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• Austin Jackson scored a run in each of the Tigers' first six games this season. That was the longest streak by a Detroit batter to start a season since Darrell Evans crossed the plate in each of the first eight contests in 1986. And it's the longest streak by a Tigers leadoff hitter since 1939, when one of Jackson's center field predecessors, Barney McCosky, also scored in the first eight games of the season. In game seven on Friday, however, Jackson was on base only once (he walked in the eighth) and was stranded at third.
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  Duane Burleson/AP PhotoAustin Jackson is having a solid season for the Tigers early on.
  The Red Sox managed to blow a three-run lead in the ninth and a two-run lead in the 11th in losing a wild one to Detroit on Sunday, 13-12. It was the first time Boston had scored a dozen runs and lost since May 31, 1970, when they were on the wrong end of a 22-13 slugfest with the White Sox at Fenway.
• Alfredo Aceves gave up all three ninth-inning runs in Sunday’s game without retiring a batter, making him just the second Red Sox pitcher in the live-ball era to work zero innings pitched in each of his first two appearances of the year. Guido Grilli faced one batter each in the first two games of the 1966 season, and didn't get either of them out.
• The Tigers used eight pitchers in that 13-12, come-from-behind win over the Red Sox. It marked just the second time in 70 years that Detroit had come back to win a game in which their starter surrendered seven-plus runs without getting through the third inning. Omar Olivares was the starter in 1997 when the Tigers rallied to beat Baltimore 11-8.
• On Sunday, the Yankees managed just three hits -- all doubles. That same day, the Twins had just two hits as Jason Hammel posted the longest no-hit bid of the year so far. Both Minnesota knocks were doubles. It's the first time in almost three years that two teams have done that on the same day. But then … the Royals did it against Oakland (three hits, three doubles) on Monday … and the Athletics did it against Kansas City (one hit) on Tuesday.It's the first time since at least 1917 that there have been three straight days where a team had every hit be a double.
• On Sunday, Jeff Samardzija (making just his sixth career start) was afforded the chance at a complete game. He had to be pulled after giving up a two-out homer that pulled the Nationals to within a run. Four days later, Matt Garza was en route to a shutout against Milwaukee, but was pulled after committing a two-out error that allowed the inning to continue. So the Cubs had two pitchers this week leave the game after 8.2 innings pitched.The Cubs hadn't had two pitchers work exactly 8.2 innings in the same season since 1995 (Jaime Navarro and Frank Castillo).
• In Sunday's Cardinals-Brewers game, you could say the teams spread it around. In the 9-3 Milwaukee victory, the 12 runs were charged to eight different pitchers. In fact, every hurler who appeared in the game ended up with at least one earned run on his record.It's the first game in eight seasons where the teams combined to use eight or more pitchers, and every single one of them got charged with at least one earned run. The last time that happened was on Sept. 9, 2004, when the Royals erupted for a 26-5 victory over the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader.
• James Shields got called for a balk Wednesday on an illegal pickoff throw to third. That was in the bottom of the fifth -- after Justin Verlander had been called for his own balk in the top of the fifth.It was the first MLB game to feature balks by both teams in the same inning since Aug. 16, 2004, when the Rangers' Mickey Callaway and then-Indian CC Sabathia committed them in the fourth inning of a 5-2 Texas win.
• In that same game, Verlander threw eight shutout innings before getting tagged for four runs and the loss in the top of the ninth. He became the first pitcher to throw eight scoreless innings, then surrender four (or more) runs in the ninth to take a loss since Tim Hudson did it for the Braves on Sept. 22, 2005. Hudson allowed a three-run homer to Shane Victorino of the Phillies for most of that damage before Macay McBride had to come in and get the final out.
• In Monday's Yankees-Orioles game, Derek Jeter went a perfect 4-for-4 for the visitors, while Matt Wieters went a perfect 4-for-4 in the home dugout. It was the first game this year to feature two players with four-hit games.Since the start of 2010, there's been only one other MLB game where a player for each team went a perfect 4-for-4 or better -- and it was between the Orioles and Yankees. On July 30, 2011, Vladimir Guerrero’s 4-for-4 was the bright spot for Baltimore as the Yankees -- led by Robinson Cano's 5-for-5 -- demolished them 17-3.
• In Yu Darvish's much-anticipated major league debut on Monday, he allowed five earned runs, four walks, hit a batter, threw one wild pitch -- and won the game because the Rangers spotted him eight runs.He's the first pitcher in the live-ball era to win his major league debut while giving up all of those stats (or worse). Even take away the wild pitch, and only one other hurler has hit five earned runs, four walks, one HBP and a win in his debut. That was the Blue Jays' Matt Williams on Aug. 2, 1983.
• Jeff Gray of the Twins earned the first one-pitch victory of the season on Wednesday. Gray threw his one and only pitch to Peter Bourjos to end the top of the seventh, after which the Twins took the lead in the bottom of the inning. The Twins, conveniently, recorded the last one-pitch win last season, by Matt Capps on Sept. 23.
• Speaking of pitching oddities, the Royals-Athletics game was finally called in the top of the eighth inning on Tuesday after its second rain delay. Aaron Crow, who had pitched the seventh for the Royals, was credited with his first career save. Technically, he does meet the save criteria set forth in the rule book, notably that of being the "finishing pitcher" in a game his team won.The last player to be credited with a save prior to the ninth inning was Tony Sipp of the Indians, who received one in a rain-shortened affair with Tampa Bay on July 23, 2010. That also remains Sipp's only career save.
• On Tuesday, Freddy Garcia of the Yankees famously threw five wild pitches to tie the single-game American League record for such a thing. He was also the first pitcher to throw five-plus wild pitches in an outing of less than five innings. But two of those wild pitches scored runs for Baltimore. Another run scored on an error. That made the Orioles the first team in two years to score four-plus runs with one or fewer RBI. (The one RBI they did get came on a home run.)For the Orioles, it was just the second time since moving to Baltimore that they scored four runs on one or zero RBI. The other was in their inaugural year: On June 27, 1954, they scored three times on errors by the Athletics before finally walking off on an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th.
• Oakland "walked off" in unusual fashion on Wednesday when Jonathan Broxton plunked Yoenis Cespedes and Jonny Gomes to force in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. It was the first game to end with back-to-back hit batters since Sept. 2, 1966, when Stu Miller of the Orioles hit Al Weis and Tommie Agee of the White Sox in the bottom of the 11th. (I admit that Elias found this a lot quicker than I would have.) However, Gomes became the first Athletics batter to get hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in extra innings since at least 1947. (It had never happened in the Baseball Reference "play index" era.) It's also noteworthy that Oakland scored its two runs in the 12th without a base hit. The three runners ahead of Cespedes reached on two walks and an error.
• Before Friday, there had been 36 double-digit strikeout games by teams this week (including seven games where both teams did it) but not one by a single pitcher. Max Scherzer's 11-strikeout outing on Friday afternoon broke that string.
• In Wednesday's 17-8 eruption between the Giants and Rockies, there were four pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Jeremy Guthrie, Guillermo Mota, Jeremy Affeldt)who all gave up at least six hits and at least five runs. It's the first time that that has happened since July 17, 1998, when Seattle dropped an 18-5 score on the Royals at the Kingdome.(It is also very intriguing that, in that game, both teams posted a seven-run inning. Except I don't know of a good way to search line scores.)
  
