Derek Jeter is the best baserunner I have seen since Tim Raines's prime.

Do-As-We-Say-Not-As-We-Do Dept.
"He's working hard at fitting in," said Epstein. "We tell our young kids, 'You're not here to wear your uniform funny or wear your hair long. You're here to work your butt off and try to fit in.' Hanley's taken a real workmanlike approach."

My Question For The Day

So Cliffster
Let me see if I get this straight: If Robby Cano, slick fielding NYY second baseman of the future (who will step in for an injured Tony Womack sometime this season and confirm his status as "La Estrella de Estrellas" or "The Star of Stars", thank you, --What Have You Done For Me Lately Winter League Stats: .327/.383/510) gets mentioned favorably, then that’s just the organization plumping him as trade bait?

But if the RS are pushing this tripe through one of their propaganda organs (Providence Journal);are they borrowing a page from the Yanks or has (fear and trembling) Nomar 2.0 emerged? Remember, now “Theo is a genius“, so that may be a trick question…
“YOUNG SOX PROSPECT RAMIREZ IS BEING GROOMED FOR GREATNESS
Boston's top prospect since Nomar Garciaparra will spend this season in Portland, or perhaps Pawtucket, but Boston isn't too far off in the distance.
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 15, 2005
BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- It's a measure of how thin the talent has been in the Red Sox farm system that it's been a decade since the organization could boast of having a prospect with seemingly "can't-miss" potential.
Then, it was a shortstop named Nomar Garciaparra.
Now, it's a shortstop named Hanley Ramirez….
Though he's yet to play above Double A -- and played just 32 games at Portland last year at that -- Ramirez is, in the estimation of several Red Sox officials, the position player closest to making an impact at the major league level. Even now, as they drool over Ramirez's obvious skills, the Red Sox will probably send him to Portland to start the season. He should matriculate to Pawtucket before long.
But this much seems a given: Ramirez, 21, will make his presence felt in Boston before long, almost certainly by the 2007 season, if not sooner…..
Better yet, Ramirez is still improving.
"Next year, when we see him, he's going to be better," Francona predicted.
"Hanley has really impressed us this spring," said general manager Theo Epstein. "He came to camp prepared, physically and mentally, and has done a nice job, both defensively and with his swing."
Though he is still an unfinished product, the Sox occasionally marvel at the previews of coming attractions. They were wowed by his speed out of the box when he stroked a double recently. One Sox official said Ramirez is already the fastest player on the team's 40-man roster. Another believes 20-homer power is a given, and that if he can stop expanding the strike zone on himself, he has the ability to hit 40 homers. Said one Red Sox veteran: "He can [become] a great player. It's our job to make sure he does."
ETC. ETC. ETC.”
I say that this kid is off to Florida for A.J. Burnett as the Sox struggle to keep pace with 3rd place Tampa Bay in July (“Best group of young power arms I’ve seen” Robby Alomar, 17 year veteran).

At any rate, career mL stats:

Ramirez: .314/.366/.463
Cano: .279/.326/.421

Both players cracked AA at age 20 and did this:

Ramirez: .310/.360/.512 (129AB)
Cano: .280/.341/.366 (164AB)

The difference is that that was last year for Ramirez and two years ago for Cano. So we don't know if Ramirez will keep it up in triple-A, but he's clearly the better hitting prospect (can't speak to their gloves).

KJC, Cano doesn't steal (11 for 19 in his mL career). Ramirez steals a lot, but gets caught too much (86 steals, 73% success mL career).

JayD, I don't think the Yankees are the only organization to trump up false prospects, but if you gave me the opportunity to trade Cano for Ramirez straight up I'd do it so fast I'd warp time.