Na Na, Shea Shea, Good-Bye
The Red Sox traded “All-Star” third baseman Shea Hillenbrand to the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday for submariner Byung-Hyun Kim. Hillenbrand is one of the most overrated players in the league, and I am quite excited to see the Red Sox fill a hole in their rotation (or bullpen, depending on how they use Kim). Reactions from sports columnists have varied, from the boring “this could be a good deal for both clubs” (Jayson Stark) to “Theo Epstein should be arrested for grand larceny” (Rob Neyer). In case you can’t tell who I agree with, I invite you to check out my blogroll.
The Red Sox traded a poor-fielding, average running, easily replaceable (Bill Mueller is already on the roster) 3B with no batting eye for a 24-year-old (so there’s room for improvement), hard-throwing strikeout artist. Hillenbrand has the tendency to start the season well (remember last year’s red-hot April?), and then cool down. Plus, he can go weeks without drawing a walk. Kim, meanwhile, can either become the Sox’ new closer, or he can supplement Pedro, Lowe, Fossum, and Wakefield in what is already one of the American League’s best starting rotations.
This marks the second significant step of the Epstein/James era (the first being the signings of Millar, Ortiz, and Giambi this offseason). And, given the recent turmoil in New York, I think the Sox have a good chance of unseating the five-time defending AL East champs come October.