Abreu Hopes To Re-Sign With Yankees

Unless they plan on playing Nady at 1B, there's little reason to sign him. There are better ways to spend money, the Nady trade signified the end of Abreu in New York.

Talk about a pipe dream, even for a Yanks fan. yawn

"Talk about a pipe dream, even for a Yanks fan."

Please explain. I know it won't happen but there is no reason why it shouldn't.

Abreu 3 years/33-36 million seems fair. He's still fast, still has a solid arm, and he plays a corner outfield position. I can't see tremendous regression at 37 compared to 34 when you consider those factors. This isn't Damon who started with a mediocre arm and plays center field.

Also,
Nady may be there, but Cabrera is a ? at this point with regression this season and Damon and Matsui are both gone in 2010. Even if Austin Jackson and Nady played left and center, who plays right? Tabata is gone, nobody is a can't miss outfielder in the system. I'd take Abreu over the chance Gardner turns into an OBP machine.

I think you offer Pettitte his usual one year deal, and Mussina a year with a club option for the second year. Wang should be healthy, Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy, Pettitte, Mussina couldn't possibly be as bad or as injured as this season.

The ONLY thing we're good with for next year is the bullpen. Rivera, Joba (back where he belongs) Robertson, Marte, Veras, Ramirez, Melancon, H Sanchez, etc. TONS of potential there. Could be the best in MLB.

The rotation? Needs a MAJOR overhaul. Wang and ??? Say goodbye to Moose. Andy is cool on a one year. Almost HAVE to grab 2-3 pitchers either thru trade or free agency. Maybe sign CC and Sheets and package Melky and Kenndy for another starter.

Positions? Nady at 1B, Cano, Jeets and ARod. Damon, Jackson and Abreu (2x24) in the outfield. DH? Depends on if they can trade Matsui or not. If they can and Pudge agrees to stay on a 1 year, maybe DH Jorge? His arm won't be 100% till at least August of next year anyway.

With the payroll coming off the books, the increase in revenue from the new park and farm arms to trade, this is a make-or-break offseason for the Yankees for the next decade.

As a Yankee Fan, I say only bring Abreu back if you have little faith in Matsui's ability to play the outfield or you think Melky Cabrera's offensive struggles will continue into next season.

I personally think this Melky is not the Melky we have seen in the past. But, I'm going to go ahead and admit that I could be wrong and he could turn into a 4th outfielder.

That being said, these are the deals I would make:

Sign CC Sabathia to whatever he asks for, resign Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte to one year deals, resign Pudge Rodriguez, and sign Ben Sheets if neither Kennedy or Hughes have decent returns for the rest of the season.

That leaves us with this team (Assuming you have faith in Matsui, Melky, and Hughes/Kennedy:

1B - Johnny Damon (Yes, he is capable of playing first base)
SS - Derek Jeter
2B - Robinson Cano
3B - Alex Rodriguez
RF - Hideki Matsui
DH -Jorge Posada (I honestly don't see him behind the plate again full-time)
C - Pudge Rodriguez
LF - Xavier Nady
CF - Melky Cabrera

SP1 - Chien-Ming Wang (He has earned the nod as the Ace)
SP2 - CC Sabathia
SP3 - Joba Chamberlain
SP4 - Andy Pettitte
SP5 - Mike Mussina
SP6 - Phil Hughes (In the event that Pettitte or Moose struggles)

CL - Mariano Rivera
SU - David Robertson

I think that is a very good ball club, maybe it's just me. Brett Gardner would be my fourth outfielder, he might push Melky out of center field, but I don't like his chances unless we totally have lost faith in the Melk-Man. A lot of people want to see Teixeira, Sheets, Dun and the works, but I don't think we need them. When this is healthy, you are going to see them win a heck of a lot more than you'll see them lose.

We struggled a ton in the first half with injuries to everybody under the sun, you can't be productive with those kind of circumstances.

Matt - I agree about Jorge. His arm will not be 100% until July or August...so if Pudge plays well, it's entirely possible that he might not be a rental. Of course, his asking price wuld have to only be a year or two.

I don't think we'll ever see Joba in the rotation again. This half-injury is clearly a warning. Keep him in the pen to set-up for Mo and take over as closer when he retires.

I doubt if Moose will be back. Let's count our blessings for this year and get younger. Andy will come back for one year because he wants to pitch in the new park and is only 36.

Damon will absolutely NOT be playing 1B. If anyone will be there from this team, it will be Nady or Jorge...more likely Nady where he has much experience playing there.

What the Yankees need to do is stockpile starting pitching. That is how we won all of those World Series games...that is why the Angels are so good right now. I fully expect the Yankees to go after CC with everything they have. Maybe Sheets as well. Kennedy or Hughes may be paired with Melky to bring in a third stud starter. Pitching wins and Cashman has learned his lesson that throwing Rasner and Ponson out there won't cut it!

Andy already said SEVERAL times he'd like to play in the new stadium.

"Or to sign Damon for four years? Or to sign Giambi for SEVEN years?"

Um, both those deals made absolute sense at the time.

"The promise of winning, not trying to be rude, has no value in the Bronx because they haven't won in almost a decade AND no other team has spent 70% of what the Yankees do in any of those years"

I swore I wouldn't answer the Village Idiot again because he is clearly the most bored and clueless baseball "fan" on the net....but I will say my last peace and then split for the night.

