Best in Baseball, Part One of Part IV

This is the fourth and last part of my Best in Baseball series. At first, I thought I would just make a normal All-Star team for each league, but then I figured that would be too easy. Instead, I'm going to make the best team possible for both the AL and NL (the NL first and then the AL second), and then I'll let you guys decide which one is better. Each team will have 8 position players, a full-time DH, 5 starters, a 7-man bullpen (a closer, setup man, left-handed specialist, two middle relievers and two long relievers/spot starters), as well as a 4-man bench (a backup catcher, a utility infielder and outfielder, and a pinch-hitter). The thing that makes this tough is that only the starting lineup and starting pitchers can be front-line stars. For instance, if I pick Jose Reyes as the starting shortstop (which I will), I can't put Jimmy Rollins as my backup infielder. In the same vein, if my closer is Mariano Rivera (which it won't be), my setup guy can't be Jonathan Papelbon. Each player has to be at the position that they are playing. The only exception is my National League DH, for the obvious reasons. I think you get the general idea.

First, the All-NL Team:

Starting Lineup:

Catcher: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

• McCann's only 23, and he's already the best offensive catcher in the National League (.333 BA, 24 HR, 93 RBI). His defense is slightly below average, but like I said, he's got a lot of time to work on it. Watch out for Russell Martin, the catcher for the Dodgers. He had a good year last year too (.282, 10, 65), and he's only going to get better.

First Baseman: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

• He's got a Gold Glove, MVP and Rookie of the Year honors. Since he came into the league in 2001, he's averaged 42 home runs and 126 RBIs, with a batting average of .330. I mean, those numbers are unbelievable. He's got great defense, great power, he hits for average, he's clutch, and he has the ability to steal your soul (just ask Brad Lidge). What else do you want?

Second Baseman: Orlando Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks

• Let's look at the options at second base in the NL.
  • Craig Biggio (Astros)- old and holding on for his 3,000th hit.
  • Orlando Hudson (D-Backs)- great defensively (Gold Glove last year), but only an average offensive presence.
  • Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies)- best offensive second basemen in the game. The only thing that bothers me a little is his defense (his 18 errors were tied for the most in the NL last season).
  • Jeff Kent (Los Angeles Dodgers)- Hall of Fame bound, but way past his prime.
  • Dan Uggla (Florida Marlins)- ROY last year, but overachieved last year, like the rest of the Marlins.
  • Brandon Phillips (Cincinnati Reds)- can run for days, but an average fielder and hitter.
  • Marcus Giles (San Diego Padres)- mediocre fielder, mediocre hitter, mediocre player.

• Why did I choose Hudson when Utley is clearly the superior overall second baseman? Well, for the best overall team, I had to make some tough calls. Because my team is not lacking in the hitting department, I decided to sacrifice a little offense for some Gold Glove defense, which is what happens when you replace Utley with the O-Dawg. Hudson's a decent enough hitter where he won't hurt my team.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes, SS

• This one was pretty easy. He's the best leadoff hitter in baseball right now (and one of the best overall), and he has improved his defense immensely since he came into the league. The most important quality of your first hitter is the ability to get on base. Reyes' OBP has increased from .300 in 2005 to .354 in 2006 to .462 so far in 2007. Once he's on base, he can steal second without breaking a sweat (64 SB in 2006) and just causes devastation on the basepaths. Also, who better to energize your team than the most electric player in either league? The only other NL shortstop that I would consider putting in this position is Raphael Furcal of the Dodgers, who is fast, although he's not as aggressive as Reyes, he actually got on base more often than Reyes last year (.369 OBP). I could have gone with Jimmy Rollins, but he doesn't get on base enough (.334 OBP last year and .330 for his career), and has apparently fallen in love with the long ball (25 HR last year).

Third Baseman: Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins

• I was an idiot in one of my earlier posts. I decided that the best overall third baseman in the National League was David Wright. Clearly, Cabrera is not very good defensively, but he's such an incredible offensive talent that I should have overlooked his shortcomings in the field. He's not THAT bad defensively, and his offensive numbers are through the roof. When he does eventually move to the outfield, I hope it's to right field, because he'd easily be the best hitter at that position too (you'll see what I mean about right field later).

Left Fielder: Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates

• He's one of the best defensive left fielders in the NL (only 3 errors in 157 games last year) and he's a monster at the plate (.286 BA, 35 HR, 109 RBI, and 102 BB in 2006). He's the best player on the rapidly improving Pirates team that includes last year's NL batting king, Freddy Sanchez, and an amazing new Stadium.

