Just When Things Are Turning Around……

1 year ago today, Bobby Abreu was entering spring training for the Philadelphia Phillies, and once again expectations were high for him to be the team leader that would finally get them into the postseason after a long absence.  It would only be a few months later that Abreu would be sent to the New York Yankees for next to nothing and finally not have to be the top dog with all eyes on him.

Abreu succeeded with flying colors, batting .330 with a .419 OBP and slugged over .500 in 58 games with the Yanks, including being an intergral part of a 5-game sweep of rival Boston Red Sox in August and leading them to another AL East Title.  Despite an embarassing loss to the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS, Abreu still managed a .333 AVG and .412 OBP in 5 games, better than what most of his teammates could claim.

Look at that picture above, Abreu doesn’t have to worry about being top dog and look how happy he appears!  He even mentioned it a couple of days ago.

Now after all that Abreu has strained his right oblique and will miss 2-3 weeks, in all likelihood putting him out of action for most of spring training.  Damn.  Just when he was getting used to his teammates and atmosphere.  I mean, losing Carl Pavano is one thing, because its not like anyone enjoyed his company (or lack thereof) anyway, but losing Bobby to injury is not something to ignore, even if it is only February.

Here’s to a speedy recovery so I can see more of this come April: