[新聞] Yankees traded up ... and into postseason

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http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5834074
Yankees traded up ... and into postseason

洋基靠交易進入季後賽

Dayn Perry / FOXSports.com

Cry to the heavens about their revenue advantages, wail about their long-
standing habit of throwing money at their problems, shake your fist and curse
their hegemony. You'd certainly have valid points, and many would share your
anger.

However, this fact remains — no team did a better job of improving itself at
the deadline than the New York Yankees.

The trade that started it, of course, was the one that nabbed them Bobby Abreu
and Corey Lidle from Philadelphia in exchange for four raw, undistinguished
prospects. Then came the deal that sent the awful Shawn Chacon to Pittsburgh
for the eminently useful Craig Wilson. It's the former trade, however, that
will have the most impact. Abreu, of course, is the marquee name in the deal,
but landing the terminally undervalued two-time All-Star is only the beginning.

According to the buzz leading up to the deal, the Yankees were in the best
position to acquire Abreu because the right fielder had a no-trade clause and,
scuttle had it, he'd only agree to waive it if the acquiring team exercised his
$16-million option for 2008. The Yankees, of course, were one of the few teams
in a position to fritter away so much money. Furthermore, the Phillies, in
return, were reportedly looking for a sheik's ransom in prospects. Well, not
only did the Yanks get Abreu without (thus far) picking up that option and
without parting with top prospects like Philip Hughes, Eric Duncan, Tyler
Clippard and Jose Tabata, but they also landed a nifty fifth starter in Lidle.

First, though, there's Abreu. Since the injuries to Hideki Matsui and Gary
Sheffield, the Yankees have been making do at the outfield corners with Bernie
Williams and Melky Cabrera. Williams has been the primary right fielder this
season, while Cabrera has spent most of his time in left. Here's how their
numbers this season compare to the AL positional averages for 2006:

As you can see, Williams and Cabrera fall comfortably short of par in terms of
offensive production. Abreu, meanwhile, is hitting .277 AVG/.427 OBP/.434 SLG
on the year and is tied with new teammate Derek Jeter for the fifth-best OBP in
baseball. Despite the low slugging percentage, Abreu is still on pace for 41
doubles. He's more of a spray/centerfield hitter, so that inviting right-field
porch in Yankee won't help Abreu as much as you might think. That said, it's
the OBP (plus the fact that he leads all of baseball in pitches seen per plate
appearance) and not the power that's made him so valuable this season.

So imagine this lineup once/if everyone gets healthy circa early September:

1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Jason Giambi, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, LF
6. Gary Sheffield, DH
7. Bobby Abreu, RF
8. Jorge Posada, C
9. Robinson Cano, 2B

"Embarrassment of riches" is the only way to characterize that arrangement.
Craig Wilson, Bernie Williams and Melky Cabrera lurking on the bench? Even
better.

And then there's the throw-in: Corey Lidle. The Yankees have scrambled all
season to find an adequate fifth starter, and that restive search has led them
to things like Sidney Ponson, Shawn Chacon, Kris Wilson and Aaron Small. On the
year, those four as starters have combined for 75.2 innings and a 7.73 ERA.
Lidle, meanwhile, despite pitching half his games in one of the NL's best
hitter's parks, has a 4.74 ERA in 125.1 innings. It's a reasonable assumption
that Lidle will provide the Yankees with 50 or so league-average innings down
the stretch, and that would constitute a gargantuan upgrade over what they've
received from the fifth spot to date. In fact, it's fairly easy to make the
case that Lidle immediately becomes the Yankees' third-best starter.

As for what the Yankees parted with in this deal, it wasn't a hefty price.
Shortstop C.J. Henry, lefty Matt Smith, right-hander Carlos Monasterios and
catcher Jesus Sanchez are headed Philly's way. Henry, a first-rounder in 2005,
is athletic, but he's yet to adjust to professional pitching and must be consi-
dered a reach at this point. Smith could be a solid lefty specialist in the
majors, but he's already 27 years of age. Monasterios is young with a blazing
fastball, but the rest of his repertoire is roundly uninspiring. Sanchez, mean-
while, shows good mobility behind the plate, but his bat doesn't project as
major league quality. In other words, the Yankees gave up precious little in
order to fill a pair of gaping holes.

All of this to say nothing of the Chacon-for-Wilson swap with the Pirates. In
Chacon, the Yanks parted with a terrible and, now, superfluous arm in exchange
for a nifty hitter off the bench with good pop from the right side of the plate
(.302 AVG/.404 OBP/.556 SLG vs. lefties for his career). This one certainly
won't have the impact of the Abreu-Lidle larceny, but it's another heady addi-
tion by GM Brian Cashman.

That the Yankees had the best deadline is beyond dispute. The residue of
Cashman's efforts will likely be a division flag and a 12th straight trip to
the postseason. Without these canny additions, the Yankees might be resigned to
observer status for the first time since 1993; instead, they're poised to take
the AL East flag for the ninth year in a row.



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