Offense vs. Offense
Red Sox
The Red Sox lineup is solid from top to bottom. Starting at the top with Xander Bogaerts and working its way down to a talented Jackie Bradley Jr. Oddly enough, the team that lives in Fenway Park dealt with power struggles last season. The Sox lineup consisted of high contact hitters that hit for good batting averages and got on base. What they lacked last season was a big-time power hitter. Coincidentally, it happened to be the year after David Ortiz retired.
In steps J.D. Martinez. The team is expecting Martinez to be their prototype slugger in the middle of the lineup this season and for seasons to come. Though, Martinez won’t hit 150 home runs on his own. Boston will need other hitters to step up in the power department as well.
It will also be interesting to see how some of the younger Red Sox bats stack up as they progress in their careers. Specifically, Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers. Devers is a significant talent with major expectations; however, he is aided by some third base depth thanks to Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt. Benintendi, on the other hand, is expected not only to progress but to be one of Boston’s most prominent run producers and run scorers.
Yankees
The New York Yankees undoubtedly have one of the top offenses in Major League Baseball. Obviously, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have stolen the Yankees’ headlines from the moment Stanton signed with New York to the final day of spring training. Each is coming off a 50+ home run season. Thus, all anyone can talk about is the total number of homers the two will combine for in the upcoming year.
There are other players on the Yankees—good ones at that. Didi Gregorius had a career season in 2018, and Gary Sanchez has shown zero signs of regression since he stormed into the league.
The Yankee offense could be streaky as its load of power hitters is clustered at the top of the order, and all are prone to the strikeout. However, there is no cure for the long ball…
New York could be down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth. Suddenly, the leadoff man gets a base hit up the middle, the closer pitches too carefully to Judge in the two spot and walks him, and then Stanton comes up , blasts a walk-off home run. You can’t walk Stanton because Sanchez, batting behind Stanton, could easily line a double into the gap and win the game in that fashion.
The point is the Yankees’ offense is extremely dangerous, and they can strike in a hurry. An opposing pitcher can pitch his team to a deficit before he even breaks a sweat.
Better offense: New York Yankees