Shea Hillenbrand is No Longer a Jay

by mark w on Jul 20, 2006 1:13 PM EDT in Toronto Blue Jays News

Yesterday, as many of us were shocked to find out, Shea Hillenbrand was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays.

First of all, I am in favour of this move, especially considering, from what I've read, that Hillenbrand brought this upon himself. Based on quotes from Hillenbrand and people within the organization, the following events took place:

Hillenbrand lost his temper prior to yesterday's game and wrote "This is a sinking ship" on the team's chalk board.
John Gibbons reprimanded him in front of his teammates during a closed-door meeting.
Hillenbrand's tirade was partly incited by his exclusion from the starting lineup. Moreover, his poor relationship with Blue Jay management, which never congratulated him on his recent adoption of a baby girl, played a part as well. However, he cut off all contact with management prior to this incident, which renders his complaints to be quite hypocritical.
Blue Jay management immediately designated Hillenbrand for assignment and now has ten days to either trade or release him.

Hillenbrand has a long history of poor behaviour. This season, he openly voiced his displeasure with being the everyday designated hitter. He also participated in a war of words pitcher Josh Beckett, who pitches for his former club, the Red Sox. Moreover, as a member of said Red Sox, he called Theo Epstein a homosexual, though not in those exact words.

In other words, his swift departure from the organization is not the result of one incident; rather, it's the culmination of a steady stream of irreverent behaviour for which he took absolutely no responsibily. Today's article in the Toronto Sun, entitled "Chalk-board message the last straw for furious Gibbons," cites specific examples that do not shed fond light on Hillenbrand's character. Firstly, here's what specifically incited Gibbons' backlash:

It had a lot to do with Hillenbrand writing: "This is a sinking ship" on the chalkboard where batting practice times are written.
The team was having a players-only meeting, called by Vernon Wells, when in stormed irate manager John Gibbons.
According to one unnamed Blue Jay: "The manager said: 'You're gone! I'll be gone before you ever play another game in this organization.'
"It was as hot as I've ever seen (Gibbons) and that includes all of his ejections."

And here are some quotes that suggest that this was not the result of an isolated incident of poor behaviour on Hillenbrand's part:

"This had nothing to do with him adopting a baby," said Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, who added that the breakup was due to, "irreconcilable differences."
"He was a cancer in this clubhouse," another player said. "Shea's day went the way the lineup card went. If he was in the lineup, everything was fine. If he wasn't he'd sulk. Sometimes he wouldn't even come out to hit."
"I got along with him, but his sense of humour rubbed some people the wrong way," Wells said.
Hillenbrand's sense of humour included ripping the Canadian flag crest off the hat that the Jays wore Canada Day in a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, according to a team official. Hillenbrand had been taken out of that game in the seventh inning.

Obviously, Hillenbrand's not the most likeable player in baseball, though it's likely that he's not as awful as today's articles will suggest. If he were, the length of his tenure with the Blue Jays would've been much shorter. However, the reason I'm in favour of management's actions in this case is because, once this incident occurred, another course of action would've led to a drawn out, disruptive saga that would've been a huge disruption to the team both now and in the future. This way, the Blue Jays will trade him within ten days, likely for someone of marginal value (to be fair, Hillenbrand was never a large trading chip in the first place). A player of Hillenbrand's value absolutely would not warrant a season-long distraction to the team. Despite a productive first half, he's a fungible commodity, someone who could be replaced within the organization immediately.

Hillenbrand's main strength is that he can hit left-handed pitching. But that's it. He was thoroughly misused by Gibbons, who played him regularly despite his poor numbers against right-handed pitching. But what could Gibbons do? Had he not played him everyday, and instead platooned him with someone like Eric Hinske, who's performed well against righties, he likely would've sulked and complained to an even greater extent than he already did.

With Alexis Rios on the mend and Troy Glaus battling his own problems, the team certainly is short on bats, though not to a drastic extent. Once both are healthy, which should occur within the next couple weeks, the team can field the following lineups:

Against Lefties:

C Bengie Molina 1B Lyle Overbay 2B John McDonald 3B Troy Glaus SS Aaron Hill LF Reed Johnson CF Vernon Wells RF Alexis Rios DH Gregg Zaun

Against Righties:

C Gregg Zaun 1B Lyle Overbay 2B Russ Adams 3B Troy Glaus SS Aaron Hill LF Frank Catalanotto CF Vernon Wells RF Alexis Rios DH Eric Hinske

Those are very productive lineups, which can easily succeed without any help from Hillenbrand. He surpassed my expectations this season and last, but his departure comes as no significant loss the team.

The Blue Jays should be able to maintain, if not succeed, their production from the DH slot. The league average OPS at that position is .811. As of now, the Blue Jays stand at .817:

Team AVG/OBP/SLG OPS Indians .316/.441/.628 1.069 White Sox .296/.412/.609 1.021 Red Sox .269/.386/.557 .943 Yankees .249/.354/.469 .823 Athletics .237/.354/.463 .817 Blue Jays .296/.342/.475 .817 Devil Rays .228/.331/.453 .784 Angels .273/.338/.444 .782 Rangers .230/.319/.432 .751 Royals .242/.328/.411 .739 Tigers .244/.296/.437 .733 Orioles .252/.300/.408 .708 Mariners .239/.310/.373 .683 Twins .273/.319/.360 .679

After the top three, who boast Travis Hafner, Jim Thome, and David Ortiz, the DH position is much less productive across the AL than one would think. To be honest, a platoon of Zaun and Hinske should easily keep the Blue Jays' production afloat at the DH spot.

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Comments

Not to nitpick

I think your analysis is dead on, but I think when you said that Shea's main strength was that he could hit right-handed pitching but performed poorly against left-handed pitching, you meant it the other way around.

