My Case- Mets vs. Phils part 1 of 11, First BAse

by schrifty on Feb 25, 2008 4:22 PM EST

I will break down the teams position by position. I am sure this has been done by someone else, but this is my interpretation. Feel free to include your own. I am not including teams farm systems in the equation.

First Base-Ryan Howard vs Carlos Delgado
Although Delgado used to be a perrenial MVP candidate in Toronto, he has not been that player since 2003. With the mets his batting average and obp have dropped dramatically in recent years and he had an extremely pedestrian OBP of .333 last year. MEts fans are calling for his resurrection this season, but I see nothing that should lead us to expect such a thing. If healthy he may be able to give them 30 hr and 100 rbi this year with a .260 batting average.

On the other hand, Ryan Howard produced huge numbers in what was a "down" injury season. Howard has won the Rookie of the Year, MVP, and finished 5th in the MVP voting in the last 3 years. There is no reason to expect declining numbers from last year. If anything we can assume if he stays healthy he will give the PHils even better numbers. Last year his strikeouts increased and his Batting average went down. IF he has made proper adjusments we can expect those numbers to imporve somewhat. Look for 50 hr, 140 RBI and .290 Batting average if healthy.

First Base-Advantage Phillies
Phillies Lead MEts 1-0

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Re: My Case- Mets vs. Phils part 1 of 11

Position-by-position comparisons are pointless. What if Team A is slightly better than Team B in six categories, but way worse at five? Clearly, Team B would be the better team, but you'd come to the wrong conclusion.

If you're going to compare these two teams, I'd suggest writing up one comprehensive analysis, rather than bothering with the next ten parts of your case.

by taco pal on Feb 27, 2008 12:10 PM EST reply actions

Re: My Case- Mets vs. Phils part 1 of 11

Or at least some kind of numerical scale: if Howard rates a 9.5 out of 10 and Delgado rates a 7, that's more telling than a simple "the Phillies win this category."

FWIW, I think Delgado will have a decent year. After the break in '07, he hit .285/.375/.469 with 10 bombs in just over 200 AB. That's about what you'd expect from an elite slugger in gentle decline.

by dajafi on Feb 27, 2008 3:14 PM EST up reply actions