Good Teeth, Great Game
Posted on Oct 14, 2009 1:21 pm
By Alex Belth
I don’t know if Bobby Abreu is a Hall of Famer–he’ll probably walk too much when all is said and done–but he sure is in the Hall of the Extremely Good. (Back in 2005, Rany Jazayerli of Baseball Prospectus called him “the most underrated player in the game.”) I enjoyed him as a Yankee and am thrilled that he’s had such a good season for the Angels. Talk about a value!
Plus, he’s got great teeth and a winning smile.
Tyler Kepner profiles Abreu today in the Times:
“When you see a player every day, you really get a feel for him,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “At times, you’re maybe a little disappointed in what a player brings and you thought it was a little different package. With Bobby, it’s been nothing but exclamation points.”
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A lot of people are making a big deal out of how well Bobby Abreu played this year, but the reality is he was actually a better hitter last season (albeit a much better fielder this year). I’ve seen more than a few places suggest the Yankees should regret letting him go, but Swisher wound up having a better season. Also, I don’t think Abreu’s 2009 exceeded the Yankees projections. Instead, the Yankees correctly read the market and indentified room for improvement. I am happy Abreu has done well in Anaheim, but it would be a mistake to exaggerate the quality of his season.
No better smile in the Bigs. I always liked him, but he never met a wall he didn’t fear. Glad to hear his defense was better.
Neyer has a post commenting on Kepner’s piece right now over at ESPN. Hard to disagree with his analysis.
Rob writes:
The Yankees were right. Even with Nady playing only seven games all season, they were covered because of Swisher, who is — due mostly to his relative youth — a slightly better hitter and fielder than Abreu. Swisher wound up earning slightly less than Abreu this season, too, so the Yankees won this “trade” all the way around. They got better and they got cheaper.
Of course, so did the Angels, who paid Garret Anderson $12.6 million last season. The Yankees were smart to let Abreu go, and the Angels were smart to sign him at a discounted price in a depressed market. They presumably figured he would bounce back from the worst season of his career, and he did.
Oddly, the headline on the story about Abreu reads, “Stats Tell Only Half the Story for Abreu.”
Only half? Really? I can excuse a bit of poetic license, but you have to figure that stats tell at least 90 percent of the story for Abreu, right?
The Angels drew 66 more walks this season than last season, which pushed them from 12th in the league to 7th. This improvement is due almost entirely to two players: Abreu, and Chone Figgins. Abreu drew 67 more walks this season Garret Anderson drew last season, and Figgins drew 39 more walks this season than last season. Obviously, the rest of the team actually drew fewer walks this season than last season.
Abreu brings more walks to the table, and it’s possible that his presence has contributed to Figgins drawing more walks, too. Does Abreu bring less tangible to the table? A winning attitude, perhaps?
Perhaps. But in the five seasons before Abreu arrived, the Angels averaged 94 wins per season. This season they won 97 games. This season, statistically speaking, Abreu was worth roughly three wins. Sometimes the stats really do tell most of the story.
Remember that laser of a HR Tex hit to end a game last week … well, here are the details.
” . . . left the bat at 110 mph, and left the park faster than any of the other 5,000+ home runs in 2009, after only 2.88 seconds!”
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/detail.php?id=2009_104&type=hitter
[4] Holy crap! Glad he’s on our side.
I actually loved Abreu before he came to the Yanks. I heard the fans in Philly didn’t appreciate him, and I thought, I’d love to have that guy. His numbers were so impressive and consistent.
But after a few seasons in pinstripes, I really came to see what their frustration was all about. It wasn’t just the jogging after balls to the wall – because I don’t remember seeing him give up an extra base due to his pace. It was his overall consistency and that drove me noodles. The guy gave exactly what I expected numbers wise, and had the kind of temperament that many players would envy – easy going, unflappable. But he made me yearn for Paul O’neal. Production be damned, show me some passion!
