Bobby’s back (and there’s gonna be trouble)

November 2, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 14 Comments

Well, actually, there’s no trouble. Just a cheesy reference to a 1963 song. In other news, Ed Price reports that the Yankees have decided to exercise the $16-million, one-year option they hold on Bob Kelly Abreu. The Yanks’ right fielder – whom they acquired in 2006 for a whole lotta nothing – will be 34 on Opening Day and, considering what else is out there, is a fine, fine choice for the 3 hole in the Yankee lineup.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

2007 stats:

CJ Henry: .184-.238-.322 as 21 yr old in Low-A ball
Carlos Monasterios: 11-11, 4.62 ERA, 1.35 WHIP as a 21 yr old in Low-A
Jesus Sanchez: .216-.321-.258 as a 20 yr old in Rookie ball
Matt Smith: 4.22 ERA, 1.64 WHIP in injury shortened year

Helluva trade Cashmoney.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.
  
  Even more so when you consider what Theo had to give up to get Eric Gagme. (Credit goes to Mike on this one. He pointed that out to me.)
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
    
    The Yanks did take on alot more money in the deal, but Theo still guaranteed a ton of those incentives for Gagne AND gave up 2 guys who were big league ready. Then again, he also won the World Series…
    - http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.
      
      …no thanks to Gagne though.
      - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
        
        Hey, he did have a 0.00 ERA in the World Series!
- Count Zero
  
  To this day, I still can’t figure out how he got Philly to bite on that one…
  - Rob
    
    I very certain it was an example of no one else wanted to take on his salary. It was a dump through and through. Reports were that the Sox for instance were willing to give a similar package as the Yanks but wanted to get salary relief as well.
Andrew

Many said it would take Hughes to get Abreu. Don’t be surprised, if Santana is indeed traded this offseason, if the Twins don’t get as much of a haul as everyone is expecting.
- pettitte’s stare
  
  I agree with Andrew. Teams are learning to hold onto their good young players more. Basic supply and demand would suggest that teams selling are going to have to expect less for their product. But to be honest I feel like this also hurts the Yankees some as it increases the amount of teams that will be willing to make this trade. Maybe it only takes one A prospect and a few lesser, rather then two A prospects. More teams will be willing to gamble one great prospect for a current stud. Since the Twins didn’t keep Hunter I definitely think that Santana has to go and start the real rebuilding era. The twins wont be competitive this year and so need to get whatever they can for Santana.
brxbmrs

“considering what else is out there”

That’s the key phrase – maybe Abreu gets motivated in his walk year and comes into ST in shape and stays healthy, but overall, he’s a pretty soft player ( I know you guys vehemently disagree), especially when you consider his D. As for his 101 RBI’s last year, w\o A-Rod behind him shave about 20 off that.

Woulda had to pay him 2 mil to walk, so he cost the Yanks an additional 14 mil.

Yanks need to overhaul that of as well – lots of holes – 1st, 3rd, the corners in the of and that’s assuming Mo and Jorge come back.
Jamal G.

I heard an interesting point on Mike & The Mad Dog today about a possible Santana deal. The new stadium will be publicly financed so the Twins will not be so eager to deal Santana as to not piss of any of the politicians there. Its sad to here that politics will have an effect on a baseball decision but it makes sense and I would have to agree with that viewpoint. MMD also stated that the Twins are about to or already in the early stages of working on a contract extension.

As to Theo Epstein, Im really surprised that he gets the credit he does. He’s made some terrible moves recently. The Gagne deal, the Johnny Damon/Coco Crisp swap, the fact that not only did he have nothing to do with the Beckett/Lowell deal (he was on his little hiatus when that deal with FLA was struck) but he blasted it when he returned, the JD Drew signing, trading away Bronson Arroyo who was a good SP for Willy Mo Pena who never got any playing time then shipping him off one year later, the Julio Lugo signing, and the fact that they’ve had five shortstops in the past 4 full seasons.
- zack
  
  That, jamal, is what winning the WS will do for you. Just remember, had the Yanks won that game 4 in 2003, Theo would almost certainly been fired then. He has benefited from his team being resilient and, most significantly, from the trade he didn’t do really working out for him…
  - http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.
    
    the DiceK signing aint so great either. and Ortiz was nothing more than a decent #5 hitter before hitting Fenway. sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
davi

are you saying that abreu’s your boyfriend? I really like Bobby, he is underrated offensively, and i don’t think he’s that bad defensively. However when he was came to NY, he said that in Philly he was put under a lot of pressure because he was their ‘slugger.’ with arod gone, i think the yankees will put slightly more pressure on him. Yes he is Mr. Consistency , but if he has a similar start to this season as last season, hopefully Girardi won’t go bananas on him, Abreu seems a bit sensitive.