Peter Abraham talks about a safety demonstration put on by MLB.

For each player presented, we'll give you his three year stat profile (and an quick outlook provided by yours truly). Based on all that, we'll be asking everyone to post your reasoned estimates/optimistic projections/wild guesses of each players batting/pitching line for 2007.

The basic premise is that the more predictions we get, the more realistic the community projection will be. I first saw the idea in use over at John Sickels' Minor League Baseball site and with Mr. Sickels' blessing, we've brought it over here. Here's the roster:

C: Jorge Posada
1B: Doug Meintkiewicz
2B: Robinson Cano
SS: Derek Jeter
3B: Alex Rodriguez
LF: Hideki Matsui
CF: Johnny Damon
RF: Bobby Abreu
DH: Jason Giambi
Bench: Melky Cabrera

SP: Chien-Ming Wang
SP: Mike Mussina
SP: Andy Pettitte
SP: Carl Pavano
SP: Kei Igawa

RP: Kyle Farnsworth
RP: Scott Proctor
RP: Luis Vizcaino
RP: Brian Bruney
RP: Mike Myers

CL: Mariano Rivera

Well, I've got the hitters pretty much wrapped up and posted. I'll be putting up an index page shortly of all the players I have posted so far and am going to cover in the next week and a half. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to cover the rest of the bench (Todd Pratt, Andy Phillips/Josh Phelps & Miguel Cairo) but seriously, if Pratt or Cairo are going to be impact players on the 2007 Yankees...something must have gone very wrong.

I'll be starting up with the pitcher posts in a short while and for the most part, I'd say that the bullpen roster is set. I'm keeping Bruney over Britton and Igawa over Karstens for those that are interested, though my choice did raise a good question. Should I put posts up for guys that might have some value as call-ups (i.e Jeff Karstens, Phil Hughes, Chris Britton, T.J. Beam, etc.)?

Do you think they will have an impact on the season and if so, should I ask for projections on them now or wait until they actually get the call? I'm leaning towards the latter for the time being. In any case, since I'm just about at the half-way point, I'll start asking people to take a little bit of time to post your projections. This little exercise only gets better if we get more people and more input so if you haven't added your thoughts yet, please do so, and if possible, ask some of your Yankees buddies to do so as well.

Melky Cabrera
Age: 22 Years Old (Turns 23 in August).

Two-Year History (check out the sponsor!), two-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	G	AB	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG
2005	Yankees	6	19	4	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	.211
2006	AAA	31	122	47	35	6	2	4	19		10	9	3	1	.385
2006	Yankees	130	460	129	94	26	2	7	75	50	56	59	12	5	.280
2007	Bill James	105	364	104	75	19	2	8	55	47	36	45	9	3	.286
2007	CHONE		558	163	114	32	3	14	74	72	57	80	11	4	.292
2007	Marcel		408	118	84	23	2	9	66	49	47	57	10	4	.289
2007	ZiPS		584	172	123	28	3	18	93	92	55	67	12	5	.295

SEASON	Team	BB%	K%	BB/K	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP
2005	Yankees	0.0 %	10.5 %	0.00	.211	.211	.421	.000	.235
2006	AAA	7.6 %	7.4 %	1.11	.432	.566	.997	.180	.394
2006	Yankees	10.9 %	12.8 %	0.95	.360	.391	.752	.111	.310
2007	BillJames	9.0 %	12.4 %	0.80	.352	.415	.766	.129	.309
2007	CHONE	9.3 %	14.3 %	0.71	.361	.435	.796	.143	.321
2007	Marcel	10.3 %	14.0 %	0.82	.365	.422	.787	.132	.319
2007	ZiPS	8.6 %	11.5 %	0.82	.355	.445	.800	.150	.309

Outlook: To say that Melky's second run for the Yankees in 2006 was a blessing would be an understatement. When Gary Sheffield went down, Cabrera was called up and earned the full-time gig by starting out hot, hitting .318/.392/.394/.786 in May and flashing some leather in OF. However, it seemed that El Leche would fizzle out just as quickly when he put up an anemic June line of .214/.312/.296/.608. At that point, I'm sure there were a lot of Yankees fans who might have agreed with John Sickels regarding Melky's bat (which he later publicly revised). Luckily for the Yankees, Melky proved he could make adjustments and from his low point on June 19th, he put up a .295/.365/.422/.787 line with a 36:46 BB:K ratio while adding 10 SBs (3 CS). Not too shabby for someone in his Age 21 season, no?

