why didn't the yankees offer abreu arbitration? good for us should we land him

 

btw abreu hits lefties pretty well....292/.370/.432 over the last three years

Edited February 3, 200917 yr by daa84

Anyone hear anything on the radio?

Alexei in the #2 spot = ~750 PA

Alexei in the #6 spot = ~680 PA

Alexei in the #9 spot = ~620 PA

 

Is it really worth limiting his PAs like this because he got hot for 100 PA in the 9th spot last season?

Good point. But, having him 9th with Abreu leading off does give Lexi better pitches to hit, probably.

 

Same could be said for Fields though, who could hit 9th, and you could hit Lexi 7th (with AJ and Fields behind him).

 

A few months ago I made a comment that Abreu may be the guy the Sox bring in. It seems KW has liked him in the past.

 

The foresight you have sir.

I heard this rumor is BS.

Is it really worth limiting his PAs like this because he got hot for 100 PA in the 9th spot last season?

 

No. Absolutely not.

 

Sorry Rock. Just cause a guy excelled in his entry position to a MLB lineup, doesn't mean you keep him there. You put him where he'll get the AB's and RBI chances he deserves.

 

I like him at 2, 6 or 7.

 

Why exactly?

 

He hit .379 .408 .537 in the 9th spot last season in 30 games. He spent most of the season in the 7,8.9 spot if you remember with his best results coming in the 9 hole and second best out of the 8th spot. His OPS in the 9th spot was .945 which compares to the 8th: .882 7th: .697 He gets the benefit of having people on base in front of him and also adding some speed to the lineup as it turns over. He is a power/speed/RBI threat at the bottom of the order which is perfect IMO.

I think those stats are basically meaningless with a completely unknown guy in his rookie season. Just guessing here but I'm thinking Alexei batted ninth mostly in the 1st half of the year when pitchers didn't have a book on him yet. Maybe pitchers relax more with an unknown rookie batting 9th. Who really knows why some one hits better 9th rather than 7th or 8th. Could be he was facing better pitching when he batted 7th or 8th or just saw better pitches to hit when batting 9th. What holds true for 1 yr. doesn't necessarily hold true for the next year especially with a rookie. Not that him batting 9th is a terrible idea its just that I'd rather have him getting 4/5 AB's/game than 3/4.

Good point. But, having him 9th with Abreu leading off does give Lexi better pitches to hit, probably.

Most teams place a weak hitter in the #9 spot. Either a pitcher in the NL or a weak hitting batter in the AL.

 

I've ALWAYS felt you need a strong hitter in the #9 hole. It's a great way to turn over the line-up. A line-up isnt top to bottom, it's a circle.

why didn't the yankees didn't offer abreu arbitration? good for us should we land him

 

btw abreu hits lefties pretty well....292/.370/.432 over the last three years

Abreu made $15M last year so he would have gotten $15M-$16M in arbitration add the $2M buyout on top of that and they didn't feel it was worth the risk.

RF Abreu

2B Getz/Lillibridge

LF TCQ

DH Thome

1B Konerko

SS Alexei

C AJP

3B Fields

CF Owens/Anderson

 

That's really a pretty damn good lineup, all told.

 

Most teams place a weak hitter in the #9 spot. Either a pitcher in the NL or a weak hitting batter in the AL.

 

I've ALWAYS felt you need a strong hitter in the #9 hole. It's a great way to turn over the line-up. A line-up isnt top to bottom, it's a circle.

I feel the same way. I also like my 7,8,9 hitters to work a pitcher out and not be easy outs. The best way to get an opposing Pitcher in the groove is to give him a few easy outs in a row. Also, just about every other hitter in the lineup from 3 on down will have a better OBP than Alexei for the most part so I like them in front of him.

If we're going to spend 8 mil on a player for 1 year, I'd much rather it be Ben Sheets.

 

I agree with you there. However if this is a precursor to a move for a very good young arm or to fill other holes, I don't mind trying it.

RF Abreu

2B Getz/Lillibridge

LF TCQ

DH Thome

1B Konerko

SS Alexei

C AJP

3B Fields

CF Owens/Anderson

 

That's really a pretty damn good lineup, all told.

