JAYS VS YANKS VS RED SOX (1B and C)

The Blue Jays are trying to take over the Yankees and the Red Sox in the AL East or at least compete with them. It is very apparent that they far behind this year. Today we will for the first time take a look at every position and the starter there and see which team has a better player now and which one will down the road.

Catcher:

             The Blue Jays catcher have hit for a .233  average which is largely due to the work done by Jose Molina.  You see that number increase to .244 for the Red Sox and .245 for the Yanks. As you see the Jays are behind both the Sox and the Yankees in the average department. As far as RBI's go 75 for the Jays catchers 75 for the Red Sox catchers and 77 For the Yanks catchers. Jays and the Sox are tied for the HR lead with four more than the Yanks 18. But there is one key to success that the Jays have, its called Arencibia. Touted by many as the second base Catcher in the system he is the youngest backstop between the three teams. Post All Star he leads the Jays in HRs and RBIs. Overall on the season he is doing very well in terms of HRs and RBIs. The hope is that the average will pick up for the young Catcher and if it does he will have no problem turning into an All star.

                                                                    First Base

            A position where you usually see a lot of offensive  production from has without a doubt been the same this year between the teams. The Toronto First Baseman have hit for a .266 Average, Thanks to Adrian Gonzalez that number raises to .340 for the Boston Red Sox, however the Yanks have only hit .259 from that position. While the 34 HR's from the Yanks sit well in first place the Jays are not far behind at 27, the Sox have 24 HR's from first base which however does not take their already 104 RBI's away from them. The Jays have 91  from first base and the Yanks have 98. As you see once again the Jays are not far apart from either team however the Jays Starting First Baseman Adam Lind has not produced the way you would like your everyday first baseman to do so. His 75 RBI's (which all not all from first base) sit well behind the Gonzalez and Teixeira. Gonzalez is a serious MVP contender and Teixeira despite not having a great average year is among the major league HR leaders.  Adam Lind can very well be the answer at first base but he has to be more consistent to compete with the likes of Gonzalez. With Pujols and Fielder available this off season and many more via the trade market time will show if Lind can hold onto his job.

                                                              

Conclusion: 

      The jays have themselves a pretty good catcher in JP but Lind may just not cut it at 1B. As hard as it is to give up on a player as talent as Adam the Jays may need to look for a solution somewhere else.  The best Catcher in the AL EAST is probably Russel Martin but don't be surprise if that changes as soon as the end of this year.  At first base there is no question that the best one this year is Gonzalez and that will probably not change within the next few years unless a big time first baseman is added to to the East.

    All stats can be found here in our stats page. and please comment and stay tuned for the other 6 defensive positions.