In any case, the really important question is now; where does the Melkman go from here? Should this be the best we can expect from him? I mean, a .400 SLG is probably not adequate from the corner OFer on a championship team. Still, Melky played well enough for practically a full year and put up a league average OPS+ at 21, something not too many people can boast about. Based on that (and the combined age of the Yankees OF), I would say that he deserves a shot to show the team what he can offer. If he can continue to control the strike zone, play a good OF and show a even a little bit more pop, this could get very interesting. With his positive attitude, a good work ethic and a solid support system on the team, I wouldn't put it past Melky to show continued improvement. Remember, people never expected Cano to be as good as he has been so far so take that as you will.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG

The MLB 07: The Show people have released their predictions for the 2007 season (well, most of them, anyway).

They've got the Yankees as the best team in baseball at 103-59... just ahead of the Padres at 102-60. Wang wins the Cy after winning 20 games and finishing with a 3.38 ERA. Mo wins the Rolaids Relief award with 44 saves and a 3.93 ERA (jeez... let's hope that that last part doesn't come true). They have the Red Sox taking the wild card and the Yankees facing the Indians (85-77) in the first round.

They don't have any playoff predictions. Those will be released after the all-star break.

Jason Giambi
Age: 36 Years Old (Turns 37 in January).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	G	AB	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG
2004	Yankees	80	264	55	34	9	0	12	33	40	47	62	0	1	.208
2005	Yankees	139	417	113	67	14	0	32	74	87	108	109	0	0	.271
2006	Yankees	139	446	113	51	25	0	37	92	113	110	106	2	0	.253
2007	Bill James	135	424	112	60	22	0	30	77	91	99	104	1	1	.264
2007	CHONE		451	116	62	22	0	32	93	83	96	108	1	0	.257
2007	Marcel		435	109	60	20	0	29	75	88	91	104	2	1	.251
2007	ZiPS		394	95	51	17	0	27	70	97	91	97	1	0	.241

SEASON	Team	BB%	K%	BB/K	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP
2004	Yankees	15.1 %	23.5 %	0.76	.342	.379	.720	.170	.226
2005	Yankees	20.6 %	26.1 %	0.99	.440	.535	.975	.264	.293
2006	Yankees	19.8 %	23.8 %	1.04	.413	.558	.971	.305	.251
2007	Bill James	18.9 %	24.5 %	0.95	.419	.528	.947	.264	.283
2007	CHONE	17.6 %	23.9 %	0.89	.405	.519	.924	.262	.270
2007	Marcel	17.3 %	23.9 %	0.88	.393	.497	.890	.246	.265
2007	ZiPS	18.8 %	24.6 %	0.94	.400	.490	.890	.249	.252

Outlook: Well, from 2005 on, Jason has been inconsistent in his inconsistency. In 2005, he was bad in the first half, great in the second but for 2006, he decided to change it up a little. Why be consistent for a full half – let's go up and down every month. If you don't believe me, just look at the splits – you can get out of breath just looking at these peaks and valleys! When Jason was good, he was one of the best, and most patient, hitters in the majors. When he was bad, the man couldn't buy a hit. Still, even in those down times, he remained a patient hitter, working counts and wearing down starters. By the end of the year, Giambi finished with numbers any Yankee fan would take; .253/.413/.558 with 37 HRs and 113 RBIs, a season that would arguably be his second best year in pinstripes. There were other positives as well; he walked more than he struck out and badgered pitchers to the tune of 4.37 pitches per plate appearance. If anything, 2006 proved that his surge in 2005 was no fluke. Jason can still hit, is the best in the league at getting on base and can still mash. Honestly, his season would probably have been even better had he not gotten hurt (or more hurt) at the end of the season and therein lies the issue.