 

 

Put CQ in right, Abreu in left, left Getz and Lillibridge and Nix fight it out for the two spot and I'd even be down for that platoon in center.

rumor is bs and ozzie already laughed this one off

Put CQ in right, Abreu in left, left Getz and Lillibridge and Nix fight it out for the two spot and I'd even be down for that platoon in center.

OK, flip TCQ and Abreu's defensive positions. Either way, very good lineup. 9 hole is still a hole, but, with the first 8 that strong, its tolerable.

 

 

 

rumor is bs and ozzie already laughed this one off

I was told it was BS from someone who knows someone, but there are Ozzie quotes?

I feel the same way. I also like my 7,8,9 hitters to work a pitcher out and not be easy outs. The best way to get an opposing Pitcher in the groove is to give him a few easy outs in a row. Also, just about every other hitter in the lineup from 3 on down will have a better OBP than Alexei for the most part so I like them in front of him.

 

Hey Rock, is this deal gonna happen or are we getting ahead of ourselves? Levine (ESPN) reported it's not close and probably not gonna happen. Although, he's almost always wrong.

why didn't the yankees offer abreu arbitration? good for us should we land him

 

btw abreu hits lefties pretty well....292/.370/.432 over the last three years

Those #'s against lefties are dominated by the fact that he had a really good year against lefties in 2008 that was a statistical anomaly for his career (similar to Thome last year, for example). In 2008, he had an .865 OPS against lefties, .833 against righties. Alternatively, in 2007, he put up a .857 against righties and .678 against lefties. His career numbers are much more illustrative here; he's hit .308 against righties and .280 against lefties, but his slugging drops dramatically against LHP, .951 OPS against righties, .776 against lefties. His 2008 numbers were the anomaly and I'd be surprised if he repeated that; you should assume he's most effective as a righty-killer, so it'd be nice if we had another righty on the bench who could play the OF to give him time off against LHP (Anderson?)

Most teams place a weak hitter in the #9 spot. Either a pitcher in the NL or a weak hitting batter in the AL.

 

I've ALWAYS felt you need a strong hitter in the #9 hole. It's a great way to turn over the line-up. A line-up isnt top to bottom, it's a circle.

Except that "circle" ends with the #9 hitter receiving significantly fewer plate appearances than the rest of the lineup over a given season. Last year there was a 150 PA difference between the Sox leadoff hitter and #9 hitter.

Even if KW comes out and denies it, its not a garbage rumor. They've been in contact.

ahem. If it was Ozzie its the same thing.

Hey Rock, is this deal gonna happen or are we getting ahead of ourselves? Levine (ESPN) reported it's not close and probably not gonna happen. Although, he's almost always wrong.

I know there had been some contact with his agent and I mentioned it to a few other posters via PM awhile ago, but I have no idea on the specifics.

I know there had been some contact with his agent and I mentioned it to a few other posters via PM awhile ago, but I have no idea on the specifics.

 

 

Meaning they are close, Levine has no sources.

The only ways I see this is happening is the following:

 

1.) We are planning on trading one of Dye, Konerko, Thome (unlikely, but the most likely of all the scenarios I see)

2.) We plan on playing Abreu in CF (highly unlikely, maybe when he was younger)

3.) We plan on moving Konerko to 3B and Abreu/Dye to 1B (extremely unlikely considering how we signed Vicindi and with all the high praises for Fields)

 

Odds are that this is BS anyway.

The only ways I see this is happening is the following:

 

1.) We are planning on trading one of Dye, Konerko, Thome (unlikely, but the most likely of all the scenarios I see)

2.) We plan on playing Abreu in CF (highly unlikely, maybe when he was younger)

3.) We plan on moving Konerko to 3B and Abreu/Dye to 1B (extremely unlikely considering how we signed Vicindi and with all the high praises for Fields)

 

Odds are that this is BS anyway.

#2 and #3 are laughable and have zero chance of occurring IMO.

Lip, who works for suntimes on whitesoxinteractive, posted that ozzie laughed this one off and abreu looking for 2 yr deal.