Bill Conlin

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Derek Jeter (right) has the pure hitting skills and intangibles, but Jimmy Rollins (below) has his own assets that make the leadoff position a standoff.

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Bill Conlin: Comparing Phillies, Yankees lineups the right way

By Bill Conlin
Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Sports Columnist

IN A WORLD SERIES comparison, a Tale of the Tape tradition dating to 1903 has matched the combatants by position.

While that gives a picture of relative strengths on an individual basis - third basemen Mike Schmidt and George Brett was a close matchup of 1980 Phillies and Royals stars - it ignores the roles of same-position players in the context of where they hit in the batting order.

Even the heavyweight champion Phillies and Yankees have different rules of engagement as a game unfolds. Let's look at another 1980 matchup of first basemen Pete Rose and Willie Mays Aikens. Rose, the patron saint of win-any-which-way-you-can small ball, was batting No. 2 in '80 at a position normally reserved for a power bat. Aikens, the prototypical cleanup hitter, was more the first-base business model. It was a no-brainer to give Willie a lopsided edge in a matchup with the aging Rose. He outhomered Pete by 20-1 that season, drove in 34 more runs.

Ah, but Aikens' 20 homers and 98 RBI were pedestrian numbers for a cleanup hitter. Rose lashed 185 hits, stroked 42 doubles and scored 95 runs while compiling a .352 OBP. Those are fine numbers for a table-setter whose job description is to get on base - he reached 251 times by hit and walk.

So, the edge clearly belonged to Rose when factoring in his contribution to the Phillies' lineup chemistry.

Here is one man's spin on how the Phillies and Yankees match up - not by position - but by positions in the batting order. (Using DH rules and the most recent starting lineups posted by managers Charlie Manuel and Joe Girardi. I am also assuming Raul Ibanez will DH in New York and Ben Francisco will play left. Most AL managers like to put speed in the No. 9 spot, but Carlos Ruiz runs well and I think Francisco will bat No. 7 behind Ibanez.)

Gentlemen, protect yourselves at all times and let's have a clean, hard fight.

Leadoff: Jimmy Rollins
vs. Derek Jeter

The Yankees' captain is a first- ballot Hall of Fame lock. Rollins adds to his credentials year-by-year. Both are run scorers and producers. Give Jeter the edge as a pure hitter, Rollins check marks for power from both sides and speed. Jeter's intangibles are off the charts. Rollins revels on the Big Stage.

RINGS: Rollins 1, Jeter 4.

EDGE: Even.

No. 2: Shane Victorino
vs. Johnny Damon

Victorino was depicted on the front page of the New York Post Tuesday wearing a skirt. You've gotta be pretty good to rate a spot normally reserved for "Headless Body in Topless Bar," Bernie Madoff and Jacko. Damon had a huge year for a table-setter - 107 runs, 24 homers, 82 RBI, .282 BA. Shane's numbers were solid, but his edge is in pitcher disruption - 25 stolen bases and his tremendous speed on base. Both are Red Light players.

RINGS: Victorino 1, Damon 1.

EDGE: Victorino.

No 3: Chase Utley

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Comments

Posted 08:19 AM, 10/28/2009

mick314

Swisher ??? The Chair lost his edge on that one.

Posted 08:37 AM, 10/28/2009

Yanksin4

Good analysis, except for giving Howard the edge over A-Rod. Howard has huge holes in his swing against lefties, and we'll see how he does against CC, Burnett and Marte. A-Rod has no weaknesses and can cover the entire plate with his bat. Huge edge should go to A-Rod.

Posted 08:37 AM, 10/28/2009

Yanksin4

Posted 08:54 AM, 10/28/2009

johnny o

Great, great piece by the best baseball writer in America, in my lifetime anyway. Bravo! Especially enjoyed the synopsis on Jay Worth. "Breakthrough Bomber", "Clutch". I hear you.

Posted 12:07 PM, 10/28/2009

fabfan

Great article, nice spin. Yanksin4 you clearly haven't seen the big guy all year as I do and your man crush on A Roid obscures your analysis. It will be a great series. PHILS IN FIVE

Posted 01:12 PM, 10/28/2009

Stillcrazi

What a Fillets Rah-Rah! Here's all the math you need to know to figure this one out: Regular season stats- Yanks won 10 more games. Yanks scored 95 more runs. Yanks have 9 players with more than 20 HR's Yanks have 3 Gold Glove Infielders... We could go on ,but you probably get it!!!! Yanks Sweep or win in 5!

Posted 01:55 PM, 10/28/2009

cupajoe

Stillcrazi you're out of touch. The Phils took 2 of 3 in YOUR park and only lost the third to a Brad Lidge meltdown. How's that for a little math AND reality mixed together.

Posted 02:08 PM, 10/28/2009

umpy

Hey Wanksin4 You showed all of your baseball knowledge by calling Burnout Burett a lefty. Another moron from The Big Apple.

Posted 02:16 PM, 10/28/2009

mikeyhigs

Stillcrazi. yanks may have scored more regular season runs, but they did it with a DH. And if you wat to pick and choose stats to make your point, The Phils had 5 players with 30+ HR. The Phils have 4 guys with 20+ stolen bases. The Phils have 18 players with World Series experience to the Yanks 8. Oh, and the Phils are the defending World F***ing Champions.

Posted 02:24 PM, 10/28/2009

nuggett

A great article Bill...you stuck to baseball instead of trying to impress us with some roman greco garbage.....Nobody cares about your romance with yourself and your knowledge of history...Just write baseball stuff Billy C

Posted 02:47 PM, 10/28/2009

TBear

Good stuff Mr. Bill,well thought out. But what's your take on the pitching aspect?

Posted 02:57 PM, 10/28/2009

Stringer Bell

I'm a Phillies diehard, but I'm an objective baseball fan first. How can you possibly have Jeter and Rollins as "even" from the leadoff spot? Their job is to get on base, and Jeters' OBP (.404) was over 100 points higher than Rollins'(.296, which is abominable for anyone) this year! Also consider this, postseason walks: Jeter- 9 Rollins- NONE. I'll always love him for the hit against Broxton, but the man doesn't understand how to get on base. The 3 hole should be advantage Utley based on positional value, but you completely neglected that, and A-Rod, as much as I hate him deserves a slight edge where you actually picked Howard outright. The Phillies are going to face left handed starters in as many as 5 games this series, and Howard ranked 2nd to LAST in the majors among all qualifying clean-up hitters in OPS vs. LHP (.654). Aubrey Huff was the worst at .650. He had big hits off Kershaw and Wolf last series, but that's not much of a sample to go on. The correct order (based on your system) should be Jeter, Victorino, Wash, Rodriguez, Werth, Wash, Cano, Swisher, Wash. Again though, positional value and what the player does at their given spot in the order based on where they play in the field (and how well they play it) is a much better barometer of talent than simply going by their spot 1-9. It also would have been interesting to see the matchups when the Phillies are at home, because Ibanez in the 6 spot becomes an advantage with Matsui out of the Yankees' lineup.