The White Sox Franchise Deep Six

Time for a franchise that's never had much in the way of dynasties or star-studded teams, the Chicago White Sox! I thought this would be an interesting one to do next.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Ed Walsh	Carlton Fisk	Frank Thomas	Eddie Collins	Robin Ventura	Luke Appling	Minnie Minoso	Chet Lemon	Magglio Ordonez
2nd	Ted Lyons	Sherm Lollar	Paul Konerko	Nellie Fox	Willie Kamm	George Davis	Joe Jackson	Fielder Jones	Harold Baines
3rd	Eddie Cicotte	Ray Schalk	Zeke Bonura	Ray Durham	Bill Melton	Luis Aparicio	Bibb Falk	Johnny Mostil	Floyd Robinson
4th	Red Faber	Ron Karkovice	Earl Sheely	Jorge Orta	Pete Ward	Chico Carrasquel	Tim Raines	Happy Felsch	Danny Green
5th	Billy Pierce	A.J. Pierzynski	Dick Allen	Frank Isbell	Lee Tannehill	Ron Hansen	Carlos Lee	Lance Johnson	Harry Hooper
6th	Mark Buehrle	Brian Downing	Jiggs Donahue	Jackie Hayes	Joe Crede	Alexei Ramirez	Patsy Dougherty	Jim Landis	Taffy Wright

I'd say shortstop is definitely the deepest position for the Sox. I had to leave Ozzie Guillen off the list, even though he would've been a decent lower-tier guy for some clubs. Pitcher isn't bad either.

It's interesting that the top two first basemen are the White Sox' last two long-serving players at the position. Before the '90s Zeke Bonura was the franchise's greatest first-sacker. How weak is that? Jose Abreu had a great rookie year, and if he can have more seasons like that, he could easily crack this chart, maybe even end up near the top.

Center field is an interesting one here. There are no all-time immortals (Chet Lemon? Who would've guessed?), but they're all pretty solid. Jim Landis on the 6th Team is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrel.

At catcher and second base you see big dropoffs after the first three teams. Jackie Hayes only made the 6th Team because of longevity. It was between him and Tony Bernazard, who just didn't play with the Sox long enough to feel right.

It's also hard to believe how weak the Sox were in right field before the '80s. Floyd Robinson was their greatest right fielder up till then.The guy currently on top, Magglio Ordonez, remains a very underrated player.

The Pirates Franchise Deep Six

Another Deep Six! This time with the team from Pittsburgh!

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Babe Adams	Jason Kendall	Jake Beckley	Bill Mazeroski	Pie Traynor	Honus Wagner	Barry Bonds	Max Carey	Roberto Clemente
2nd	Wilbur Cooper	Manny Sanguillen	Elbie Fletcher	Claude Ritchey	Tommy Leach	Arky Vaughan	Ralph Kiner	Andrew McCutchen	Paul Waner
3rd	Sam Leever	Tony Pena	Gus Suhr	Johnny Ray	Richie Hebner	Gene Alley	Fred Clarke	Andy Van Slyke	Dave Parker
4th	Bob Friend	George Gibson	Donn Clendenon	Neil Walker	Don Hoak	Jay Bell	Willie Stargell	Ginger Beaumont	Orlando Merced
5th	Jesse Tannehill	Smoky Burgess	George Grantham	Rennie Stennett	Bill Madlock	Dick Groat	Mike Smith	Matty Alou	Bill Hinchman
6th	John Candelaria	Jim Pagliaroni	Bob Robertson	Phil Garner	Bobby Bonilla	Jack Wilson	Bob Skinner	Jake Stenzel	Chief Wilson

This is an interesting one. At certain positions they're incredibly deep (left field, center field), at others they're surprisingly shallow (pitcher, first base) and others have steep dropoffs (shortstop, right field).

Al Oliver, Bill Virdon and Lloyd Waner were all fine players who were eligible in center field, but the Pirates had so much strength there that even their longevity couldn't get them onto the list. At least, that was how I felt when I put the list together. Maybe on a different day they'd have made the cut. Andrew McCutchen could potentially overtake Carey if 2015 is another superb season for him. It was actually a pretty close call.

The Cardinals Franchise Deep Six

Another Deep Six! This time for the Cardinals!

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Bob Gibson	Ted Simmons	Albert Pujols	Rogers Hornsby	Ken Boyer	Ozzie Smith	Joe Medwick	Jim Edmonds	Stan Musial
2nd	Dizzy Dean	Yadier Molina	Johnny Mize	Frankie Frisch	Scott Rolen	Marty Marion	Lou Brock	Curt Flood	Enos Slaughter
3rd	Adam Wainwright	Tim McCarver	Keith Hernandez	Red Schoendienst	Whitey Kurowski	Solly Hemus	Jesse Burkett	Ray Lankford	Brian Jordan
4th	Harry Brecheen	Darrell Porter	Ed Konetchy	Miller Huggins	Arlie Latham	Bobby Wallace	Tip O'Neill	Willie McGee	J.D. Drew
5th	Chris Carpenter	Walker Cooper	Bill White	Tom Herr	Terry Pendleton	Garry Templeton	Matt Holliday	Terry Moore	George Hendrick
6th	Silver King	Tom Pagnozzi	Jim Bottomley	Yank Robinson	Mike Mowrey	Edgar Renteria	Chick Hafey	Bake McBride	Tommy McCarthy

The Cardinals are remarkably deep at some positions and remarkably shallow at others.  You'll notice Mark McGwire isn't anywhere to be found in the first base column, despite his monster seasons in the late 90's. It wasn't a steroid deduction, it was for a lack of longevity.