  By the way, on their next two games on Thursday and Friday, the Giants promptly had two pitchers (Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain)carry no-hit bids into the sixth inning. The only team to have bids in consecutive games last season was also the Giants. That happened on May 8 and 10 by Ryan Vogelsong and Lincecum.
• The Orioles and Blue Jays combined to hit seven home runs in Baltimore's 7-5 victory on Friday. All were solo shots. It's the first game with seven-plus home runs that were all solo since a July 20, 2010 game at Camden Yards between the Rays and Orioles.
• There's always one guy left out.In the 10-9 "pitchers’ duel" between the Twins and Angels on Thursday, 17 of the 18 starters recorded at least one base hit. Howard Kendrick was the lone collar, going 0-for-4 plus a walk.
  
  It's the first nine-inning game this season to have 17 different starters record a base hit. There were three games last season where all 18 did.
• Minnesota got a four-hit game from Denard Span and three-hit games from Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Danny Valencia. It's the first time the Twins have had four players with three hits, including at least one with four, since they dropped a 20-1 score on the White Sox on May 21, 2009.

The SweetSpot network bloggers have weighed in and Miguel Cabrera is their preseason prediction for AL MVP. While Cabrera collected 17 of 38 first-place votes and Albert Pujols just four, the final points total was close as Pujols picked up more second- and third-place votes. Cabrera has finished in the top five of MVP voting five times in his career with his highest result a second-place finish in 2010. Evan Longoria collected the second-most first-place votes to place third in the voting. The blog network apparently doesn't foresee repeat performances from Justin Verlander and Jacoby Ellsbury, last season's top two finishers in the MVP vote, as neither finished in the top 10.

Points on a 14-9-8-7-6 basis.

Baseball America released its list of the top 100 prospects. The BA guys do a great job and I heartily recommend their annual Prospect Handbook, which ranks the top 30 prospects for each team.

Anyway, while the list includes 45 pitchers, 20 outfielders and 12 third basemen, it includes just two second basemen -- Cory Spangenberg of the Padres (No. 78) and Kelton Wong of the Cardinals (No. 93). That tally isn't much different from the other top 100 lists we've seen: ESPN Insider Keith Law had no second basemen on his top 100 and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus also had just Spangenberg and Wong.

Now there's an obvious reason why second basemen don't receive much respect from prospect gurus: A lot of minor league shortstops end up as second basemen in the majors. Maybe they don't have the hands or arm to remain at shortstop or simply outgrow the position; but if they can hit they can move to second base (or even third). But minor league second basemen? If they were major league-caliber players, they'd be playing shortstop in the minors.

That's the conventional wisdom anyway.

But is it true? I looked at the top 14 major league second basemen heading into 2012. You can argue with the list, but once we get past this 14 we get into guys like Omar Infante and Darwin Barney and nobody ranks prospects hoping they turn into Darwin Barney.

Dustin Pedroia: A shortstop at Arizona State, Pedroia played 132 minor league games at shortstop and 131 at second base. He was ranked No. 77 on BA's pre-2006 list but then fell out of the top 100 pre-2007, in part because it became clear he wouldn't stick at shortstop (and concerns about his ability to hit for power).

Robinson Cano: Played third, short and second his first season in the minors, second and short his second season and then settled in permanently at second by age 20. Never a top-100 prospect.

Chase Utley: A first-round pick out of UCLA, Utley played his first two professional seasons at second and then played third base in 2002 at Triple-A. Coincidentally, it was pre-2003 when he finally appeared on Baseball America's top-100 prospect list. He moved back to second base that season, but accumulated a few too many major league plate appearances to be considered a prospect pre-2004.

Ian Kinsler: Drafted in the 17th round as a shortstop out of Missouri, Kinsler did stick at short for two professional seasons and cracked the top-100 list at No. 98 pre-2005. He moved to second base that year and despite hitting 23 home runs at Triple-A fell out of the top 100.

Ben Zobrist: He did play shortstop throughout the minors but was never a top-100 prospect due to a lack of power (just 23 home runs in 1336 minor league at-bats).

Brandon Phillips: He was ranked No. 20 pre-2002 and No. 7 pre-2003 while still a shortstop. He moved to second base in his first big league stint with Cleveland in 2003 (Omar Vizquel was still around) and remained there.

Rickie Weeks: The second pick in the 2003 draft, Weeks has always been a bat-first second baseman.

Dan Uggla: Never a top-100 prospect -- in fact, the Marlins got him from the Diamondbacks in the Rule 5 draft when Arizona left him off its 40-man roster after he'd hit .297 with 21 home runs at Double-A. He played some third base earlier in the minors but had more career games at second (and only 18 at shortstop).

Danny Espinosa: The No. 66 prospect pre-2011, Espinosa was a shortstop in the minors.

Howie Kendrick: A second baseman throughout the minors, Kendrick ranked No. 12 pre-2006 after a monster .367 season between Class A and Double-A.

Dustin Ackley: He played outfield and first base in college but the Mariners turned him into a second baseman after drafting him second overall in 2009. Nobody has ever doubted his bat.

Neil Walker: One of the stranger cases, Walker four times ranked in BA's top 100 -- three times as a catcher, once as a third baseman. Had only played 21 games at second base when the Pirates decided to play him there in 2010.

Kelly Johnson: We'll call him a converted a shortstop although he spent his final season in the minors in the outfield.

Jemile Weeks: Like his brother, he's been nothing but a second baseman. Mama Weeks apparently did not bless her sons with great arms.

So here's the final tally:

• Basically second basemen: 7 (Cano, Utley, Weeks times two, Uggla, Kendrick, Ackley).
• Converted shortstops: 5 (Kinsler, Zobrist, Phillips, Espinosa, Johnson). Although Kinsler converted to second in Double-A.
• 2B/SS: 1 (Pedroia).
• Converted 3B: 1 (Walker).

This doesn't mean the prospect lists are wrong -- obviously a guy who only plays second base in the minors has less long-term positional flexibility than a shortstop. Baseball America had 11 shortstops in its top 100; maybe only seven or eight end up sticking at shortstop, but guys like Nick Franklin and Jonathan Schoop could have enough bat to play second or third. This is more to point out that many of the best second basemen in the majors were second basemen in the minors. And that somewhere out there is the next Robinson Cano or Ian Kinsler.

In January, I wrote a piece on the five best players in baseball, looking at each five-year span since 1969-1973. The most recent five-year span ranked as Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Joe Mauer, Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Holliday. Considering Pujols is coming off the worst season of his career and just turned 32, and Utley and Mauer suffered through injuries, the title of "best player in baseball" seems more wide open than it has been in decades.

With that in mind, I asked Twitter followers to name their best player in baseball. Here are the results of the first 100 responses:

Troy Tulowitzki: 19 votes
Albert Pujols: 18 votes
Jose Bautista: 13 votes
Matt Kemp: 11.5 votes
Miguel Cabrera: 9 votes
Evan Longoria: 7 votes
Joey Votto: 7 votes
Justin Verlander: 6 votes
Roy Halladay: 4 votes
Robinson Cano: 3 votes
Ryan Braun: 1 vote
Jacoby Ellsbury: 1 vote
Justin Upton: 0.5 vote

The fact that 13 different players received votes and none received even 20 percent shows the lack of consensus on the topic. Rockies shortstop Tulowitzki edged out Pujols in the voting, although that may be have been influenced by the fact that I posted the question around 9 p.m. ET.