Oh well. I’m glad he’s doing well. But I’m also much happier as a fan watching Swisher. He’s such a nut. Ever notice how pissed he looks after a close call at first? He’s like the eternal 5th grader – Godamnit I was SAFE!
off the top of my head i’m thinking Abreu was the Yankees best mid-season pickup since David Justice.
I loved his at-bats. Smooth, quiet power. Eldorado fins, leather upholstery. .. Hated to see it go, but I don’t mind bangin’ around in a 2009 Swisher with the cherrybomb mufflers and chrome mud flap girls.
[6] All things being equal, I want the passion too. For whatever reason, when O’Neill would slam a helmet or Swisher lets loose with an F-bomb, it makes me feel a little better too.
No outfielder with a wall phobia can e properly characterized as having great game.
[8] Yeah. I can’t explain it. Cause I loved guys like Olerud and Bernie, also very consistent and mellow players. But those guys seeme like flakes, and I loved their game for that reason.
Abreu was too calm and consistent, especially at the plate. He’d take a strike and step out a half step, take a swin and move back in. Same thing if it was a ball. With Bernie and Olerud, I got the sense that their calm was like a zen practice. They were trying to be calm. Abreu gave me the feeling that he just didn’t give that much of a shit. This probably make him a healthier man – after all it’s only baseball- but a less exciting one to watch play.
Production be damned, show me some passion!
To each their own, I suppose.
Everyone has different ways of showing “passion.” It bothered me that O’Neill’s helmet toss or water cooler attack is/was acceptable, but Rickey pumping himself up after stealing a bag (or several; cue the 1989 ALCS) isn’t. Greg Maddux & Pedro Martinez were the best at their peak, I don’t think anyone would accuse them of lack of passion, even though they didn’t do much in the way of outward emotion.
[10] Olerud was a flake?
[11] I don’t recall Rickey being criticized for showing emotion (it was more the “loafing” that got him in trouble). Also, Maddux and Pedro (who did show emotion) could have gotten away with any behavior because with both there was no such thing as “all else being equal”.
Abreu’s EqA, 2008: .283 2009: .286
Abreu’s EqR, 2008: 94 2009: 90 (albeit in ~20 less PA)
I’d call that pretty close. BP gives him a 2.9 WARP, – 6 FRAA. Slightly better than his two full seasons in NY (2.8 and 2.9) and around his defense in NY (-6, -9).
Swisher, on the other hand, had a .294 EqA, 90 EqR (in 70 less PA), and a 3.4 WARP (-5 FRAA). So yes, I think the Yanks definitely “won the trade”.
Other sources, IIRC, have Swisher’s defense as significantly better than Abreu’s. YMMV.
In any case, I think Abreu is a fantastic player and if he can keep going for a few more years, he’s a Hall of Famer in my book.
I remember seeing shots of Olerud in the dugout and he just had that thousand yard stare. Don’t know if he was a flake but he seemed “off” in a way that is usually reserved for pitchers.
I LOVED the hairy spaz’s Paulie O used to throw.
[11] O’neal is just the easy antithesis. I don’t mean you have to be a spaz to be passionate. And by Girardi’s account, Abreu was indeed very passionate about his game. I guess I mean something more like colorful, or accessible. I just found Abreu boring to watch.
[12] That’s just an opinion. I never met the man. I remember seeing him in the dugout during a Mets postseason loss. The season was ending. They were down to their last out. Everyone was hang-dog. And they cut to a shot of Johnny sitting on the bench, smiling dreamily about something. I’ve never been able to shake that image.
[16] DOH!
Speaking of great teeth or lack there of, under/over on vomit inducing extreme close ups of John Lackey’s face during dinner time?
Olerud always seemed a little off on some level, but I guess when you survive a brain aneurysm at 21 you tend to not get all that riled up about things like striking out with a runner on second.
Bernie…well they just broke the mold with Bernie, didn’t they?
I also have a soft spot for Olerud, because I will believe until my dying day that if we never hear the words “bruised instep” during the 2004 ALCS we manage to get that 4th win.