At catcher, there was a big dropoff after McCarver. All the candidates for that spot on the 6th Team were pretty mediocre, so I just went with Pagnozzi, mainly for his longevity.

Bake McBride is the center fielder for the Sixth Team, but it was pretty much a tossup between him and Jon Jay. (Yes, Jon Jay. Really.) If Jay has a good season this year, it might be enough to bump McBride off the list.

Some people might quibble with the choice of Stan Musial being listed as a right fielder. After all, he played more games at both first base and left field during his career. However, if I were judging him purely at those positions, he might have been edged out by Medwick or Pujols. He had a lot of his biggest seasons playing primarily right field, and as the greatest Cardinal of them all, he deserved to be somewhere on the First Team. Right field just made the most sense, even if the guy on the Second Team was a longtime teammate of his.

Five Takeaways From The First Month Of The MLB Season (Sponsored Post)

In a six month season, consistency is the ultimate key. That is why a lot of people aren’t going to be completely sold on all trends after one month. People who play daily fantasy mlb like what they see out of certain players and teams early on this year. Here is a look at 5 trends that should be able to continue as the season progresses.

Chicago Cubs Are Here To Stay

At the beginning of the year, the Chicago Cubs certainly received quite a bit of attention. Not only did they go out and sign some new guys including ace Jon Lester, but their young talent caught headlines for all the right reasons. One month into the season, and they seem to be going in the right direction. Kris Bryant looks like a future All-Star, and Addison Russell could be joining him as well. Those 2 players could be the future of the left side of the infield for the Chicago Cubs in the next decade.

The Astros Might Just Be Too

Most people aren’t completely sold on the Houston Astros, but they have one of the best records in the American League right now. Like the Chicago Cubs, they focused on building up their farm system during some down years. They are probably a little bit ahead of schedule, and that is why they are the most likely of the 2 teams to fade. However, the days of laughing at Houston are over, and they should be at least respectable by the end of the season.

Alex Rodriguez Has Something Left In The Tank

Any professional athlete closing in on 40 years of age knows that they are playing with borrowed time. Expectations were rather low for Rodriguez going into the season, but he has been one of the more consistent hitters for the surprising New York Yankees. Injury issues are always going to be a bit of a scare, but getting a chance to play at designated hitter keeps him fresh.

Jeurys Familia Is The Closer The Mets Need

Staying in New York City, the New York Mets have also been very surprising so far this year. While many people predicted that they would be counting on pitching quite a bit, few could have seen the hot start coming from Jeurys Familia. He has stepped in nicely to be the closer for the franchise, and the movement on his pitches should keep him sharp throughout the year.

Mike Trout Is Still The Best

There are certainly a lot of crazy statistics after just one month of baseball, but anyone who plays in daily fantasy mlb knows that Mike Trout is certainly not riding a hot streak. In fact, he is just right back to performing at a high level. So far this year, he is hitting well above .300 while up to 6 home runs and 6 stolen bases already. Easy math would show anyone that he very well could finish with 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases and right around 100 RBI in 2015. That would be crazy to think about for most players, but it is just another MVP performance from the best player in the game.

The Yankees Franchise Deep Six

A few days ago I put up the first post in this series for the Braves, and now it's time for the redone version of the Yankees' all-time positional depth chart that I mentioned.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Whitey Ford	Yogi Berra	Lou Gehrig	Robinson Cano	Alex Rodriguez	Derek Jeter	Charlie Keller	Mickey Mantle	Babe Ruth
2nd	Red Ruffing	Bill Dickey	Don Mattingly	Joe Gordon	Graig Nettles	Phil Rizzuto	Roy White	Joe DiMaggio	Tommy Henrich
3rd	Ron Guidry	Thurman Munson	Bill Skowron	Willie Randolph	Home Run Baker	Roger Peckinpaugh	Brett Gardner	Earle Combs	Roger Maris
4th	Lefty Gomez	Jorge Posada	Jason Giambi	Tony Lazzeri	Wade Boggs	Kid Elberfeld	Hideki Matsui	Bernie Williams	Hank Bauer
5th	Bob Shawkey	Elston Howard	Wally Pipp	Gil McDougald	Red Rolfe	Bucky Dent	Gene Woodling	Rickey Henderson	Dave Winfield
6th	Mike Mussina	Mike Stanley	Mark Teixeira	Snuffy Stirnweiss	Clete Boyer	Tony Kubek	Bob Meusel	Bobby Murcer	Reggie Jackson

The pitchers I could probably change around depending on what mood I'm in, but I'm fairly confident in my rankings for the other positions. Some of you might be surprised not to see Andy Pettitte here, given how many years he spent with the Yankees, but I felt he didn't have enough peak value.

The toughest choice was at second base. I originally had Joe Gordon on the 1st Team, but I went with Cano after considering his peak value and longevity. Gordon unfortunately lost two prime years to the war which might have given him the edge. It is a bit hard to believe at first that three quarters of the 2009 Yankees' infield consisted of their best ever players at the position, but it's quite believable after looking at the data.

I was a bit surprised at how weak left field was. If I could count players at multiple positions, Babe Ruth would probably be their best left fielder, but he played more games in right field, so that's where I put him.

The 6th Team here isn't too shabby. Whenever I finish this project, I might try to see which franchise has the best 6th Team. The Yankees seem like they'd be the obvious choice, but perhaps we'll be surprised.