Who is more important to a team?

[pol]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

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I would say an all star catcher who can CALL a game. That's very hard to find nowadays. Pudge Rodriguez was good at it for a time. Charles Johnson is pretty good at calling a game but his bat isn't the most dominant around. The best all around catcher IMO was Johny Bench. He could hit, gaurd the plate and call a good game.



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completely agree.. thats why matheny (also very good D) has stuck with the cardinals.. besides his poor hitting. if you can put together a really good hitter who can do all that.. it would really be nice.... altho #1 most important player i would say is prolly either a stud starter or closer.. cant decide.. a closer can work almost everyday and shorten games

[kweiss]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
I would say an all star catcher who can CALL a game. That's very hard to find nowadays. Pudge Rodriguez was good at it for a time. Charles Johnson is pretty good at calling a game but his bat isn't the most dominant around. The best all around catcher IMO was Johny Bench. He could hit, gaurd the plate and call a good game.



<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

completely agree.. thats why matheny (also very good D) has stuck with the cardinals.. besides his poor hitting. if you can put together a really good hitter who can do all that.. it would really be nice.... altho #1 most important player i would say is prolly either a stud starter or closer.. cant decide.. a closer can work almost everyday and shorten games

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Between a starter and a closer I would have to say a starter. Even though a closer can pitch almost every day, starters have more of an impact on a single game. A starter is impacting the game for an average of about 7 innings. You can have the best closer in the world, but if your starter is no good he doesn't get any save opportunities. But it is a tough choice because that 1 inning the closer pitches is so important.

[kweiss]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
I would say an all star catcher who can CALL a game. That's very hard to find nowadays. Pudge Rodriguez was good at it for a time. Charles Johnson is pretty good at calling a game but his bat isn't the most dominant around. The best all around catcher IMO was Johny Bench. He could hit, gaurd the plate and call a good game.



<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

completely agree.. thats why matheny (also very good D) has stuck with the cardinals.. besides his poor hitting. if you can put together a really good hitter who can do all that.. it would really be nice.... altho #1 most important player i would say is prolly either a stud starter or closer.. cant decide.. a closer can work almost everyday and shorten games

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Between a starter and a closer I would have to say a starter. Even though a closer can pitch almost every day, starters have more of an impact on a single game. A starter is impacting the game for an average of about 7 innings. You can have the best closer in the world, but if your starter is no good he doesn't get any save opportunities. But it is a tough choice because that 1 inning the closer pitches is so important.

[thecomic]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

PITCHER

A great pitcher can dominate the game once every 5 days. A great hitter is often pitched around, and often is not given the chance to make the difference.

[thecomic]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

PITCHER

A great pitcher can dominate the game once every 5 days. A great hitter is often pitched around, and often is not given the chance to make the difference.

[Kelvarr]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

agreed...

take for instance, Bonds. While he was injured, the rest of the team was merely average at the plate. He is that team right now.

Honestly, it is a toss-up. Yes, a dominant ace can win you games, but having a dominate hitter can also be a big help.

It really is a crap-shoot. Look at the Yankees roster and tell me that they would be playing this bad right now.

Personally, I would go with 5 solid (better than average, but not super-star dominators like Pedro, Maddux, Johnson, Prior, Wood, Zito, Hudson, Mulder, etc.) starters, and at least 5 solid positional players, with maybe one superstar in there. And, yes, you build up the middle. Almost anyone can play 1st Base...Build up your Catcher, Shorstop, 2nd Base, and Center Field first, then 3rd Base, 1st Base and Right/left fields.

[Kelvarr]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

agreed...

take for instance, Bonds. While he was injured, the rest of the team was merely average at the plate. He is that team right now.

Honestly, it is a toss-up. Yes, a dominant ace can win you games, but having a dominate hitter can also be a big help.

It really is a crap-shoot. Look at the Yankees roster and tell me that they would be playing this bad right now.

