Yankees top "Most Overrated" player list

[$heriff Tom]

So heres a fun one. ESPN the Magazine did one of those player polls, for the May 17th issue, on a number of "hot button" issues. One of the questions posed to players? Most overrated player in the game.

The top 3? Joba Chamberlain, A-Rod, and Nick Swisher.

I agree with Joba. The guy gets so much press you would think hes part Big Train Johnson, and part Denny McLain. Meanwhile, outside of New York, he is shrugged off, except as aa demonstrative guy who is afraid of bugs.

A-Rod will always get a lot of hate. A lot of the overrated stuff comes to his drug use, I am sure, and how is numbers are tainted. The rest comes to how unlikable a person he is. If Dallas Braden does end up punching him, he will be the most popular player in baseball history.

As to Swisher, Im sure thats due to his self-inflated opinion of himself, and his clowning. Swisher is my least-favorite Yankee by a mile, so I dont mind seeing him on this list.

Sure this is some "Yankee envy" around here. At least Jeter was not named. But yeah, we own the top 3!

[MSBNYY]

There's a ton of Yankee envy. If Jeter had topped the poll, I would rip it hard.

ARod doesn't belong on any such list. It's ridiculous, unless you consider his rating to require batting 1.000 with 200 HR. Then he'd be overrated. He does what he does pretty consistently.

Is there a link to this poll?

Absolutely Joba is overrated. Based on the hype he gets versus what he has done since 2008, overrated is a fair claim.

I think he should be starting in AAA right now.

Is his relief THAT dominant, right now, that he MUST be up here?

With or without Mo, he's not Mo.

Swisher? It's hard for me to accept him as overrated because personally, I don't rate him that high. I would LOVE it if he kept up the numbers he's doing now over a full season. Then he would actually be UNDERRATED. But based on last year's totals, and the way some people act about him, then yeah, he'd be overrated.

I feel that I see all three of these guys for what they are, and don't overrate them, but I can definitely see how Swisher and Joba made such a list based on perceptions of others.

[$heriff Tom]

I dont have a link, but this piece was in the POST yesterday, and the magazine should be hitting stands in the next few days.

I think a lot of the A-Rod is his druggery, and also the fact that many STILL think he is the best player in the game. In that fact, others may seem him "overrated." There are other guys, like Pujols, who fit that mantle better.

I would be fine with Joba downstairs. But yes, even Yankee fans should be able to admit this guy is not worth all the ink he gets. Seriously, Joba is everywhere, even Page Six! And he just does not deserve this press. And I will still insist that if his name was something bland like Kevin Ryan, and not the fat jolly Indian named Joba with a Dad in a wheelchair and a meth-mom, he would not be where he is either in terms of being on the public conciousness. The guy is a story.

Swisher is overrated in that he appears on How I Met Your Mother, and is always a quote in a game story, all around the country. He wont shut up, and has a high self-worth that others dont feel he deserves.

[MSBNYY]

I think it was the 2007 performance that got him this hype. Not unlike Shane Spencer. But Joba has flashed enough talent to not let the media love die.

But yeah, his name and family helped.

I don't think Swisher is some egomaniac. He doesn't come off that way. It's funny, but some people, like say Jim Rice or ARod, are disliked because they come off as pricks.

Other people like Swisher, are disliked because they are SOOO fan friendly and nice. Swisher to me seems legit in his attitude. But I care about his performance.

[heartybooooo]

I don't think ARod or Swisher are overrated. In fact, I think the only thing that gets talked about with Arod is his knucklehead activity which I think shadows his recent accomplishments. Joba is overrated.

I don't view Swisher as an egomaniac. I think he just has an outgoing personality and will talk to the press. Where else are they going to go for a quote? Jeter for some canned answer? He is not that different than Kevin Millar was on the Boston teams. A solid player who realizes he is lucky to be in the majors and is happy living his dream.

[MSBNYY]

That's a very good analogy. You can totally tell how pumped Swisher is just to be on the field and kind of reacts like any of us would if we found ourselves there.

[$heriff Tom]

and kind of reacts like any of us would if we found ourselves there

Um, no. There are plenty of us who would just go about our business if we were there, kind of like 98% of the rest of the league. Im glad you guys are so happy to see Swisher waving to the fans just in time to misplay a fly ball, or clapping and dancing on second base on the way to being picked off.

I love how Swishers behavior is fun and dandy, but when other guys (ie - guys not in pinstripes ) show this sort of behavior, they are blights on the game. Kind of like a Joba fist-pump is totally fine, but an K-Rod fist-pump is an affront to the baseball Gods.

[MSBNYY]

I don't think so. You can't compare most MLB players to fans. To most fans, it would be an utmost dream/fantasy just to be on that field. I agree if it gets to the point where you're misplaying balls, that's a big problem, but I can't complain about a pure love of the game.

[$heriff Tom]

Can we leave fans out of this? Why are we comparing someone making millions to do his job on the field, to a hypothetical case of one of us just being on the field? Get back on topic, please.

The guy is a freakin clown.

[Chris]

If Melky Cabrera were still a Yankee, he'd be on this list.

The only reason he isn't on the list, is that he's on a team with realistic expectations of him for what he is - a mediocre part-time player.

Tom brought up an interesting point - least favorite Yankee. I can't really pinpoint one right now. In past, least favorite Yankees have been Kyle Farnsworth and Mike Mussina.

[MSBNYY]

The guy was the starting CF on a world championship team, and was known for above average defense and hitting in the clutch. He is not Mickey Mantle or an all star, but he's a hell of a lot more than some part time player.

And Tom--that's the whole point though. He reacts to being on the field like a regular fan would, rather than a cold business man who gets paid millions to play a kid's game.

That's not a negative as long as he produces.

Least favorite Yankee sounds like its own thread.

[Chris]

Melky was the starting centerfielder on a World Championship team, who were champs in spite of him, not because of him.

He was a starter because he was one member of an extremely weak talent pool.

His "above average" defense is bunk. He consistently took bad routes to balls, and made up for it with athletic catches.

[MSBNYY]

Having watched the guy play CF, and watch most of the AL's opposing centerfielders, to argue against his above average defense--THAT is bunk.

His arm was the anti-Bernie Williams. And the ability to make those athletic catches is one of the reasons his defense was so good. The guy hit .274/.336OBP in the 9th spot. He was a solid player last year.

[Jason Giambi]

Way for the Captain to come thru tonight.....

[pags03]

I'd take Melky and what he did last year over what Granderson has given us this year!! This team down the stretch here is loosing to teams like KC and Tampa is doing what it's suppossed to be doing, beating the O's. The Yanks have some gaps to fill to get to the post season: A-Rod, Swisher hurting, Berkman was a bust, Jeter is starting to look like a SS depriciating in front of us, Posada well what needs to be said at this stage of his career. Our record is solid and we are Tied for 1st but watching the Rays play and pitch, I'm a bit nervous!!