Red Sox back in Drivers Seat ! Ohhhh Yeahhh

[Wozzyck]

Here's some numbers to throw at people (from various sources):

2005 EQA (Equivalent Average: offensive stat measuring "offensive value per out," it's normalized for league, park, and opponent pitching) Higher is better:

.268 Youkilis (Career 287 AB)
.262 Millar

.280 Crisp
.280 Damon

.248 Gonzalez
.250 Renteria

2005 WARP (Wins above replacement player: Also factors in defense, and is normalized; It's playing time dependent, so I've excluded the Youkilis, Millar comparison):

5.6 Crisp
5.5 Damon

2.3 Gonzalez
1.8 Renteria

2005 OPS+ (I presume people have seen this enough):

103 Youkilis (Career 287 AB)
100 Millar

119 Crisp
113 Damon

85 Gonzalez
91 Renteria

2006 ZiPS projections (new guys) vs. 2005 stats (old guys)

.268/.400/.417 Youkilis
.272/.355/.399 Millar

.321/.370/.466 Crisp
.316/.366/.439 Damon

.275/.326/.451 Gonzalez
.276/.335/.385 Renteria

[Trot Nixon]

Still mad about the Crisp deal...but Gonzo is gonna be the new Bellhorn I hate to tell you, mbight hit 20 homers (MIGHT) but he's gonna K more than get on base. You'll hate him within a few weeks

[Wozzyck]

Gonzo is gonna be the new Bellhorn I hate to tell you

Well, I would gladly take Bellhorn circa 2004.

[BronXBombers51]

Lmao. Alex Gonzalez put the Red Sox from 3rd to 1st in the division. Lmao. Great stuff.

[Ender]

Blue Jays will not make the playoffs, the offense improvement is going to be offset by the hits they took in fielding and Burnett's stats aren't going to offset Chacin and Towers regressing back to 4+ ERA guys.

The one big thing in their favor is Ryan and the fact they lost so many close games in general last year, that should be good for a 5-8 game improvement which still has them missing the playoffs most likely.

[Pogotheostrich]

When I saw the title I thought they got Pedro back.

[Ender]

The lineup isn't any better, the pitching might be stronger if schilling comes back healthy. The yankees lineup is better, the pitching should be better with health and their bullpen is much stronger. I don't know that the red sox have lost much ground but I really don't believe they have gained any.

[BronXBombers51]

The lineup isn't any better, the pitching might be stronger if schilling comes back healthy. The yankees lineup is better, the pitching should be better with health and their bullpen is much stronger. I don't know that the red sox have lost much ground but I really don't believe they have gained any.

Whose pitching and bullpen is better than whose?

[Ender]

I like the Red Sox starters and the Yankees bullpen overall, but I think the yanks have better hitting and probably better fielding as scary as that is.

[mweir145]

Is this thread a joke?