Power Pros Forum

Please say your reasoning. I don't understand almost all of your picks. Navarro is definetly not a better hitter if you compare stats, at least in my mind as Jorge leads him in every statisitc by a lot. Iwamura? I think Cano is a better defender, and by far a better hit. One bad year and he's under-rated. He did hit 350 and 330 his first two, his third was a off year, that happens. Damons not as good, but he's still a great player. Nady isn't that good, he's better, but Nady couldn't beat most players, he's not that good. Drew is better, as is Damon and definetly Abreu by far. He's a down grade from Abreu, just better then Burrel or whoever they put there. Sorry to be so harsh haha.

Posada is old and i think will get injured a lot and he has never hit for great average other than his fluke '07. Navarro can hit over .300 and has shown that he is capable of hitting a few home runs as well.

Cano is a fine second baseman and I would've picked him but I like Iwamura's defense and I don't like cano's as much.

Damon is not very good for an outfielder. 17 HRs isn't that great i think he will steal more like 15 bases this year(He is 35) and hit around 280 maybe 285.

Nady will hit well in Yankee Stadium and in the Yankee line-up

I don't think that's what you meant to say... Anyway, I'll explain a little. Remember, I totally agree the Yankees are the better team right now. I think that in a few years, the Yankees won't have a chance. (Unless they make some moves)

Catcher: I totally agree that Posada is better than Navarro, but Posada is 38 (or is he 39?). After 3-5 years, he'll be a pinch hitter/DH at best. The Yankees will need to replace him. (Cownip, you know the Yankees better than me; do they have any catching prospects?)

1B: Teixeira all the way on this one.

2B: Cano has more potential and is younger.

3B: A-Rod's defense will decline and his speed too, but he'll still keep raking. Meanwhile, Longoria will improve on all fronts. Still, A-Rod is one of the best hitters in baseball.

SS: I admire Jeter, he is one of my favorite players, and a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, but look at him: he is one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball, his average is declining, his power is declining, his speed is declining... Meanwhile, the Rays have 26 (?) year-old Jason Bartlett, who plays excellent defense (not exactly gold-glove though), is fast, and a good teammate. I don't know if his hitting will improve but certainly, overall, he will be better than Jeter.

LF: Crawford is better than Damon on all fronts.

CF: BJ Upton has the potential to be one of the best players in baseball when he reaches his prime. Whether he can actually succeed or not, that's the question, but the same question can be put to Melky Cabrera, who was also once thought of as a good prospect.

RF: I don't know who the Ray's right fielder will be, so I can't make a good call here, but Xavier Nady is a very solid player.

DH: Matsui an "all-star" player and a "great hitter"? He had an amazing 2004 season, no questions asked, but he's 36, can barely stay off the DL, can't run, and I think that to hit .300 in a full season will be quite a challenge to him. He has played for just 4 full seasons, hit .300 in just one of them, and has never cracked a .400 OBP. Burrell is not "above average." He is a very durable, consistent player who has never missed a season to the DL. He's slugged .500 for the past 4 years - Matsui has slugged .500 just once. Comparing their career OPS, Burrell leads, .852 to .849. In conclusion, I believe that stats-wise, they are almost equal players - but Burrell has been much, much more durable and consistent, and is 4 years younger. This position goes to the Rays.

Were both biased about Matsui and Burrell, but I still believe Matsui is better, I'll adress this later. I'm really in a rush, so this will be disorganized. Catcher, they have one prospect who is pretty good in triple a and one fantastic prospect in single who hit like 330 in single a at 18 or something like that. They have a big first base prospect if they don't resign Texiera in 7 years, they have a few infield/short stop prospect, A-Rod will be better 5 years from now then Longoria but probably not 7.
They have a huge outfield prospect and one of the biggest in the game in Austin Jackson, who won the Double A MVP. Still, I realize Damon isn't as good as Crawford and it's a clear choice, but Damon is still a very good 300 type hitter. Same with Upton, Gardner isn't anywhere near that big of a prospect. Nady just had a great year, he normally hits like 270-280, but I still like Nady and I think he's better. Sorry for the quick response

I try not to be biased, but... oh well.

I did say that they were almost equal players stats-wise, just that Burrell was more durable and younger. Matsui does hit for a better average, but Burrell makes up for it by drawing walks - if they were the same age and of the same durability/consistency, then it would be a flat-footed tie.

I still don't agree, I'd prefer Matsui .

Burrel OBP: .367
Matsui OBP: .371
Matsui wins OBP

Burrel: 91.8888889 RBIs a year
Matsui: 108 a year on healthy years (5/6)
Matsui wins RBIs

Burrel: 28.1111111 Doubles a year
Matsui: 37.25
Matsui wins doubles

Burrel: 1.555 Triples a year
Matsui: 1.666 Triples a year
Matsui wins triples (barely, still)

Burrel: 5/9 Steals a year
Matsui: 2 Steals a year
Matsui wins steals (again, barely)

Burrel strikes out much more
Burrel has a better slugging percentage and hits more homeruns.
Home runs don't matter as a stat, it's just RBIs and OBP in my mind, and maybe slugging percentage.
So, Matsui wins most of the catagories. I'd definetly take Matsui over him, mainly because of the RBIs. Still, Burrel is more durable, and is definetly a better player then I thought. While it's a clear decision to me, I can see where your coming from and I understand why you might prefer Burrell (durability).

You get overworked with prospects. John Jaso was said to be the best C prospect in the US he's with Rays.


Stats don't tell the whole story guys. I say Burrell because he is a great locker room influence and he gets players pumped up.


You guys gave it to Jeter to easily. Bartlett is one of the best defensive SS in the league. He can steal on occasion, can show power, is great in the clutch.