Personally, I would go with 5 solid (better than average, but not super-star dominators like Pedro, Maddux, Johnson, Prior, Wood, Zito, Hudson, Mulder, etc.) starters, and at least 5 solid positional players, with maybe one superstar in there. And, yes, you build up the middle. Almost anyone can play 1st Base...Build up your Catcher, Shorstop, 2nd Base, and Center Field first, then 3rd Base, 1st Base and Right/left fields.

[Crown42Royal]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

This isn't even a contest. You NEED good pitching. Just compare the Rangers with the Mariners:
Hitting:
Juan Gonzalez .284 16 HR 37 RBI
Alex Rodriguez .294 16 HR 38 RBI
Michael Young .357 4 HR 24 RBI
Rafeal Palmeiro .265 13 HR 37 RBI
Hank Blalock .352 9 HR 32 RBI
Carl Everett .308 14 HR 42 RBI

Pitching:
Valdes 5-2 4.98 ERA
Thompson 3-6 5.17 ERA
Lewis 4-3 7.39 ERA
Francisco Cordero 2-5 3.16 ERA
Alan Benes 0-3 11.40 ERA

Seattle Hitting:
Ichiro Suzuki .317 5 HR 20 RBI
Bret Boone .310 15 HR 45 RBI
Randy Winn .283 2 HR 19 RBI
John Olerud .3012 HR 25 RBI
E. Martinez .328 14 HR 45 RBI
Mike Cameron .277 6 HR 19 RBI

Pitching:
Gil Meche 7-2 3.11
Ryan Franklin 4-3 3.47
Jamie Moyer 8-2 3.55
Joel Pineiro 5-4 3.86
Freddy Garcia 5-6 5.50

What's my point? Rangers can out hit the Mariners all day but on the other hand the Mariners can out pitch the Rangers all day. Just compare the ERA numbers. Rangers are in last, Mariners are in first. If you can't pitch then you can't win. Plain and simple.

[Crown42Royal]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

This isn't even a contest. You NEED good pitching. Just compare the Rangers with the Mariners:
Hitting:
Juan Gonzalez .284 16 HR 37 RBI
Alex Rodriguez .294 16 HR 38 RBI
Michael Young .357 4 HR 24 RBI
Rafeal Palmeiro .265 13 HR 37 RBI
Hank Blalock .352 9 HR 32 RBI
Carl Everett .308 14 HR 42 RBI

Pitching:
Valdes 5-2 4.98 ERA
Thompson 3-6 5.17 ERA
Lewis 4-3 7.39 ERA
Francisco Cordero 2-5 3.16 ERA
Alan Benes 0-3 11.40 ERA

Seattle Hitting:
Ichiro Suzuki .317 5 HR 20 RBI
Bret Boone .310 15 HR 45 RBI
Randy Winn .283 2 HR 19 RBI
John Olerud .3012 HR 25 RBI
E. Martinez .328 14 HR 45 RBI
Mike Cameron .277 6 HR 19 RBI

Pitching:
Gil Meche 7-2 3.11
Ryan Franklin 4-3 3.47
Jamie Moyer 8-2 3.55
Joel Pineiro 5-4 3.86
Freddy Garcia 5-6 5.50

What's my point? Rangers can out hit the Mariners all day but on the other hand the Mariners can out pitch the Rangers all day. Just compare the ERA numbers. Rangers are in last, Mariners are in first. If you can't pitch then you can't win. Plain and simple.

[Mr_October]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

Pitching will allow your team to keep runs low and then the team could knock in a few runs. But if you have a All-Star team like the Rangers and have all hitting and no pitching. You can score all you want but that's not gonna help win the game when the pitching gives up on you.

[Mr_October]

Re: Who is more important to a team?

Pitching will allow your team to keep runs low and then the team could knock in a few runs. But if you have a All-Star team like the Rangers and have all hitting and no pitching. You can score all you want but that's not gonna help win the game when the pitching gives up on you.