Comparing Rangers to Rangers.

Ok, so the World Series starts tomorrow night. Last year I was simply happy that the Rangers were going. The loss was not a good thing but at least they made it there and didn't get swept. This year I am just as happy that they made it. I got to wondering though, is this year's World Series team better than the 2010 World Series team? Well, let's see. All stats represent the entire season's performance. Fielding performances are at the respective positions.

Catcher:
2010 -
Bengie Molina - .249 BA, .297 OBP, 5 HR, 36 RBI, .993 Fld%, 23% CS.
Matt Treanor - .211 BA, .287 OBP, 5 HR, 27 RBI, .994 Fld%, 28% CS.
2011 -
Mike Napoli - .320 BA, .414 OBP, 30 HR, 75 RBI, .996 Fld%, 36% CS.
Yorvit Torrealba - .273 BA, .306 OBP, 7 HR, 37 RBI, .988 Fld%, 33% CS.
Torrealba's defense is a bit of a concern but otherwise I think that the 2011 backstops have this in a walk away. I particularly like the caught stealing percentages when facing a National League team.

First Base:
2010 -
Mitch Moreland - .255 BA, .364 OBP, 9 HR, 25 RBI, .993 Fld%.
Jorge Cantu - .256 BA, .304 OBP, 11 HR, 56 RBI, 1.000 Fld%
2011 -
Mitch Moreland - .259 BA, .320 OBP, 16 HR, 51 RBI, .995 Fld%.
Michael Young - .338 BA, .380 OBP, 11 HR, 106 RBI, .989 Fld%.
Moreland looked better in 2010 than he did in 2011 in spite of the HR and RBI which were inflated by a full season in the Majors. Of course Young takes Moreland and Cantu to the bank in everything but defense. In the NL park Young will most likely be on first. That alone gives 2011 a very slight edge.

Second base:
2010 -
Ian Kinsler - .286 BA, .382 OBP, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 15/5 SB/CS, .985 Fld%.
2011 -
Ian Kinsler - .255 BA, .355 OBP, 32 HR, 77 RBI, 30/4 SB/CS, .984 Fld%.
Ian's BA and OBP were better in 2010 than in 2011. His power and speed were better in 2011. His fielding remained about the same. This one looks like a tie to me.

Shortstop:
2010 -
Elvis Andrus - .265 BA, .342 OBP, 0 HR, 35 RBI, 32/15 SB/CS, .976 Fld%.
2011 -
Elvis Andrus - .279 BA, .347 OBP, 5 HR, 60 RBI, 37/12 SB/CS, .963 Fld%.
Elvis improved his offense in 2011 while dropping significantly in defense. Up the middle I think defense weighs more so I'm going to show a slight edge to 2010.

Third base:
2010 -
Michael Young - .284 BA, .330 OBP, 21 HR, 91 RBI, .950 Fld%.
2011 -
Adrian Beltre - .296 BA, .331 OBP, 32 HR, 105 RBI, .965 Fld%.
Clearly the 2011 Beltre has the 2010 Young outclassed in every category. The only question is by how much. I like Mike but 2011 clearly has an edge here.

Left Field:
2010 -
Josh Hamilton - .359 BA, .411 OBP, 32 HR, 100 RBI, .979 Fld%.
2011 -
Josh Hamilton - .298 BA, .346 OBP, 25 HR, 94 RBI, .975 Fld%.
No way Josh could stay at his 2010 levels of performance. That and the fact that he is battling an injury this year gives 2010 a clear edge.

Center Field:
2010 -
Julio Borbon - .276 BA, .309 OBP, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 15/7 SB/CS .988 Fld %.
2011 -
Endy Chavez - .301 BA, .323 OBP, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 10/5 SB/CS, .992 Fld%.
Craig Gentry - .271 BA, .347 OBP, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 18/0 SB/CS, .990 Fld%.
Looking at the OBP, stealing, and defense 2011 has a clear advantage either way Wash decides to go.

Right Field:
2010 -
Nelson Cruz - .318 BA, .374 OBP, 22 HR, 78 RBI, 17/4 SB/CS, .979 Fld%.
2011 -
Nelson Cruz - .263 BA, .312 OBP, 29 HR, 87 RBI, 9/5 SB/CS, .978 Fld%.
If his recent ALCS explosion is not considered Nellie looks much better in 2010 than in 2011. His power is up a bit this year but his speed, BA, and OBP combine to give this one to 2010.

Designated Hitter:
2010 -
Vladimir Guerrero - .300 BA, .345 OBP, 29 HR, 115 RBI.
2011 -
Michael Young - .338 BA, .380 OBP, 11 HR, 106 RBI.
Michael Young is not your typical DH and that's one reason I like him over Vlad. Not that Vlad caused me heartburn but he just wasn't as versatile as Young. Playing Vlad in the field was like playing a player short. Mike's got some decent defense and can play at all four infield positions if needed. Since the Cards have home field advantage this could be crucial. Edge clearly goes to 2011.

Bench:
2010 -
Andres Blanco, Jeff Francoeur, David Murphy.
2011 -
David Murphy, Esteban German.
The 2011 bench looks lighter but that's because the guys are playing more everyday than they did last year. Of course David Murphy can and did both years. I think that gives 2011 an edge because more of what might be considered the bench can function as first-line players.

Whew. I'm running out of time before work so I think that the position players are all that I'm going to get to today. Perhaps the pitching staffs could be a future post. So here's how the positions break down as far as who looks better:
C - 2011
1B - 2011
2B - Tie
SS - 2010
3B - 2011
LF - 2010
CF - 2011
RF - 2010
DH - 2011
Bench - 2011
Seems to me that 2011 looks to have improved on 2010, at least in position players. Any areas where 2010 has an edge are not significant drops while I think there has been some significant improvements in 2011. Hopefully this year's team can improve on last year's results as well.