The Yankees have been in 6 of the last 12 World Series and have won 4 of them. They have been to 13 STRAIGHT playoffs and are the winningist franchise in pro sports history. They are moving into a brand new park and have the greatest history and tradition of ANY team. In addition they have an exciting young base in the minors to build from. The Yankees will ALWAYS have the allure of winning and you'd have to be brain dead to even suggest otherwise.

There is not ONE person on here that appreciates your long 70 paragraph diatribes, your useless stats or your ridiculous opinions. You know absolutely NOTHING about the Yankees and even less about baseball in general. Several M's fans said you got booted off of your OWN board because even YOUR fans thought you were a moron. PLEASE do everyone a favor and find a new hobby or a new board. THE END.

Well, I personally wouldn't have traded Brett Gardner for Jarrod Washburn. I get what you're saying, but I personally doubt Washburn's abilities and thats the reason.

Joba may be in deep trouble. I'm just not going to jump the gun. Wang had a torn rotator cuff or something in 2005, and came back the same season, and well, we know that Wang became one of the elite players in the game.

Then again, Pavano breaks a nail, he's out of like 6 months. I just don't know what to think, but until I hear anything more about the situation, I'm going to assume Dr. Andrews is right and it's a short-term injury.

What have you done for me lately?

In my book you can't compare the Yankees history and success to other teams. Of course the Yankees have a ton of titles. It helps that they have been playing for 100 years. Doesn't hurt that they played for years in leagues where there were less than 20 teams.

How about lately? In playoff appearances they are solid. The Braves and Yankees have been extremely consistent for 12-15 years. Hard to argue against that.

Championships ... well that's another matter.

Great run between 96 and 2000. However, we are 8 years removed from that point. Expansion teams Diamondbacks and Marlins have rings since then. The Red Sox have 2 rings in the past 4 years. Even the former lowly Angels and White Sox have hardware newer than the Yanks.

Even more amazing is that the Yankees outspend everyone. In many cases it's a least a 2 to 1 ratio. In some cases it's much, much more slanted.

So, if you will forgive all of us non-Yankee lovers for not fawning over the boys in the Bronx it would be appreciated. I certainly respect the Yankees and their rich heritage. I just take umbrage with the assumption that players looking for a ring will flock to NY. Baseball does exist outside of NY.

LOL, Baseball'Guru' still at it. I love the 'OMG, CAREER ENDING INJURY' Joba talk.

He has rotator cuff tendinitis. Tendinitis is not career threatening. Good thing it was caught early, as it could cause mechanics changes (which could cause bad things to happen).

:shrug:

"For instance... He sent Pudge to Detroit, to win championships?! No, because he couldn't dump any of his other big name clients there that year."

No, because they offered the most money and an everyday job. Scott Boras isnt some big business with extensive supply limited by market capitalization. He has a limited number of players to work with. If there is a demand from a team where he has placed other clients, if that team pays the best Boras will put the player there. There should be no conspiracy theory behind his actions. Simply put, the way he works is signing his clients to the team that offers the most money.

Oh, I forgot the Village Idiot's latest and greatest idea!

Igawa 12-5 3.39 at AAA

Jackson - .294/.367 9hr 61rbi 15sb at AA (one of the Yankees best prospects and most like the starting CF next year)

De La Rosa 7-3 2.29 90inn only 60 hits 110k's

FOR

Washburn - 5-11 4.76 .292baa turns 34 next week and will make 10 MILL next year

Gee....sounds like a fair trade to me too...if I live in Fairytaleland! LOL!!!! Like I said guys, he's beyond clueless.

I didn't read all fifty comments that preceded mine, but I'm hoping someone mentioned Abreu's been the worst fielder in the majors this year, costing the Yankees over 20 runs compared to the average right fielder. Nady is in RF come 2008, and Giambi and Matsui are both better hitters to take DH at-bats.

For anyone who wonders why Guru is treated as such, I recommend clicking the Mariners Rumors link and reading some of the comments in there. Hes got a long record of lashing out at people for disagreeing both when provoked and unprovoked.

"He throws basically 4 mph faster and he's a soft tosser for all intent and purposes... "

If that is even accurate, that site has Wang ranked 14th for fastball velocity. I guess that that would make 90% of the pitchers in the league soft tossers...

"but I know better"

This mentality is why you are an idiot. You have no idea beyond how good the mariners are on your xbox in easymode. Stop thinking you know better since you are probably the stupidest poster on these boards.

This off-season the Yankees need to only sign 2 fielding players: Bobby Abreu for RF and Mark Texiera or someone else at 1B. Besides that, Mr.Steinbrenner needs to empty out his wallet on pitching. The Yanks have to go after 1 or 2 maybe 3 starters and 1 or 2 releivers. They should go out and get CC Sabbathia for a 4 or 5 year deal at about 20 million yearly. Then they need to either go after Ben Sheets or A.J Burnett. After they hopefully sign one of them give Mr.Pettitte his regular 1 year deal. A starting rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, CC Sabbathia, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain and either Mr. Burnett or Mr. Sheets would be incredible. You got Wang and CC easily capable of 20+ wins a season. And the rest highly capable of reaching the high teens or low 20's. After the starting rotation is done the Yankees should go after and sign Damaso Marte. After him maybe the Yanks can bring up a minor league prospect or sign someone else.

During the offseason if the Yankees focus on getting good pitchers they could win the AL East in 2009.