[13] I remember articles during the 89 ALCS coming after him and Dave Parker
[17] Didn’t want to sound as if I was coming after you. When I hear of “flaky” players, it’s usually refers to guys like Bernie who was pretty well known as a space cadet. Olerud for the most part seemed pretty bland as a player, if I were to describe him “flake” wouldn’t be one of the first things to come to mind
[8][11] All things being equal, I prefer guys who show less emotion or passion or whatever, not more…at least during the game. I don’t like regular helmet throwing tirades from an aesthetic standpoint, and I am always worried that such a player can be baited or goaded into allowing his emotions to “get the better of him”.
In the end, though, I don’t much care.
[19] I’ll see your Lackey and raise you a Pascual Perez
[24]
I’ll see your Perez, and raise you Ted Simmons …
http://cardboardgods.net/2008/11/12/ted-simmons/
AND … the most human representation of a goat I’ve ever seen, Jim Kern
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=kernji01
via the LoHud:
Game 1:
Sabathia vs. Lackey
Game 2:
Burnett vs. Saunders
Game 3:
Pettitte vs. Weaver
Game 4:
Sabathia vs. Kazmir
[26]
Interesting …. there were people wondering if the Halos would go lefty – lefty in the first two games at the Stadium.
[27] It makes sense for the Angels. They want Weaver for the home game.
I’m getting antsy.
ooh, i don’t have any time here to comment, but i can’t let a post go on my boy boBBy without chiming in for a quick sec…
i’ve long been a fan of boBBy’s and was thrilled to have him for a season and a half. i’m glad he’s done well for the halos and i sure hope he plays a few more years. all that said, i hope he – and the rest of his mates – tank something fierce in the ALCS!!! : )
i hope he ends up Hall worthy, i really do. and i also hope walks don’t keep him out. they best not keep out Rock Raines!!!
personally, i just hope he reaches 300 homers, so he can be in my favorite 300-300 club. i think he needs 44 homers, which would be about 3 good seasons for him, at this point.
and yeah, his smile is electric.
A moment of silence please … a great “entertainer” has passed on …
http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2009/10/14/charismatic_wrestler_captain_lou_albano_dies/
Saunders in Game 2? Clearly, Scioscia is fucking with our minds.
If his plan is working, at this moment Girardi is suddenly and mysteriously compelled to start Gaudin in Game 1, have Molina catch the entire series, with A-Rod and Tex bunting every at-bat.
Make the bad man go away!
wow interesting stuff just now on 1050, Peter Gammons was on with Michael Kay
1) The Sox have “every intention” of trading Papelbon next winter as he’s going into his walk year
2) Torre is “definitely gone” after his contract is up in LA because “his life is a living hell”, he “hates ownership”, and “it’s all going to come out as soon as he retires”
that was a fun 10 minutes
[32]
1) Papelbon’s “usual” numbers were good this year, but his peripherals were down quite a bit.
2) Hmmm … will we see “The Dodger Years” come out in April 2011?
[30] Another piece of my childhood, gone
[33] The Papelbon doesn’t shock me one bit. I think he’s clearly on a downward slope, the Sox are obviously grooming Bard, and Theo is on record as being a believe in the whole Bill James “closers are replaceable” mantra.
the Torre thing on the other hand was legitimately shocking, he seriously used the term “a living hell” to describe Torre’s experience in LA.
Anyone see BoBBy’s numbers fro the ALDS. He was monstrous even without power. He pretty much singlehanded killed the Sox, on base 9 out of 13 AB’s, he only made 4 outs in the 3 games. No one else scares me as much on the Angels, not even Vlad. Abreu is going to be motivated, he can shorten his swing when necessary (especially with 2 strikes), he has a great eye for the strike zone, he goes the other way often, how the Yankees handle him will be key.
As for Torre, how could he not be unhappy in LALA land? He was the effin’ king of NY. You think those Dodger fans that leave their games in the 7th inning care about baseball or Torre? He was the man when he was here.