Anyway, here were some responses:

still Pujols, but closest it's been in a while. --@sahadevsharma

Verlander. Most dominant pitcher in pitcher heavy time. --@zcrizer

Best is Troy Tulowitzki. Key infield position at SS. Leader. Silver Slugger. Gold Glove. --@Stars5Steve

Tulo. Premier player at a premium position. --@cmiller0

Considering Albert is only a year removed from a 7.5 WAR and .420 wOBA, I'll side with him. Too close to call though. --@LWM_sucks

jose bautista easily --@TdotsFinest11

Miguel Cabrera without a doubt, so consistent you can't deny it, gives you the whole package. --@GadyBlitz

Ryan Braun. Even without the roids. --@oneandonlyburke

We're back with more divisional position rankings for 2012. You can scream, you can holler, you can protest and call me names. But just because I rated your player lower than you think he deserves doesn't mean I hate your team.

(Here are the NL East and NL West rankings.)

Catcher
1. Alex Avila, Tigers
2. Joe Mauer, Twins
3. Carlos Santana, Indians
4. Salvador Perez, Royals
5. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox

The AL Central might not be baseball's glamor division, but it may have three of the top five catchers in the game if Mauer bounces back from his injury-plagued campaign. Since we're not certain of his health, I'm going to give top billing to Avila, who had the best hitting numbers of any catcher outside of Mike Napoli and plays solid defense. I wouldn't be surprised if Santana explodes; with his power-and-walks combo, all he has to do is raise his average 30 points and he'll be one of the most valuable players in the game. Considering that his average on balls in play was .263, there is a good chance of that happening. Perez hit .331 in 39 games; OK, he won't do that again, but he doesn't turn 22 until May and puts the ball in play. There's no shame in being fifth in this group but that's where I have to place Pierzynski, who keeps rolling along and is now 36th on the all-time list for games caught.

First base
1. Prince Fielder, Tigers
2. Paul Konerko, White Sox
3. Eric Hosmer, Royals
4. Justin Morneau, Twins
5. Matt LaPorta, Indians

In 2009, when Morneau played 135 games, he hit .274 AVG/.363 OBP/.516 SLG. Even if he replicates that line, he may rank only fourth. Konerko has hit a combined .306 with 70 home runs the past two seasons. He's 104 home runs from 500 but turns 36 in March, so he's probably four seasons away; not sure he'll hang on that long, but who knew he'd be this good at this age. If Hosmer improves his walk rate and defense and Konerko declines, Hosmer could climb past him. If it doesn't happen this year, it will happen next. The most similar batter to him at age 21: Eddie Murray.

Second base
1. Jason Kipnis, Indians
2. Gordon Beckham, White Sox
3. Johnny Giavotella, Royals
4. Alexi Casilla, Twins
5. Ramon Santiago, Tigers

Well, this isn't exactly a Robinson Cano/Dustin Pedroia/Ben Zobrist debate, is it? Kipnis' bat is a sure thing, as evidenced by his excellent play after his call-up (.272 average and .507 slugging in 36 games). His glove was once a question mark but now appears solid enough that he looks like a future All-Star to me. Can anybody explain what has happened to Beckham? He's second mostly by default; he's gone downhill since his superb rookie season in 2009 but is only 25, so there's hope that he'll find those skills again. Giavotella has some potential with the bat (.338/.390/.481 at Triple-A), which is more than you can say for Casilla and Santiago.

Third base
1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2. Mike Moustakas, Royals
3. Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians
4. Danny Valencia, Twins
5. Brent Morel, White Sox

We'll go with the idea that Cabrera is Detroit's starting third baseman, although I predict he'll end up starting more games at designated hitter. Manager Jim Leyland will end up doing a lot of mixing of his lineups, but for this little exercise we have to choose a starter. Moustakas didn't tear up the league as a rookie and I worry about his ability to hit lefties (.191, homerless in 89 at-bats), but he showed more than fellow rookies Chisenhall and Morel. Valencia doesn't get on base enough and he rated poorly on defense in 2011. I hope he's at least good in the clubhouse. Morel was terrible all season and then exploded for eight of his 10 home runs in September and drew 15 walks after drawing just seven the previous five months. Maybe something clicked.

Shortstop
1. Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians
2. Alexei Ramirez, White Sox
3. Jhonny Peralta, Tigers
4. Alcides Escobar, Royals
5. Jamey Carroll, Twins

Peralta had the best 2011 season, but he's a difficult guy to project. He had an .804 OPS in 2008 but dropped to .691 in 2009. He had a .703 OPS in 2010 and then .823 in 2011. I just don't see a repeat season, at the plate or in the field. Cabrera didn't rate well on the defensive metrics, and after a strong start he wore down in the second half. Ramirez has turned into a nice player, with a good glove and some power, and he even draws a few walks now. Escobar is a true magician with the glove. Carroll is actually a useful player who gets on base (.356 career OBP), but he's pushed as an everyday shortstop and he'll be 38. He'll be issued the honorary Nick Punto locker in the Twins' clubhouse.

Left field
1. Alex Gordon, Royals
2. Alejandro De Aza, White Sox
3. Ben Revere, Twins
4. Michael Brantley/Shelley Duncan, Indians
5. Ryan Raburn/Don Kelly, Tigers

I'm not sure what to do here. After Gordon, I just get a headache. We'll pretend to believe in De Aza after his impressive stint in the majors (171 plate appearances, .329/.400/.920). He's hit in Triple-A for three seasons now, and while he's not going to post a .400 OBP again, he should be adequate. Revere is one of the fastest players in the majors, but he's all speed and defense; he hopes to grow up to be Brett Gardner, which isn't a bad thing, but he'll have to learn to get on base at a better clip. Brantley doesn't have one outstanding skill so he'll have to hit better than .266 to be anything more than a fourth outfielder; Duncan provides some right-handed pop as a platoon guy. The Tigers have Delmon Young, but I'll slot him at DH. That leaves supposed lefty masher Raburn and utility man Kelly to soak up at-bats; both had an OBP below .300 in 2011, although Raburn has hit better in the past.

Center field
1. Austin Jackson, Tigers
2. Denard Span, Twins
3. Grady Sizemore, Indians
4. Lorenzo Cain, Royals
5. Alex Rios, White Sox

I can't rate Sizemore any higher since he's played just 104 games over the past two seasons, and he hasn't had a big year since 2008. Rios was terrible in '09, OK in '10 and worse than terrible in '11. I'm not betting on him.

Right field
1. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
2. Brennan Boesch, Tigers
3. Jeff Francoeur, Royals
4. Josh Willingham, Twins
5. Dayan Viciedo, White Sox

Choo would like to forget 2011, but there's no reason he shouldn't bounce back and play like he did in 2009 and 2010, when he was one of the 10 best position players in the AL. I don't expect Francoeur to deliver 71 extra-base hits again, but maybe he'll surprise us. Viciedo is apparently nicknamed "The Tank," which makes me wonder how much ground he can cover. He did improve his walk rate last season in the minors and turns 23 in March, so there's still room for more growth.

Designated hitter
1. Billy Butler, Royals
2. Travis Hafner, Indians
3. Ryan Doumit, Twins
4. Delmon Young, Tigers
5. Adam Dunn, White Sox

Has there been a bigger prospect disappointment than Young in the past decade? I mean, yes, there were complete busts like Brandon Wood and Andy Marte, but those guys had obvious holes in their games, while Young was viewed as a sure thing, a consensus No. 1 overall prospect. But his bat has never lived up to its billing. Other than one decent year in Minnesota, he has low OBPs and he clearly lacked range in the outfield. His career WAR on Baseball-Reference is minus-0.2 (1.6 on FanGraphs), meaning he's been worse than replacement level. He's just not that good, Tigers fans.

