The Most Work I've Ever Put Into Anything. Ever.

This post has taken on a life of its own. I started it almost a week ago, after I'd done my All-Star voting. By any metric, the AL is superior to the NL-- seriously, any metric: pro scouts, World Series results, even ASG returns ... the NL is AAAA and the AL is where the stars shine the brightest. This past offseason saw Miguel Cabrera move from the Marlins to Detroit and immediately afterward the blogosphere was abuzz with there being even MORE talent in the AL. So why do the players on my AL ASG card look so terrible in comparison? Clearly as a whole there is more talent from top-to-bottom in the AL (and likely more money as well), but on an individual basis the NL has (seemingly at least) better (and often younger) options.

So like I said I started this a week ago and since then both THE HEFTY LEFTY and TRICKY DICK HARDEN have moved to the Senior Circuit, seemingly bolstering the NL's case. What I decided to do was to pick the top couple candidates at each position and rank them by OPS+, which takes into account both strength of pitching and ballpark effects.

Catcher:
NL:
Brian McCann = 138 (Reserve) 15 HR, 49 RBI, .366 OBP
Geovany Soto = 129 (NL Starter) 15 HR, 52 RBI, .375 OBP
Russ Martin = 124 (Reserve) 9 HR, 42 RBI, .402 OBP
AL:
Joe Mauer = 136 (AL Starter) 3 HR, 36 RBI, .413 OBP
Dionar Navarro = 117 (Reserve) 4 HR, 33 RBI, .370 OBP
Jason Varitek = 73 (Reserve) 7 HR, 27 RBI, .301 OBP

Head to head: Advantage NL -- all 3 backstops are young and have a strong pedigree, Navarro is having a nice season but there's no real reason to believe he's suddenly come of age. Look at those HR differentials, too. Shocking.

First base: Here’s where things start to get really one-sided. I count SIX NL players I’d rather have over the best two AL candidates. Anyone care to disagree?
NL:
Albert Pujols = 191 (Reserve, will start as DH) 18 HR, 48 RBI, .474 OBP.
Lance Berkman = 190 (Starter) 22 HR, 69 RBI, .438 OBP. The man flat out rakes.
Adrian Gonzalez = 138 (Reserve) 22 HR, 70 RBI, .351 OBP.
Mark Texiera = 130, 16 HR, 63 RBI, .380
Derrek Lee = 126, 15 HR, 52 RBI, .365 OBP
Prince Fielder = 117, 16 HR, 45 RBI, .353 OBP
* Could also make a case for = Ryan Howard
AL:
Jason Giambi = 150, 18 HR, 53 RBI, .395
Kevin Youkalis = 137 (AL Starter) 13 HR, 53 RBI, .377 OBP
Justin Morneau = 134 (Reserve) 12 HR, 65 RBI, .373 OBP

Head to head: Giambi looks to be the most deserving candidate here, but leave it to Red Sox Nation to stuff the ballot box in favor of the good but not great Youkalis. Still, we've got one guy who was thought to be left for dead in Giambi who is outperforming every other option the AL has, and we've got a murderer's row of first basemen in the NL.

Second base:
NL:
Dan Uggla = 161 (Reserve), 23 HR, 58 RBI, .375 OBP
Chase Utley = 151 (NL Starter), 24 HR, 67 RBI, .381 OBP
AL:
Ian Kinsler = 151 (Reserve), 14 HR, 53 RBI, 23 Steals, .391 OBP
Brian Roberts = 131, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 24 Steals, 57 Runs, .373 OBP
Dustin Pedroia = 113 (AL Starter and suddenly white-hot), 9 HR, 60 Runs, .355 OBP

Head to Head: Pretty close here but again, a ton more pop in the NL -- plus you could make a great case for Brandon Phillips as well.

Third base: The AL has the clear favorite here with A-Rod, but after that it’s NL-centric.
NL:
Chipper Jones = 199 (NL Starter) 18 HR, 50 RBI, .485 OBP
Aramis Ramirez = 127 (Reserve)
David Wright
AL:
A-Rod = (AL Starter) 170, 18 HR, 50 RBI, 13 SB (1 CS), .408 OBP. Total and complete beast.

Head to head: The (semi-arguably) best hitter in the game gives the AL some bragging rights, but after that it's slimmer pickings -- Evan Longoria is probably having the second-best season at the hot corner in the AL, and he's a stud but still not on par with the top 3 from the Senior Circuit.

Shortstop: Complete and utter domination by the NL.
NL:
Hanley Ramirez = 148 (NL Starter)
Jose Reyes
Jimmy Rollins
Miggy Tejada (resurgent with Houston)
AL:
Michael Young?
Derek Jeter?

Outfield:
AL's got a pretty clear advantage here -- Josh Hamilton, Grady Sizemore and Ichiro are a pretty formidable trio (feel free to substitute Carlos Quentin or Manny for Ichiro if you like) and I like their core of talent better than the Ryan Braun, Matt Holliday, Nate McLouth/Carlos Beltran four-headed-monster, especially when you throw in the Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford and BJ Upton.

So that's it. I'm not looking at this any longer, and I know there are players here like Papi and Soriano that aren't getting mentioned but, on paper at least, the NL's best are better than the AL's best. I'm not going to be putting any money on them though, that's for damn sure.