That Damn AL East Superiority Complex

I’ve had it up to here with this “he can’t hit in the AL East" crap! Even a few select members of the Red Sox brass believe in this credo – and I feel downright shame that we would support Jason Bay over Matt Holliday merely for the fact that Bay has hit in the division whereas Holliday has never had the chance. Bogus. I ain’t buyin’ it. Would we be saying this about Jason Bay if he came over from a blistering stint in St. Louis? Remember, he hadn’t hit anywhere other than PITTSBURGH before Boston. Needless to say, it’s become one of my pet peeves – and I don’t even like saying the word “pet peeve”. I save that for only the most appropriate of circumstances. But, really, I’ve had it up to here. So I decided to look into the numbers and put my money where my mouth is. First off, it goes without saying that anyone who hits in a weak division, i.e. anywhere in the NL, or some other division where half the team’s players wear a dunce cap onto the field instead of a ball cap – has an easier time succeeding because of the poor competition. No doubt, it’s easier to hit in the AL Central than the AL East. True. No argument there. What is ridiculous is the amount of skepticism weighed against an MLB player by AL East teams because of some feelings of ultimate superiority. Hubris. That’s all it is – and it’s never been worth anything more than a lot of trouble.