Everyone knows of Giambi's predilection to hit quite a bit better while playing first base (.224/.373/.531/.904 as a DH vs. .289/.459/.592/1.051 as a 1B). I don't know why it is but it just seems to be how Jason operates. It has been looked at repeatedly but humor me and look again at his splits as a DH since 2000 and as a 1B. Actually, 2006 was one of his better years as a DH – he actually slugged over .500, which was a first since 2001. Whatever the reason, Jason wants to be, and is a more potent weapon as, a first baseman. However, he simply cannot do it anymore. When he was sent out to the field last year, he didn't completely embarrass himself but it was getting close. His limited range keeps being whittled down even more each year, he has a bad/no arm and most importantly, wears down quickly. At 36 and on the books for an untradeable amount of $21 million a year for this year and next (not including his $5 buyout in 2009), the Yanks have decided to take the chance that a permanent move to DH gives them a less potent, but more healthy Giambi for the remainder of the contract.

In addition to that, the move should also help to protect Giambi's mercurial knee (injured in 2004) from further injury. This in turn would would allow Giambi to concentrate less on pulling the ball and more on spraying balls to all fields, which would make the shift usually employed against him less effective. Finally, Giambi is also probably due for a little bit of luck to swing his way as he was one of the unluckier players in baseball last year in terms of BABIP so this is one instance where a regression to the mean would come in handy.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG

The YanksBlog.com Fantasy Baseball League drafted yesterday. The lineup: myself, Seamus, The American Idiots (my brother, Sean), terpballaz, The Holy Muffins, Hip Hip Jorge, yanks#27in07 and Sports!!!

Poor Sean... he got the 1st pick for what I think is the first time in his life, but he had to work. Oh well, that's an auto Pujols, anyway, I think. The draft order was The American Idiots, terpballaz, me, yanks#27in07, Hip Hop Jorge, Sports!!!, Seamus and The Holy Muffins. The first round went like this: Albert Pujols, Johan Santana, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Howard and David Ortiz. Yankees, divided by team:

The American Idiots: Abreu.
terpballaz: None.
The Holy Muffins: Matsui.
Seamus: Damon.
Hip Hip Jorge: None.
yanks#27in07: Mussina.
Sports!!!: None.
Me: Posada, Giambi, Cano, Rodriguez, Jeter, Rivera, Wang and Pettitte.

Thanks to everyone who participated and good luck this season. :)

Bobby Abreu
Age: 33 Years Old (Turns 34 next March).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	G	AB	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG
2004	Phillies	159	574	173	95	47	1	30	118	105	127	116	40	5	.301
2005	Phillies	162	588	168	106	37	1	24	104	102	117	134	31	9	.286
2006	Phills-Yanks	156	548	163	105	41	2	15	98	107	124	138	30	6	.297
2007	Bill James	160	588	170	104	43	2	21	104	99	123	141	26	9	.289
2007	CHONE		529	148	98	32	1	17	106	78	109	129	25	5	.280
2007	Marcel		504	146	90	35	2	19	90	90	99	115	27	6	.290
2007	ZiPS		534	153	98	34	1	20	89	98	114	122	28	7	.287

SEASON	Team	BB%	K%	BB/K	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP
2004	Phillies	18.1 %	20.2 %	1.09	.428	.544	.971	.242	.334
2005	Phillies	16.6 %	22.8 %	0.87	.405	.474	.879	.189	.335
2006	Phillies-Yankees	18.5 %	25.2 %	0.90	.424	.462	.886	.164	.375
2007	Bill James	17.3 %	24.0 %	0.87	.415	.476	.891	.187	.350
2007	CHONE	17.1 %	24.4 %	0.84	.407	.440	.847	.161	.342
2007	Marcel	16.4 %	22.8 %	0.86	.406	.480	.886	.190	.343
2007	ZiPS	17.6 %	22.8 %	0.93	.414	.466	.880	.179	.339

Outlook: Traded to the Yankees at the trading deadline, Bobby had 209 ABs in Yankee pinstripes and he made them count, going .330/.419/.507 in that span (which coincidentally, is pretty close to Jeter's stat line for the full year). Everyone knows Abreu's game by now; he is a remarkably patient hitter and takes his share of walks (his 124 BBs would have led either league had he been eligible) and strikeouts (138 Ks). After he switched leagues, perhaps after a concerted change in his approach at the plate, Abreu put a few more balls in the air, helping him in the XBH and SLG category as a few of those fly balls ended up going out. Other than that, he is an on base machine who fits very well into the Yankee line up. His acquisition allows Torre to put a left handed version of Derek Jeter (though Abreu is more patient) in the line up right after the Captain. As a bonus, Bobby averaged 4.44 pitches a plate appearance as a Yankee, which when combined with Jason Giambi behind him, will help wear pitchers down and get the Yankees into the other team's bulllpen early.

