Nady and Gardner will round out the order in what is as strong a bottom three as there is in the game. Cano had a horrific start to 2008, but wound up batting .299 after April and has the look of a more mature player after an offseason of re-dedication and more focus. Nady had a career year in 2008 between the Yanks and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and will split time with the newly acquired Nick Swisher, who has a strong bat himself. Gardner will inject a dose of speed into the lineup not often seen with the Yankees. He will be backed up by Melky Cabrera who is a very solid bench player and fourth outfielder. It is truly an impressive offensive team that will be well served by moving Jeter into the leadoff spot and Damon to the two hole. More than 900 runs is a very reasonable goal for this group.

A quick three hour drive north from New York, in the very rare event there is no traffic, the Boston Red Sox quietly go about their business as the most efficient baseball organization around. While they have the financial resources of a large market team, they do not use that as a crutch. Theo Epstein runs a well oiled machine that blends scouting, both domestic and international, with unparalleled player development and coaching at all levels. The Sox do a great job of developing their own talent, and of using their ability to carry a large payroll to complement that homegrown talent with smart free agent acquisitions. Boston also does a great job at signing their young players to team-friendly contracts that save them millions down the road.

While the Yankees spent many millions of dollars this past offseason to hopefully get their pitching up to elite status, the Red Sox are already there. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka represented three aces at the top of what was one of the best rotations in baseball in 2008, and not much has changed as we head into 2009. They have such an embarrassment of riches in their rotation that the still-young Clay Buchholz is being sent to the minors to keep him getting regular starts after a lights-out spring training where things seemed to finally click for him. This is a player who has thrown a no-hitter in the big leagues already in his career and he is only 24 years old with plenty of experience at the highest level. To start the season, the fourth and fifth starters will be old reliable Tim Wakefield and newly acquired Brad Penny, who can be dominant when healthy. The Sox also signed future Hall of Famer John Smoltz this offseason and he is gunning for a June return to health, although he is ahead of that timetable. He still possesses ace potential when healthy.

The bullpen in Boston is truly the best in the game. In addition to top closer Jonathan Papelbon, they boast excellent set up men Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson, Manny Delcarmen, Javier Lopez and the recently acquired Takashi Saito and Ramon Ramirez. Saito will likely be the primary set up man for Papelbon, as he was a top closer while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However Okajima and Masterson will see time there as well. Ramon Ramirez came over in a trade with the Kansas City Royals for Coco Crisp and possesses an impressive arm. Aside from health concerns about Saito, there really is no weakness in this pen, and it will serve the Red Sox well over the course of the season.

One of the strengths of the Red Sox last season, as it will be in 2009, was their defense. Jacoby Ellsbury is a speedy center fielder who covers a lot of ground in the outfield. Jason Bay is a solid defender who will only improve as he gains more time in left field learning the nuances of playing the tricky Green Monster. J.D. Drew is a strong defender when he is healthy enough to stay on the field. The infield defense also qualifies as an asset, with Kevin Youklis at first, the 2008 American League MVP Dustin Pedroia at second, reliable Mike Lowell at third and the impressive young Jed Lowrie at shortstop. Julio Lugo should see some time at short as well once he recovers from having his knee scoped a month ago. This area is an advantage for Boston that only accentuates what is an already top notch collection of pitchers.

Where the Sox could run into trouble is in the length of their lineup. The top four is very good with Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youklis and designated hitter David Ortiz. Bay and Drew, when he's healthy, will be just fine in the middle. After that, it gets a little worrisome with Lowrie, Lowell and Varitek. Lowell is a strong hitter when he is feeling good physically, but coming off of hip surgery that is anything but a given with a long season ahead. Lowrie showed a lot of promise last season, most of which was played with a stress fracture in his wrist, though he is still quite inexperienced at the big league level. Varitek had an abysmal season in 2008 and the Red Sox hope he will simply be adequate with the bat in his hands this coming season. The departure of future Hall of Fame slugger Manny Ramirez might have been addition by subtraction within the clubhouse, but it was subtraction by subtraction within the lineup. Without Ramirez behind him, the usually impressive production of Ortiz slipped noticeably, and the length of the lineup was shortened. The biggest question facing Boston as we head into 2009 is if they can score enough runs to support what will be an excellent pitching staff.

It is a safer bet that the Red Sox will provide their staff with enough offense to win at least 95 games in 2009, than it is that the Yankees' collection of aging players will stay healthy enough for them to reach that level. The biggest health questions on the Yankees include Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez. Those four represent most of the pulse of the team both on the field and in the clubhouse. They include a gold glove third baseman and cleanup hitter, a number four starter and team conscience, a Hall of Fame closer and source of calm, and a switch hitting catcher and the fiery heart of the team. Losing one of them would hurt and any more than that would be crippling, as it was in 2008.

Both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees look great heading into 2009. Chances are that that Red Sox will continue to look that way and the Yankees will look somewhat different as the season wears on.

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