No. 1 starter
1. Justin Verlander, Tigers
2. John Danks, White Sox
3. Justin Masterson, Indians
4. Luke Hochevar, Royals
5. Carl Pavano, Twins

Masterson was better than Danks in 2011, and I do believe his improvement was real. He absolutely crushes right-handers -- they slugged an anemic .259 off him. Danks had two bad months but has the longer track record of success. Even in his "off year" he had a higher strikeout rate and lower walk rate than Masterson. If you want to argue about Hochevar versus Pavano, be my guest.

No. 2 starter
1. Doug Fister, Tigers
2. Ubaldo Jimenez, Indians
3. Gavin Floyd, White Sox
4. Francisco Liriano, Twins
5. Jonathan Sanchez, Royals

Yes, sign me up for the Doug Fister bandwagon club. Jimenez's fastball velocity was down a couple miles per hour last season but the positives are that his strikeout and walk rates were identical to 2010; he'll be better. Floyd isn't flashy but he's now made 30-plus starts four years in a row, and he'll become a very rich man when he becomes a free agent after this season. Sanchez won't have the luxury of pitching in San Francisco (and to eight-man NL lineups).

No. 3 starter
1. Max Scherzer, Tigers
2. Scott Baker, Twins
3. Philip Humber, White Sox
4. Bruce Chen, Royals
5. Josh Tomlin, Indians

I could be underrating Baker, who was excellent last season, but only once in his career has he made 30 starts in a season. Tomlin's fans will disagree with this ranking, but he's a finesse guy who relies on the best control in baseball (21 walks in 26 starts). He's the kind of guy you root for, but the league seemed to figure him out as the season progressed.

No. 4 starter
1. Felipe Paulino, Royals
2. Rick Porcello, Tigers
3. Jake Peavy, White Sox
4. Derek Lowe, Indians
5. Nick Blackburn, Twins

Scouts still love Porcello's arm and I know he's just 23, but he's made 89 big league starts and shown no signs of getting better. His WHIP has increased each season and his strikeout rate remains one of the lowest in baseball. Paulino has an electric arm -- he averaged 95 mph on his fastball -- and is getting better. How could the Rockies give up on him after just 14 innings? How could the Astros trade him for Clint Barmes? Anyway, kudos to the Royals for buying low on the guy who may turn into their best starter. Peavy can't stay healthy. Lowe has led his league in starts three out of the past four seasons, but I'm not sure that's a good thing anymore. Blackburn is a poor man's Lowe, and I don't mean that in a good way.

No. 5 starter
1. Chris Sale, White Sox
2. Jacob Turner, Tigers
3. Aaron Crow/Danny Duffy, Royals
4. Fausto Carmona/David Huff/Jeanmar Gomez, Indians
5. Brian Duensing/Jason Marquis, Twins

Welcome to the AL Central crapshoot. Turner and Sale have the most upside, but one is a rookie and the other is converting from relief. Crow will also be given a shot at the rotation, but his difficulties against left-handed batters (.311 average allowed) don't bode well for that transition. Even if the artist formerly known as Carmona gets a visa, what do you have? A guy with a 5.01 ERA over the past four seasons. Duensing is another typical Twins pitcher, which means he at least throws strikes. His first full season in the rotation didn't go well, so of course the Twins brought in Marquis, yet another guy who doesn't strike anybody out.

Closer
1. Jose Valverde, Tigers
2. Joakim Soria, Royals
3. Matt Thornton, White Sox
4. Chris Perez, Indians
5. Matt Capps, Twins

Four good relievers plus Matt Capps. I do admit I'm a little perplexed by Perez, however. In 2009, he struck out 10.7 batters per nine innings. In 2010, that figure fell to 8.7 but he posted a pretty 1.71 ERA. In 2011, it was all the way down to 5.9, but without much improvement in his control. Perez blew only four saves but he did lose seven games. He survived thanks to a low .240 average on balls in play. He's an extreme fly-ball pitcher but didn't serve up many home runs. Bottom line: I'd be nervous.

Bullpen
1. Indians -- Vinnie Pestano, Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp, Joe Smith, Nick Hagadone
2. Royals -- Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, Louis Coleman, Tim Collins, Jose Mijares
3. Tigers -- Joaquin Benoit, Octavio Dotel, Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth, Al Alburquerque
4. White Sox -- Jesse Crain, Jason Frasor, Will Ohman, Addison Reed, Dylan Axelrod
5. Twins -- Glen Perkins, Alex Burnett, Anthony Swarzak, Kyle Waldrop, Lester Oliveros

If you're starting to think I'm not high on the Twins for this season, you would be correct.

Intangibles
1. Royals
2. Indians
3. Tigers
4. White Sox
5. Twins

I like the youthful exuberance of the Royals, plus the likelihood of improvement from the young players and the possibility of some midseason reinforcements from the minors. The depth of the bullpen will help bolster a shaky rotation, and this just feels like an organization that is finally starting to believe in itself. The Indians are riding last year's positive results and enter the season knowing they might get better production from Choo and Sizemore and full seasons from Kipnis and Chisenhall. I'm not knocking the Tigers here, but they do lack depth in the pitching staff and the pressure is on them.

The final tally
1. Tigers, 65 points
2. Royals, 55 points
3. Indians, 54 points
4. White Sox, 46 points
5. Twins, 35 points

No surprise here: The Tigers will be heavy favorites to win the division with a lineup that should score a ton of runs. I don't think it's a lock that they'll win -- Verlander, Avila, Peralta and Valverde will all be hard-pressed to repeat their 2011 campaigns, for example. But the Royals and Indians appear to have too many questions in the rotations, the White Sox have serious lineup issues, and the Twins have a beautiful ballpark to play their games in.

Justin Verlander is hoping to become the first pitcher to win the MVP Award since Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986. Jacoby Ellsbury is hoping to win the MVP Award despite the late-season collapse of the Red Sox (hey, don’t blame him!). Jose Bautista is hoping his big offensive numbers carry the day even though his team finished 81-81. Curtis Granderson is hoping to win despite a September slump that would leave his .262 batting average as the lowest ever for an MVP hitter. And then there’s Miguel Cabrera, who put up monster numbers in the shadow of his teammate.

Who will win? Nobody knows. Despite a storyline that seemed to focus on him, will a historical bias against pitchers hurt Verlander? There is also a strong historical bias in favor of players on playoff teams, which will help Verlander and Granderson, but work against Ellsbury and Bautista. Will Ellsbury lose some votes to teammates Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia, who also had strong seasons? Here’s how the SweetSpot bloggers voted (14 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, etc.)

Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 296 points (15 first-place votes)
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: 256 points (8)
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 177 points
Justin Verlander, Tigers: 131 points (1)
Curtis Granderson, Yankees: 114 points (1)
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 44 points
Ian Kinsler, Rangers: 26 points
Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: 23 points
Alex Gordon, Royals: 12 points
Evan Longoria, Rays: 8 points
CC Sabathia: 7 points
Michael Young, Rangers: 6 points

* * * *

Let’s do the center fielders first, since that’s the easiest comparison. Granderson starts with an advantage of nine more home runs (41 to 32), five more triples (10 to 5), three more hit-by-pitches (12 to 9) and 33 more walks (85 to 52). That’s 87 more bases. But Ellsbury had 20 more doubles (46 to 26), 53 more singles (129 to 76) and four fewer double plays hit into (12 to 8). That’s plus-97 bases for Ellsbury. Ellsbury stole 39 bases (caught stealing 15 times) and Granderson stole 25 bases (10 caught stealing), a minor edge for Ellsbury. Granderson used up 463 outs, Ellsbury 479. Run it through the mixer and Baseball-Reference.com estimates that Ellsbury created 139 runs, or 7.8 runs per 27 outs; Granderson created 121 runs, or 7.0 runs per 27 outs. Granderson played in a slightly higher run-scoring environment.

