The House that Ruth Built

Been ages since I posted. Not since before the Abreu trade.

In my last post, I said the Yankees shouldn't do anything at the trade deadline except try to snag a role player and a Paul-Byrd-type for the rotation. They sort of listened to me. They picked up Craig Wilson as a sometimes first baseman and outfielder and landed Cory Lidle to prop up the back end of the rotation. Of course, as we all know, the Yankees also scored Abreu in what would be the biggest deadline deal.

Despite my reservations - the Bombers had held the fort this long, why couldn't they hold it a bit longer; what it could mean to the Melk Man - Abreu has been terrific. Where Sheffield is an RBI machine, Abreau is an on-base machine. I've lost count of how many times he's been on base this series vs. the Red Sox, but it's been a lot. His addition and the return of Cano have really lengthened the Yankees line-up. There's not an out to be found anywhere. At least not an easy out

That said I do have one reservation about Abreu: his paltry power numbers. He had only 8 homeruns with the Phillies, and in 19 games in Pinstripes, he has only one homerun and 8 RBIs. With that meager production, he's more suited to be a lead-off hitter. Maybe the Yanks should swap him and Damon, who's putting up numbers worthy of a number three hitter. The Bombers might bomb even more than they have in the last three games. Although, who am I really to complain. They've torched the Red Sox so far. Shouldn't be too greedy.