Center Fielder: Carlos Beltran, New York Mets

• Beltran is the top outfielder in the game, hands down. He's got everything you would want in a player: speed (his 87% success rate on stolen bases is the best in major league history), power (his 41 HR last year tied Todd Hundley's Mets record for homers in a season), defense (won a Gold Glove last year), and perseverance (he played in Kansas City for almost 6 years without going nuts). In short, he's the best there is.

Right Field: Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies

• For my right fielder spot, which I've noted before is a weak point for the National League, I could have gone with Jeff Francoeur, who can mash (29 home runs last year) and has a cannon for an arm (13 outfield assists in 2006) but had a .293 OBP, drawing only 23 walks in 651 ABs. That's just god-awful plate discipline. Hawpe's batting average last year was .293, so he got a hit as often as Francoeur got on base. At the same time, he hit 22 homers and had 84 RBI (and yes, I know it's Colorado, but of his 22 home runs, only 6 came at home). Francoeur's defense and his power are his main selling points, but my team doesn't need more power and Hawpe may be a better defender (his 16 outfield assists were second in the National League behind Alfonso Soriano). I've got enough RBI men in my lineup that I can pass on having a free-swinging Brave and instead opt for the more solid Colorado player. Also, with the left-handed Hawpe, I can keep my lefty-righty balance in my lineup. (One caveat: I've never actually been able to see Hawpe play, so if I'm overestimating him due to being mislead by statistics, let me know and I will adjust accordingly.)

Designated hitter: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies

• Any guy who hits 58 home runs in a season can have a place on my team. It's an added perk that he doesn't have to play defense, because he's just not a good defensive player. His OPS was a staggering 1.084 last year, and his power to all fields is just tremendous. Last year, I can't remember him hitting a HR that barely cleared the fence. Every one I saw was always at least a few rows up, and of course last year during the HR Derby he did hit a walk-off "Hit It Here" HR against David Wright. That was pretty awesome.

Batting Order:

1) Jose Reyes, SS (switch-hitter)

2) Carlos Beltran, CF (switch-hitter)

3) Albert Pujols, 1B (right-handed)

4) Ryan Howard, DH (left-handed)

5) Miguel Cabrera, 3B (right-handed)

6) Brian McCann, C (left-handed)

7) Jason Bay, LF (right-handed)

8) Brad Hawpe, RF (left-handed)

9) Orlando Hudson, 2B (switch-hitter)

Bench Players:

Backup Catcher: Henry Blanco, Chicago Cubs

• For me, your backup catcher is mainly supposed to be good defensively and good at handling pitchers, and anything he gives you offensively is gravy. Also, the catcher needs to have played at least 30 games to be considered. That being said, I'm going to go with Blanco, who you may remember as Greg Maddux's personal catcher for a couple of years in Atlanta and in Chicago last year. He's an exceptional defensive catcher, and for his career, he has thrown out 43% of runners attempting to steal, which is just remarkable. Sure, his hitting is a little weak, but like I said, if backup catchers could hit, they wouldn't be backup hitters.

Utility Infielder: Mark Loretta, Houston Astros

• I think Loretta was the best choice here. I still have trouble believing that the starting second baseman for the AL All-Star team couldn't find a starting job anywhere. He's 35 years old, and he's spent at least 1000 innings at each of the four infield positions. He's got some pop in his bat, and his experience at each of the four infield positions gives him the versatility you want in a utility infielder.

Utility Outfielder: Endy Chavez, New York Mets

• Seriously, I could put Chavez in here just for this. He's an amazing defensive outfielder, and his speed is outstanding. Last year, filling in for an oft-injured Cliff Floyd, he did a great job. He had nine outfield assists and no errors in 128 games last year, which is pretty damn impressive. He also always seems to come through at the plate, and he's a perfect late-inning defensive replacement.

Pinch-hitter: Julio Franco, New York Mets

• Well, if you want experience, he's your guy. He has been in the league for longer than I've been alive. He obviously knows how to hit. You don't stay in baseball for 22 years without knowing what you're doing. Franco's always ready to go, and he usually comes up big when the Mets need him.

Pitching Rotation: Note: For the pitching rotation, I'm allowed to pick the 5 best starting pitchers in the National League. 1) Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks:

• For my top pitcher, I'm going with the 27-year-old from the desert with the deadly sinker. He also won some kind of a record last year. What was it called? Oh yeah, the Cy Young, he's got one of those. He went 16-8 last year and had a 3.10 ERA, and in his four years in the majors, he's never started less than 29 games in a season.

2) Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros

• Oswalt might be my favorite pitcher in the NL. The highest ERA he's ever had in a season was 3.49, and in the past three seasons (2004-2006), he's won 20 games twice, and 55 total in that span, and had an overall ERA of 3.14. In the 2006 season, he went 15-8 with a 2.98 ERA, and was the victim of some poor offense by his teammates. If he had gotten more run support last year, he would definitely have won the Cy Young. Of his 8 losses,the Astros scored 2 or fewer runs 5 times, and were shut out twice.

3) Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

• Zambrano is one of the few bright spots for the Cubs in the past couple of years. His walks are certainly a concern (his 115 BB last year led the league), and he gets too emotional on the mound, which I think hurts his concentration at times, leading to the high walks. That being said, he's got dynamite stuff and he knows how to win (although he's a Cub, so that might be an oxymoron). Also, he's probably the best hitting pitcher in baseball (he hit 6 home runs last year and his slugging percentage was .397, which is just outstanding for a pitcher.

4) Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

• I honestly think Carpenter is a better pitcher than Zambrano, but it's never good when your Cy Young winner and staff anchor goes down with elbow trouble. I can't put him any higher until I see how he comes back from his injury. He's been great for the Cards since he came over from the Blue Jays in 2004, going 51-18 in the three seasons since then. Even though I hate St. Louis with a passion, I respect Carpenter and I hope he comes back full strength from his injury.

5) Tom Glavine, New York Mets

• Of these five pitchers, this is the only lefty on the staff. Statistically, Glavine is the best lefty in the NL, better than Dontrelle Willis. I'm still not sure what to think about Barry Zito yet, I'm reserving judgement on him until he has at least a half a season in the NL and I've seen how he adjusts to the NL. Sure, Glavine is 41 years old, but Willis had an off year last year, going 12-12. Meanwhile, Glavine went 15-7 in 2006 and is already 3-1 this year, on pace to get 300 wins sometime in July. For me, that gives him the edge over the other lefties in the National League.

Bullpen:

Closer: Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres

• The all-time leader in saves, Hoffman is still the gold standard for closers in the National League. I mean, he's 39 and still going strong (46 saves last year, his 2nd-highest total ever). Also, the list of other closers in the NL is not exactly awe-inspiring. Derrick Turnbow finished 9th in saves last year, he of the 8 blown saves and the 6.87 ERA. I would go so far as to speculate that the only other elite closer in the NL is Billy Wagner, and the comparison between Wagner and Hoffman is not favorable to the Mets lefty.

Setup Pitcher: Scott Linebrink, San Diego Padres

• The Padres seem to always have a spectacular bullpen, and one of their best assets is this 30-year-old righty. He's been involved in many possible trade scenarios in the past year (including an often revisited but never consummated Linebrink-Aaron Rowand trade involving the Phillies). There's a reason everybody wants this guy.

Left-Handed Specialist: Pedro Feliciano, New York Mets

• The other Pedro on the Mets is just death against lefties. Last year lefties only hit .231 against him, and his ERA was 2.09. In the second half of last year (after Duaner Sanchez went down in a freak taxi accident) and at the beginning of this year, Feliciano has really stepped up and become one of the most reliable pitchers in the Mets bullpen.

Middle Relievers: Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cla Meredith, San Diego Padres

• Broxton is a big (6'4, 290 Lbs), young (22 years old), and very talented reliever. Yes, he is technically in that 8th-inning slot for a reliever, but I put him in the middle reliever category regardless. Pretty soon I'll only be able to put him as the closer, because that's what Saito is keeping warm for him.
• I told you that the Padres always had a loaded bullpen. Meredith had an absurdly low ERA in 2006 (1.07), and he is also very young, only 23 years old. The only thing that slightly taints his gaudy stats from last year was the relatively small amount of innings that he pitched last year (only 50 2/3). Even while taking that into account, an ERA anywhere near 1 for a 23-year-old pitcher is pretty impressive.

Long relievers/spot starters: Oscar Villarreal, Atlanta Braves, and Aaron Sele, New York Mets

• I went with these two because it's very hard, just looking at statistics, to see all the contributions that a long reliever brings. I mean, maybe Villarreal goes 5 innings, gives up a couple runs, but keeps the score respectable after the starting pitcher lasts 2 1/3 and gives up 6 runs, and he saves the rest of the bullpen for the next night. It's hard to catch that in a box score. I picked these two because I think Sele did something similar to this just last week, and he was very impressive. Villarreal gets the last roster spot because he lasted longer than an inning in 30 relief appearances last year, and 9 of those appearances were three innings or longer.