Some more numbers: Ellsbury hit .366/.420/.691 with runners in scoring position, Granderson hit .242/.303/.516. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Ellsbury hit .400, Granderson hit .208. When the score was tied, Ellsbury had a .900 OPS, Granderson .820. No matter how you slice things, I can’t come up with a way that proves Granderson had the better year at the plate. And the deeper you dig, the more you uncover that Ellsbury played his best in clutch situations and close games. Yankees fans may accuse me of bias or being a Red Sox fan, but such is not that case. Ellsbury was the more productive offensive player.

Then you get to the defense. By all accounts, Ellsbury played a better center field in 2011. I’m not sure he deserved his Gold Glove (Austin Jackson and Peter Bourjos were superb), but the defensive metrics also say he was far superior to Granderson.

Look, both were dynamic players, power-speed combinations at an important defensive position. But I think it’s clear that Ellsbury had the superior season. The one caveat in regard to MVP voting, of course, is that Granderson’s team made the playoffs and Ellsbury’s did not. But don’t blame Ellsbury for Boston’s collapse -- he hit .358 with eight home runs in September. But some voters will hold the collapse against him; to me, it's failed logic to say that Ellsbury is less of an MVP candidate because Jonathan Papelbon couldn’t close out a lead on the final night of the season and Dan Johnson hit a home run off Cory Wade.

* * * *

OK, Ellsbury versus Jose Bautista is a little tougher. Bautista starts off with 11 more home runs (43 to 32) and 80 more walks (132 to 52). He had an awesome year at the plate. But Ellsbury had three more triples (5 to 2), 22 more doubles (46 to 24), 43 more singles (129 to 86), three more hit-by-pitches (9 to 6). Both players grounded into eight double plays. Bautista had 25 more bases, although Ellsbury closes that gap with a 39-to-9 edge in stolen bases. The big difference is Ellsbury used up 479 outs and Bautista 375. Run it through the mixer and Baseball-Reference estimates that Bautista created 149 runs, or 10.7 per 27 outs; Ellsbury created 139 runs, or 7.8 per 27 outs. Both guys played in similar run-scoring environments. Given Ellsbury’s production over the same number of outs as Bautista had, he would have created 108 runs, 41 fewer than Bautista.

But Ellsbury did have the advantage of playing nine more games and, since he hit leadoff, receiving more plate appearances (and thus more chances to affect the game). And then we have to factor in defense: Ellsbury is a good center fielder (+6 runs better than average according to Defensive Runs Saved, +15.6 runs by Ultimate Zone Rating), while Bautista rates as a below-average right fielder in both systems (-1 and -8.6), although he did rate well at third base in his limited time there (+6 and +3.8).

If you remember, Bautista was on fire early on, hitting .363 with 20 home runs through May. He slowed down after that, hitting .257 with 12 home runs in 65 games after the All-Star break. His walk rate actually remained consistent throughout the year, so it doesn’t appear that he started chasing pitches, but maybe frustration did set in from not getting a lot of pitches to hit. And for those who think he was part of the sign-stealing allegations that came out, his home/road splits were actually nearly identical: 1.063 OPS at home, 1.047 on the road. Breaking down some of Bautista’s other numbers, one jumps out at me: He hit .307/.523/.760 in “close and late” situations.

It was an impressive season, MVP-worthy.

If you go by WAR (Wins Above Replacement), it’s essentially a dead heat: If we average FanGraphs WAR and Baseball-Reference WAR, Bautista is at 8.4, Ellsbury 8.3.

But I give the edge to Ellsbury. The season-long excellence matters, but so does his combination of playing center field, hitting leadoff and putting up awesome numbers at the plate. He created runs and prevented runs, while playing an important up-the-middle position. If you watched the Red Sox regularly, he was clearly the best player on the team, the dynamo at the top of the order.

* * * *

Obviously, I’m more of a numbers guy. But even I admit: Sometimes we get too caught up in the numbers. In 10 years, in 25 years, when we think of the 2011 season, what will we remember most other than the dramatic World Series and the greatest final day in baseball history? I think we’ll remember Verlander, the year he turned from flamethrower to pitcher, the year he made The Leap, when we began thinking of him as a guy with Hall of Fame potential, a pitcher who could win 300 games and join that inner circle of greatness. Now, maybe all that won’t happen, but that doesn’t mean the 2011 regular season didn’t belong to Justin Verlander. I think if you ask managers and general managers around baseball if they could have one player from the 2011 season, the majority would say Verlander.

Which is why, I admit, I’m conflicted to say that I think Jacoby Ellsbury deserves the 2011 American League MVP Award.

My unofficial ballot:

1. Ellsbury
2. Verlander
3. Bautista
4. Cabrera
5. Granderson
6. Pedroia
7. Robinson Cano
8. Gonzalez
9. Alex Avila
10. Longoria

I was sure Alex Rodriguez was going to pop one out.

I was pretty sure Mark Teixeira was going to pop one out.

I knew Nick Swisher was going to knock one over the short porch in right field, probably down the line and into the first row.

That's what we expect from the New York Yankees, isn't it?

When the Yankees asked Joaquin Benoit to remove the big bandage that covered a zit or mosquito bite or whatever had infected his cheek like a small alien, you knew it was coming: Benoit would be rattled, he'd be thinking about exposing his sore to a national TV audience more than throwing strikes and the Yankees would win another big October game.

Band-Aid Gate. We all saw it coming.

And it almost did. Curtis Granderson reached out on a 3-2 pitch off the plate and looped a liner into right field to move Derek Jeter to second base. Robinson Cano hit a dribbler to Benoit's right that he stabbed at and somehow missed to load the bases. Bringing up Rodriguez. He just missed a 1-1, 95 mph fastball, fouling it straight back. He laid off a low changeup. Benoit came back with another changeup, a fantastic one that dove inside, an unhittable pitch. A-Rod missed it, swinging over the top. The fans booed as he walked back to the dugout. Sometimes it's not easy being the $275 million cleanup hitter.

But Teixeira walked on five pitches. Tigers 3, Yankees 2.

Nothing beats the tension of postseason baseball, especially in Yankee Stadium, with a visiting team trying to pull off the upset, the fans on their feet, too nervous to cheer or boo, it seemed. Maybe we've seen too many ballparks with fans waving towels. Maybe we just haven't seen enough Game 5s or Game 7s in recent years. But this felt like the most pressure-filled October moment in a long time.

Swisher struck out on a 2-2, 96 mph fastball.

Tigers fans exhaled for the first time in 12 minutes.

Benoit had needed 23 pitches to get two outs. The Tigers still needed six more.

Tension? It was punishment for fans on both sides, 166 games of big wins, big home runs and big comebacks, all down to two innings of October baseball. This is why we watch those games when it's 48 degrees and drizzling in April, why we watch those 3-hour games that move slower than a slug in the sun, meaningless games against the Royals or Twins in June. To get here. To six more outs.

