Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Bobby Abreu

Yanks Should Thank Burnett for Vetoing LA Deal

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

According to a tweet the other night by Buster Olney, the Philadelphia Phillies attempted to trade pitcher Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles Angels for OF/DH Bobby Abreu, then planned to flip Abreu to the New York Yankees for A.J. Burnett.  My first thought was how much cash would the Phillies have wanted the Yankees […]

Bobby Abreu HOF Debate, Jason Bay is an Expensive Scott Hairston, Rivera Panic, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, ESPN Can’t Beat a Vacant Chair

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Bobby Abreu beat his old teammates last night with two homers, including a ninth inning shot off the great Mariano Rivera. We will get to Rivera’s recent struggles later on, but this hit was ironic since Abreu was the topic of a Hall of Fame debate with the beat writers on Twitter. Back in 2009 I wrote this […]

Is it Time to Change the Trade Deadline?

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Imagine of the trade deadline was the original June 15th? Amazing that Tom Seaver was dealt “at the deadline,” where today that date wouldn’t even signal the end of the NBA Finals. Baseball recognized that date needed to change and made it the 31st of July. Now that we are in the Wild Card era, […]

Damon Would Be Wise to Accept Yanks Latest Offer

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

In a not so surprising turn of events, Jon Heyman of SI reports that Johnny Damon would have the weekend to take a low deal with the Yankees (around $5 million base). If he declines, the Yanks will sign one from the group of Reed Johnson, Xavier Nady, Randy Winn, Jim Edmonds, and Jermaine Dye. […]

Random Thoughts: HOF, Johnny Damon, Mets Above Avg.

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

- I think the reason New Yorkers are down on the Mets’ chances for the 2010 season have much to do with making comparisons to the Yankees.  For the Yankees, a “fix” might involve some minor tweaking (upgrading from Brett Gardner in left field or getting some quality insurance at catcher for an aging Posada).  […]

Rumor: “Small Opening” for Damon Return

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Earlier today there was speculation about whether the Yankees still are interested in bringing Johnny Damon back to play leftfield. After all, he is sitting out there with a seemingly dried up market that even the great Scott Boras can’t overcome. It sounded like the answer is “no” by the conversation Chad Jennings had with […]

Damon Should Seek Abreu Type Deal

Monday, December 14th, 2009

I hope Johnny Damon is not surprised by the fact he has yet to receive an offer from the Yankees. There are rumblings that Damon may be seeking as much as a 4 year $52 million dollar deal. Scott Boras is a great salesman, but he deserves to be canonized in the Baseball Hall of […]

Yanks Win the Pennant

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Final Score Yankees 5, Anaheim 2 7 wins down, 4 more to go for “Girardi’s Minions.” It was a night of exaltation and jubilation at the “New House.” The Yankees finally got the “Rally Monkey” off their backs, defeating the Angels 5-2 to secure the franchises 40th American League Pennant. It was another vintage performance […]

Game Two Had a Little of Everything

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Thoughts on the Game - Coming into the series I predicted the Yankees would win it in six. Brian Fuentes, the long ball, and better starting pitching were the crux of my analysis. Last night we saw all three on display in full force. - Anaheim needs to win close one run games to pull […]

ALCS Game 1 Roundup

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Final Score Yankees 4, Anaheim 1 4 wins down, 7 more to go for “Girardi’s Minions.” It was a great night for the Yankees last night at the “New House,” as they opened up the ALCS with a 4-1 win over their arch nemesis. CC Sabathia was just superb, allowing just 4 hits in 8 […]

Abreu Vs. Hall of Famers

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Both Mike Silva and Rob Neyer raise interesting points about Bobby Abreu’s Hall of Fame candidacy. As Mike points out, Abreu consistently topped a 120 OPS+, and his career OPS+ is 132. Meanwhile, Neyer correctly asserts that Abreu never finished higher than 14th in MVP voting. Such a lack of regard usually means one thing: […]

Revisiting Bobby Abreu and HOF- Again

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

One of the names that may be a key to the Yankees/Anaheim ALCS is none other than Bobby Abreu. He continues to quietly rack up productive seasons. Maligned in Philadelphia for his “passionless” play, Abreu’s career seemed to be headed downward when he was traded in July of 2006. Many, including me, thought he might […]

Mets Must Say No to Yankee Free Agents

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Over the last week we have heard rumblings about the Mets possibly having interest in Johnny Damon and today Newsday’s Dave Lennon speculates about Hideki Matsui in Flushing. Regardless of their offensive production Omar Minaya should say “no thanks” to each of these individuals. Both Damon and Matsui would be fine acquisitions for a team […]

Were the Homers at Yankee Stadium Overblown?

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

What happened to all the homers at Yankee Stadium? Anthony McCarron asks this question in today’s Daily News. Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long believes opposing pitchers have learned to not throw inside to left handed hitters. Sounds strange when everyone preaches how pitchers need to “come in” to a hitter. The difference at the Stadium […]

Johnny Damon and the Hall of Fame

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Is Johnny Damon a Hall of Famer? Josh of Jorge Says No discussed the possibility. Damon, despite the recent injury, is on pace this season to set a personal best for home runs and RBI’s at the age of 35. Recently he has talked about playing another 3-4 years which should easily allow him to […]