The best first baseman in baseball plays in the NL Central, but he may not be the guy you are thinking of. I received a lot of flack the last time I suggested this, but I still believe that Derrek Lee is a better first baseman than Albert Pujols, and here's why.

Offense: The last time Derrek Lee was healthy for a full season, he had a higher batting average than Pujols (.335 to .331) he hit more doubles (50 to 38), triples (3 to 2), homers (46 to 41) and had a higher OPS (1.080 to 1.039). Lee won the Silver Slugger award for first basemen, and we got to hear otherwise sane sports journalists explain that they couldn't vote for Lee for MVP just because he put up better numbers over the span of two ... okay, four ... fine, six months, because clearly Albert Pujols is the better athlete.

And maybe Pujols is the better athlete. With the amount of HGH that courses through his mighty veins, of course Poo-holes would be physically superior. Yet, Derrek Lee does more with what he has, and while nobody is expecting Derrek to hammer 45 homers while batting .340 next year, it stands within reason that MVLee could live up to his nickname if the Cubs compete.

Defense: Recently, the Old Man in St. Louis joined such hallowed players as Raffy Palmeiro and Mark McGwire as a Gold Glove winner. While it was shocking that he was able to field balls cleanly while large needles protuded from his bulbous ass, I believe the general concensous agrees that Derrek Lee is a superior glove man. Not to mention the fact that Derrek won a Gold Glove award himself during the 2005 campaign, meaning that he had won the awards for best offensive and defensive first baseman.

Character: Derrek Lee is not Mark Grace in the leadership department. He doesn't strike me as a guy who has the ability to rally his teammates around him and bring them together. He does strike me as a graduate from the Andre Dawson School of Leadership - act in a professional manner and lead by example. He also seems to be a good person who puts a lot of effort into saying and doing the right things. In other words, he is a man of character who plays baseball the right way. Albert Pujols is a selfish whiner who seems to be a graduate from the Sammy Sosa School of ... well, you wouldn't exactly call it leadership, would you? As far as being valuable to his team goes, while Pujols makes a tremendous contribution in between the lines, he can't possibly be as good a leader as Derrek.

Therefore, while Pujols will probably put up slightly better offensive numbers in 2007, I would rather have Derrek Lee. Besides, D-Lee is younger, and Gramps Pujols is going to go on the decline soon. Regardless, the Cubs are lucky to have Lee, and barring freak injuries Derrek has been a very healthy player who has produced at a very solid level for a number of years. If he can perform somewhere between his 2004 and 2005 totals - .306 AVG, 45 doubles, 39 homers, 110 runs scored and 102 RBI, then the Cubs will have an amazing offensive asset who will be the perfect #3 hitter.

I for one missed Derrek last year and I look forward to what he'll do in 2007.