So we’ve got a game at 10 p.m. on a Friday night. Let’s while away the hours debating the 2009 Yankees. And as an added bonus, we’ve even got a rare RAB poll.

When the season draws to a close in a few months and the Yanks’ Front Office begins the process of reconstructing a roster for 2009, the folks in Baseball Ops will have a few decisions to make. Two of the tougher choices facing the Yanks this year will come internally and involve two of their more productive but older players: Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi.

In one corner, we have Abreu, the Yanks’ right fielder. On the season, Abreu is hitting .291/.363/.474 with 15 home runs and a team-leading 76 RBIs. While still good, his triple-slash numbers are well off from his career norms of .300/.400/.500, and at 34, Abreu is definitely past his offensive prime. In the outfield, his defense is merely okay. He has a stellar arm, but throwing accuracy has always been an issue for him. He isn’t the quickest guy in right, and his range has never been a plus baseball trait.

For the Yanks, Abreu represents a dilemma. Bobby wants to stick around, and he would be a good guy for the Yanks’ outfield. There is, however, a but. Right now, the Yanks are waiting for Austin Jackson to land in the Bronx. With an ETA of 2010, the Yanks don’t really need to sign an aging and declining player like Abreu to a deal longer than one or two years. Abreu will probably want a three- or four-year deal monetarily in line with what Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon have.

Meanwhile, the Yanks should have a glut of outfielders next year. For better or worse, Melky will probably still be around; Damon and Matsui — who should be healthy — are under contract; and Xavier Nady will play a role on the 2009 Yankees as well. Does Bobby Abreu fit in or do the Yanks say, “Thanks, but we’d rather have the draft picks”?

In the other corner, we have Jason Giambi. His situation is a bit more delicate. Similar to Abreu, Giambi has expressed a desire to stay in New York, and the Yankees are holding a $20-million option or a $5-million buyout on the Giambino’s deal. On the season, Jason is hitting .256/.391/.518 with 22 HR and 65 RBI. He seems to run hot and cold, and while he had a great series in Texas, he had been scuffling of late.

The Giambi decision is a bit more nuanced than the Abreu situation. First up is the option that the Yanks won’t pick up. If the Yanks cut Giambi and he signs somewhere else, the team will have, in effect, paid him $5 million to play against them, and the Yanks have never been too keen on that approach. Next up is age. Giambi, while healthy this year, will play his age 38 season in 2009 and doesn’t figure to be around for too long. The Yanks need to get younger, and they need a first baseman. Mark Teixeira looks awfully appealing.

So what do you do with Jason Giambi? Should the Yanks pay him to play elsewhere? Should they re-sign him to split time at first base and DH again? While Chuck Johnson recently penned a piece for the YES Network’s site calling for the Yanks to dump Giambi, I don’t think there’s an obvious answer to this one. It’s far, far easier to make the case against Abreu than it is to advocate for or against Giambi.

As always with these open threads, play nice in the comments and vote in the poll below. At this point, I’m voting for Jason Giambi but not Abreu. Number 53 still has a chance to change my mind though.

In the fourth inning of the Yankees-Twins game on June 1, Bobby Abreu lined a ball off Nathan Blackburn’s face. Blackburn left the game but ended up being OK. Since then, however, Bobby Abreu has struggled. He was 0 for 1in his final at-bat of the day, and since June 2, he’s hitting .189/.241/.284 over 79 plate appearances. He’s struck out just nine times. So perhaps he’s just been unlucky. It’s scary to see a pitcher get knocked out by a ball, and it could be impacting the Yanks’ number three hitter.

Via PeteAbe comes the news that two more Yankees have lent their visages to Longball Cellars line of Charity Wines. Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada are the latest two to have their faces immortalized in wine.

Abreu’s Finest is a 2006 Merlot from California. Money from the sale of this wines to the Police Athletic League, the charity of New York’s Finest. The Jorge Cabernet supports The Jorge Posada Foundation.

Also in this latest release is a Schilling Schardonnay. This is an over-the-hill bottle of wine that was once good but now just sits around pretending to be the be-all and end-all of baseball wines.

Is it just me, or has the first few days of Spring Training set the expectations for the Yankees rather high? Sure, many of us can see through the media spin on the events of the past week or so. But even at that point, we’re seeing players do things, rather than just saying them. It’s a careful balance that the Yankees have executed perfectly so far. And I have to say, it has me more excited about this season than I have been in any year I can remember — though I’m fairly certain I say that every year.

First, we heard about the pitchers who showed up early. Joba, Phil, and IPK in particular were there before they required to, which is always reassuring. We also heard about Shelley Duncan showing up to work on his first base skills with Tino Martinez. And, Cap’n Jetes was there early, too. But he resides in Tampa, so it only makes sense for him to be around.

Then we heard about Brian Bruney losing weight. Good news, for sure. If anything, it shows that he’s at least a bit motivated. It’s certainly better than him showing up in the same physical shape as last year, and spouting off lines about his determination to make the team. PeteAbe also noted that Mike Mussina checked in lighter, which spoke to his off-season conditioning. We also heard about Kyle Farnsworth being less bulky, but then it was revealed that he dealt with a rather nasty staph infection last month.

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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.

In our younger and more vulnerable days, we were not too kind to Bobby Abreu. Now, despite our early trangressions, we did apologize to Mr. Abreu in June. Let’s take a look at where things ended up with the presumptive 2008 right fielder this year.

During today’s game, as he hustled down the line early on, Bobby Abreu beat out a potential double play ball to secure his 100th RBI of the season. Abreu would later walk to drive in run number 101 on the season, thus completing a remarkable turnaround. Abreu ended the season with a whopping 123 runs scored, 40 doubles, 16 HR, 101 RBI and a batting line of .283/.369/.445. While those rate stats aren’t in line with his career numbers, those are some impressive counting stats.