But but … Joe looked so HAPPY in those Amex commercials!
[6] This is very close to how I feel. I think Abreu epitomized the type of player the Yankees were supposed to have, yet on this team it wasn’t a really good fit. Maybe he’s too unflappable – it’s uninspiring. I can’t get behind this idea that Swisher is a better hitter, but he’s the better player for the Yankees.
[38] That was the first year when cruising around in a convertible was such a novelty. Of course, the endorsement check from Amex had to put a smile on his face.
I gotta admit, it made me smile a little bit.
We had to sit through all of last year (and a good portion of this year, at least when the book came out) and listen to Joe tell us every 5 minutes how he was “finally having fun again!!”
Yeah well….
Capt. Lou as a Superfriends-like cartoon – Plus!
Capt. Lou as Super Mario – not so much…
One of the few personalities that made pro wrestling okay to like for kids of discriminating parents on Saturday afternoons >;)
[41] I’m not the only one who saw the headline, heard the teaser and said to myself, “L.A.’s getting to him already, huh?”, right?
Hm, don’t forget that Gammons is, you know, kind of a horse’s ass. I’m sure he has some BoSox connections, but I would not take that report as gospel. There’s no doubt they’ll shop Papelbon around, but he’s not out the door yet.
I heard a couple of disgruntled citizens of RSN today (on WEEI) bemoan the fact that Boy Theo didn’t trade for BoBBy in 2006.
Papelbon’s a bum. Abreu is awwwwsome. RSN, victim of SSS Syndrome.
When we had Bobby, he was making what… $18m/yr?
To keep him (arbitration) would have cost at least that if not more,
If Cashman offered him $10m, my guess is Bobby would have been insulted.
I read one article that had Bobby as the worst fielder in baseball. Not just outfielder… fielder.
When we got him, his career OPS was over .900. For us, his OPS was under .840.
With the Halos, he had a .825 OPS. Add to that poor defense, and I wonder how much better then average that totals out to.
I loved the guy and his patience… but Cashman letting him go was 100% the right move.
I’m afraid the same will be true this year with JD and Matsui. The were both VERY good Yankees, but there time has come with this team.
[29] We had him 2.5 years.
Bobby: .293 15 103 .390 .435 .825
Swish:: .249 29 082 .371 .498 .869
There is a difference between a great hitter and a great producer.
As a pure hitter, Bobby is better… much like Ichiro is better then ARod.
But as far as producing runs, Swisher was better in 2009, and ARod might be a smidge better then Ichiro.
As for fielding, Swish ain’t a ballerina, but was MUCH better then Bobby. Abreu had a better arm and more speed, so maybe that makes the non-hitting part f the game a wash.
And Swisher had .122 OPS pts from BBs. Amazing!
Has anyone mentioned that mlb has announced the umpiring crew for the ALCS?
Crew Chief: Tim McClelland
Dale Scott
Jerry Layne
Fieldin Culbreth
Laz Diaz
Bill Miller.
Hallo all, a football Q! NOT a political question here, and am NOT encouraging any debate on the content of his work..am just wondering, does the NFL have the right to deny Rush Limbaugh a piece of the Rams because of his “controversial” persona? The NFL is a private corporation..I do not know the rules for becoming an owner but it seems that the other owners have every right to say “No” to someone..or do they? Would it be possible to challenge them in court if, for example, they declined someone on the basis of his/her race? Just wondering..this thing confuses me..
Oh, I am sure everyone here can guess what I think of Rush so no need to get into that..am just interested from the sports/business perspective..(similar to baseball, didn’t the other owners reject Mark Cuban buying the Cubs?)
Laz Diaz? Really?? Is MLB in league with FOX to market umpires?
[48] Yes, they do have the right. Yes, he could challenge them in court if it were because of his race, but not if it’s because of his political views. (There are specific laws forbidding discrimination by race… you may have heard of these!)