A Stroll Around the Playoffs

Simply put, at the end of 2008, as the Yankees planned for their 2009 team, there wasn’t a place for Abreau. So he was let go to seek other opportunities. This happens all the time in all kinds of business.
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Plenty has been written about the new Yankee Stadium, but Bill Plunkett says the Yankees built a billion-dollar playground for hitters.
Earl Bloom of The Orange County Register offers 11 reasons there will be a freeway World Series, even if that won’t make ESPN happy. Bill Dwyre of The Los Angeles Times seems to agree with him.
Bobby Abreu offered a change in approach this season for the Angels, according to Peter Gammons, and it seems to be paying off.
When I wrote to him telling him I’d like to see a Dodgers v. Yankees match up (at a time when the Bombers were looking at maybe only getting the Wild Card) to really set the new Stadium into legend land – he stuck by his claim that the “two best” should be in the WS.
As a boy, I was a little lefty so in thrall of Koufax that I came to hate hitters, and hitting, period. Hitting was the enemy of baseball. It took me a long time to get past that; to be able to appreciate,Philadelphia Phillies Hat Sale, for example, Bobby Abreau’s terrific at-bat in the ninth the other day against the Red Sox. There’s more to baseball than pitching, but if you saw the Left Arm of God pitch as many times as I did, you might not not think so.
My only wish is that the Dodgers are eliminated. I detest Manchild Ramirez to such an extent that his participation in the Series will ruin it for me, and I say this as a fan who grew up The Dodger Way, a half hour from Chavez.
He may not have the biggest name of any of the closers this postseason, but Brian Fuentes might have been the most effective, as Mark Whicker writes.
As Karl points out, Abreau, and most quality ballplayers understand that the game is also a business and both players and teams have to make business decisions.
— Karl P. 6. October 14, 2009 5:09 pm
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— harry 3. October 14,Cheap NFL Snapback Hats, 2009 1:04 pm
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This is really frustrating, as Karl points out. I mean, after all, you could field a darn good all-star team with active ex-Yankees – so where’s the originality in making such an stupid observation?
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I agree with those who have lauded the CS matchups. Dodgers-Phillies is a rematch of last year, and noone plays the Yankees better than the Angels. Should be some classic playoff baseball coming our way.
But like I said, going for an angle, I’m sure we are going to hear on the broadcasts over and over how he wants to get back at the Yankees for being underappreciated by them when they let him go. After I hear that the 5th time in the first game of the series, I am turning the sound off.
Frank Fitzpatrick of The Philadelphia Inquirer runs down some of the differences between gritty Philly and glitzy Los Angeles, while Andy Martino thinks the Phillies’ overwhelming confidence gives them a huge edge against the Dodgers.
Why don’t you “call him out” on this?
— George 5. October 14, 2009 4:04 pm
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The sad reality is that these ESPN/TBS/Faux Sports announcers barely know the sport and certainly don’t know the teams or players. So they go for tired old observations such as Abreau wants to “get back at the Yankees”.
— Bruceski 4. October 14, 2009 2:39 pm
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Back in early August he opined in the LA Times that there should be a Freeway Series because at that time both the Dodgers and Angels had the best records in their respective leagues.
The LCS are usually the most compelling as far as matchups go, with the WS being a snoozefest. I’m most looking forward to the Angels/Yanks series as these two teams are clearly the best in baseball. A Dodger/Yanks series would be interesting, but I’ve got the Angels winning the AL pennant, taking it all the way to game 7.
Objective observation: Home town reporting often is biased toward the home team. The reporters might think they’re being nonpartisan, but they also have a vested interest in the home team winning. In the very least, the NY Times or NY Post Yankees reporter assumes a greater level of importance when the Yankees are in the World Series. More people read his/her articles and therefore more people care what he/she has to say.
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Angels’ Rotation Reflects Recent Fortunes 6 Comments 1. October 14, 2009 11:54 am
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There’s one point I want to make about Yanks-Angels, because I know that the media, going for the obvious stories and trying to create drama are going to harp on this over and over: the Bobby Abreu situation. Any time he gets a hit they’re going to say he is getting revenge against the Yankees, when all I know of him tells me he could care less about that stuff. He just wants to play well and win. And honestly, as a Yankee fan, I appreciate his professionalism and his talent. He played his heart out while he was in New York. And he understands that letting him go, not even offering him a contract, was business.
The fact that both he and the Yankees prospered in 2009 suggests that the outcome of that 2008 decision was a win-win.
If what you report now is true, then I guess his hometown favoritism really outweighs his formerly stated philosophical belief about the Best v. Best.
— Sam 2. October 14, 2009 12:34 pm
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Karl (#5) raises a good point. With the larger issue being the horrible announcing that one generally encounters in post-season play.
While the Phillies have had a lot of late-inning magic this season, Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times points out that L.A. has had its share of late-game heroics as well.
On Thursday, at 8:07 p.m. Eastern time, we’ll start to have a better idea of who was right.
— George Add your comments...