Quote:
Originally Posted by kg_veteran
Watching a heck of a lot of Rangers games. Also, a friend who is a baseball nut/Rangers fan extraordinaire whose baseball opinions I respect quite a bit agrees with me.
Borbon might have a step on Murphy, but Murphy is more than fast enough to play any outfield position. He also (from my viewpoint) tends to get a better read/jump on the ball and has a much better arm than Borbon does. In other words, whatever Borbon has on him in speed, Murphy makes up for it with his arm and his ability to get a good jump on the ball.
And beyond all that, even if Borbon had a defensive advantage over Murphy, it certainly isn't enough to justify playing Borbon over Murphy when offense is taken into consideration.
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Well, imo, Borbon has a lot more than a step on Murphy. He's a lot faster than Murphy. Murphy is nothing more than an emergency option in CF due to his lack of range.
Last year Murphy certainly had a good enough year to start ahead of Borbon if we're talking left field. I'm not sure that will continue to be the case, but regardless I want Borbon in the lineup because I don't want Hamilton in center.
FWIW, Borbon was ranked at the sixth best CF in baseball by the Fielding Bible, which is quickly becoming a very respected fielding assessment/award. And it's not just the geeky nerd stats either (Dan). It's voted on by a panel of people, including Peter Gammon and Joe Posnaski. One of the voters is also a group of video scouts that breaks down every play of every game for the entire season.
So there is some sentiment out there amongst the general baseball populous that Borbon is a very good defender.
Using your eyes on television can be a difficult way to guage defense, especially outfield defense. Mike Rhyner declared Nelson Cruz to be the worst defensive outfielder the Rangers had ever had a couple years ago. Of course maybe he's just a moron.
Anyway, bottom line, you won't find very many people in scouting circles to support the argument that Murphy and Borbon are even in the same stratosphere defensively, at least from what I've read/heard.
But I do love me some Murph.