A-Rod is not the best Right Handed batter ever to play. He just won't unless he hits in the postseason, he still needs to do alot more. Longo has shown excellent gold gloves abilities, amazing power, and most of all, clutch.


Also, you can't have 91.888888 RBIs you can't you have to round that to 92, you have to round everything beacause you just can't 91.888888 RBIs. A math lesson.

Navarro is an AMAZING catcher. Great leader and could be a good hit for average player.

Okay, I just went to Baseball-Reference.com and I now understand that Matsui is the better hitter statistically. In my opinion, the margin is so thin that it is not enough to offset Burrell's advantages in youth and durability. You're not doing much to help the team when you're on the DL. Burrell has played 50% more seasons than Matsui (9 vs. 6) but has played 70% more games (1306 vs. 774).

Just remember, the point of my post above (the one listing all the positions) was not to debate who is better right now (that's pretty easy, Yanks all the way) but rather who will be better in the future. Matsui will decline steadily as his age approaches 40, but Burrell still has a few decent 30 homer seasons left in him. In a few years, Matsui will be of no comparison to Burrell.

Yes you can. A-Rod is actually in my mind, I went through all the best right handers and with stats, he was clearly on top. I don't want to prove it to you, but it takes too much time. A-Rod is definetly better. Jeter is definetly better. He can't hit well for power (that's 20+ Home Runs), he hits decent in the clutch. I don't think you can really make an argument that Bartlett or Longoria or better. I already showed you that with stats, Posada is superior by far. And I never heard of John Jaso being the best prospect, please tell me where you heard that.

1B: Teixeira. Pena is good, but Teixeira is waaaay better.
Pena is cheaper (duh), however, and he is now a gold glover!

2B: Iwamura is very underrated, as his defense is better than Cano's and he has the same type of stats as Cano.
It's a tie, though.

3B: I'm going to say Longoria.
While A-Rod is obviously the better power hitter, and has decent speed, so does Longoria. Also, Longoria is a better fielder, and is also younger (by a lot) and cheaper (by a lot). And he's the definition of clutch.

SS: This is still Jeter. While Jeter is declining, and fielding isn't so great, he's still better than Bartlett.

LF: Crawford, no doubt. He's younger, cheaper, and is overall a better, more dynamic player.

CF: Upton. He has better power, speed, and a better arm than Cabrera.

RF: Nady is better than whoever the Rays will put up, at least at this point.

DH: Burrell is younger, just as good a hitter, and as someone else said, a better locker room influence.

Pitching goes to the Rays, they're just as good and younger and cheaper.

So, that's only 3 wins for the yanks. hmm.
btw, i'm not biased, as i am a mets and giants fan too, so i try not to be biased.

Catchers don't have to be good hitters, they just need to lead on the field and good defensive skills which Navarro has both.





Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Manny Ramirez, he is considered by alot of experts to be called the greatest right handed, DON'T EVEN ARGUE it.

Joe DiMaggio
Albert Pujols

Maybe even Jimmie Foxx and Frank Robinson and Rickey Henderson. Leadoff hitters are so hard to find and he's fun to watch.

Then tell me, how to score .8 of an RBI?



The Rays website a couple months back.

Not enough time to point out specifics, but I looked at A-Rod vrs. Manny Ramirez, and I think A-Rod's better in almost every margin (many slimly, but still). Mayes I think is left handed, but if not, he may not be the best. Dimaggio I thought was his real competition, but I think A-Rod is even better. He's definetly better then Robinson, I think he's better then Foxx by a decent amount (not large, but not that slim) and I also believe he is better then Hendrickson. The real guy you can make an argument with in my mind is Dimaggio, and if Mayes is right handed, then him. I think Mayes is probably better, but I'd have to look more in detail.
A-Rod is definetly generally considered better then Manny, but you bring up a good point with Mayes. I'll have to rethink it and look closer, I might be wrong on this one.

Mays is righthanded. Still, you can't beat 755 HR by Aaron or a .358 avg by Rogers Hornsby. Of course, when Rodriguez is retired we'll know for sure... besides, you can make similar arguments for Ramirez and Pujols. I could list a gazillion great righthanded hitters.

I think that the greatest righthanded hitter is Rogers Hornsby. He did play in a high-scoring era, but still, .358 is .358. He also had a career .577 SLG, a .434 OBP, a career OPS+ of 175, plus a career 10 Runs Created per game. By comparison, Rodriguez has a .578 SLG and a .389 OBP, a career OPS+ of 147, and a career 8.3 Runs Created per game. I'm no Yankee hater or anything, but you can look at the stats.

Manny hits atleast 1 homerun for every like 13AB, that's almost the best ever in history (Hank Aaron had better I think)

May's is right handed, he is a great player. Pujols is also good too, look at him.

Hank Aaron? (In my opinion, he's the true Home Run King)

Rickey Henderson HAS to be in the arguement, great ballplayer.
Anything can happen to A-Rod from now to when he retires.

How do you score .8 of an RBI?

It's averages. Babe Ruth is the home-run king in my mind. Search the Year Babe Ruth hit a hundred home runs (it was something like that, but that's part of the title). If he played under modern rules, he'd have by far the most. Anyway, that's a whole nother' story.
I say the real competition is between Hornsby, Mayes, and A-Rod. I wouldn't put Manny or Hendrickson in there, who despite being one of the best, aren't THE best or really arguably in my mind. I'd probably go with Mayes, but I'm not too convinced either way. I take back my point, he is clearly not clear the best right handed hitter, just one of the top three (Was Hank-Aaron right handed too? If so, I'd put A-Rod slightly ahead of him if he beats or gets past 700 homers, which he will. And please don't say "If he stays healthy").