He is probably Freel or Hopper unless you believe he still has upside. I think he's only 23 or 24 years old, so it's possible his bat will still mature. That said, we don't need a CF for his bat -- we need one for defense. And if Melky can't play good D, me no likey Melky.
“Every level he goes to, he is going to compete. They will know who he is at every level he goes to.” -- ED on EDLC
He'd better be quite the gloveman with that OBP of .327, SLG of .391, and OPS+ of 89. Too little on base ability for my taste. Still, he's young and could potentially improve.
He was pretty decent in 2006, but once again, he needs to have the ability to play CF for those numbers to be acceptable.
Melky is quite young, with league average offensive upside in CF, and didn't fold under the weight of the New York press. He's valuable, don't get me wrong. But his defense belongs on a corner and his bat will never carry him there. He'll be a 4th OF by his late 20's, if not sooner.
However, Princeton, the idea that somehow his "great poise, helped to resurrect an apathetic team in a tough market" is something that would never be said about a player without the Yankee spot light on them. Can you provide an example of what you mean by that statement? Was the otherwise lazy Bobby Abreu spurred to success by the character of his OF mate? Did Kyle Farnsworth avoid killing somebody because he knew Melky would be all over him? Forgive me for not giving much, if any, extra credit to a guy for merely existing somewhere and not folding. I suppose that the apathy he helped correct came from the great Satan himself, Mr. Pay-Rod...
It's part of the whole mystique where somehow putting on pinstripes gives you moral credibility. He's the major league version of every over-hyped prospect who made news because of his uniform instead of his ability. It's the extension of the idea that somehow Scott Brosius was better for the Yankees than A-Rod, and that those late 90's teams were great because of their character as opposed to their pitching and OBP.
Last edited by RedsManRick; 01-11-2008 at 01:06 PM.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
well, it certainly would never be said about a player that didn't actually accomplish it. That it's a young man that accomplished it is extremely impressive
I also think that it's silly to discount a guy that performs up to his potential in New York. There are certainly a lot of pitchers, from Kenny Rogers to Carl Pavano, who would agree.
Melky hasn't had the spotlight directly on him because nobody expected a lot, unlike Pavano. But he did some very impressive things in playoff situations, which is a great trait for a young player.
Finally, hitters improve a lot as they go into their mid-20's.
Last edited by princeton; 01-11-2008 at 01:25 PM.
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