If you could make a team out of active players, who would be on your roster?

[bullets13]

C:

1B:

2B:

3B:

SS:

OF:

OF:

OF:

SP:

RP:

[bullets13]

C: Russ Martin

1B: Albert Pujols

2B: Chase Utley

3B: David Wright

SS: Hanley Ramirez

OF: Carl Crawford

OF: Vlad Guerrero

OF: Manny Ramirez

SP: Johan Santana

RP: Joe Nathan

[Guest astrosfan75956]

C: Brian Mccann

1B:Albert Pujols

2B:Chase Utley

3B: Alex Rodriquez

SS: Hanley Ramirez

OF: Grady Sizemore

OF:Matt Holliday

OF:Manny Ramirez

SP:Jake Peavy

RP:Francisco Rodriquez

[Ruckdad]

Are we talking strictly for this year, or to start a franchise with and continue for the future?

[bullets13]

Are we talking strictly for this year, or to start a franchise with and continue for the future?

either way, but i made a team that i would keep for the future.

[Guest astrosfan75956]

you would keep manny and vlad for the future? seriously???

[bullets13]

you would keep manny and vlad for the future? seriously???

well, those are just a couple of old favorites... but that's why i passed on a-rod and mariano rivera

[Gabe]

C: Russ Martin

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Utley

SS: Jeter (for the extra things he would bring)

3B: A-Rod

OF: Matt Holliday

OF: Carlos Lee

OF: Ichiro

SP: Josh Beckett

RP: Papelbon

[bobcatfan]

C: Russ Martin

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Utley

SS: Jeter (for the extra things he would bring)

3B: A-Rod

OF: Matt Holliday

OF: Carlos Lee

OF: Ichiro

SP: Josh Beckett

RP: Papelbon

There are 3 picks on here i strongly disagree with, especially one of them, and here they are:

Jeter:  Are you serious about this one?  Either A: you have a serious mancrush on Jeter, or B: you've let ESPN, and their east coast bias, brainwash you over the past decade.  The intangibles argument for Jeter is weak.  He's played on one of the best teams in baseball for the past decade and they havent won a world series since 2000, so im not seeing the intangibles and neither are you.  If i want a shortstop for this year, or especially the future, theres a minimum of 3 shortstops you'd pick over Jeter.  Jeter has no range, and hes one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball (Arod is a better SS than him).  He doesnt hit for power, he's not really a basestealer either, the only thing he still does well is hit for average, and he strikes out too much.  Hanley Ramirez and Jimmy Rollins can hit for power and steal a lot of bases, and play defense better.  Same with Reyes, who has similiar power and is one the best basestealers in the game.  If i want an over the hill shortstop with less range, i'd probably pick Tejada over Jeter also. At least he can hit for power and drive in runs, and he does have some "intangibles".

Carlos Lee:  This is kind of a homer pick i would guess, because there are tons of other options out there.  Lee's biggest problem is that his power numbers arent great enough to offset the fact that hes a below average outfielder.  His best season as a pro was last year in which he went 32hrs 119 rbis and 303 avg.  Check out Manny and Vlad's career numbers.  Manny is similiar defensively and Vlad has a cannon arm, both i'd take offensively over Lee for their career.  Grady Sizemore wont hit as many homers, but hes a great leadoff hitter and steals bases, and is a gold glove calibur outfielder.  Another gold glover that puts up numbers close to Lee is Torii Hunter.

Josh Beckett:  Everyone remembers the 2 postseasons he had for the Marlins and Red Sox and no doubt he was great.  But everyone forgets his well documented struggles in the regular season throughout his career.  He's pitched 6 full seasons and only reached 200 innings twice, and those 2 seasons were only 200 and 204 innings.  You cant trust the guy to pitch a full season, and he's already been hurt this year.  He had one great season last year, but the year before that in the 06' season he had 5.01 era in 200 innings.   If i'm going to pick just one guy to have on my team, i want a guy who i can depend on year in and year out to give me 220-230+ plus innings and not go to the DL every year.  Give me more reliable options like Santana, Peavy, Halladay, Webb, and even hometown guy Roy Oswalt, who's been way more reliable and dominant in the last 5 years.

Sorry for the criticism, i'm just being objective about it.

[Gabe]

Just to have conversation...

I picked Jeter because of his leadership and I like him as a No.2 hitter in the lineup. He does a good job getting on base and with big hitters behind him and Ichiro on the team - runs would be scored. As for his defense, I clearly remember it being Jeter diving into stands for an out and another time he ran down a relay against Oakland and flipping to the catcher. I simply like how he plays the game and would want him on my team, hustling and giving his all each night.

