Survey says ... players pick best in baseball

In moments of candor, players will share their opinions on the guys across the diamond.

Listen to Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson talk about Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Brandon Webb: "He throws that sinker, and it's totally unfair. It comes in looking like a hittable pitch, and then it drops right down and you miss it. You know it's going to drop, but you can't help but swing at it because it looks so good. Then, if you do make contact, it's a heavy pitch and it's just like hitting a bowling ball. You're not going to drive it."

Players aren't always so candid, or verbose, with their feelings about opposing players. But they're willing to share their opinions under the veil of anonymity, which is what 473 of them (261 voters in the N.L., 212 in the A.L.) were provided in return for their answers in a survey conducted by The Sports Xchange. Then we turned to big league scouts to give us the lowdown on the top guys.

1. Josh Hamilton, Rangers, 39 votes 2. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 36 votes 3. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox, 5 votes 4. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, 3 votes 5. Grady Sizemore, Indians, 2 votes 6. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, 2 votes

Scout's take on Hamilton: "Right now, Hamilton is the best player in the league. He can do everything. He has tremendous bat speed, and he can absolutely fly. He's got above-average power; it wouldn't matter if he was playing in Texas or any other place. The ball just jumps off his bat."

1. Chase Utley, Phillies, 37 votes 2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 23 votes 3. Lance Berkman, Astros, 13 votes 4. Chipper Jones, Braves, 10 votes 5. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, 6 votes

Scout's take on Utley: "He's a tremendous competitor. He has kind of an unusual swing, but he's got very good power. He runs every ball out, and he's a leader by example on the field. He's not the most polished second baseman in the league, but he's athletic and he makes adjustments."

1. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays, 28 votes 2. CC Sabathia*, Brewers, 13 votes 3. Cliff Lee, Indians, 13 votes 4. Josh Beckett, Red Sox, 11 votes 5. Mariano Rivera, Yankees, 5 votes *Now with the Brewers

Scout's take on Halladay: "It's his control. His ability to go deep into games. Above-average fastball. Above-average curveball. Ability to use both sides of the plate and command both pitches."

1. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks, 36 votes 2. Edinson Volquez, Reds, 19 votes 3. Jake Peavy, Padres, 12 votes 4. Ben Sheets, Brewers, 8 votes 5. Johan Santana, Mets, 8 votes

Scout's take on Webb: "It's his sinker and his changeup. He has an exceptional sinker, and he can pitch with that one pitch, but he's really developed a very good changeup."

1. Mike Scioscia, Angels, 31 votes 2. Terry Francona, Red Sox, 16 votes 3. Joe Maddon, Rays, 13 votes 4. Jim Leyland, Tigers, 12 votes 5. Ron Gardenhire, Twins, 4 votes

Scout's take on Scioscia: "I'll tell you who the best manager in the American League is before you tell me who won -- Mike Scioscia. He uses his 25-man roster. He keeps his players fresh. He makes solid decisions. He supports his players, and he runs his pitching staff well. I don't think there's much else to be said."

1. Bobby Cox, Braves, 36 votes 2. Tony La Russa, Cardinals, 18 votes 3. Lou Piniella, Cubs, 18 votes 4. Fredi Gonzalez, Marlins, 5 votes 5. Joe Torre, Dodgers, 5 votes

Scout's take on Cox: "He's not flashy. He just day in and day out makes great decisions. He handles his bullpen well, and like Mike Scioscia, he uses his roster well. The testament to Bobby is that he has been there so long."

1. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox, 26 votes 2. Placido Polanco, Tigers, 11 votes 3. Derek Jeter, Yankees, 9 votes 4. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, 8 votes 5. Michael Young, Rangers, 6 votes

Scout's take on Ramirez: "Manny fouls off everyone's best pitches, and he hits the best pitchers' best pitches."

1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 28 votes 2. Chase Utley, Phillies, 17 votes 3. Chipper Jones, Braves, 15 votes 4. Lance Berkman, Astros, 13 votes 5. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs, 3 votes

Scout's take on Pujols: "He keeps his at-bats alive. He's got very good plate coverage, and he just seems to rise to the occasion. Because he's a good breaking ball hitter, he uses the whole field."

1. Mariano Rivera, Yankees, 29 votes 2. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays, 16 votes 3. CC Sabathia*, Indians, 7 votes 4. Josh Beckett, Red Sox, 7 votes 5. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox, 7 votes *Now with the Brewers

Scout's take on Rivera: "Obviously, he has the cut fastball and the ability to locate it to both sides of the plate. He's consistent from the first out to the last out. He's really effective jamming lefthanded hitters with his cut fastball, and he throws so easy, he's very deceptive."

1. Brad Lidge, Phillies, 13 votes 2. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks, 11 votes 3. Jake Peavy, Padres, 9 votes 4. Johan Santana, Mets, 7 votes 5. Billy Wagner, Mets, 7 votes

Scout's take on Lidge: "Lidge is having a great year. He puts you away quick. Surprised? Yes. People thought he was soft because of Pujols' home run in the (2005) playoffs. I didn't think that. His stuff just wasn't as sharp. Whether there was a mental component to that, I don't know. His stuff now is back as good as it has ever been, and pitching in Philly is tough. The fans let you know when you're not good."

1. Orlando Cabrera, White Sox, 16 votes 2. Yuniesky Betancourt, Mariners, 16 votes 3. John McDonald, Blue Jays, 10 votes 4. Placido Polanco, Tigers, 8 votes 5. Adrian Beltre, Mariners, 6 votes

Scout's take: "When I think of gloves, I think of shortstops. Cabrera is good, but I like John McDonald, too."

