Giants Lineup vs. Phillies Lineup: Dr. Jack Breakdown

Some older people might remember the name, Jack Ramsay. Philadelphia certainly has heard the name Jack Ramsay before as he was the coach for St. Joseph's and the Sixers at one point. He was the coach of the famous 1977 Portland Trail Blazers. He became a broadcaster after his coaching career and became known for his famous Dr. Jack Breakdown's. He would compare and contrast player's and position unit's strength's and weaknesses and say which team or player has the edge or if it's a push. I decided to do my own little Dr. Jack Breakdown, comparing and contrasting each starting lineup player by looking at their stats from the past 30 days on Fangrpahs.

Catcher, Carlos Ruiz vs. Buster Posey: After breathing new life into the Giants lineup when first moved to catcher in July, Posey has struggled lately. Posey's average has dipped to .232 while his OBP is at .303 and slugging percentage at .505. I don't know if it's because he wasn't used to playing a full season and wore down by the end of the season or that he simply struggled, but Posey wasn't quite the player for the Giants in September and October as he was in July. Meanwhile Ruiz based on OBP, has been the Phillies best hitter down the stretch. And if you look at BABIP numbers, Ruiz is over .100 better than Posey, meaning he's putting more balls into play. Advantage: Ruiz



1st Base, Ryan Howard vs. Aubrey Huff: This is where I hate stats. If you compare Aubrey Huff's stats with Ryan Howard's, you will see they are basically the same. The both have similar OBP, Slugging percentages, and wOBA with Huff having a lower strikeout percentage and a higher BABIP and Howard having a higher walk percentage. Looking at those stats you would think they are similar players, but they're not. That's where stats can be misleading. You can never convince me that Huff is on par as Howard as a hitter. Advantage: Howard 

2nd Base, Chase Utley vs. Freddy Sanchez: This comparison is unfair. These two guys are completely different hitters. Sanchez is a singles and doubles player, while Utley is a power hitter. The only place Freddy Sanchez is hitting a home run is at Coors Field and that's aided by the altitude. I'd rather have Sanchez over Utley as a fielder, but give me Utley any day of the week over Sanchez at the plate. Advantage: Utley

Shortstop, Jimmy Rollins vs. Juan Uribe: I'd normally say Rollins has a big advantage over Uribe, until you see Rollins' numbers and lineup spot have slipped recently. I still can't claim that Uribe is better than Rollins though. Advantage: Push 

Third Base: Greg Dobbs/Placido Polanco vs. Pablo Sandoval/Mike Fontenot: I'm not even going to try to figure out the love square we have at third base. Advantage: Push

Left Field, Raul Ibanez vs. Pat Burrell: The guy who was once Philly's proudest son will face the guy who replaced him. Understand what I'm saying? Both players are basically identical with the only difference is Ibanez bats left-handed and Burrell bats right-handed. I'm giving Burrell the advantage here because he walks at a higher rate and actually has a better UZR rating than Ibanez. Advantage: Burrell

Center Field, Shane Victorino vs. Andres Torres: Victorino is the better hitter and Torres is the better fielder. I would love to see these guys race against a stallion before the game then pound a Corona in the dugout after it was over. Advantage: Push

Right Field, Jayson Werth vs. Cody Ross: Poor Cody Ross. He's a waiver wire pickup while Werth is the next Giants player about to be overpaid by Brian Sabean. Whatever. I'm just happy Jose Guillen isn't matched up against Werth because that fight would be more unfair than Tyson vs. Spinks. Advantage: Werth

The Giants pitching staff better show up big, because they don't have advantages in the lineup.