As far as Carlos Lee, it was not a homer pick because Im not a huge Astros fan. I support them because they are in Houston but in no way are they a team I show favorite too. Lee gets on base and drives in runs with extra base hits. I thought of Manny but I went with Lee because of how he plays the game so I took that into affect and made the choice.

Beckett - No pitcher in recent years has been better in the big games. I like him in the clutch and when you need a big win.

[bobcatfan]

Just to have conversation...

I picked Jeter because of his leadership and I like him as a No.2 hitter in the lineup. He does a good job getting on base and with big hitters behind him and Ichiro on the team - runs would be scored. As for his defense, I clearly remember it being Jeter diving into stands for an out and another time he ran down a relay against Oakland and flipping to the catcher. I simply like how he plays the game and would want him on my team, hustling and giving his all each night.

As far as Carlos Lee, it was not a homer pick because Im not a huge Astros fan. I support them because they are in Houston but in no way are they a team I show favorite too. Lee gets on base and drives in runs with extra base hits. I thought of Manny but I went with Lee because of how he plays the game so I took that into affect and made the choice.

Beckett - No pitcher in recent years has been better in the big games. I like him in the clutch and when you need a big win.

I agree Jeter would be an excellent #2 hitter in a lineup, he always hits for a good average.  But why wouldnt you want Hanley Ramirez(go check his stats) there, who will hit for the same average, hit twice as many home runs and steal 50 bases (and hes almost 10 years younger!).  You recalled 2 highlight plays Jeter made several years ago.  I find it hard to believe you can judge a players defense based on 2 plays hes made (several years ago too) in his career when they play 162 games a year.  Yes those were 2 good plays, although that doesnt change the fact that Jeter is terrible defensively, rated one of the worst shortstops in baseball last year.   The fact is, Jeter is just not an elite shortstop anymore...

I am a big astros fan and watch Carlos Lee alot.  As a fan of the astros i am concerned what will happen to Lee when he gets up there in age and is even less in shape.  He is already lazy and hes a below average outfielder, and he'll probably need to play first or DH in 3-4 years when hes still being paid by the astros.  There arent many left fielders worse than him right now, and he's no better than Manny Ramirez in the field.   Offensively, he's definitely no Manny Ramirez, check out the difference in stats and maybe you will change your mind.

Manny Ramirez

             G    AB   R    H  2B 3B HR RBI BB K  SB CS AVG OBP SLG  OPS

1998 CLE 150 571 108 168 35 2 45 145 76 121 5 3 .294 .377 .599 .976   

1999 CLE 147 522 131 174 34 3 44 165 96 131 2 4 .333 .442 .663 1.105   

2000 CLE 118 439  92 154  34 2 38 122 86 117 1 1 .351 .457 .697 1.154   

2001 BOS 142 529  93 162 33 2 41 125 81 147 0 1 .306 .405 .609 1.014   

2002 BOS 120 436  84 152 31 0 33 107 73  85 0 0 .349 .450 .647 1.097   

2003 BOS 154 569 117 185 36 1 37 104 97 94 3 1 .325 .427 .587 1.014   

2004 BOS 152 568 108 175 44 0 43 130 82 124 2 4 .308 .397 .613 1.009   

2005 BOS 152 554 112 162 30 1 45 144 80 119 1 0 .292 .388 .594 .982   

2006 BOS 130 449  79 144 27 1 35 102 100 102 0 1 .321 .439 .619 1.058   

2007 BOS 133 483  84 143 33 1 20  88   71 92 0 0 .296 .388 .493 .881

Carlos Lee

              G    AB   R    H  2B 3B HR RBI BB K  SB CS AVG OBP SLG  OPS

1999 CWS  127 492 66 144 32 2 16 84 13 72 4 2 .293 .312 .463 .775   

2000 CWS 152 572 107 172 29 2 24 92 38 94 13 4 .301 .345 .484 .829   

2001 CWS 150 558  75 150 33 3 24 84 38 85 17 7 .269 .321 .468 .789   

2002 CWS 140 492  82 130 26 2 26 80 75 73 1 4 .264 .359 .484 .843   

2003 CWS 158 623 100 181 35 1 31 113 37 91 18 4 .291 .331 .499 .830   

2004 CWS 153 591 103 180 37 0 31 99 54 86 11 5 .305 .366 .525 .891   

2005 MIL   162 618 85 164 41 0 32 114 57 87 13 4 .265 .324 .487 .811   

2006 MIL   102 388 60 111 18 0 28 81 38 39 12 2 .286 .347 .549 .896   

2006 TEX   59 236 42 76 19 1 9 35 20 26 7 0 .322 .369 .525 .895   

2007 HOU  162 627 93 190 43 1 32 119 53 63 10 5 .303 .354 .528 .882   

As you can see its not even close.  The 5 best seasons between the 2 of them all belong to Manny Ramirez.  Actually, Carlos Lee's best year is not better than any of Manny Ramirez's years from 98-07, and Manny only played 120 and 130 games in a couple of those years, ouch. 

