http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9578889
Weekend Buzz: Abreu trade pressures other contenders
July 30, 2006
By Scott Miller
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
The Weekend Buzz while you were waiting for chemists to swap Floyd Landis'
urine sample A for urine sample B (and you thought late July meant the only
trades being made were in baseball). ...
1. Yankees acquire outfielder Bobby Abreu and pitcher Cory Lidle from
Philadelphia: Three notable things about this deal:
The Yankees did what they do best -- they whipped out their checkbook to
complete the trade for a player whose 15 minute of fame passed quickly after he
belted all kinds of obviously juiced baseballs to win last summer's home run
derby. Few other clubs had serious interest in Abreu, mostly because of his
outrageous $15 million salary in 2007 is totally out of balance with his meager
14 home runs in 604 at-bats since the '05 All-Star break.
Abreu's presence likely means farewell for Gary Sheffield next season -- the
Yankees hold a $13 million option on him that they can decline, and they've
already got Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and, now, Abreu, in the outfield. Sheff
will be worth watching very closely if he returns from his wrist injury in
September because he will not take that well. One person who knows him well
already predicted Sunday that he will pop off and rip the Yankees within the
next couple of days.
The additions of Abreu and Lidle significantly ratchet up the pressure on
Boston to add someone like Tampa Bay shortstop Julio Lugo, and a starting
pitcher like Philadelphia's Jon Lieber.
"The Yankees only deal for the present," New York skipper Joe Torre declared. "
Certain players will certainly be able to help us in the future. But we made
this move for right now. We gave up some young players to be a part of the
future somewhere else."
That the Yankees agreed to absorb all of the dough owed Abreu this year and
next -- roughly $19 million -- has, as usual, offended many throughout the game
who get sick and tired of fighting New York's unmatched largesse. But Torre is
dead-on accurate that in Steinbrenner's world, you only deal in the present.
You might hate the Yankees, but admit it: Don't you wish your owner was as
maniacal to win as Steinbrenner is?
"We're pleased to have Bobby because we know he is an established player who
will be a regular in the middle of the lineup. Righty, lefty, it doesn't matter
. He's a force, as far as I'm concerned."
Though Abreu's power has declined significantly, he works the count and gets on
base (.427 this season; .412 career), which undoubtedly already has broadcaster
John Sterling and other Yankee cheerleaders wetting their pants with glee.
Few teams are even in a financial position to spend roughly $19 million on
Abreu for this year and next.
And of the handful that can, it would be stupid for most of them to spend that
kind of dough on a guy who has a whole eight home runs this season.
But the Yankees can spend $15 million on a glorified leadoff man who rarely
homers -- though he does lead the majors with 91 walks.
And by spending the dough, it allows them to keep key young players such as
second baseman Robinson Cano and outfielder Melky Cabrera and minor league
prospects Phil Hughes (pitcher) and Jose Tabata (outfielder).
"He's a solid .300 hitter," one scout who watches the AL East regularly said of
Abreu. "His power seems to have gone down since the home run derby, but he's a
solid hitter, he can steal bases and he can throw."
At the very least, Abreu will help make up for the prolonged absences of
Sheffield and Matsui (who isn't expected back until late August or September
following surgery on his left wrist). And at the very least, Lidle, 8-7 with a
4.74 ERA, adds depth to help Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang.
Now, it's clear what the Yankees must do next.
They must take out their checkbook again and buy out all of Alex Rodriguez's
insecurity. Just write a check, take possession of it and then sit back and
watch a relaxed A-Rod take off.
Now that would be a trade deadline move that would be guaranteed to succeed.
2. Boston's answer is: You know there will be one, but it might take until
Monday's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline to see what it is. GM Theo Epstein is no
stranger to 11th-hour deals -- remember, he traded Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 in
the four-team deal that netted him shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman
Doug Mientkiewicz, which came in the final five minutes before the deadline.
"You know what, (Abreu) is an impact player," Red Sox manager Terry Francona
told Boston reporters before Sunday night's game with another team out shop-
ping, the Angels. "My hope is he stinks. My concern is that he goes over there
for a couple of months and he might be one of the best players in baseball."
"I think he has that in him. He's a good player."
