Baseball is a great game because you can compare eras through statistics. You can compare individuals by team, league, position, etc.
So it got me to consider this lineup:
1. Randy Winn
2. Bill Doran
3. Matt Williams
4. Travis Jackson
5. Shane Andrews
6. Reid Nichols
7. Terrmel Sledge
8. Tom Haller
Is this impressive? I did not remember more than half of those players.
But this is your current 2013 Cubs lineup!
Baseball Reference has a statistical tool that compares a current players statistics to all the other players current and historical based upon performance and age. The similarity score function requires 500 AB (so Rizzo and Wellington Castillo do not have an equivalent ghost player from the past; I used the players they replaced: Soto and LaHair).
So here are the dopplegangers:
1. Randy Winn (DeJesus)
2. Bill Doran (Barney)
3. Matt Williams (Soriano)
4. Travis Jackson (Castro)
5. Shane Andrews (Stewart)
6. Reid Nichols (Schierholtz)
7. Terrmel Sledge (LaHair/Rizzo)
8. Tom Haller (Soto/W. Castillo)
Winn and Williams were consistent starters in their day. Doran, Haller and Nichols were second tier players. Andrews and Sledge were short term journeymen. Jackson played for the NY Giants (1922-1936). Jackson was inducted in the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's committee in 1982.
It shows, at a comparable level, that the 2013 Cubs have only three legitimate starters in their starting position lineup. It shows that there is a long, long way to go to rebuild the team.
