In an ideal world, this would be the 25 man roster that I would put together today. I would want a blend of speed and power. A blend of youth and experience.
Position Players
Catcher
Joe Mauer - Sometimes when you look at players in baseball you end up looking at only their offensive numbers. If you look at only offensive numbers for a catcher the past few years the simple decision is Victor Martinez, but if you've watched any of the Yankee vs. Indians series you've noticed that Vick couldn't throw out a beached whale trying to steal second base. Mauer presents a blend of solid hitting and solid defense.
First Baseman
Albert Pujols - If you pick anyone other than Pujols, than I would like to know your reasoning because he is the perfect hitter. The man does not strike out, he hits for average he hits for power, he gets big hits in the clutch. He has had one of the most historic starts to his career. I would just invest in a masseuce so he could avoid that odd oblique strain.
Second Baseman
Brian Roberts - Sure he may not be the sexy pick, I think he's hit only one homerun so far this year, but he is ideal for either the leadoff spot in the lineup or the 9 hole. His job is to get on base put himself in a position to score runs so that when the big boppers in the lineup come up they have opportunities.
Third Baseman
David Wright - David is the present and future of the 3B position. He's got tons of pop to all fields and is developing into a great all around hitter. In addition he seems to get big hits when the Mets need them.
Shortstops
Derek Jeter - He's the captain, he's the leader of the ball club.
Left Field
Manny Ramirez - Hey I might have bashed Manny for being a liar the other day, but he is one of the best hitters ever and he has shown zero signs of slowing down.
Center Field
Vernon Wells - Maybe Vernon's great seasons run in 3 year cycles or maybe when pitchers are forced to throw to him and don't have the option to work around him he puts up huge stats. Well with zero weaknesses in this lineup Wells will see some fastballs.
Right Field
Ichiro Suzuki - Ichiro is the perfect leadoff hitter. High batting average, solid on base percentage and blazing speed. He also has one of the best outfield arms in baseball.
DH
David Ortiz - Simply put the most dominant DH in the game for his tenure in Boston. But could you imagine how perfect he woulf be in non DH games when he would be relegated to the bench. Imagine if you could use David Ortiz at will in import situations at the end of the game? Every knows, especially Yankee fans, that the last person you want to face in the bottom of the 9th is David Ortiz, with him on the bench, he's line up for that spot in every game.
Bench
Jose Reyes - A perfect option on the bench. Superhuman speed, experience at playing both second base and shortstop a cannon for an arm.
Ryan Howard - Kid hits bombs flat out, bombs. When a call for power is needed Howard would be on the bench to fulfill the need.
Ryan Zimmerman - In case you rarely watch baseball tonight, well turn on the tube at the end and your almost sure to see Zimm flash phenomenal leather on a Web Gem. David Wright, isn't exactly the greatest glovesmith in the majors and Zimmerman would be perfect for late inning defensive replacements, not to mention the fact he has two walk off homeruns already this season.
Grady Sizemore - The bench is full of young guns, to bring energy and some fire off the bench. Sizemore is a perfect blend of speed and power and would be able to fill in at any position in the outfield.
Michael Barrett - A right handed hitting catcher to spell Mauer, plus I thought the right hook he threw at AJ was hilarious.
Lineup
1. Ichiro
2. Derek Jeter
3. Manny Ramirez
4. Albert Pujols
5. David Ortiz
6. David Wright
7. Vernon Wells
8. Joe Mauer
9. Brian Roberts
Pitchers
Starters
1. Johan Santana - All Johan needed last year was some run support to win the Cy Young, if he had been given that then we would be talking about the back to back winner. He's also one of the frontrunners for the award this year.
2. Chris Carpenter - A powerful veteran righty, who just happened to win the Cy Young last year.
3. Scott Kazmir - Scott is my boy, quite possibly my favorite pitcher in the league. A lot of this has to do with the fact that he turns into Sandy Koufax whenever he faces the Red Sox and part is because the Mets were stupid enough to trade him away for Victor Zambrano. Kazmir will be an all star for many years to come.
4. Jeremy Bonderman - This Bonds seems like he's been around forever but guess what he's still only 23 and while that 19 loss season may put a damper on his career winning percentage when all is said and done but as the number 4 in this rotation he will be terrific for years to come.
5. Francisco Liriano - Have you seen the numbers this kid is putting up. He's putting up the exact opposite run of what Zach Duke is on, he has given up 3 or less runs in every start this season, as opposed to Duke who is on a 13 game streak of 3 or more runs. Grooming a stud in the 5th spot of the rotation would be phenomenal.
Longman
Chien-Ming Wang - I believe in the ideal situation Wang would be the perfect pitcher in long relief. Wang is a pure sinker ground ball pitcher, he typically works ahead of the hitters and in moments where the opponents go up big in the beginning of the game Wang would be perfect to take advantage of the oppositions tendency to be overanxious with a big lead.
Mid Relief
Scot Shields - Shields quitely the past 4 seasons has been one of the most important pitchers in baseball. He simply comes in and gets outs during the middle of games. And this with the propensity of starting pitchers to only go 6 innings is a necessity.
Joel Zumaya - He's leading the league in holds and he throws 100+ miles an hour, do you need more information.
Setup Men
BJ Ryan - Sure he's having a phenomenal year as a closer but thats not necessarily why I would want him on my roster. I want him there because he is a big tall lefty who could get anybody out and has had plenty of success as a setup man in the past.
Jon Papelbon - Is there any doubt that this kid is not a fluke, if the Red Sox decide next season to take him out of the bullpen they are taking a huge risk. On this roster he is being groomed to take over the Closers job for years to come.
