Utley, Wright and the dead horse

[J_Cuz]

I told this girl the difference in production between the two players would be negligible.

She responded with a long-winded, pro-Wright, thesis mired in wishful thinking and fuzzy math...

Now the two players are clearly statistically negligible with Utley trending upwards and Wright remaining stagnant.

Utley .323 19hr 64rbi 84runs 11 sb
Wright .315 21hr 80rbi 64runs 11sb

Not to mention the outlandish assertions from her that Wright would be the first righthanded Met batter in twenty years to hit over forty homers.

Not looking good on that one for her either.

[markj11]

One is red hot and one is slumping. nice timing. I like them both but I think wrights numbers will be better.

[The Loveable Losers]

I'm as big of an Utley fan as there is but even I will admit that Wright will most likely put up better statistics over the long haul.

That said I would rather have Utley due to position scarcity as they're not worlds apart and Utley most likely will put up a higher VORP.

[mak1277]

Long-term though I'll still take the 23 year old over the 27 year old.

[The Loveable Losers]

Long-term though I'll still take the 23 year old over the 27 year old.

I'm not sure the 4 year difference would be enough to change my mind. Second base is not looking good for the next few years unless guys like Weeks, Kendrick, Barfield, etc. REALLY step things up. Think about what we used to have - Soriano, Kent, Reyes (if I remember right he had the dual-eligibility), etc...now it's really Utley at the top all alone. Figgins is the only guy that comes close in value and even that gap is fairly large. Meanwhile you've got quite a few great third baseman out there with ARod, MCab and Wright all legit superstars and some more guys like Alex Gordon and Andy LaRoche coming down the pike. Third base is deep and getting deeper. Second base is shallow and the water's starting to evaporate.

[mak1277]

Long-term though I'll still take the 23 year old over the 27 year old.

I'm not sure the 4 year difference would be enough to change my mind. Second base is not looking good for the next few years unless guys like Weeks, Kendrick, Barfield, etc. REALLY step things up. Think about what we used to have - Soriano, Kent, Reyes (if I remember right he had the dual-eligibility), etc...now it's really Utley at the top all alone. Figgins is the only guy that comes close in value and even that gap is fairly large. Meanwhile you've got quite a few great third baseman out there with ARod, MCab and Wright all legit superstars and some more guys like Alex Gordon and Andy LaRoche coming down the pike. Third base is deep and getting deeper. Second base is shallow and the water's starting to evaporate.

From that standpoint I agree with you. I believe there is also some anecdotal (or possibly statistical) evidence that guys like Wright, who are so good, so soon, don't actually see the same spike in performance through their mid-20's. That's not to say he won't continue to be phenomenal, just that he might not be significantly more phenomenal that he already is.

[HOOTIE]

I like Utley, picked him up in a off season keeper trade, although i gave up Soriano. It was a 4 for 4. But i love Wright. In a keeper i take Wright everytime.

[Amazinz]

First, GTWMA is a guy but I think you already know that. Second, it is an absolute classless act to prove yourself and belittle another Cafe poster in this manner. This thread is getting locked. Bring up the post in question if you want to discuss it but keep it nice.