By way of a series preview, I think we’re going to play the who would you rather have game, like we did with the Athletics earlier in the week. Due to the lack of roster changes, we’ll just do it for the first series of the year with each team and maybe the first series after the all-star break, or something like that. It’s a quick fun way to look at rosters though, and doesn’t take much work for us Good Guys!
Note: no line ups today yet, so I’m going with opening day line up for the Rangers. I believe Kinsler and Saltalamacchia are the only guys out right now, so I’ll adjust as needed.
C M’s: Rob Johnson Texas: Taylor Teagarden (Jarrod Saltalamacchia injured)
Pick: Probably the Rangers with either guy. Adam Moore might be a closer comparison to Teagarden.
1B M’s: Casey Kotchman Texas: Chris Davis
Pick: Davis
2B M’s: Chone Figgins Rangers: Andres Blanco (Ian Kinsler injured)
Pick: Figgins. Might take Kinsler when healthy though.
3B M’s: Jose Lopez Rangers: Michael Young
Pick: Young. I wouldn’t want the contract, but just as a player, I’ll take Young.
SS M’s: Jack Wilson Rangers: Elvis Andrus
Pick: Andrus. Does everything Wilson does offensively and defensively, plus more.
LF M’s: Milton Bradley Rangers: Josh Hamilton
Pick: Hamilton. Similar players with lots of talent but a decent amount of volatility. Hamilton is just better, more talented, and younger.
CF M’s: Franklin Gutierrez Rangers: Julio Borbon
Pick: Gutierrez
RF M’s: Ichiro! Rangers: Nelson Cruz
Pick: Ichiro. I’d happily take Cruz in left, though.
DH M’s: Griffey Rangers: Vlad Guerrero
Pick: Vlad
Expected Pitching Matchups
Friday M’s: Jason Vargas Rangers: Colby Lewis
Pick: Lewis. Hard to know what to expect from him after a few very good years in Japan, but Vargas isn’t the stiffest competition.
Saturday M’s: Felix Rangers: Scott Harrison
Pick: Felix
Sunday M’s: Ian Snell Rangers: Scott Feldman
Pick: Feldman
Closer: M’s: David Aardsma Rangers: Frank Francisco
Pick: Aardsma
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That’s Mariners 3 and Rangers 7 for position players and DH.
2 to 1 Rangers on the rotation, Mariners take the closer spot.
That’s a lot of talent on this Rangers team, with more on the way. Teams like this (young, talented, little success so far except for a winning record last year) often take a “consolidation” year, where they struggle a bit and then become a contender. We’ll see if that’s the case for Texas or if they can win right away. They’re definitely the scariest team in the division, but that doesn’t always mean they’re the best. Enjoy the weekend and go Mariners!
-Matthew
I think I’d take Kotchman or Chris Davis. Davis’ power is better, but his 239 strike outs in 196 career games are comical. In 524 games, Kotch has 168 K’s.
Yeah, that one’s debateable. I’m just not a Kotchman fan, today’s homer notwithstanding. I’ll take Davis power potential and strikeouts (with Justin Smoak in the wings) over Kotchman’s defense and contact.