He’ll be in his 31 season in 2006.
Has a career line of .288/.327/.448.
Kept his OBP above .340 last year by getting HBP 22 times.
A slightly below average fielder
There are many things to describe Shea Hillenbrand. Somewhat useful. Versatile. Slight above replacement level, etc. But upside?
Only with beer goggles.
As for Burnett and Ryan? I think Ryan is an insane risk with his lack of track record. He’s a guy who had his good year at exactly the right time. I don’t expect him to implode or anything but I don’t expect him to earn that kind of money.
As for Burnett? I hope they got insurance on that contract (though I bet they didn’t). A pitcher with his history for big bucks over 5 years has regret in years 4-5 written all over it.
I honestly did not realize he would be 31 next July. I was thinking that he was 28 and would probably be capable of 25 homers with a .280 BA. He is older than I thought so I will downgrade my assessment to tradeable but without an upside.
He is what he is.
Going back to the Soriano deal, is it just me, or has he been coasting on one good ALCS for his entire career? He hits well against Seattle in 2001 playing for New York, Joe Buck and the Senile Idiot promoting him as the second coming of Mr. October and now he’s getting overpaid.
That ballpark is going to hurt him severely, as will having to learn an entire new set of pitchers.
And is it just me, or did that deal give the Rangers WAY too many outfielders on the roster? I wonder if there’s a deal to be made there.
I’m sure people are tempted by his combination of power and speed. He sure has plenty of ability. Thing is, he’s about to be 29, so you figure that if he doesn’t get ‘there’ soon, he probably won’t.
He’s about to be 29 assuming his birthdate’s what we think it is. I’d be as willing to be he’s 32 as he is 29.
Besides, don’t the Nationals already have a second baseman? Or are we assuming that Jose Vidro will continue to disappoint my fantasy team and be injured half the year?
No, it wasn’t one good ALCS. He followed it up in 2002 with a season where he hit .300/.332/.547 with 39 HR and stole 41 bases. Then had another similar season in 2003. When he was still young people shrugged off the complete lack of plate discipline and the poor defense as things that would come with age. The problem is that he hasn’t and he’s at an age now where it becomes less and less likely that he will. Compounding that problem is that as he ages, he gets less athletic making his complete reliance on BA for his OBP a massive liability. He’s lucky that he’s in a stadium that’s been hiding his offensive decline but it’s going to come out in a big way in RFK.
Why the lack of love for Soriano? Sure, the OBP is low, but he can whack homers and his defense is better than it used to be. I could find a place for him.
He’s a poor fielder that refuses to move to the OF but offensively he has a lot of value despite the very poor OBP.
He has the tools to be better, but still hasn’t developed the skills or plate discipline.
All that said, I would take him back to the Yanks in a heartbeat and move him to the OF. Preferably CF.
It’s not so much a lack of love, really, as realistic expectations. He’s going to continue to be paid one HELL of a lot of money. While he contributes more than, say, Rob Mackowiak, he’s not Bobby Abreu. And when people move him in that sort of salary-expectation level there’s trouble brewing.
And he’s a FA next year. Mark my words on this: He’ll get a big deal (5 years at least) and the team that buys him will regret it sometime shortly after year two.
Away from Arlington last year he hit .224/.265/.374 with 11 homers in 326 ABs. Away from Arlington in 2004 he hit .244/.291/.444 with 16 homers in 315 ABs. It’s not that I hate him, but I wouldn’t trade away a good outfielder, a good reserve outfielder and a pitching prospect for the privilege of paying him the $10M he’ll get in arbitration for his age 30 season.
Um. Well, the Giants got rid of LaTroy Hawkins (yes!) and acquired Scott Kline. Looking at Kline’s numbers, he seems pretty ordinary, but he’s a LHP, so…he’ll be able to get someone to pay him til his arm falls off, pretty much.
I heard a rumor that they were going to go after David Wells, but I have my fingers crossed that comes to nothings. Yet another old, falling-apart dude, yeah, that’s EXACTLY what we need.
Bah. We were mediocre last year and we’ll be mediocre this year. I predict that 2006 is going to be Barry Bonds’ last year. I don’t see him carrying an otherwise bland team at…I think he’ll turn 43 this season. Bah. Maybe I’ll continue being a fair-weather White Sox fan this year, it was pretty enjoyable last year.
Hrm. I think Bonds will retire after 2006 if he gets to 756. If he doesn’t he’ll be back.
He’s at 708. He needs to his 7 more for Ruth and 48 to pass Aaron. The record is his for the taking if he wants it. And regardless of what he tells the press I think he wants it.
A baseball player at Bonds’s age is always one twinge away from the end of his career. It’s his for the taking if he doesn’t get hurt - never a safe bet at this point.
Cubs fans have taken schadenfreude to a new level. This is what happens when your team sucks for a century - you get your jollies where you can find them. If that means hating on people and other teams, so be it. The biggest freaking deal about the White Sox winning the World Series was that some Cubs fans had the audacity to root for the Sox. To read some columnists and letters to the editor, it was like they were betraying their god-given right (and it is a right) to be losers.
If the Cubs ever actually won the World Series, their fans would still find something to complain about. They are the miserablest bunch of people this side of Yankee Stadium.
(Note: this only applies when discussing baseball. As long as any other topic is being discussed, Cubs fans are perfectly ordinary, pleasant people.)
I don’t want to see him pass either guy, but I can’t really make myself root for an injury. I’m hoping that in March, he has to quit because he can’t lift his giant head anymore.