I agree that Beckett might be the best big game pitcher right now, but as i stated in my last post, he's only pitched 200 innings twice in his career in his 6 full seasons.  I agree that in the clutch hes probably the choice, but dont you want your pitcher to pitch a full season too?  And wouldnt you like to go into the season knowing your pitcher will give you 220-230+ innings, and not worry about a couple DL stints?  Give me a pitcher who can pitch in a full regular season and the postseason.  Right now Josh Beckett is far from proving that at this point.

[Gabe]

Aww the beauty of sports and arguing them LOL.

I still take Lee over Manny because of attitude. I dont like how Manny can talk off games and people just say "Manny being Manny." Give me a player who at least shows up each game and competes no matter how he feels mentally.

[bobcatfan]

The whole Manny thing is way overblown, because he plays for a big market and everything he says and does is magnified and aired on ESPN.  As far as i've heard, he's still liked by his teammates unlike a Barry Bonds.  He's known as a guy with a happy go lucky attitude and a little bit of a space cadet.  Really thats not a bad attitude to have when the media is always on them, and he never lets them get to him, which is good.  I would trade Carlos Lee for Manny Ramirez in a heartbeat, and i'd bet the astros would too.  Maybe i'll start a new thread on this....

[Gabe]

Its just a personal opinion of mine, thats all. Of course most people would take Manny over Lee but I wouldnt personally.

Just like I like Jeter as my SS, you asked for opinions and those are mine.

[Gabe]

Actually sorry bullets started this thread, he asked for opinions.

[hj27]

C: Victor Martinez

1B: Prince Fielder

2B: Chase Utley

3B: David Wright

SS: Hanley Ramirez

OF: Matt Holiday

OF: BJ Upton

OF: Justin Upton

SP: Brandon Webb

RP: Johnathon Papelbon

On the Jeter Subject, he is the Captain for the greatest franchise in MLB history.  He has made big time plays when the game mattered.  Obviously there are some shortstops I would take over him, but how can you say that he has no intangibles. 

[bobcatfan]

I guess you are replying to my comments about Jeter.  I never said Jeter didnt have any intangibles, i know it came across that way in one of my posts.  My points about his intangibles were that if he had such great intangibles and leadership on the team with the highest payroll and most talent, why havent the Yankees won since 2000.  But most importantly, Jeter's intangibles cant overcome the fact that Jeter is a bad defensive shortstop, he doesnt hit for power and he doesnt have the speed anymore (and hes getting old).  When you compare him to a Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, or even Jose Reyes, who are now superior players compared to him, it would not be wise to pick Jeter for now or the future over them.  The whole captain thing is a little overrated, i mean i dont see anyone taking Jason Varitek as their catcher, who's been the captain and a pretty good catcher for the world champion, popular franchise, Red Sox.  Yet i dont see him on anyones list for catcher.  So captain or no captain, hes not making my team.

[AJ25]

Based on the year so far..

C: Brian McCann

1B: David Ortiz/Albert Pujols

2B: Dustin Pedroia/Chase Utley

3B: Alex Rodriguez/David Wright

SS: Troy Tulowitzi (SP)

OF: Pat Burrel

OF: Matt Holiday

OF: Hunter Pence

SP: Tim Lincicum

RP: Jonathon Papelbon

[bullets13]

Based on the year so far..

C: Brian McCann

1B: David Ortiz/Albert Pujols

2B: Dustin Pedroia/Chase Utley

3B: Alex Rodriguez/David Wright

SS: Troy Tulowitzi (SP)

OF: Pat Burrel

OF: Matt Holiday

OF: Hunter Pence

SP: Tim Lincicum

RP: Jonathon Papelbon

really?

[AJ25]

Based on the year so far..

C: Brian McCann

1B: David Ortiz/Albert Pujols

2B: Dustin Pedroia/Chase Utley

3B: Alex Rodriguez/David Wright

SS: Troy Tulowitzi (SP)

OF: Pat Burrel

OF: Matt Holiday

OF: Hunter Pence

SP: Tim Lincicum

RP: Jonathon Papelbon

really?

okay.. i few of those i'm kinda biased with. lol david ortiz shoudn't be one there either if its based on the year so far. lol

[bullets13]

i'll allow you this much... pedroia, and tulowitzski both have a lot of upside, but there are two or three players at each position who are going to be much better them throughout their careers.  as for lincecum, i really don't mind that choice.  he's VERY young, and he's got insane stuff.  he's been striking out batters like crazy, and he already has 4 wins for a giants team that's going to struggle to get 70 for the year.