Who do you prefer at lead-off?

[slugger33]

Who do you prefer at lead-off? Jeter? Damon? Somebody else?

[cubsfan1073]

I guess you're talking about the yankees only and I would say Derek Jeter. He has a very high OBP (.417 last year, .388 career). Damon also has a lot of pop and would be a good 2 hitter.

[Rapmaster]

Is this just for the Yankees?

If it is, Abreu :)

[Captain Cold Nose]

Moving to Yankees forum, as it's a one team thread. CE threads of this nature need to be of relevance to more than one team.
Hilarious avatar, JD.

[cardsfanatic]

I go Jeter then Abreu at 1 & 2, following by A-Rod, Giambie and company. I'd probably slide Damon in at #9, not because he's that bad. But I'd stack it up so I could possibly get both Damon/Jeter on for Abreu in later innings. I'd have to see ther official 2007 roster to tell you exactly how I'd set it up. But I'd definitely throw Jeter at leadoff.

[Mariano_Rivera]

Damon because Jeter does so well at the #2 spot

[JordanDL3891]

I say Damon - Jeter - Cano - Giambi (hey and while we are at it lol, A-rod, Abreu, Matsui, Posada, M. Cabrera (with Damon being DH)

Abreu could be 2nd if it wasn't for jeter, and I want Cano up there.

what about


Abreu - Jeter - Cano ?

[DoubleX]

While Jeter is a good leadoff hitter, I think he's a much better hitter when he's batting 2 or 3 in the order. I actually think Bobby Abreu might be the most ideal candidate on the team. He works counts and draws walks like few others in baseball and he has good speed. The problem is, if Abreu is batting 1 and Jeter 2 or 3, I don't really know where to put Damon. I suppose one possibililty would be for Damon to hit 2nd and Jeter 3rd.

[slugger33]

Moving to Yankees forum, as it's a one team thread. CE threads of this nature need to be of relevance to more than one team.
Hilarious avatar, JD.
Thanks for the comment on the avatar.

[slugger33]

I think that the better lead-off hitter is Damon. Jeter really excels in the 2 hole and I believe that the first three batters should be lefty-righty-lefty. Such as Damon-Jeter-Abreu or Damon-Jeter-Giambi.

[Evangelion]

OBP. does mean that player best suited for the lead-off role. Damon make a excellent lead-off hitter due to his speed and his ability to take pitches. While Jeter does that well or even better than Damon, Jeter just suited to be a number 2 hitter. Numbers can't explain why, but Jeter just the model lead-off hitter.

Though, Damon, Jeter and Abreu a excellent 1-2-3 combination. Mainly, because they all can work walks, take a lot of pitches and all have speed. Good to have these type of players ahead of Giambi, A-Rod and Matsui.

[W_Marone]

Abreu would be nice leading off, except he wont do it, or atleast he wouldnt do it for the Phillies, not sure about the yankees. Bobby's perogative "Real men get RBI's"

[Rapmaster]

Abreu would be nice leading off, except he wont do it, or atleast he wouldnt do it for the Phillies, not sure about the yankees. Bobby's perogative "Real men get RBI's"

Yea, that's what I've heard. A "real man" makes sacrifices for the sake of others in my logic as well. He sounds like Jose Canseco and how he lacks respect for #1 and #2 hitters even though RBIs and the success of #1 and #2 hitters are correlated.

[LGehrigFan]

My 2007 line-up:

Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, A-Rod, Matsui, Cano, Posada, (Whichever defensive 1st basemen they recruit)

[EdmondsFan#1]

Originally I would have said Johny Damon, but after looking up their stats for last year, I have to say Derek Jeter.

Statistics as of Last Year:

Derek Jeter

AB: 623
H: 214
OBP: .417
SB: 34
CS: 5
BB: 69
SO: 105
BA.: .343
SLG: .483

Johny Damon

AB: 593
H: 169
OBP: .359
SB: 25
CS: 10
BB: 67
SO: 85
BA.: .285
SLG: .482

Derek Jeter has a higher on base percentage, much better batting average, better baserunner, more steals, better steal:caught steal ratio, and more hits. All of which are important in a lead off hitter.

Johny Damon has more pop then Jeter, and is not quite as fast or reliable, so I would place him as the #2.

Edit: I didn't compare RBI's because that is an opportunity/overrated stat and Damon has to drive in the guys on the bottom of the lineup when Jeter gets to drive in Damon... Even though Damon has a better RBI : AB ratio then Jeter.

[BrewCrew1]

Johnney Damon

[slugger33]

My 2007 line-up:

Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, A-Rod, Matsui, Cano, Posada, (Whichever defensive 1st basemen they recruit)
I would put:

Damon cf
Jeter ss
Abreu rf
A-Rod 3b
Giambi dh
Matsui lf
Posada c
Miranda 1b
Cano 2b

That probably won't be the lineup, but that is what I would do if I was the manager.

[East Coast Bat Co]

Cano would get my vote.

[Tyler.Durden]

cano would be my choice.

[farmsystem]

I thought Damon had a good season with his RBI totals for a leadoff hitter. I thought if the Yankees were gonna pay him $13 mil why not bat him third since he probably would drive in 100 runs. If not Damon as the leadoff hitter I would go with Melky since he showed a lot of patience at the plate for a young hitter. He also had surprising base stealing ability. If you look at the market for leadoff hitters like what Damon, Mathews, Pierre, etc. got then Melky has great value as a leadoff hitter.

[slugger33]

cano would be my choice.
The only reason I wouldn't put Cano at leadoff is because he can't take pitches. He only had 18 walks last season.

[TonyStarks]

A lineup I would like to see is:

CF: Damon
RF: Abreu
SS: Jeter
1B: Giambi
3B: ARod
C: Posada
DH: Matsui
2B: Cano
LF: Melky

I also wouldn't mind seeing Melky bat lead off a few games, when Damon is off. For some reason Melky just hits better when he's batting leadoff and he also takes pitches.