Bye, Bye Bobby

One of my favorite players, Bobby Abreu is no longer a Phillie. He joins the freaking Yankees. I understand why the Phillies brass moved him. We have a lot more payroll flexibility without him, but it still sucks. We got nothing worth mentioning in return. This was a pure salary dump. Bobby was a class act and a great baseball player, but he never got the respect he deserved from Philly fans. I hate to see him in pinstripes (I hate to see any player in pinstripes), but hopefully he will find success in New York.

Trades like this are what make me hate the Yankees. They just throw money at success. It works for them, don't get me wrong. But look at their entire lineup. Did anyone (Jeter maybe?) come up through their minor league system? Now look at Philly - Rollins, Utley, Howard, Hamels and others were all cultivated in the farm system. It takes a lot of work to weed out the good from the bad at that level. The Yankees just pay big bucks and harvest everyone else's labor. I love the players they get with that approach. Their whole team is headed to Cooperstown practically. But they just bought them. No loyalty, no nurturing, just cash. So I can't root for them because that's just business, not baseball.