As Jeter stepped in with two outs and Brett Gardner on first base in the eighth, Benoit had thrown 36 pitches. He hadn't thrown 37 pitches in a game all season. You can't make that kind of stuff up. On Benoit's 37th pitch, Gardner took off, Jeter took his classic inside-out swing ... Don Kelly took a step or two back, that right-field wall at Yankee Stadium that seems like it was built for wiffleball looming just a few feet behind him ... it looked like it had a chance ... fans reaching over, trying to pull a Jeffrey Maier ... the ball dropping into Kelly's glove.

So of course it came down to Jose Valverde, the man who said the series wouldn't return to New York. All he had to do was retire Granderson, Cano and Rodriguez. The big pitch was a 3-2 fastball to Granderson that he popped up to left. Cano lined softly to center. A-Rod swung through a 94 mph fastball. Game over, Tigers move on, Yankees go home, A-Rod walks off to more boos, the fans not caring that he was playing with a bad knee or that he wasn't the only Yankee to come up short in this series.

* * * *

Three big moments in this game:

1. Home runs from Don Kelly and Delmon Young in the first inning. I criticized Jim Leyland for hitting Kelly second. As we say though: You gotta make the plays, and Don Kelly came through. Kudos.

2. Yanking Ivan Nova after two innings essentially forced Joe Girardi to use CC Sabathia. I didn't like the idea of using CC, and he didn't pitch well. He got four outs but gave up two hits, two walks and the run that proved to be the winning run. Of the 37 pitches he threw, just 19 were for strikes.

3. Yankees third-base coach Rob Thomson held up Rodriguez at third base on Jorge Posada's one-out single in the fourth. Rodriguez had reached the bag right as Austin Jackson picked up the ball. Jackson has a decent arm and threw out eight runners on the season. It probably would have been a bang-bang play, especially with Rodriguez not at 100 percent speed. Tough call for Thomson, but I think he made the right decision, not wanting to potentially ruin a big inning. Russell Martin popped out to first and Gardner fouled out to leave the bases loaded.

* * * *

During his postgame news conference, Leyland said it perfectly: "This will be a game I'll remember the rest of my life." He pointed out he's been on both sides of it. Asked about Kelly's home run, he said, "Sometimes things just work out for you." He then praised Kelly, said it couldn't have happened to a better kid and nearly got choked up, knowing that home run will be with Kelly for the rest of his life.

And that's October baseball. Unsung heroes, big strikeouts, big hits, tension, pain, suffering and ... joy.

And memories. Love the memories.

You can follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

ESPN Insider Matt Meyers has a piece on Adrian Beltre, arguing that the labels placed on Beltre throughout his career are unfounded and inaccurate. I agree with Matt's general assessment that Beltre has been a tremendously underrated and underappreciated player during his career. Matt points out that Beltre is 19th on Baseball-Reference.com's all-time WAR (wins abovement replacement) for third basemen (or 21st, depending on how you do your search).

Considering Beltre is 32 and coming off an excellent season, he should have more good years left and climb up that list, maybe close to the top 10. That would certainly seem to put him in the Hall of Fame discussion ... except: Except there is probably too little perception of Beltre as a Hall of Famer. Much of Beltre's value derives from his excellent defense. B-R rates him ninth all-time in runs saved among third basemen (behind, in case you want to know: Brooks Robinson, Buddy Bell, Robin Ventura, Clete Boyer, Scott Rolen, Graig Nettles, Mike Schmidt and Gary Gaetti). But Beltre also has 310 home runs and 1,113 RBIs. It's not too much of a stretch to see him topping 400 home runs and 1,500 RBIs ... and the only third basemen to do that are Schmidt and Chipper Jones. George Brett is the only other third baseman with 1,500 RBIs.

Still, Beltre will be facing an uphill battle, no matter where his career totals end up. But he's been a terrific player, even if he's flown under the radar much of his career.

• Another must-read Insider piece: Experience matters in the postseason, right? Dan Szymborski went back to 1969 to study the issue and found ... that previous postseason experience is a nonfactor in determining which teams win playoff series.
• It was A.J. Burnett's best moment as a Yankee, writes Brien Jackson.
• The Phillies are up 2 to 1, but Bill Baer is concerned about the team's lack of plate discipline. With sometimes-wild Edwin Jackson going for St. Louis tonight, it will be interesting to see the Phillies' approach at the plate.
• Ron Roenicke gave a long leash to Shaun Marcum and paid the price.
• Orel Hershiser talks about the Yankees-Tigers series.
• ESPN Insider Kevin Goldstein explains why Robinson Cano was never viewed as a top prospect.
• Amy Nelson writes on what could be Albert Pujols' final game with the Cardinals.
• Via Aaron Gleeman at Hardball Talk, Tim McCarver needs minor surgery and Terry Francona will fill in for the first two games of the ALCS.
• The Phillies had the highest local TV ratings this year. Last? The Dodgers had the lowest rating, the Nationals had the fewest number of households.
• Finally, don't miss Jim Caple's Off Base column on the Rays, their poor fan support and their unhappy owner.

Well, this much we've learned in the Tigers-Yankees series: Baseball in the rain stinks.

A baseball game shouldn't be decided by a catcher slipping on the plastic on-deck circle chasing a potential game-ending foul pop, and a pitcher trying to keep his hand dry trying to grip the ball, and a batter trying to wipe away the drips of water falling from the brim of his batting helmet with the game on the line.

But baseball seems determined to play through the rain, no matter the size of the puddles on the field or the strength of the downpour.

With the rain falling in buckets, Robinson Cano was facing Jose Valverde with two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers up 5-3. It was an enormously tense situation, set in motion when Valverde -- he of the zero blown saves this season -- entered with a 5-1 lead and gave up a leadoff homer to Nick Swisher and a triple to Jorge Posada, who later scored on a sac fly. With a runner on and two outs, Valverde appeared to get out of it when Curtis Granderson hit a pop fly near the Detroit dugout.

Sure enough, Alex Avila slipped on the wet on-deck circle and the ball plunked harmlessly into the mud. You can point out that third baseman Brandon Inge should have hustled over to make the play, but that's another argument. When Granderson then walked, it appeared this would turn into one of those classic Yankees postseason moments, like Jeffrey Maier helping Derek Jeter, or the missed third strike on Tino Martinez in the 1998 World Series followed by Tino's grand slam, or Jeremy Giambi not sliding.

So there stood Cano, trying to keep the rain out of his eyes. There stood Valverde, keeping his hand under his armpit and then in his crotch to keep it dry. He kept firing fastballs, perhaps worried about getting a good grip on his splitter. Cano fouled off two with two strikes before finally grounding out to second.

For the Tigers, disaster was avoided.

For the Yankees, the worry sets in.

After all, Justin Verlander goes in Game 3 for Detroit. And A.J. Burnett goes in Game 4 for the Yankees, and no matter how well he pitched against the Red Sox in his final start of the season, the words "A.J. Burnett" and "playoff start" have Yankee fans already taking Tylenol and praying to their Don Mattingly shrines.

That final inning ended up obscuring the fine effort from Detroit starter Max Scherzer. Give him and Avila credit: They took what plate umpire Eric Cooper was giving them.

With Cooper liberally giving both the outside corner to left-handed batters and the low strike at the knees, Scherzer and Avila kept pounding outside and pounding down. He wasn't about to make a mistake inside, not with that short porch in right field, not considering he allowed four home runs at Yankee Stadium back in his first start of the season.