While Epstein has gone further underground than a deep sea diver, the words "
Red" and "Sox" are appearing in a whole lot of trade chatter. The Sox remain
players in talks surrounding Lugo, Lieber and Colorado first base prospect Ryan
Shealy.
Meanwhile, one rumor making its way around the scouts' circle was word of one
wild four-team deal involving Boston, Tampa Bay, Colorado and San Diego in
which Padres setup man Scott Linebrink would wind up in Boston. Padres general
manager Kevin Towers, though, has been adamant over the past five days about
keeping his bullpen together.
The Red Sox appear to be dangling center fielder Coco Crisp, third baseman Mike
Lowell and outfielders Trot Nixon and Willy Mo Pena as bait. They have received
inquiries regarding first baseman Kevin Youkilis (.401 on-base percentage) but
appear intent on keeping him, and his versatility is key: He moved to first
from third base and, depending on what the Red Sox acquire, Youkilis can play
either position.
The only thing guaranteed here is that the Red Sox are walking in dangerous
territory if they stand pat: Even with Sheffield and Matsui missing a huge
chunk of the year for the Yankees, first-place Boston only holds a 1/2- game
lead after play on Sunday.
3. Alfonso Soriano: Houston spent another day Sunday working to acquire an
impact hitter, and the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers continue to
push, too, as do the Minnesota Twins. It's all in Nationals general manager Jim
Bowden's hands now, and you can expect it to push the deadline before it's
decided.
4. Miguel Tejada: If Baltimore truly did decline an Angels package that in-
cluded right-hander Ervin Santana and shortstop prospect Erick Aybar, then the
Orioles are dreaming.
And if they convince Houston to include right-handed pitching prospect Jason
Hirsh into the deal the Astros are offering that already includes third baseman
Morgan Ensberg and shortstop Adam Everett, and if they don't take that, then
they're hopeless.
As one baseball official observed Sunday, "I don't think Baltimore can organize
a one-car funeral."
Oh, and as for the rumors that Texas is involved and offering a package includ-
ing third baseman Hank Blalock, one source close to the Rangers says the
Rangers' interest has been overblown.
5. Greg Maddux: It remains far from a slam dunk that the Cubs will wind up
moving him. General manager Jim Hendry has been asking for two players in
return, one of whom is either a major leaguer now or has major league experi-
ence, and one prospect. The Dodgers and San Diego continue to monitor Maddux's
status and show interest, but both are hesitant to overpay based simply on a
marquee name. And Maddux is such a presence and legend that Hendry is not over-
ly excited about trading him unless he feels he's
getting quality in return.
One situation to watch: The Padres placed right-hander Chan Ho Park on the dis-
abled list with abdominal pains Sunday, and one source close to the team indi-
cated that Park was being treated for bleeding ulcers. If the club thinks he
will miss significant time, the Padres might be forced to step up their efforts
to acquire another starter.
6. Hall of Fame induction: Bruce Sutter? It's about time. The seventeen players
and executives from baseball's segregated past -- all deceased -- including
Effa Manley, the first woman to be inducted? Here's where it gets sticky. Over-
looking Buck O'Neill, a tremendous Negro League player, manager and scout --
not to mention every bit as great an ambassador for the game as Tommy Lasorda
or anybody else -- is a horrendous oversight. And the committee that worked
last winter on selecting links to the old Negro League should be very embar-
rassed.
7. Bruce Sutter, redux: One more word about Sutter's Hall of Fame day while
watching old footage. His statistics are terrific, but the most impressive
thing about him was how he was able to pitch so well and stack up those numbers
while often pitching against a Pirates club wearing those old bumblebee uni-
forms.
8. Chase Utley's 31-game hitting streak: Utley at 31, Jimmy Rollins' 38-gamer
last year that carried over into this year ... if the Phillies were as adept at
winning as they are at compiling hitting streaks, then they wouldn't be strip-
ping their team right now.
9. Tigers and Twins: After losing Francisco Liriano's start Friday, Minnesota
couldn't afford to lose Johan Santana's start Sunday. And the Twins didn't. And
now the Twins and Tigers hook up again next Monday-Wednesday for three more in
Detroit.
10. Mets sweep Atlanta: Ouch! It was the Mets' first sweep of at least three
games in Atlanta in 21 years. Or, since John Smoltz started growing his beard.
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