Bobby is currently rehabbing a stained oblique but the injury is not expected to cost him significant time (or more importantly, effectiveness). Also, Abreu will be in a modified-walk year as he would be playing for the Yankees to pick up his $16MM option at the end of the year. Who knows, perhaps we could see a contract year big-time season. Actually, it'll be interesting to see how Abreu ages as his closest comparison through age 32 is none other than Bernie Williams, who had his last great season at age 33.

Still, the important number to keep an eye on this year will probably be Bobby's SLG percent as Abreu's power outage (relatively speaking) has been well documented since the 2005 All-Star Break. However, even with diminished power, Abreu is a great addition to the Yankees lineup; a professional hitter with great on-base skills, good instincts on the basepaths and is someone the third in a line of 3 players who could each put up a 20-20 season.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG

Johnny Damon
Age: 33 Years Old (Turns 34 in November).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	G	AB	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG
2004	Red Sox	150	621	189	128	35	6	20	123	94	76	71	19	8	.304
2005	Red Sox	148	624	197	146	35	6	10	117	75	53	69	18	1	.316
2006	Yankees	149	593	169	105	35	5	24	115	80	67	85	25	10	.285
2007	Bill James	154	627	179	123	35	4	17	115	75	68	82	22	8	.285
2007	CHONE		575	163	113	29	4	17	102	66	57	76	19	6	.283
2007	Marcel		539	159	107	31	5	16	101	72	56	73	18	6	.295
2007	ZiPS		611	177	125	31	4	17	112	88	60	82	16	6	.290

SEASON	Team	BB%	K%	BB/K	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP
2004	Red Sox	10.9 %	11.4 %	1.07	.380	.477	.857	.172	.319
2005	Red Sox	7.8 %	11.1 %	0.77	.366	.439	.805	.123	.343
2006	Yankees	10.2 %	14.3 %	0.79	.359	.482	.841	.197	.300
2007	Bill James	9.8 %	13.1 %	0.83	.358	.435	.794	.150	.307
2007	CHONE	9.0 %	13.2 %	0.75	.351	.437	.788	.153	.303
2007	Marcel	9.4 %	13.5 %	0.77	.362	.460	.822	.165	.318
2007	ZiPS	8.9 %	13.4 %	0.73	.353	.437	.790	.147	.313

Outlook: I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't enamored with the Damon signing. It's not that I really disliked the man (how could I? I don't know him nor have I read his book) but it was very hard to imagine the guy in pinstripes. Now, after going through a full year of Damon on the field and in the clubhouse, it's getting pretty hard to dislike the guy. He plays hard, gets along with his teammates and entertains the fans all while enjoying life. How can you frown at that?

That being said, Damon's first year in pinstripes was an interesting one. As the first in a long line of very good hitters, Damon was expected to get on base and take pitches and (which he did for the most part, to the tune of a .359 OBP and 4.09 pitches per plate appearance). However, what really impressed me was what he did when Yankees started dropping like flies. It was fairly shortly after Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui both went down that Damon admitted that he had a broken bone in his foot (this was on top of shoulder troubles). You can call it brave or call it fool-hardy but rather than missing time (or hitting the DL), Damon stayed in the lineup pretty much every day and boy, did he produce, showing no ill effects from moving away from Fenway Park and rocking 24 HRs (13 at home, all to right field) while maintaining the other skills that netted him $52 million. Actually, when you look at it, his full year numbers would have been even better across the board (.300/.370/.508) if he hadn't had a bit of a swoon in the last few weeks of the year (mostly due to his injuries catching up with him and probably sheer exhaustion). Torre & Damon showed little hesitation about running once Damon got on base and while his CS rate was much higher than in past year, he managed to swipe 25 bags.

It will be hard for Damon to top this performance but after a year's worth of adjustment to NY, Jeter still behind him as protection and with a healthy (leaner) body (and Melky ready, willing and able to rest him), it's hard not to expect more of the same from Johnny.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG

Not really a surprise. Phil Hughes will start the season at Scranton.