Pretty simple question: Hypothetically speaking, if you were the owner of a MLB team and could choose any player to be your cornerstone, who do you choose?
I've narrowed it down to four people myself: Tim Lincecum, Albert Pujols, Felix Hernandez, and Joe Mauer. I may have forgotten someone spectacular, but I want to stay on the right side of thirty (an exception made for 30 year old Pujols) and I already eliminated Greinke, Howard, Utley, Teixeira, and Fielder mostly for the reasons that my guys are better and younger. But after long and careful thought and research, my choice would be Felix Hernandez.
Joe Mauer - The American League MVP and face of the Minnesota Twins may go down as the greatest catcher in the 140 year history of baseball. He is that good, as evidenced by his new contract. He plays what I think is the most important position after starting pitcher, and plays it very well. (A two-time gold-glove winner.) He's the best offensive catcher we've seen since Piazza, and may be one of the best pure hitters in baseball since Ted Williams. He hits for an extraordinarily high batting average is a 30/100 HR/RBI threat, and is an on-base % machine. I truly believe he is the best player in baseball. So why don't I select him? Well, for one, he's only 26 (27 in two weeks) but has never been healthy an entire season and has only once played more than 138 games in a year. At catcher, his knees are going to take a beating and I question his ability to stay healthy for the next ten years. I want a franchise player who I can trust to stay off of the DL.
Albert Pujols - This guy is a machine. He has won the batting crown in the national leagues multiple times, has led the league in HR and RBI. He's a legitimate threat for the Triple Crown every single year. He's golden defensively (although I hold that Teixeira is better). There is nothing in the slightest wrong with Albert Pujols' game. His only detractor is age. He's now on the wrong side of the 30, and I question if he isn't even older. (Tejada anyone?) But Pujols has been able to be healthy nearly his whole career. The only reason I chose Hernandez over Pujols was the 7-year age difference.
Tim Lincecum - He and Felix have very similar stats. Hernandez has more wins and pitches more innings, but Lincecum is a better strike out pitcher and allows fewer men on base. Their ERAs are only .01 different. I choose Felix over Tim because Felix is 3 years younger and Tim pitches in the National League West.
I want a 23 year-old pitcher to be my cornerstone. He was second in the Cy Young voting last year, and will likely win 20-23 games with the Mariners improved offense this year. He's a guy who you can almost write down a W on the calender every day he pitches. Felix is truly an amazing pitcher with great velocity and location. He's going to be an all-star for the next 10-15 years if he's healthy, and will have a more Cy Young Awards than Chris Benoit had teeth by the time he's done.
Thoughts?
I've narrowed it down to four people myself: Tim Lincecum, Albert Pujols, Felix Hernandez, and Joe Mauer. I may have forgotten someone spectacular, but I want to stay on the right side of thirty (an exception made for 30 year old Pujols) and I already eliminated Greinke, Howard, Utley, Teixeira, and Fielder mostly for the reasons that my guys are better and younger. But after long and careful thought and research, my choice would be Felix Hernandez.
Joe Mauer - The American League MVP and face of the Minnesota Twins may go down as the greatest catcher in the 140 year history of baseball. He is that good, as evidenced by his new contract. He plays what I think is the most important position after starting pitcher, and plays it very well. (A two-time gold-glove winner.) He's the best offensive catcher we've seen since Piazza, and may be one of the best pure hitters in baseball since Ted Williams. He hits for an extraordinarily high batting average is a 30/100 HR/RBI threat, and is an on-base % machine. I truly believe he is the best player in baseball. So why don't I select him? Well, for one, he's only 26 (27 in two weeks) but has never been healthy an entire season and has only once played more than 138 games in a year. At catcher, his knees are going to take a beating and I question his ability to stay healthy for the next ten years. I want a franchise player who I can trust to stay off of the DL.
Albert Pujols - This guy is a machine. He has won the batting crown in the national leagues multiple times, has led the league in HR and RBI. He's a legitimate threat for the Triple Crown every single year. He's golden defensively (although I hold that Teixeira is better). There is nothing in the slightest wrong with Albert Pujols' game. His only detractor is age. He's now on the wrong side of the 30, and I question if he isn't even older. (Tejada anyone?) But Pujols has been able to be healthy nearly his whole career. The only reason I chose Hernandez over Pujols was the 7-year age difference.
Tim Lincecum - He and Felix have very similar stats. Hernandez has more wins and pitches more innings, but Lincecum is a better strike out pitcher and allows fewer men on base. Their ERAs are only .01 different. I choose Felix over Tim because Felix is 3 years younger and Tim pitches in the National League West.
I want a 23 year-old pitcher to be my cornerstone. He was second in the Cy Young voting last year, and will likely win 20-23 games with the Mariners improved offense this year. He's a guy who you can almost write down a W on the calender every day he pitches. Felix is truly an amazing pitcher with great velocity and location. He's going to be an all-star for the next 10-15 years if he's healthy, and will have a more Cy Young Awards than Chris Benoit had teeth by the time he's done.
Thoughts?
