How will “The Kid” be remembered? Of course for his infectious smile, love of the game, and upright batting stance, but also because of what he did in Game 6 of the ’86 World Series.
With two outs in the tenth inning, the Mets down by two, and the scoreboard already reading that the Red Sox won the World Series, Carter was up, determined to get on base. Carter said he had just one thought in mind: “I wasn’t going to make the last out of the World Series.” That single he hit was one of the most important of that series and led to the Mookie Wilson ground ball to first, a ground ball that has lived in baseball infamy.

Carter was a professional. He always knew hat to say and how to act. “He was a great defensive catcher,” former manager Davey Johnson said. “He kept a book on every hitter — in both leagues. He demanded a lot from my young pitchers and accelerated their growth. The only time he ever had a cross word was a day game after a night game and I rested him. He tried to get in the lineup. He was ‘never say die, never lose hope.” For the Mets, he is the most recognizable catcher in their long history. He is one of the greatest players in their history.

A) He stays healthy, plays well, plays a lot and switches between the outfield and catching. With Ryan Doumit behind the plate, he’s got some protection behind him, so he can relax and play outfield when he needs too. With a healthy Justin Morneau, Mauer might need to work on his range for the next few weeks.

B) He gets hurt again. This would be for the fourth time in his career. This might make people be a little skeptic on whether he can catch for the remainder of his career… 10 years on the outfield or at 3rd base, I can see it.

What to expect this season: every year you know he hits for average but in that park, how many home runs? 12-16 would be the best guess. The offense slightly down graded this offseason by letting go of outfielder, Jason Kubel, and gaining, usually hurt, Ryan Doumit. If he stays healthy Doumit can give some good protection to Morneau and Mauer.

The playoffs don’t look good for the Twinkies. With the Tigers upgrading heavily and the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays arguing whether to win the wild card or the east. Don’t count him out, look for a huge bounce back year for a healthy Mauer.

When you look at the starting rotations of each team:
Tigers:
Justin Verlander
Doug Fister
Max Scherzer
Rick Porcello
Jacob Turner

Angels:
Jared Weaver
Dan Haren
CJ Wilson
Ervin Santana
Jerome Williams

Compare the two. Who would you rather have? What jumps out to you?

What jumps out to me is that CJ Wilson is the Angels 3rd starter and their 4th starter, Ervin Santana would be a number 2 on any other team. Of course, the tigers do have Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who is emerging into quite a star in Detroit. Detroit has a great bullpen capped off by Jose Valverde who went 49-49 last in 2011. The Angels also have a closer, a rookie last year named Jordan Walden. He went 5-5 with 32 saves last year.

Hitting wise, The Angela have Pujols and hopefully a healthy Kendry Morales They have protection with Torii Hunter and Mark Trumbo. But, the Tigers of course have Cabrera, who carried that team throughout the playoffs.

What do you think? Who will emerge as the better team?

Last season Pujols hit .299 with 37HR, 99RBI, 105R while Fielder hit .299 with 38HR, 120RBI, and 95R. It’s is truly a toss up. When you look at trends and the health of each guy it is pretty much the same. Look for competitions for MVP and Gold Gloves for the next decade.

WHO’S NUMBER 1?