I also figure you mixed up Adams and MacDonald in the lineups.

Everything else, I think, is spot on. The real issue isn't that Shea will be gone, but that he could've been traded for at least a live bullpen arm and that probably won't happen now, and that the Jays really need Glaus and Rios back to avoid bad matchups. I also think using Adams against righties rather than MacDonald will help, but the real issue there is defense at SS - Adams didn't have time to really adjust to 2nd because Hill was just not performing at short.

"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 Jul 20, 2006 1:29 PM EDT reply actions

Changes

Thanks, fixed it.

by mark w on Jul 20, 2006 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I am surprised

At how mediocre a lot of team's DH output is.

But then again, "afloat" for the Jays this year means as good or better than Boston and New York - better is a necessity, really, unless our pitching improves - and the low-800 level isn't going to get us past the Red Sox into October.

- Ash

by Asharak on Jul 20, 2006 1:32 PM EDT reply actions

2B

The team's DH output is adequate enough to content, in my view. However, the team's output at 2B (.586 OPS, worst in the league) absolutely must improve.

by mark w on Jul 20, 2006 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Hill

Reliably starting Aaron Hill at second base will somewhat solve the problem at that spot. He currently has a .747 OPS this year, and a .352 OBP that seems to be climbing with every game. He's also been a competent, if not outstanding, defender at the position.

On the other hand, all that does is shift the offensive dilemma over to short, where the black holes that are the bats of Adams and MacDonald reside at the moment.

Which makes the reports that the Jays are pursuing Julio Lugo very interesting, though I still think I'd prefer to abandon SS as an offensive position this year and focus on patching the rotation, even with the departure of Hillenbrand.

- Ash

by Asharak on Jul 20, 2006 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions

and

the team's SS output is somewhat inflated by Glaus (I would imagine), who hopefully will not be spending much more time at short. so this is a good area for improvement as well.

In some ways, though, (this interestingly parallels your bullpen analysis) a team with a few black holes but great production elsewhere may be in better shape going forward than a well-balanced team, because a good trade or pickup or promotion can make a much bigger difference. i.e., just replacing 2B with a .725-.730 OPS or replacing Towers' first-half pitching efforts with league average pitching would make a huge difference.

"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 Jul 20, 2006 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Good job mark

You provided some new information in this posting. I for one hadn't heard about the chalkboard situation. I think that in and of itself would have been grounds for letting the guy go.

But combined with everything else, the whining, sulking etc and finally refusing to join the team in the dugout.. I think Gibbons and J.P had no other choice. Sometimes these decisions hurt a team in the short term but they usually end up being for the best. I think back to 2004 when the Angels cut ties with Jose Guillen just prior to the playoffs. It definitely hurt them right afterwards, but in the long term scheme of things it was an important message to send; we won't tolerate babies here, and it is about team first.

I think this is part of what J.P said yesterday and i think this is important.

by Jack Frost @ Bluebird Banter on Jul 20, 2006 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions

look who's replacing Shea

I forgot! They need someone to replace Hillenbrand starting today, of course. Until such time as they make a trade (if that happens), it seems it's Jason Phillips (C), which will make it three catchers with the club. Wonder how that will work itself out with DHing etc. etc.

by stan1 on Jul 20, 2006 4:06 PM EDT reply actions

One concern

The Blue Jays have no good offensive prospects in the high minors. Also, they have very little payroll with which to work after this season. It'll be interesting to see how Ricciardi maneuvers around it, since it'll be difficult to find a DH on the cheap (as Hillenbrand was this season, more or less).

by mark w on Jul 20, 2006 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Shea's value

While Shea's value has no doubt decreased, I still think he is a valuable commodity. I have heard that the Giants, Padres, Angels, and a couple other clubs are interested in his service. Sportsnet reported that J.P. has already received a couple offers for Shea. At least we will get to pick and choose.

I don't think we need Lugo, and TB has no interest in Hillenbrand.

I still think he will be in an Angels uniform by the end of this. Though I hope it is not Adam Kennedy coming the other way.

by slitheringslider on Jul 21, 2006 1:36 AM EDT reply actions

I wouldn't be so sure about that Alpheus

that Shea "will be in an Angels uniform by the end of this" I certainly don't want him. And knowing a little about Stoneman and Scioscia I don't think they will want him now, even if they perhaps were interested before.

I think the news that has come out, especially the part about Hillenbrand writing "This ship is sinking" on the chalkboard is pretty damning. This is a guy whose is trying to take the team down on his way out. I don't think Stoneman or Scioscia would want that kind of guy in their clubhouse, especially after what the went through with Jose Guillen.

by Jack Frost @ Bluebird Banter on Jul 21, 2006 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Other sources

After looking at a couple other sources, the angels doesn't appear to be the frontrunner, but is still interested in hillenbrand.

by slitheringslider on Jul 21, 2006 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Teams interested

Here is the list on Jeff Blair

the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Add the Milwaukee Brewers to the list, since Koskie is out and their infielders are dropping like flies.

by slitheringslider on Jul 21, 2006 1:55 AM EDT reply actions

Interviews

I highly suggest listening to a couple of interviews with HIllenbrand, Reed Johnson, and J.P. Ricciardi on the FAN 590

In response to the Cancer statement, Hillenbrand said he has a good idea who said that and the player should be ashamed of himself. He said that player claims to be a leader of the team but is not, something to that extent. I really wonder who that is.

There is definitely a lot of inconsistency between the two stories. We should learn more in a couple days as news are bound to leak.

by slitheringslider on Jul 21, 2006 3:04 AM EDT reply actions