The Yankees understandably grew frustrated with Cooper's strike zone, to the point that Swisher, leading off the fifth with the Yankees still hitless at the time, complained about a called third strike that was actually right down the middle of the plate at the knees. Avila had set up outside for a changeup, but Scherzer dropped down a bit and fired across his body. The angle of the pitch caught Swisher by surprise. Scherzer will do that: change his arm angles a bit, and even though his fastball will sit at 93 to 95 with movement, he mixes in a lot of changeups and sliders. As always, the Yankees were patient and drew four walks, but could manage only two hits off Scherzer, the first off those Cano's blooper in front of Delmon Young in the sixth.

Scherzer finally got in trouble in the seventh when Swisher walked on a 3-2 pitch and Posada singled to center on the first offering. With the Tigers leading 4-0, Jim Leyland made the right move in going to top setup guy Joaquin Benoit, instead of his third- or fourth-best reliever, as some managers would do in the seventh. Benoit had a 1.33 ERA and allowed opposing hitters a .116 average in the second half. But Leyland understood the urgency of the situation, and with a sudden rainstorm hitting, Benoit got Russell Martin on a fly to right, pinch-hitter Eric Chavez swinging and Jeter looking.

So now the Yankees may be in a bit of trouble. One more bad sign: Alex Rodriguez is hitless through two games and drew some boos from the home crowd after popping out to second in the eighth. He's trying to play with a bad knee, and Joe Girardi certainly doesn't want to replicate the uproar of 2006 when Joe Torre moved Rodriguez down to eighth in the lineup in Game 4 of the Division Series against the Tigers, but A-Rod just doesn't look like a cleanup hitter right now (he's hit .171 since returning from the DL on Aug. 21).

We're definitely a long way from panic mode for the pinstripes. CC Sabathia, after all, is every bit as capable of a big game as Verlander. And then there's Valverde ... I'm not sure even Tigers fans have complete confidence in him.

Five observations from the conclusion of Friday's rain-delayed Game 1 between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees ...

1. Robinson Cano could be poised to have a monster postseason. Cano is one of those players who seems simultaneously overrated and underrated -- a bit overrated by Yankees fans who don't believe Dustin Pedroia belongs on the same field as Cano; maybe a bit underrated by the stats analysts who point to his low walk total and inconsistent defense and conclude Ian Kinsler had a better season.

Cano spent most of the season batting fifth, moved up to fourth at times when Alex Rodriguez was injured, and then in the final week of the season, Joe Girardi moved him up to the third spot in the order, a position he may not relinquish for the next five years. In his first four postseasons, Cano was unproductive, hitting under .250 with just two home runs in 28 games. His willingness to expand the strike zone and swing at bad pitches (still the one flaw in his game) made him vulnerable against the quality pitching you see in October. Last year, something clicked -- or he got hot at the right time -- and he pounded four home runs against the Rangers in the ALCS. Let's see if he's getting in that groove again.

I didn't have any problem with Jim Leyland bringing in Al Alburquerque to face Cano with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning. Cano hits left-handers as well as right-handers, so there was no obvious platoon advantage to be gained. Leyland went with a guy who hadn't allowed a home run in 43.1 innings and had a phenomenal strikeout rate. He just threw a slider that didn't bite and Cano jacked it into the second deck for the 50th grand slam in postseason history.

2. If Ivan Nova does this again, the Yankees will be tough to beat. Needless to say, the weakness for the Yankees is the depth in their rotation. I believed the original Game 2 matchup of Nova and Doug Fister would be the key to the series and gave a slight edge to Detroit based on Fister's terrific run at the end of the season. Nova isn't going to blow you away with his stuff. If anything, his wildness worked in his favor Saturday night, as he walked four batters and Detroit couldn't get any timing down on his offspeed stuff. But he's a smart kid who knows how to pitch and showed Saturday that he won't let the moment get to him. This matchup could loom again in Game 5 and Yankees fans have to be more confident now.

3. Fister was a little unlucky in that sixth inning. With two outs and runners at second and third, he hung an 0-2 curveball to Brett Gardner, the one bad pitch he made in the inning. Gardner grounded it up the middle, just past second baseman Ryan Raburn, for a two-run single. If Ramon Santiago had been playing second, he may have may made the play. On a hit-and-run play, Derek Jeter then rolled a slow grounder into right field as Raburn covered on the steal attempt. As Ron Darling and John Smoltz pointed out on the TBS telecast, it didn't really make much sense to have Raburn covering with Jeter's propensity to go to right field. But credit Jeter for taking an inside pitch and going the opposite way.

4. With Nova pitching into the ninth, it sets up Girardi for Game 2. He won't hesitate to go early to a well-rested bullpen (although he ended up using Mariano Rivera for three pitches) and conceivably should be thinking about getting a combined four innings from Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Rivera, if necessary. No need to hold back and wait for those guys to pitch just one inning each, especially with CC Sabathia going Monday in Game 3.

5. The pressure now falls on Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer to come up big. The Yankees' offense is going to show a lot of patience and make him throw strikes. Scherzer's control did improve this season, but he's still inconsistent: He gave up two runs or fewer in 20 of his 33 starts, but gave up five or more in 10 starts. As a fly ball pitcher who gave up 29 home runs, Yankee Stadium isn't the best ballpark for him. (He gave up four home runs to the Yankees in two starts this season.) The Detroit offense may need to put up some runs early off Freddy Garcia to win Game 2.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

Talk about a guy flying under the radar: Ian Kinsler is about to become just the ninth second baseman to hit 30 home runs twice in his career. He's second in the American League in runs scored. He plays terrific defense, has drawn 82 walks and is 25 for 27 stealing bases.

It's been a great season for AL second basemen and Kinsler's season compares well with Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano (not to mention Ben Zobrist and Howie Kendrick). Here are the stats for all five players, including Ultimate Zone Rating from Baseball Info Solutions and WAR from FanGraphs. (Stats heading into Monday's games.)



Now, is Kinsler really having a better season than Cano? Even though Cano is hitting more than 50 points higher, Kinsler's ability to draw walks brings him even in the all-important on-base percentage. Kinsler rates a 13-run advantage in the field according to UZR (seven runs better in Defensive Runs Saved). According to FanGraphs, Kinsler picks up another three-run advantage on the basepaths -- plus-5 runs to Cano's plus-2. (Kinsler rates as one of the baserunners in the majors.) Cano has created 104 runs, Kinsler 101 (as the Rangers' leadoff hitter, Kinsler has received 46 more plate appearances than Cano, so he gets a boost from more "playing time.")

While the advanced metrics factor in ballpark effects, I'm still bothered by this line from Kinsler:

Home: .299/.399/.517
Road: .206/.291/.412

Would he be the same hitter if he didn't play half his games in Arlington? You can make a similar argument about Pedroia, a dead-pull hitter who loves Fenway Park (.905 OPS at home, .778 on the road). As good as Kinsler is in the field and on the bases, I have a few doubts about him being an elite hitter in another park. (His career OPS is .918 at home, .722 on the road.)

That said, he's a terrific all-around player and key to the Rangers' success. He's also fascinating because he's never the same player year to year -- but always one with a lot of value. In 2008, he hit .318, didn't walk much, hit for some power. In 2009, his average dropped to .253 but he hit 31 home runs. Last year, he .286, started walking more but hit just nine home runs in 102 games. This year, he's added the power, kept up the walk rate, but seen the average drop again. At least he's been healthy; he's already set a career-high in games played.

