11/21/24
May 29, 2003
Shea Hillenbrand, exit stage left. Byung-Hyun Kim, welcome to Boston.: Trade season has begun! It's pending some MRIs on Webb and Mantei, and Colangelo's approval, but ESPN and Peter Gammons are reporting that the trade is all but done. I'm all for getting some more pitching, but I don't know if this was a good idea...
posted by jerseygirl to baseball at 01:17 PM - 19 comments
Hillenbrand is a fine hitter, but his lack of discipline doesn't bode well for future success. Kim may be flaky, but he's clearly a step up from Bruce Chen. And with the Sox's glut of 1B/DH types and Bill Mueller playing very well at 3B, there's really no way the Sox can lose trading Hillenbrand. This will mean more PT for Ortiz/Millar/Giambi, all of whom are capable of Hillenbrand's performance. Also, Shea is from Arizona, so with any luck he'll be happy to go home and will produce well for the D-Backs.
posted by eldoop at 03:07 PM on May 29, 2003
I think it's a steal for the Red Sox. Just like eldoop says, trading a streaky position player (check out his April numbers versus the rest of the year) where you have an easy replacement for a good young pitcher is a winning proposition. And while I can see why Yankee fans would like the idea of facing Kim, I will remind them that he is a good starting pitcher and you won't be facing him in the 9th inning any time soon.
posted by grum@work at 03:32 PM on May 29, 2003
Didn't think the Yankees could laugh any louder after last night's managerial decision . . . What decision was that? Seemed like Manny's awful throw pretty much sealed the deal, with a little help from a questionable ball 3 call by the ump. Don't see how adding a solid pitcher to the Sox rotation helps the Yankees, but feel free to clarify. Not sure how I feel about this. I've hated watching Hillenbrand for two years now (Me to TV: "First you swung at everything. Now you always take the first pitch. They have advanced scouting reports for that sort of shit, y'know? The guy on the mound knows you're going to take the first pitch and then swing at anything that doesn't go into a dugout."), but I'll miss the kid. His plate discipline sucks, his early season tears masked plate mediocrity and he always had a look on his face like he'd killed the real Shea Hillenbrand and was about to get caught, but he (for whatever reason) looked like someone who hustled all the time. I appreciate that. Not as much as I appreciate a solid OPS or low ERA though.
posted by yerfatma at 04:45 PM on May 29, 2003
yerfatma, I thought Little's double walk was laughable for many reasons, the first being that it blew up in his face once last year in the same situation, the second being that Giambi couldn't hit a beachball and is an e asy K or guaranteed DP if he hits a grounder into the shift, and the third being that Lyons is young, and even a vet (in the bottom of the 9th in Yankee stadium, with the bases loaded with 1 out) is likely to crack under that pressure, esp after having just thrown 8 pitches outside the strike zone. Finally, the Yankees finally woke up on tuesday and remembered how to get runners in from scoring position with less than 2 outs, so chances were pretty good that Posada, who was 2-4, would at the very least get it in the air. I would have walked Soriano, since he hits anything and often gets it in the air, and then thrown to Giambi, and would very likely have gotten a DP or a K, averting disaster. I think the Yankees got lucky, because if that game stayed tied, their bullpen would have shat the bed, as usual. (Oh wait, it did anyway!) Anyway, Hillenbrand was so hyped last year at the start, then noone seemed to really notice how bad he turned. This year he seems to be more down to earth early, but perhaps more consistent. Maybe he'll thrive in AZ though, but really, who cares. I don't think it's any great loss for the Sox, though it's a disappointment that he didn't live up to expectations. I'm still not sold on Kim as a starter, but now that he's in the AL I'll pay more attention...
posted by Bernreuther at 06:37 PM on May 29, 2003
it blew up in his face once last year in the same situation That move has blown up in the face of Jimy Williams and Grady multiple times in the past few years. It bit Chad Fox in the ass against Baltimore early this season. It never seems to work for the Sox, but someone thinks it's "Conventional Wisdom."
