Matthew Silva - What About Bob?

This couldn’t happen again, could it? Could another team’s castoff be one of the better Mets hitters two years in a row? At the same position? Impossible.

And yet, here we are.

I didn’t want to believe it at first. Every time I saw Abreu at the plate, I wondered why the Mets were wasting their time not playing younger guys and just waited for the 0-for’s to pile up. But every time, my skepticism was turned into enthusiasm. Get that man at-bats!

In a year where good money was spent trying to insert some offensive talent into the outfield, Bobby Abreu has surprised us all, even if for a brief moment. Injuries to Eric Young Jr. and now Juan Lagares will leave the door open for the 40-year-old to keep things going. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

The sample size has been small for Bobby Abreu this year, but it seems that he has been a find for Sandy Alderson & Co. Abreu has done just about everything an Alderson player needs to do. He gets on base, walks more than he strikes out and so far, has held up in right field.

His numbers have been interesting. The .315 average and .397 OBP are sure to come down eventually, but have entrenched Abreu into the heart of the order where Curtis Granderson was hit or miss. Mostly miss.

He has as many doubles as Chris Young in less than half the amount of at bats. He has hit safely in each of his last six starts.  His .897 OPS is in line with his All Star years of 2004 and 2005Not bad for a player that missed a year and was released by the Philadelphia Phillies in spring training this year.

The Mets need to ride Abreu’s little run as long as they can. He has contributed in many ways to the Mets mini hot streak, albeit against poor teams. They will look to keep it going against another weaker team in the Chicago Cubs before running into two of the best teams in the league, San Francisco and Milwaukee.

There are downsides to relying on a player like Abreu, however. For one, his age is going to keep him out of consistently starting every day. He will need days off, which is a blessing for players like Chris Young to get their spot starts and try to turn things around. He hasn’t shown real wear yet, but he has only just started to see consistent time.

Also, what happens when everyone is all healed up? When Eric Young Jr. Comes back in a week, they will want to insert him atop the lineup. And then when Lagares returns, what will the rotation be like? We just stopped the carousel at first base. Opening one up in the outfield seems less than appealing.

Terry Collins at least acknowledges that he needs to play Abreu as long as he continues to produce. These next two weeks have essentially become Abreu’s chance to stick with this lineup. Who knows what happens after that. If he continues his pace, he could become a potential trade chip, much like Marlon Byrd was last year.

Bobby Abreu isn’t close to the Abreu Mets fans were clamoring for in the off season. He isn’t even that close to Marlon Byrd. Both players display much more power than Bobby. However, he still has that great batting eye. Bobby Abreu will be playing somewhere by the end of June, but as to where?

Your guess is as good as mine.