He's hot in September (.309, eight home runs) and he enjoyed the postseason a year ago --.296/.381/.537, although all three of his home runs came in the Division Series. I have a feeling he'll be one of the key guys to watch this October.

As introduced in John Dewan’s "The Fielding Bible -- Volume II," Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) analyzes eight aspects of defense and calculates the number of runs each fielder saves relative to others at his position. Brett Gardner currently leads baseball with 22 "Defensive Runs Saved," meaning that Baseball Info Solutions estimates that the Yankees would have allowed 22 more runs with an average left fielder in his place. Austin Jackson led baseball with 11 Defensive Runs Saved in the month of August, and his 17 Defensive Runs Saved this season is tied for third among all center fielders. Robinson Cano tied for the infield lead with 7 Runs Saved on the month.

Baseball Info Solutions also tracks "Good Fielding Plays," or GFP for short. A GFP is a Web Gem-type play where a fielder makes a play which records an unexpected out or prevents a runner from possibly advancing. A diving catch in the outfield is typically a GFP, but we also record a GFP when an outfielder cuts a ball off in the gap and gets it back to the infield, preventing potential advancement. BIS records 28 different GFP categories. Robinson Cano led baseball with an astounding 23 Good Fielding Plays to go with his 7 Runs Saved in August.

The natural opposite of a GFP is what we call a "Defensive Misplay," or DM. You can think of a DM as any play where the fielder does something identifiably wrong but for whatever reason isn’t charged with an error. A DM always has a negative consequence, either failing to get a potential out or allowing other runners to advance when they might have been held if the correct play had been made. We record Defensive Misplays when an outfielder dives but misses a flyball (turning a single into a double or a triple) or when an infielder fails to cover the base in time to get an out, along with 52 other categories of plays. We often group Defensive Misplays and errors together because they describe similar results, though the official scorer decided to call one an error and not the other. Cano made just three Defensive Misplays in August (along with just one error), which is a pretty remarkable month at second base.

We can use a combination of Defensive Runs Saved, Good Fielding Plays, and Defensive Misplays/errors to evaluate fielders through different lenses. Good Fielding Plays are often flashy and catch our eyes, but we need to compliment our observations with a system that can tell us everything we don’t always see, including the fielder’s pre-pitch positioning, his quick first step, or the bad route he took before he made that diving catch. That’s where Defensive Runs Saved provides a more complete and objective measure of a fielder’s impact.

Ben Jedlovec is a research analyst for Baseball Info Solutions. Follow him on Twitter @BenJedlovec.

The discussion got a little heated as angry Yankees fans fired back at me. We discussed Dustin Pedroia versus Robinson Cano and Jacoby Ellsbury versus Curtis Granderson. But we also discussed whether the draft slotting system is fair, whether a one-game wild-card playoff is a good idea and Prince Fielder's future. Plus much more!

Here are the All-Star break statistics for two players who play the same position on playoff contenders:

Player A: .296, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 87 games
Player B: .284, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 87 games

Which guy is having the better season? What if I told you Player A won the fan vote for his position, started the All-Star Game and won the Home Run Derby. Player B, meanwhile, didn’t make the All-Star team or even get listed as one of the five finalists in his league for the final player vote.

So who is having the better season? The answer, of course, is player B -- Dustin Pedroia. He’s having an MVP-caliber season that is not only more impressive than Robinson Cano's, but is flying under the recognition radar, which is pretty amazing for a former MVP who plays for the Red Sox.

First off, let’s compare the offensive totals of Pedroia and Cano.

PEDROIA
409 PAs, .284/.395/.442, 19 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 59 R, 63 BB, 49 SO

That translates to 66 runs created. Pedroia has used up 257 outs, so he’s created about 6.9 runs for every 27 outs.

CANO
368 PAs, .296/.342/.521, 21 2B, 5 3B, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 57 R, 17 BB, 46 SO

That translates to 57 runs created. Cano has used up 256 outs, so he’s created about 6.9 runs for every 27 outs.

The main difference between the two is Pedroia’s advantage in walks -- 63 to 17. That’s 46 more times he’s been on base than Cano. So while Cano has more power, Pedroia’s 57-point advantage in on-base percentage means he’s used up fewer outs to produce his runs. He’s been the better offensive player.

When you add in defense, the split gets even larger. Cano won a Gold Glove last year. And while he was decent last season, if not really Gold Glove-worthy, his defensive numbers are mediocre this year. Pedroia, meanwhile, has been outstanding. Baseball Info Solutions rates Pedroia as having saved eight runs compared to the average second baseman, while Cano rates as minus-3. Ultimate Zone Rating has an even larger difference, with Pedroia at plus-10 and Cano at minus-5.

It all adds up to Pedroia being one of the best players in the American League. Here are the WAR (wins above a replacement level player) leaders for the AL from FanGraphs:

Jose Bautista, 6.6
Adrian Gonzalez, 4.8
Jacoby Ellsbury, 4.8
Curtis Granderson, 4.7
Pedroia, 4.7

Cano is down the list at 2.9.

The most interesting thing about Pedroia’s season is his walk rate. With 63 walks, he’s on pace for 113. His previous career high is 74. He’s also striking out more, but that’s mostly due to his trouble making contact early in the season, as he fanned 17 times in April and 20 times in May. ESPN Stats & Information reports that he was having trouble catching up to fastballs early in the season, hitting just .280 against them in 100 at-bats through the first two months. He’s hit .429 against fastballs since, and in 34 games since June 1, he’s drawn 28 walks against just 12 strikeouts while hitting .351 with a 1.072 OPS.

What’s amazing about the walks, of course, is who follows Pedroia in the lineup: Gonzalez. So much for the old theory about "protection" -- Pedroia is third in the AL in walks drawn. While Gonzalez has been amazingly productive, a key to his success has been the ability of Ellsbury and Pedroia getting on base in front of him; only Ryan Howard has come to the plate with more runners on base this season than Gonzalez. Unlike his days with the Padres, when Gonzalez had a weaker supporting cast, pitchers can’t just walk him if runners are already on.

For all the attention Gonzalez has been getting, Pedroia (and Ellsbury) has posted similar value to the Red Sox. Gonzalez’s glossy RBI total may be more eye-catching, but Pedroia is producing big numbers at a position where a lot of teams don’t receive much offense.

The MVP race seems to be a two-man ballot between Gonzalez and Bautista, but I would argue that Pedroia deserves to be in the discussion, especially if he hits in the second half close to the way he has the past 30 games or so.

Not bad for a guy who watched the All-Star Game on television.

I quite enjoyed Tuesday’s energetic Baseball Today podcast with Keith Law, as we discussed numerous topics of interest, among them the following:

1. Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star outfielder Justin Upton joined us to discuss his and his team’s performance this season, his acting ability and much more.

2. As for the Home Run Derby, one of us watched it and discusses why the father-son theme was prevalent and exciting. The other, well, got caught in traffic.

3. Both of us saw the Futures Game on Sunday, and the one who was on hand shares some of his thoughts about the kids that will, in my words, be blowing off future All-Star games. (Sarcasm rocks!)

4. Just a few days after making history, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is getting flak for something else … we banter on but do we defend The Captain?

5. Find out where our comprehensive preview of Tuesday’s game takes us! Kevin Correia had better put on a show!

Plus: Excellent emails, more strength of schedule, must-read baseball books and much more on Tuesday’s audibly pleasing Baseball Today podcast!