Bob Ryan‘s calm personnel analysis in the Boston Globe reflects that the Yankees’ acquisition of Alex Rodriguez over the weekend does not necessarily mean that the Yankees’ lineup this season will be significantly better than the Red Sox.
For the most part, Ryan’s analysis is reasonably accurate, although he is wrong in suggesting that the Red Sox’s Pokey Reese is better than any Yankee alternative at second base. Although many people watch baseball, far fewer understand (even some in the baseball business) what attributes make a truly good baseball player. Reese is a poster child for the tendency of unknowlegeable fans to equate flashy fielding (which Reese can do) with quality production as a player (which Reese has rarely done). Reese’s main contribution to teams on which he has played is to make an unusually high number of outs.
Meanwhile, Mickey Herskowitz provides his usual sound insight on the A Rod deal, which includes the rather foreboding observation for Red Sox fans:
As a potential bonus, the Yankees will have A-Rod available in the event Jeter gets hurt. Not many clubs could envision losing a Derek Jeter and improving themselves at shortstop.