Nice try Bill
Let me start off by saying, I realize the newspaper industry is a sinking ship. With the advancement of the internet and the ease at which news can be acquired, it has all but crippled this business. With that being said, articles such as Bill Conlin’s, that basically states the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies have the best infield in the modern era should not be used simply to sell papers. I want to give Bill the benefit of the doubt here and say he doesn’t honestly believe what his articles states and that this was simply a tactic to boost sales but I am not so sure. The insanity of the basis of this article is that the Phillies don’t even have the best infield for the 2010 season, let alone the last 5 years, 10 years, or as Billy boy states, the modern era.
Conlin conveniently omitted the catching position from the infield to help his argument but it still doesn’t fly. Ryan Howard is a phenomenal power threat but his major struggles against left-handed pitching is what puts him right on par with Mark Teixeira. Tex is a switch-hitting, gold glove first basemen. He has not hit under .280 since his rookie year. These are two big time threats, Howard with more power, Tex with a higher average and better defense. We’ll call this one a push.
The Phillies clearly have the advantage at 2b, as Utley has put up some of the best numbers at his position in the history of the game. Robinson Cano is often extremely undervalued in this match-up though. Last year Cano hit .320 with 25 homeruns and 85 rbis, certainly nothing to sneeze at. Utley has also improved significantly defensively since his rookie season and is now one of the top defensive second basemen in the game. Utley is the better player but this isn’t as much of a landslide as many Phillies fans would lead you to believe.
Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Bill Conlin, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins, Johnny G, Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira, Phillies, Placido Polanco, Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, Yankees
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