posted by yerfatma at 06:55 PM on May 29, 2003
i'd be curious to see what happens with the Boston rotation -- if someone gets sent to the bullpen or they go with a 6-man rotation for a while. it seems pretty clear they are starting BK. Too bad, definitely could use some work in the 'pen. nice! Didn't think the Yankees could laugh any louder after last night's managerial decision, but here we go... Its a little early in the season to be laughing too loud especially when you're a 1/2 game back, the Blue Jays (the Blue Jays for chrissakes!) are climbing up in the AL, George and Zim are having internal riffs, Torre's neck is on the line literally, Bernie's off playing jazz guitar for at least 6 weeks, Nick "WATERMELON HEAD" Johnson is out for a while, Contreras is looking like an expensive BP pitcher, Rivera is waning and beginning to look like a semi-talented Mendoza and your Giambi is starting to look like our Giambi. So just pipe down over there until September, ok? The way things are going, no one -- not NY or Boston -- is a lock for the AL.
posted by jerseygirl at 09:10 PM on May 29, 2003
I hardly think my comment was such a taunt that it warranted such defensiveness, jerseygirl :) Noone agrees with those faults as much as I do, and I'll add to the list that the infield defense is horrific, and the bullpen, especially Acevedo, is a nightmare. Apparently since the 5 run explosion Contreras has been great, but I'll reserve judgement till I see him start. Anyway, the reason I was laughing was because the Yankees seem to do pretty well against Kim, and because I honestly don't think he's that good a starter. But, like I said, we'll see what happens... I dont follow the NL west that closely...
posted by Bernreuther at 09:55 PM on May 29, 2003
Wasn't being defensive as much as I was just... laying the cards on the table. That's how Red Sox fans are. We find and expose the short-comings and [attempt] to deal with the reality of the losses. But truly, I'm just really pissy about Yankee Fan Arrogance - earnest or otherwise. I believe the only time the Yankees went up against Kim was in the Series in 2001... they did get him good there, but if I recall, that didn't turn out to be much of a laughing matter in the Bronx afterall, right? :)
posted by jerseygirl at 11:39 PM on May 29, 2003
*shakes his head and waits patiently for the Cardinals/Yankees World Series at the end of the season*
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:36 AM on May 30, 2003
I think he pitched a perfect 9th last year in interleague, but I could be wrong. The Yankees didn't deserve to win anyway, they did so many things wrong. Not to discredit Schilling's performance but you'd think that the advance scouting would notice that he throws 90% first pitch strikes and once ahead in the count is unhittable... it's just like someone said about hillenbrand (shit, guess that was in a thread on another board) - you'd think that the "take first and make him throw lots of pitches" approach of the Yankees would be changed in that situation. Instead, they sat and watched fat fastballs go by, fell down 0-1, and were toasted. Which is not to say that they'd have won 10-0 if they swung at first pitch strikes, but they should have at least changed their approach a little bit... that, Justice's performance, and the bullpen (sounds like this year) all were terrible, and if not for all that Yankee Magic they could have been out in 5... WF, a Cards/Yankees series would be awesome!
posted by Bernreuther at 01:20 PM on May 30, 2003
A Blue Jays/Expos WS would be better.
posted by corpse at 02:20 PM on May 30, 2003
A Red Sox/Expos would be even nicer.
posted by jerseygirl at 02:55 PM on May 30, 2003
I'd love a Blue Jays/Expos series, Corpse ... if I thought Vlad wouldn't get SARS.
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:39 PM on May 30, 2003
Blue Jays/Expos would be fine by me, Fox would refuse to show it in the US.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:01 PM on May 30, 2003
Hey, I'm not derailing this time, got to give me a little slack!
posted by billsaysthis at 08:06 PM on May 30, 2003
A Red Sox/Expos would be even nicer. Agreed. It would give ma an undeniable reason to finally visit Fenway Park, proudly wear my Charlie Lea shirt, and try to get into a heckling match with jerseygirl.
posted by qbert72 at 01:27 PM on May 31, 2003
Q, you can get into a heckling match with Jgirl. Just don't trade with her in a fantasy baseball league. ;)
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:03 PM on May 31, 2003
nice! Didn't think the Yankees could laugh any louder after last night's managerial decision, but here we go... It sure will be nice to have Kim in our own division to pound now...