Who Should Bat Cleanup

This is one of the lesser-talked about things of the Teixeira deal (which is expected to be announced sometime next week): Who will bat cleanup? Teixeira or A-Rod? Well you can break it down a couple of ways:

1. Who's the better hitter?

Well that question is pretty much a given; A-Rod. Yes Teixeira also is an excellent hitter, but A-Rod is better. Over his 6-year career, Teixeira has a .290 AVG, 203 HR, and 676 RBI. In that same time, A-Rod has a .301 AVG, 255 HR, and 734 RBI. Those are true statistics of a number 4 hitter. 

2. Who will benefit more from having the other one batting behind them?

This question is a little hard to determine. Obviously, both would benefit greatly by having the other bat behind them. But the question is, which one would benefit more? I look at it as who is more comfortable in what spot? Well, A-Rod, after he left Seattle, has been a number 4 hitter and has batted cleanup for the Yankees ever since they got him (with a couple of stints as #3). Teixeira on the other hand, has spent most of his career as no. 3. While he was in Atlanta, he batted behind Chipper and that worked out o.k. However, when he got to L.A. and started batting 3rd, in front of Vladimir Guerrero, he reached his peak. Tex batted .358 with 13 HR and 43 RBI in 54 games as an Angel. If he could do that in front of A-Rod, that's an unstoppable 1-2 punch. One that's as good (if not better) than the Ortiz-Manny combo that the Red Sox had a couple of years ago (they didn't have it at all in 08).

However, in the end, this isn't a question for the media to decide; it's up to Joe Girardi.