Apparently it's Buster Olney Day here at GYS. He's reporting the Sox are looking to send Mike Lowell to the now Vinny Castilla-less San Diego Padres, in exchange for pitching (Young or Peavy, I'd hope). Three months ago I would've laughed at it and said no way would the Padres do something so stupid; now I'm not so sure I even like the deal, as Lowell's been so awesome. But I know a man-crush when I see it; with Youkilis able to play third, and two power-hitting 1st basemen with awesome names (Hee-Seop Choi and Wily Mo Pena) ready in the wings, I suppose it makes sense. Though defense will suffer; and a good NL pitcher in Petco Park could translate to a terrible AL pitcher in Fenway...who knows.
Meanwhile, to continue a theme we've already touched on today, there's Shea Hillenbrand. I don't think I want him back, in part because he clearly doesn't want to be a role player. Who knows what actually happened in Toronto, so I don't want to blast him on personality (my theory: Ricciardi, Gibbons, and Hillenbrand are ALL total jerks), but I do remember how frustrating he was to watch play: some incredibly clutch hits...but a whole lot of stupid swings.
No way no how never. I do not believe this. Not at all. Makes no sense. Lowell has been a force at the plate and the best defensive 3rd baseman in the league. BAR NONE! Don't you agree?????
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I can see the Sox trying to throw away that salary despite Lowell being way better than expected (especially because of the money owed next year)...However, I can't see the Padres dumping a top pitcher for a 3b at this point.
ReplyDeletePitching wins, and the Padres are in the hunt.
Can anyone see the really bad Cubs dumping Zambrano?
I don't really see a Lowell deal happening, unless they could get a Peavey or Young.
ReplyDeleteI did find some more stuff about Hillenbrand and obviously it is not the whole story. But apparently he was pissed about being out of the lineup two days in a row after coming back and this was in addition to him being frustrated with being mostly a DH this year. Then he wrote on the clubhouse bulletin board they use to post BP times "play for yourself" which is pretty classless. Then he also wrote "the ship is sinking". Apparently Gibbons called a team meeting and called him out on it in front of everyone, which Shea took exceptiont to and even said so at which point Gibbons said if he did not like the way he (Gibbons) was handling it, he would gladly step outside with Shea (who declined). And Shea said he was joking with his comments and that Gibbons was unprofessional. JP is very publicly supporting Gibbons and even said "Tor is a better team without Shea."
Hee Sop Choi has been witness by 3 GYS-ers this year in totally different settings. earl, you had the pleasure of seeing him in the WBC with 55,000 people chanting his name on a huge stage. Dino and I saw him batting .210 for the Paw Sox in Louisville last month, where I would be surprised if more that 55 people noticed. Which may explain why is not really hitting - how do you go from the show to AAA. Must be tough, especially for someone who has spent so much time in the bigs.