From Last Night:

• Sale makes a run at perfection, but loses it in the 7th on a Trout single
• The bullpen spoils McCarthy’s gem as the Dbacks fall to the Phils in 10
• Lincecum dominates the Braves over 7 innings, wins 5-1
• De La Rosa leads the Rockies to a win to avoid the sweep
• After Gio allows no runs, the bullpen gives it away to the Cubs
• Harvey delivers a pedestrian 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K outing as the bullpen coughs it up for the Mets

What I’m Watching Today:

• Indians and Yankees play a REAL doubleheader in Cleveland (12p Eastern)
• Under the radar Burnett faces the Brewers (7p Eastern)
• Jordan Zimmermann takes the Nats to LA to face Beckett and the Dodgers (10p Eastern)

The Big Question:

• Which AL 3B is your early season standout, Longoria, Machado, or Cabrera?

The top 3 position players in the AL by Wins Above Replacement (WAR) are all third basemen; Evan Longoria (2.5), Manny Machado (2.1), and Miguel Cabrera (2.1). Cabrera leads the way with 186 wRC+ while Longoria (180 wRC+) is close behind with Machado (141 wRC+) trailing despite a very strong year at the plate. Longoria separates himself from Cabrera with better defense and Machado gets into the conversation with defense above and beyond what Longoria has brought to the table so far. This debate is purely an academic exercise because they are all fantastic in slightly different ways. Cabrera certainly is the most reliable offensive minded standout of the bunch, while Longoria is a brilliant hitter with a great glove who can’t always be counted on to stay healthy. Machado is great for his age, but remains young and slightly unproven. For a 20 year old, Machado is great, as seen in Dave Cameron’s recent Fangraphs post, but I’d like to see him demonstrate a little better plate discipline in the big leagues before I’m ready to put him in the company of Cabrera and Longoria. He’s not Trout or Harper as a 20 year old, but he’s a very good player for his age and including him in this conversation is compliment enough for now.