The biggest difference I saw between Ibanez & Burrell was consistency. When Burrell’s hot he’s one of the best players in the game, but the problem is he’ll have a couple months when he couldn’t hit a slow-pitch softball. Ibanez isn’t a high/low player, and you know what your getting.

As for defense, I haven’t seen that many Mariners/Royals games to determine if Ibanez is worse then Burrell. I can logically realize that left field in Safeco is a lot more roomy then left field at The Bank, so a smaller left field would be more inviting. In the 22 games I’ve watched this year, Ibanez appears to be a superior defender.

As for a comparison to Abreu. Abreu might have more speed, but two things about Abreu stand out in my mind. 1 – He will not go anywhere near a wall (Phillies fans know this well, and Yankees fans have had to see the same), and also Ibanez is a good clubhouse guy and a leader. Before Abreu was dealt to the Yankees word was his attitude really soured the clubhouse.

There could be some truth to that. Before the Phils dealt Abreu to the Yankees (for pretty much nothing), their record was 49-54. After the trade (in which they lost a top offensive weapon) 38-23.

It’ll be interesting to see how Ibanez pans out over the entire season, but some calc-heads, might be in for a surprise.