Bobby Abreu Sucks Because He Doesn't Hit Enough Home Runs
You think I'm making that up? Nosirree Bob!
I learned this from an informative article by Scott Miller!
The Yankees did what they do best -- they whipped out their checkbook to complete the trade for a player whose 15 minute of fame passed quickly after he belted all kinds of obviously juiced baseballs to win last summer's home run derby. Few other clubs had serious interest in Abreu, mostly because of his outrageous $15 million salary in 2007 is totally out of balance with his meager 14 home runs in 604 at-bats since the '05 All-Star break.
Wait, 15 minutes of fame? What exactly does that mean? Abreu has a career OPS+ of 138. If he wasn't "famous" enough, what does this have to do with production? Reggie Sanders is more "famous." Scott Podsednik is more "famous." Would you prefer these players?
Well, maybe not since they don't hit a lot of homeruns. Good players hit homeruns, damnit!
Abreu's presence likely means farewell for Gary Sheffield next season -- the Yankees hold a $13 million option on him that they can decline, and they've already got Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and, now, Abreu, in the outfield. Sheff will be worth watching very closely if he returns from his wrist injury in September because he will not take that well. One person who knows him well already predicted Sunday that he will pop off and rip the Yankees within the next couple of days.Uh, ok. However Buster Olney has the complete opposite idea, and believes the Yankees will indeed bring back Sheffield as a 1B/OF. Sheffield's agent today said that Gary is happy about the deal, and hopes Abreu can help him win a World Championship, wants to play for three more years, and hopefully for the Yankees.
That sounds very much like a "pop off."
The additions of Abreu and Lidle significantly ratchet up the pressure on Boston to add someone like Tampa Bay shortstop Julio Lugo, and a starting pitcher like Philadelphia's Jon Lieber.
As a Yankee fan, I kinda hope Boston gets Lieber.
"The Yankees only deal for the present," New York skipper Joe Torre declared. "Certain players will certainly be able to help us in the future. But we made this move for right now. We gave up some young players to be a part of the future somewhere else."That the Yankees agreed to absorb all of the dough owed Abreu this year and next -- roughly $19 million -- has, as usual, offended many throughout the game who get sick and tired of fighting New York's unmatched largesse. But Torre is dead-on accurate that in Steinbrenner's world, you only deal in the present. You might hate the Yankees, but admit it: Don't you wish your owner was as maniacal to win as Steinbrenner is?
When a sportswriter says that "many people" are offended and offers no quotes or evidence, what he's really saying is that he's offended.
"We're pleased to have Bobby because we know he is an established player who will be a regular in the middle of the lineup. Righty, lefty, it doesn't matter. He's a force, as far as I'm concerned."Though Abreu's power has declined significantly, he works the count and gets on base (.427 this season; .412 career), which undoubtedly already has broadcaster John Sterling and other Yankee cheerleaders wetting their pants with glee.
I'm no Sterling fan, but what's with the non-sequitor rip here? And how is getting on base a bad thing? Getting on base is a very good thing. Dare I say... better than hitting a bunch of homeruns.
Few teams are even in a financial position to spend roughly $19 million on Abreu for this year and next.
Actually there are plenty of teams that could afford his salary. He's not paid much more than a guy like Brian Giles, a corner outfielder who plays for a small market team and gets on base a lot but doesn't hit a bunch of homeruns.
And of the handful that can, it would be stupid for most of them to spend that kind of dough on a guy who has a whole eight home runs this season.
Hey, it's two more than Derek Jeter.
But the Yankees can spend $15 million on a glorified leadoff man who rarely homers -- though he does lead the majors with 91 walks.
How can he be "glorified" if he's not "famous?" And walks? Screw that! That's for lazy players like Jason Giambi.
Would Derek Jeter be a glorified leadoff man who rarely homers? Thank God he's not making $15M a year, or I bet you'd tell us about it!
And by spending the dough, it allows them to keep key young players such as second baseman Robinson Cano and outfielder Melky Cabrera and minor league prospects Phil Hughes (pitcher) and Jose Tabata (outfielder)."He's a solid .300 hitter," one scout who watches the AL East regularly said of Abreu. "His power seems to have gone down since the home run derby, but he's a solid hitter, he can steal bases and he can throw."I don't think I'm nitpicking here, but why are you asking a scout who watches the AL East? Abreu has played his entire career in the NL East.
At the very least, Abreu will help make up for the prolonged absences of Sheffield and Matsui (who isn't expected back until late August or September following surgery on his left wrist). And at the very least, Lidle, 8-7 with a 4.74 ERA, adds depth to help Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang.So, the Yankees didn't give up top tier talent, they can afford Abreu, Abreu is an upgrade, Lidle is an upgrade.. what am I missing here about why this is a bad deal? Oh, that's right, homeruns.
Now, it's clear what the Yankees must do next.
Win some ballgames and try and win the division?
They must take out their checkbook again and buy out all of Alex Rodriguez's insecurity. Just write a check, take possession of it and then sit back and watch a relaxed A-Rod take off.
Now that would be a trade deadline move that would be guaranteed to succeed.
Non-sequitor insult number two! Wait.. but Alex Rodriguez hits a lot of homeruns! What's going on here? Ohhh, you hate the Yankees. I get it now.
Following this article is another section which discusses the Red Sox response and how St. Theo, Boy Genius will pull of another deadline deal as he has always done in the past that will push the Red Sox over the top.
I wonder if Scott Miller is trying to get hired on at ESPN. They have an opening (or two) on Baseball Tonight, you know.
posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:34 AM
4
comments
4 Comments:
You've made my day with this post, &
said exactly what fans should be upset
about: the constant, daily bias and outright lies of the baseball media against the Yankee team or its individuals. Scott Miller is a bitter person whose life's goal was to
vote on baseball awards (I've documented him saying that). Now, you don't suppose his bias would ever come through?
Thanks :)
By the way, Jim Rome just pretty much echoed that article word for word to open his lame-ass TV show.
{too aggrieved to type}
Man, I wish picking apart columns in rebuttal could be a profession, because you would absolutely RULE at it. If only ESPN.com had a Page 4 that allowed for stuff like that...
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