Now, let’s jump back in time a bit to see how Abreu got there. The journey makes his final number seem all the better. At the end of May in Toronto, Joe Torre opted to bench Bobby Abreu. The former All Star was hitting .228/.313/.289 and needed to refocus. Whatever happened that day sure did work. Over the next 106 games (not yet counting Sunday’s), Abreu hit at a pace even with his career line. He turned in a .312/.397/.525 line with 34 doubles, 14 home runs and 77 RBIs.

That’s some turn around. Not coincidentally, Abreu’s turnaround came with the Yankees’ turnaround. It’s really that simple. When Abreu hits, pitchers have to face Jeter-Abreu-Rodriguez in the heart of a fearsome order. There’s no letting up, and Abreu, in effect, put up MVP numbers for the reason of the season. Furthermore, had Abreu avoided his early season slump, I bet the Yanks would have won the division.

To bolster that claim, let’s see what Abreu’s final line would have looked yet if we take those stellar 106 games and extend them over 162. He would have hit .312/.397/.525, significantly higher than his final 2007 numbers. He could have ended the year with 21 HR, 117 RBI (!) and 52 doubles. His numbers through 106 games also would have put him on pace to score 137 runs. If that’s not an MVP candidate, I don’t know what is.

With those extra runs and extra hitting, the Yanks would have been able to win two games — any two games really — during their 21-29 stretch. We can blame the Devil Rays all we want, but the truth is that the Yankees did themselves in with a slow start, injuries and poor pitching.

Now, let’s jump ahead to this week. On Thursday, the numbers are all reset to 0 — or is that .000/.000/.000? When Johnny Damon digs in against C.C. Sabathia on Thursday, we’ll have to hope that Bobby Abreu can help lead the Yanks to 11 more victories this year. In May, I wouldn’t have believed it, but after the last 107 games, I think he can.

To exercise or not to exercise. That is the Yankees’ question. And with regards to Bobby Abreu, it looks like the Yanks are going to exercise.

Bobby Abreu has had one roller coaster ride of a season. One of the main culprits behind the Yankees’ early-season struggles, Abreu really turned it around this season to become a steady number three hitter in the Yanks’ potent lineup.

Through April and May, Abreu was awful. In over 200 plate appearances, he was hitting .228 with a measly .313 OBP and a wimpy .289 slugging percentage. He had 2 HR, 22 RBI and 42 strike outs, and we were writing him off left and right.

Well, one apology and three-and-a-half months later, Abreu has turned in one hell of a season. Since June 1, Abreu has around 400 plate appearances. He’s hit .320/.398/.548 in that span with 14 HR, 27 2B and 72 RBI. When Abreu broke out of his two-month slump, the Yanks started winning. His turnaround was just as responsible for the Yanks’ playoff push as his struggles were for their terrible start.

Now, comes the word on the street via MLB Trade Rumors that the Yanks plan on picking up Abreu’s 2008 option. As Tyler Kepner and Buster Olney both noted yesterday, it’s almost a definite certainty that Abreu will remain with the Yanks in 2008.

I personally like this move. The Yanks have recognized that the 2007-2008 free agent class of outfielders isn’t a particularly deep one. They see that Abreu’s .300/.400/.500 line from June 1 on is more indicative of his perfromance that his .200/.300/.300 line from April and May, and they know they would be hard-pressed to replace Abreu’s production. With Alex Rodriguez’s future in pinstripes fairly uncertain, keeping Abreu’s bat around is a must.

There’s a reason why Gary Sheffield has been on 7 teams in his borderline Hall of Fame career. This is it.

Just shut the fuck up already Sheff, no one’s listening, and no one gives a shit about what you have to say.

It’s tough to find past evidence to support my Abreu claim, because he has been so damn consistent over his career. His OPB has always been good, and his batting average doesn’t fluctuate too much — except when he’s hitting like .350 and is coming back to earth. This may be a more recent development. Supporting that are a few instances in the past few years.

April 13, 2005
Pitcher faced: Dontrelle Willis
Went 8 for his next 41 (.195) with 10 walks and 0 extra base hits.

September 17, 2005
Pitcher faced: Dontrelle Willis
Went 6 for the rest of the season (45 at bats, .133 BA) with 9 walks and two doubles.

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Dear Mr. Abreu,

I owe you one big apology, and this afternoon, you made me feel even worse. I sat in the Tier Reserve this afternoon as you went 4 for 4 with a triple, double, two singles, a walk, four runs scored, three RBIs and a stolen base. While A-Rod hitting behind you may have belted two monstrous home runs, you were my vote for YES Network’s Player of the Game.

You’re also showing me the lesson of sample size. In May, you were terrible. In fact, it was the worst month of your excellent Major League career. You hit .208 with a .267 and a .274 slugging. We thought that maybe you, with your career .300/.400/.500 line, may be on the decline. Your bad fielding in Boston capped things off.

At the end of May, you were hitting .228/.313/.289 at were benched in Toronto because you clearly needed a day off. Well, let me just needed a new slate, a day off, a new calendar month. Because, wow, have you delivered.

In June, Bobby, you’re hitting the cover off of the ball. In 10 games, you have 38 at bats and 19 hits. You have walked in every game but one and have 10 base-on-balls for the month. Eight of your 19 hits are extra bases. So you’re offensive line for the mont is .500/.604/.789.

You’ve raised your total line this season to .272/.364/.370. That’s quite a raise in 10 games.

So I’m sorry, Bobby. I’m sorry I doubted you. Welcome back. This team, once left for dead but now 9.5 games behind Boston and in fourth place in the Wild Card, needs you. Go, Bobby.