The BoSox “lineup” above isn’t a legitimate one, I just ordered it that way for an easy comparison.
All the UZR/150 figures are based on a three-year period (collected via FanGraphs), though there were some players that simply did not offer much in the way of fielding data at their respective positions. For instance, prior to 2009, the last time Nick Swisher was a regular right fielder was in 2005, during his tenure in Oakland, therefore, three-year UZR/150 measures were difficult to compile. In such cases (Swisher, Gardner, Scutaro, Ellsbury), which are demarcated via an asterisk (*), I opted to utilize Jeff Zimmerman’s UZR/150 projections for the upcoming season. Not sure if that was the best method to employ, but the numbers are fairly conservative, so it seems to work.
With that said, what is to make of the numbers? What we can glean from this comparison is that while the Yankees are not a poor defensive team by any means (and Mark Teixeira is likely underrated here), they do have troubling matching up against Boston’s group of gold gloves. Losing Jason Bay, adding Mike Cameron, shifting Jacoby Ellsbury to left, and installing Adrian Beltre at third so as to replace the aged and fragile Mike Lowell has significantly improved the club’s ability to prevent runs. The Yankees will most likely improve, defensively, with Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner (his projection is, again, conservative), but, beyond that, there isn’t much to write home about, really.
Any thoughts on the defensive differences between the two teams (or on the numbers featured)?
I think there is no question the Red Sox are a better defensive team than the Yankees right now.
Even with the adding of Granderson and Gardner replacing Damon and Cabrera.
The only position I see a clear edge for the Yankees is at first with Teixeira against Youkillis. But that’s just because I think Teixeira is a genious, a true wizard, over there, while Youk’ is “just” very good.
Gardner could someday be as good as Cameron was a few seasons ago, but there is no way of knowing that today. And despite the fact Cameron’s getting older he still shows some pretty nice range out there in CF.
I’m really not a big J.D. Drew fan. However I don’t see Swisher beeing a better fielder than Drew, so….
Everywhere else the competition is either balanced or pendig towards the Red Sox 72′Yankees(Quote)
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Am I reading this right? Do these numbers say Cano is a better 2b man than Jeter is a SS? the other Steve S.(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
January 14th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
It says that over the last 3 years, he has been a better fielder. However, if the data were weighted more towards recent seasons, which I think it should be, Jeter might be ahead. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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Um, yeah, I don’t think it’s even close. Boston is the better defensive club across the board. It’s not the end of the world…the Yanks still crush them offensively. It’ll end up being pretty much a wash. MJ(Quote)
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I thought the chart was interesting. I knew that they were far better defensively. I had no idea though just HOW far better they were. Wow. The good thing is that the numbers are over three years. That takes some of the “one year wonder” out. For instance, Adam Kennedy was like -14, +18, -22 (or something to that regard) over the last three years. Clearly, one of these things is not like the other.
Still, I would take the better hitting over the better defense. Every hitter will have at least three chances to make an impact, while if you have a good groundball pitcher, a stellar CF and LF will be negated and have a smaller chance to have an impact on a game. Jay(Quote)
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the idea is ridiculous, Jeter is one of the best of all time, Robbie is second to no one at second, Alex is a future hall of famer, and Mark is the best first basemen in baseball. They do have an edge in the outfield and behind the plate, but the difference inthe hitting in the the out field favors the yanks, over all the defense is a wash andthe hitting is way better on the yanks. I might also mention the pitching is also a wash conclusion the yanks will take the redsux apart this year. george(Quote)
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the 2005 Yankees had questionable pitching (Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon anyone?) and the worst defensive team in the history of UZR. They won 95 games. a good offense can cover a bad defense far more often than the other way around. JGS(Quote)
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The ONLT stat that means anything is which teams will win 11 games in the postseason…..Bill James wishes he came up with stat. Steve B.(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
January 15th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
That stat is impossible to come up with, which is why we love the game and why it is still played on the field. It doesnt mean that the other stats are worthless. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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