Guess who they are talking about.

[fringe]

....When I think of him, he's in a New York Yankees uniform, a 24-year-old rookie, smiling, shrugging, lugging around that "next Mickey Mantle" thing or whatever it was New York was laying on him at the time.

 

It was 1998. The Yankees were the best team I ever saw. ......moved silently, respectfully among the superstars, and there was hardly getting out of their way: Derek Jeter, Darryl Strawberry, Williams, Mariano Rivera, Tino Martinez, Tim Raines, Paul O'Neill, David Cone, Wells, Andy Pettitte, Hideki Irabu, Chili Davis, Orlando Hernandez.

 

There wasn't a lot of room for ......, and not much use for him. Scott Brosius batted ninth and drove in 98 runs. The team scored nearly 1,000. Ten players hit at least 10 home runs, none as many as 30. This was a machine.

 

......'s time was out there somewhere, beyond this Yankees team, when Chad Curtis moved on or when O'Neill or Raines retired. So, he ran between Columbus and New York, playing in 42 big-league games. He mopped up around the veterans, took his at-bats where they came, and showed more in the way of athletic grace and promise than hard numbers.

 

But, when October arrived, left field had become troublesome for manager Joe Torre. Curtis wasn't hitting. Raines was aging. And Shane Spencer was less tested than ...... even.

 

So, in Game 1 of the World Series against the San Diego Padres, ...... started in left field. The Padres started 18-game winner Kevin Brown. Because ..... batted left-handed and was a capable defender, Torre took the flier.

 

"Yeah,"..... says, "that's still so fresh in my mind. It feels like it was two months ago."

 

Of course, ...... hit .600 in that series. He was four for six with a walk and a sacrifice fly against Brown in Games 1 and 4.

 

The Yankees won in four and ....... it seemed, had arrived, at least seven months earlier than expected.

[Herc]

ricky ledee, another young player that the yankee fans used to overrate like crazy cuz good young yankee prospects were so few and far between back then

[fringe]

nicely written article, I thought.

Last Shot for Ledee....

[mickeef2]

ricky ledee, another young player that the yankee fans used to overrate like crazy cuz good young yankee prospects were so few and far between back then

 

Chad Curtis. Shane Spencer. Ricky Ledee. Melky Cabrera. They're all the same guy.

[Plow]

Chad Curtis. Shane Spencer. Ricky Ledee. Melky Cabrera. They're all the same guy.

 

That really makes me mad when you say that. Last year it was Cano who was the next overrated prospect. Before that it was Scott Proctor. Before that it was Nick Johnson.

 

The Yankees farm system has had a resurgence since Steinbrenner stopped interfering.

 

Proctor could close for almost half the teams in the league. Cano would start on all of them and is an all star. Wang would be a number 1 for nearly half.

[mickeef2]

That really makes me mad when you say that. Last year it was Cano who was the next overrated prospect. Before that it was Scott Proctor. Before that it was Nick Johnson.

 

The Yankees farm system has had a resurgence since Steinbrenner stopped interfering.

 

Proctor could close for almost half the teams in the league. Cano would start on all of them and is an all star. Wang would be a number 1 for nearly half.

 

I, for one, never said a word about Cano, Johnson, or Proctor. I had a much different feeling about Cano during his first half-season with the Yanks than I do about Melky. I like Proctor and would love to have him in our bullpen. I thought Nick Johnson would have had a better career than he's had so far, but the injuries haven't helped.