Bad First Inning Loses One for Scott Richmond

by Tom Dakers on Sep 7, 2009 9:45 PM EDT in Game Recaps Comment 8 comments

We were down 5 by the time Scott Richmond got his first out and that was about all there was to this game. Not that it mattered but Richmond was very good after that.

Offensively we didn't do all that much either. 8 hits and a homer by Jose Bautista was all we got. Nice to see Jose can still hit one, just his 4th of the season and I don't remember when the last one was. Looked it up, June 25. Adam Lind had two hits. Rod Barajas, Edwin Encarnacion, and Joe Inglett had o fors. Aaron Hill left in the fourth inning to be with his wife who had gone in to labor. I guess is fitting on Labor Day.

We didn't have a Jay of the Day today. Hill came closest at .068 WPA even with only playing part of the game, so let's give him an honorable mention. Suckage goes to Richmond (-.339), Barajas (.159, I wish his hot streaks lasted as long as his cold ones do) and Encarnacion (-.108).

Tomorrow Ricky Romero (11-7, 4.15) goes against Brian Duensing (2-1, 3.81). Duensing is a lefty so I suppose we'll be treated to Kevin Millar in at the cleanup spot. Oh joy.

The Yankees took both halves of a double header against the Rays today and knocked Carlos Pena out for the season. Pena broke his hand when hit by a pitch. To add insult to injury Pena wasn't given first on the play, with the umpires ruling he swung at the pitch.

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Aaron Hill

I am sure I am going to get blasted for this, but here it goes anyways.

Would it make sense to try to deal Aaron Hill?

Before you all come and say I am insane, think about it for a second. Does anyone honestly believe that Aaron has morphed into Chase Utley? And even if he has, are we close enough to contention to take advantage of it?

Think about it. Hill’s value has never been higher. The chances of him duplicating this year next year is slim (simply because there’s not much higher he could go). Think of the package we could get in return for him.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the guy, he’s one of my favourite players on this team this year (Hill, Lind and Halladay). But I do wonder if the right way to maximize his value is to deal him.

For example, what if we offered him to LAD for Ethier & several pitching prospects? Then we could sign Hudson to play 2B again, and we’d have a RF who provides the same numbers as Hill, plus a replacement 2B, AND the pitching prospects?

Just a thought for a Monday morning in September when we are once again out of contention and looking to next year…

by Jevant on Sep 8, 2009 9:24 AM EDT reply actions

given that the Jays have, at best, a 1/30 chance of signing Hudson, there might be a tiny flaw in your plan

by aagoodfella on Sep 8, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Doesn’t have to be LA, doesn’t have to be Hudson. Just thought I’d throw out a team that is potentially going to have a 2B hole next year and might have the pieces to make a deal.

by Jevant on Sep 8, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

that is probably ok thinking …. i think it might create a chicken and egg problem. If you did trade Hill, then you would need to get a good 2B replacement. If you did not secure that 2Ber, you are kind of screwed. If you go out and get a 2B replacement and then the trade falls through, you are stuck with too many infielders. It is a bit of a risky strategy.

The other problem is that than you have 4 OF contenders, Wells, Snider and Lind and Ethier. If you want to keep Ruiz at 1B/DH, this will create a bit of a problem when you factor Lind, Snider, Ethier into the equation, since these should all be every day players.

Hill is a great player. This trade seems like it could create as many problems as it solves. It could be worth looking at but the Jays may have more pressing needs — including catcher and maybe or maybe not 3B depending on how Encarnacion plays next year with a fully-healed wrist.

by aagoodfella on Sep 8, 2009 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I'd feel better about trading Hill

if Emaus or Campell had had a better season in the minors and looked ready to take over soon. Inglett isn’t a horrible option to fill in as an everyday 2b, but I think of that as more of a short-term thing to just hold the line until someone else gets in.

If you are going to trade away a star and then fill his position on the free agent market, second base is probably the place to do it. It is relatively easy and affordable to find a decent second baseman as compared to other positions.

That said, it would all depend on what you’re getting in return for Hill. Because of the above, I think a team would be hesitant to give up what the Jays might need back in a trade to make it worthwhile. Look at Brian Roberts, a different player than Hill, but one of relatively similar value – the O’s could never get the value they wanted in return for him and ultimately ended up signing him to a long-term deal.

By the way, as much as I love Hill, he’s nothing close to Chase Utley – Utley has 5 straight years of a .375+ OBP to go along with the power and has stolen bases at an extremely efficient clip besides. For Hill’s power, he has a .326 OBP this season (Utley is at .414) and Aaron has never toppped .350 (his high was .349 back in 2006). Home ballpark is part of that, but even taking into account park-adjusted stats, there’s no comparison.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Sep 9, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions

That's crazy talk!

by JayLo Biafra on Sep 8, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions

I doubt we’d get back for HIll what Hill is worth. While he’s unlikely to duplicate these numbers regularly, I also don’t think they represent a huge jump over what his average output is going to be. This is a guy that has gotten better and stronger every year in the majors, save one years of being Eckstein’ed, and I see him remaining a very strong defender with a 25HR range and a solid .280 or so career average. I’d like to see him take more walks, work the count a little more, but otherwise, I think we’ve got one of the top five 2B in the MLB right now, and don’t see it changing drastically.

As for Either, remember that a lot of his production is helped by hitting ahead of Manny. He’s a very fine player, but I wouldn’t expect him to duplicate the same numbers without being in the three hole ahead of a very big bat.

The reality is that if a team is willing to overpay, you move Hill, but I wouldn’t consider it wise to go fishing with him.

by dexfarkin on Sep 8, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions