Melky Cabrera

I don't claim to be a statistical genius that can break down a baseball players stats and project them to be a player that came before them.
I can try though. So I'm going to take a stab at it.
Melky Cabrera is the starting CF for the New York Yankees. He's done the job so well he forced the Yankees brass to move a two-time All Star in Johnny Damon to LF. Now we can all say it was a move that was a long time coming due to Damon's lack of arm strength and you'll get no argument from me.
Damon is not the Yankee CF I'm going to draw comparisons too.
I'd like to compare Melky to a Yankee near and dear to my heart, #51, Bernie Williams. Now everyone who is probably reading this knows of my allegiance to Bernie, his is the only Yankee jersey I own.
Bernie broke into the major league in July of 1991, played in 85 games and was nothing special. .230/3/34/.336. That's batting average, home-runs, RBIs and on-base-percentage. I'm old school, I like to stick to the proven statistics.
Bernie again played for the Yankees in '92 playing in 62 games and posting .280/5/26/.384, again for 62 games they are decent stats. There is one thing that we can conclude from seeing these numbers, (and i know numbers don't tell the whole story) Bernie Williams was not headed toward immortality and a place out in Monument Park.
Bernie's first full seasons in '93 he posted .268/12/68/.333 while scoring 67 runs and the strike-shortened season of '94 (108 games) he posted .289/12/57/.384 while scoring 80 runs. In all intents and purposes we can say that this would have been a stellar season for Bernie had they played out the rest of the season. Also we can say that this was Bernie's third season in the majors.
Melky is entering his third full season on the Yankees. He was a September call-up in 2005 and played in 6 games, nothing we can draw conclusions from. So i won't.
In 2006 Melky was thrust upon the scene after a rash of early season injuries to our multi-million dollar corner outfielders, Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. He posted solid numbers hitting in the 9-hole, .280/7/50/.360. He also scored 75 runs.
In 2007 Melky made the team as the 4th outfielder, and was awarded the CF job after Johnny Damon had chronic calf problems. With a healthy Matsui manning LF and Bobby Abreu fitting in nicely into RF, Melky posted .273/8/73/.327.
Nothing great, I'll admit it. But how many runs did Melky save with over-the-wall catches and frozen ropes from CF?
Bernie for all his offensive prowess was never a great fielder. His arm was more comparable to that of Damon, not Cabrera.
Through 31 games this year Melky is posting .291/6/18/.359. He has not been slotted into one spot in the lineup like Bernie's customarily hitting #3. Melky has hit lead off, second, sixth, seventh, eighth and nineth.
Melky is a fan favorite at the Stadium with his exciting plays and for the youthful exuberance he displays with fellow youngsters Robinson Cano and Shelly Duncan. He and Cano have also taken to doing the same pre-game routine A-Rod has started since his time in the Bronx began.
All in all, I say the "Melk Man" has and will continue to deliver.