Closer
Mariano Rivera - The most clutch pitcher in my life time, period.
Position Players
Catcher
Joe Mauer - Sometimes when you look at players in baseball you end up looking at only their offensive numbers. If you look at only offensive numbers for a catcher the past few years the simple decision is Victor Martinez, but if you've watched any of the Yankee vs. Indians series you've noticed that Vick couldn't throw out a beached whale trying to steal second base. Mauer presents a blend of solid hitting and solid defense.First Baseman
Albert Pujols - If you pick anyone other than Pujols, than I would like to know your reasoning because he is the perfect hitter. The man does not strike out, he hits for average he hits for power, he gets big hits in the clutch. He has had one of the most historic starts to his career. I would just invest in a masseuce so he could avoid that odd oblique strain.
Second Baseman
Brian Roberts - Sure he may not be the sexy pick, I think he's hit only one homerun so far this year, but he is ideal for either the leadoff spot in the lineup or the 9 hole. His job is to get on base put himself in a position to score runs so that when the big boppers in the lineup come up they have opportunities.
Third Baseman
David Wright - David is the present and future of the 3B position. He's got tons of pop to all fields and is developing into a great all around hitter. In addition he seems to get big hits when the Mets need them.
Shortstops
Derek Jeter - He's the captain, he's the leader of the ball club.
Left Field
Manny Ramirez - Hey I might have bashed Manny for being a liar the other day, but he is one of the best hitters ever and he has shown zero signs of slowing down.
Center Field
Vernon Wells - Maybe Vernon's great seasons run in 3 year cycles or maybe when pitchers are forced to throw to him and don't have the option to work around him he puts up huge stats. Well with zero weaknesses in this lineup Wells will see some fastballs.
Right Field
Ichiro Suzuki - Ichiro is the perfect leadoff hitter. High batting average, solid on base percentage and blazing speed. He also has one of the best outfield arms in baseball.
DH
David Ortiz - Simply put the most dominant DH in the game for his tenure in Boston. But could you imagine how perfect he woulf be in non DH games when he would be relegated to the bench. Imagine if you could use David Ortiz at will in import situations at the end of the game? Every knows, especially Yankee fans, that the last person you want to face in the bottom of the 9th is David Ortiz, with him on the bench, he's line up for that spot in every game.Bench
Jose Reyes - A perfect option on the bench. Superhuman speed, experience at playing both second base and shortstop a cannon for an arm.
Ryan Howard - Kid hits bombs flat out, bombs. When a call for power is needed Howard would be on the bench to fulfill the need.
Ryan Zimmerman - In case you rarely watch baseball tonight, well turn on the tube at the end and your almost sure to see Zimm flash phenomenal leather on a Web Gem. David Wright, isn't exactly the greatest glovesmith in the majors and Zimmerman would be perfect for late inning defensive replacements, not to mention the fact he has two walk off homeruns already this season.Grady Sizemore - The bench is full of young guns, to bring energy and some fire off the bench. Sizemore is a perfect blend of speed and power and would be able to fill in at any position in the outfield.
Michael Barrett - A right handed hitting catcher to spell Mauer, plus I thought the right hook he threw at AJ was hilarious.
Lineup
1. Ichiro
2. Derek Jeter
3. Manny Ramirez
4. Albert Pujols
5. David Ortiz
6. David Wright
7. Vernon Wells
8. Joe Mauer
9. Brian Roberts
Pitchers
Starters
1. Johan Santana - All Johan needed last year was some run support to win the Cy Young, if he had been given that then we would be talking about the back to back winner. He's also one of the frontrunners for the award this year.
2. Chris Carpenter - A powerful veteran righty, who just happened to win the Cy Young last year.
3. Scott Kazmir - Scott is my boy, quite possibly my favorite pitcher in the league. A lot of this has to do with the fact that he turns into Sandy Koufax whenever he faces the Red Sox and part is because the Mets were stupid enough to trade him away for Victor Zambrano. Kazmir will be an all star for many years to come.
4. Jeremy Bonderman - This Bonds seems like he's been around forever but guess what he's still only 23 and while that 19 loss season may put a damper on his career winning percentage when all is said and done but as the number 4 in this rotation he will be terrific for years to come.
5. Francisco Liriano - Have you seen the numbers this kid is putting up. He's putting up the exact opposite run of what Zach Duke is on, he has given up 3 or less runs in every start this season, as opposed to Duke who is on a 13 game streak of 3 or more runs. Grooming a stud in the 5th spot of the rotation would be phenomenal.
Longman
Chien-Ming Wang - I believe in the ideal situation Wang would be the perfect pitcher in long relief. Wang is a pure sinker ground ball pitcher, he typically works ahead of the hitters and in moments where the opponents go up big in the beginning of the game Wang would be perfect to take advantage of the oppositions tendency to be overanxious with a big lead.
Mid Relief
Scot Shields - Shields quitely the past 4 seasons has been one of the most important pitchers in baseball. He simply comes in and gets outs during the middle of games. And this with the propensity of starting pitchers to only go 6 innings is a necessity.
Joel Zumaya - He's leading the league in holds and he throws 100+ miles an hour, do you need more information.
Setup Men
BJ Ryan - Sure he's having a phenomenal year as a closer but thats not necessarily why I would want him on my roster. I want him there because he is a big tall lefty who could get anybody out and has had plenty of success as a setup man in the past.
Jon Papelbon - Is there any doubt that this kid is not a fluke, if the Red Sox decide next season to take him out of the bullpen they are taking a huge risk. On this roster he is being groomed to take over the Closers job for years to come.
Closer
Mariano Rivera - The most clutch pitcher in my life time, period.
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