Cubs best infield in baseball?

[LHG]

I cannot access the rest of this article, but Buster Olney claims that the Cubs have the best infield (combination of offense and defense) in major league baseball. I'd be curious to know where he ranks the Giants' infield.
MLB's top 10 infields: Cubs leap to top spot

 

[calsnowskier]

I think it is a toss-up between the Cubs and Giants. I dont think it is a slight against either team to pick the other.

1B - Rizzo v Belt - Belt has the defense, Rizzo has the offense. Winner: Cubs
2B - Zobrist v Panik - Zobrist is old but versatile. Panik is the flavor of the month, but the back is a concern. Winner: Giants (but could swing wildly in either direction)
SS - Crawford v Russell - Crawford is the best SS in the game. Russell may become the best in the coming years. Winner: Giants, but closer than it appears.
3B - Duffy v Bryant - The battle of the 2015 ROY race. Duffy is new to the position and came with ZERO fanfare. Bryant came with the expectation that he would be the "Next Best Thing". Winner: Cubs
C - Posey v Montero - Not close. Winner: Giants

Giants CLEARLY win at Catcher. Cubs CLEARLY win at 1B. 2B, SS and 3B are all close.

 

[SFGRTB]

I cannot read this article either, but if Onley doesn't include catchers I can see that ranking.

I think Posey vs. Montero is the tipping point though.

 

[calsnowskier]

The matchups, in order of difference between the two...

Posey over Montero



Rizzo over Belt

Bryant over Duffy
Crawford over Russell



Panik over Zobrist

 

[SFGRTB]

This just came to mind, I wonder how many people still subscribe to ESPN insider? With so much information out there for free, and frankly many better writers out there than the ones who are still at ESPN, I personally had no second thoughts not renewing my subscription 6+ years ago. I'm not sure if they've changed the prices (from $99 a year, or maybe $120?), but I'm surprised they can still charge for content. I think they've made most of their fantasy sports articles "insider only" and that probably has a huge market right now.

 

[Mays-Fan]

I cannot access the rest of this article, but Buster Olney claims that the Cubs have the best infield (combination of offense and defense) in major league baseball. I'd be curious to know where he ranks the Giants' infield.
MLB's top 10 infields: Cubs leap to top spot

Sure, it's a fun topic to think about. Let everyone think the Cubs have the best infield. And arguably they do. But at the end of the day, I like when we are underrated, at any level, any position, or group of positions. In that way, I'm kinda glad we didn't get Greinke or Price or Upton or Cespedes. It would draw too much attention to us. Yeah, I think I saw somewhere we are the Vegas favorites to win WSCIV, or at least have the best odds, but few pay real attention to that, and it doesn't mean that much.

So sure, the Cubs have the best infield. The Mets or the Dodgers or the Dbacks have the best pitching. Look at the bullpen the Yankees have! Did you see that catch by McCutcheon?

We are like magicians. We plan several moves ahead, and take advantage of distractions galore. And in the end, we remove the cape from the box, and there stands Teh Trophy. Number IV. Ta daaaaah!