Pick your poison, split your hairs. Do you want to face David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez or Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez?
“Those are the two best 3-4 tandems in the majors,” an AL advance man said. “They are so far ahead of everyone else.”
You might get some arguments in Florida from fans of Carlos Delgado and Miguel Cabrera; Texas, with Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock; or Anaheim, with Vlad Guerrero and Garret Anderson. However, for our money, when it comes to 3-4, the Yankees and Red Sox are 1-2. But in what order?
For that, we empowered a panel of eight baseball people and every one of them stressed that there was no wrong answer. We made this strictly a question of offense, because once defense was included it obviously tipped to Sheffield and A-Rod.
We provided anonymity because each person was worried about offending players on their teams. How close is the debate? Sorry, but the vote finished tied 4-4. Here are their thoughts:
PRO ORTIZ/RAMIREZ
AL ADVANCE SCOUT: Boy, that is a hell of a call. Ortiz-Manny tend not to slump. Production wise, the Yankees will out-produce them, but I think they will do it in a more streaky fashion, especially Alex, tends to get real streaky. A righty with a good slider might get out Sheffield. Ortiz has closed his hole that he had up and in. Another year of success has made me a true-blue believer in Ortiz. Ortiz and Manny, I think, would do better against the top two pitchers on another team. But I have to say this: Sheffield is one of the great clutch hitters in our sport.
AL HEAD OF BASEBALL OPERATIONS: A-Rod very well might finish with the best numbers – but to me he would be the guy I would pitch to, out of the four. Ortiz is not as talented as A-Rod, but he affects more games. I would rather have the lefty-righty combo that Ortiz and Manny give, even if Sheff and A-Rod are capable against righties. The fact you might be able to use one relief pitcher against the Yanks to go after those two is a big deal.
AL GM: It is not a differential between talent because these are four of the most talented hitters in the world. I give Sheff and especially, A-Rod, points because they play every day. That is important. All four can hit, hit for power and will take a walk. If I had to break the tie, I would say you might need two pitchers to face the Red Sox tandem.
NL GM: Ortiz is the most clutch hitter in the game. He’s a carry-the-team guy. I would hate to see any of the four come to the plate, but Ortiz scares me most of all.
PRO SHEFFIELD/A-ROD
AL ASSISTANT GM: It is so close, you really have to get under a microscope to decide. I’ll give it to Rodriguez and Sheffield because I think you get a more consistent effort from those two. Manny may not bust it to stay out of a double play. And Sheffield and Rodriguez would be less likely to strike out with a runner on third with fewer than two outs.
NL ASSISTANT GM: If you take the all-around offensive game into account, I go with the Yankees because their guys can run, and Ortiz and Ramirez are base cloggers. But believe me, that is just a tiebreaker because it is so close. These are four great hitters.
AL EXECUTIVE: We are dealing at the margins here. The lack of speed is a definite detriment for Boston. I know A-Rod had struggled against the Red Sox, but that is what New York focuses on. Believe me, he doesn’t struggle against anybody else. But I give it to the Yankees because of Sheffield. Nobody has better wrists and bat speed. He may be the scariest hitter in league. There is no pitch he misses. You scratch your head and say, “how do we get him out?” He can guess wrong and still hit it hard because of his bat speed. This is what Hank Aaron must have been like.
AMERICAN LEAGUE GM: Your Nos. 3-5 starters do not get these guys out. I will take Sheffield and A-Rod because I think there is more durability there, but here is my deal: You pick any two and then give me the other two, and you will never hear a complaint from me again.
DOWN THE LINE
Team with best bait could land Burnett
Florida righty A.J. Burnett just may be the best player traded before the July 31 deadline. “I think they really want to deal Burnett because they know they can’t sign him,” an AL executive said. “I think if somebody were willing to take on [Mike] Lowell, too, that would really get it done.”
Burnett projects to the best free-agent starter in the upcoming market, so he is probably just a rental for some team. The Marlins are said to want a competent starter, plus fill one or two other areas, in return for the talented righty.
Boston, using Bronson Arroyo, has a shot (owner John Henry had Burnett in Florida and liked him).
The Orioles did not want to trade Daniel Cabrera. Toronto is interested, but there are questions about a match.
Watch for the always aggressive White Sox, who would include well-regarded prospect Brandon McCarthy to get a deal done. The White Sox believe with a rotation fronted by Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Burnett, their chances to win it all go up.
* The Mets had Tim Hudson and Mike Hampton return from the DL to face them over this weekend. And Tuesday, when the Padres arrive at Shea, they are expecting to get their No. 2 hitter (Mark Loretta) and cleanup man (Phil Nevin) back from the DL.
* Giants closer Armando Benitez, rehabbing from a torn hamstring, is said to have begun “light” jogging. What is light jogging for Benitez? Dinner table to refrigerator and back.
* The Orioles, one NL executive said, did not pursue David Ortiz when he was non-tendered three years ago because “they determined he was just another Calvin Pickering.” Pickering is a Quadruple-A slugger, for those who don’t know.
* An AL advanced scout on rising Indians star Travis Hafner: “He is a lot like David Ortiz was. He needed some time. He had the same hole as Ortiz up and in and, like Ortiz, he has closed it. He is special.”
* The A’s played parts of May without Kiko Calero, Bobby Crosby, Octavio Dotel, Erubiel Durazo, Rich Harden and Nick Swisher, all of whom were on the DL. All have returned except Durazo (due back soon) and Dotel (out for the year), and Oakland has returned, as well, from oblivion to contention.
“The reason I did not panic is that I thought we would be competitive if things went well health-wise, and we did not have health in May,” GM Billy Beane said. “We have a long way to go, but I feel good that we have a young roster that has a trend line up and that our market can afford.”
