Absolute Moron at ESPN Claims Yankees Have Ninth-Best Lineup in Baseball and Ranks Mets Third

The New York Yankees enter the 2020 season aiming for nothing less than a World Series victory. After winning 103 games in 2019, despite being marred by injury for virtually the entire year, the Bombers look poised for an even bigger 2020.

Well, ESPN doesn't seem to think so.

The "Worldwide Leader in Sports" released its projected rankings of the best lineups in baseball for 2020, and somehow the Yankees were rated ninth in the league.

So, ESPN means to tell the baseball world that a lineup headlined by the likes of DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton is only ranked ninth? Objectively, the Yankees likely own the deepest lineup in the game. Knocking them backwards because they lost Didi Gregorius (who was bad in 2019) and own some regression candidates in Mike Tauchman (part-timer) and Gio Urshela (the team doesn't think so) is bizarre analysis.

And Bradford Doolittle's projections become even more laughable when you get to the third ranking on the list: the New York Mets.

While the Mets' lineup is by no means subpar, to rank them so high, and the Yankees so low, is an absolute joke. This would take into account zero negative repercussions or backslides for the Mets, while projecting a worst-case scenario for the Yanks. Why isn't J.D. Davis a backslide risk, Mr. Doolittle?

The 2019 Yankees, despite all the injuries, launched 306 home runs. The team posted a .829 OPS, good for third in the AL, alongside 943 runs, in which they ranked first. They will bring back the same core in 2020, with Gleyber Torres one year more advanced, though hopefully this year will feature fewer trips to the IL.

The Mets, on the other hand, finished the year with a team .770 OPS, 242 home runs and 791 runs scored.

With neither organization making significant offseason improvements to the lineup, it's truly bewildering how Doolittle came up with these projections.