1. Omar Vizquel, Giants, 28 votes 2. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies, 12 votes 3. Jose Reyes, Mets, 9 votes 4. David Wright, Mets, 7 votes 5. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, 6 votes

Scout's take on Vizquel: "He's an acrobat as far as his footwork goes. He's got great hands, but he's got great hands because of his footwork."

1. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, 37 votes 2. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, 19 votes 3. Jose Guillen, Royals, 19 votes 4. B.J. Upton, Rays, 3 votes 5. Josh Hamilton, Rangers, 3 votes

Scout's take on Suzuki: "He can throw from just about any position in the outfield, going left or going right or charging the ball. The ball has exceptional carry, and he's very accurate."

1. Jeff Francoeur, Braves, 37 votes 2. Shane Victorino, Phillies, 16 votes 3. Rick Ankiel, Cardinals, 15 votes 4. Brad Hawpe, Rockies, 6 votes 5. Elijah Dukes, Nationals, 4 votes

Scout's take on Francoeur: "He has great life off the ground; when he throws the ball, it really takes off for him. Victorino is accurate but doesn't have quite the strength of Francoeur (whose hitting slump has resulted in what is expected to be a brief tuneup session in the minors)."

1. Michael Young, Rangers, 8 votes 2. Raul Ibanez, Mariners, 8 votes 3. Chone Figgins, Angels, 7 votes 4. Grady Sizemore, Indians, 6 votes 5. Placido Polanco, Tigers, 4 votes

Scout's take: "When I started scouting in Arizona for spring training after being based in Florida, there were two players I wanted to see, Ichiro and Young, because I heard such great things about them. That's right on with Ibanez, too. Nobody knows him because he's in Seattle, but he goes out and does it every day."

1. Dan Uggla, Marlins 13 votes 2. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres 10 votes 3. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins 9 votes 4. Chase Utley, Phillies 4 votes 5. Russell Martin, Dodgers 4 votes

Scout's take on Uggla: "He plays hard, very workmanlike -- not great at second base. There are 29 clubs that would take him in a heartbeat. Nice short stroke. You could see that swing playing in the major leagues. Finding guys like that (in the Rule 5 draft) is what the Marlins are about."

1. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox, 13 votes 2. Coco Crisp, Red Sox, 12 votes 3. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 9 votes 4. Vicente Padilla, Rangers, 8 votes 5. Jonny Gomes, Rays, 6 votes

Scout's take on Pierzynski: "A.J. makes everybody mad at him, but he always seems to play on winners. You hate him when you play against him and sort of like him when he's on your team. I'll take him."

1. Chase Utley, Phillies, 8 votes 2. Pedro Martinez, Mets, 5 votes 3. Prince Fielder, Brewers, 4 votes 4. Ty Wigginton, Astros, 4 votes 5. Michael Barrett, Padres, 3 votes 6. Jeff Kent, Dodgers, 3 votes 7. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 3 votes

Scout's take on Utley: "If you mean dirty like he wants to kick your butt every second he's on the field, I can understand that. Dirty the way the other guy (Pierzynski) is, I just don't see it."

1. Tim McClelland, 22 votes 2. Jim Joyce, 7 votes 3. Ed Rapuano, 4 votes 4. Ted Barrett, 4 votes 5. Jim Wolf, 3 votes 6. Tim Welke, 3 votes

Scout's take: "That's a good question because I don't think the ball-and-strike umpiring is very good. It's too inconsistent. Players want to know what the strike zone is and they adjust. But too often a pitch is a strike one time but the same pitch is a ball the next. I'm not a Tim McClelland fan. I've seen him stick it to guys, and he makes it personal. I like Jim Joyce, along with Rapuano and Welke."

Once upon a time, the players actually picked the starting All-Star lineups and position playing rosters. It happened after then-Commissioner Ford Frick stripped the fans of the voting when a ballot-box stuffing campaign put the entire Cincinnati Reds starting lineup except for Stan Musial onto the 1957 game. Funny things happened when the players got the All-Star votes. The All-Star Games were actually good games.

Interesting scout comment about Chase Utley.

Come to think of it, I had to laugh at that scout's comment on Phillies fans "letting you know when you're not good." I still remember how long it took those clowns to appreciate how great---never mind good---Mike Schmidt really was. It only took until just about the end of his career. And even then, you'd catch enough of them bitching about (get this) how often he walked on "hittable" pitches. If they were so hittable why was he walking that much? (They used to bitch about him striking out a little much but would they rather he hit into double plays? Into which, by the way, Schmidt hit into less per 162 games than a small boatload of Hall of Famers including his near-peer George Brett.)

But then these are the fans about whom Bo Belinsky said, memorably, "Those people would boo at a funeral."

Frank Robinson and Ed Bailey were probably the only Reds that season who were really having All-Star seasons all around, though you could have made a case for Roy McMillan for his defence. The Reds in those years had a reputation for strong hitting and so-so pitching, but I notice that while there was a decent on-base percentage and they hit .269 as a team, almost nobody aside from Robinson and Bailey were playing like All-Stars.

The Red who was probably the worthiest All-Star, however, didn't get the starting vote and wasn't even picked as a reserve: first baseman George Crowe, who stood in when Ted Kluszewski hit the DL---it was pretty much over for the big man by then, he'd never again be the player he'd been for the previous few seasons. Crowe led the 1957 Reds in home runs (31) and runs batted in (92; no other Red drove in as many as 80 that season), but I'm guessing he just didn't have enough star power to compel even the Cincinnati ballot box stuffers to send him up there in place of Stan Musial . . .

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