Jays designate Hillenbrand for assignment after outburst

Writer11 · July 19, 2006 11:05AM

I'm not sure what to make of this. It's fair to say, however, that John Gibbons is one of the more player friendly managers in baseball. I've heard that Hillenbrand comes with baggage, but this was out of the blue.

Hillenbrand done in Toronto

Axtell · July 19, 2006 11:11AM

Sounds like his biggest beef was not getting enough playing time, and he was mad he wasn't in the lineup after flying back from LA?

He'll get picked up by someone for sure, even if it's only for the rest of this season.

perkdog · July 19, 2006 11:28AM

Shea who? Didn't he play for a team out of New England before?.............................

Writer11 · July 19, 2006 10:05PM

And the plot thickens. This is most I have heard from Hillenbrand in the two years he has been in Toronto.

More on Hillenbrand

Barndog · July 19, 2006 10:09PM

The Jays' stupid move, IMO, will be someone else's welcomed gain.

Connecticoin · July 19, 2006 10:37PM

If what Hillenbrand is saying is true, it looks like Gibbons should be shown the door as well. I am not terribly familiar with the Jay's roster, but is their 3rd baseman and "other" DH better than Hillenbrand?

Writer11 · July 20, 2006 12:23AM

A lot more about the situation is coming out now. Hillenbrand apparently wrote, "The ship is sinking" about the Jays fortunes on the a chalkboard in the locker room before the game. Something he thought was funny, but Gibbons and some teammates thought it wasn't. It is also now coming out that Hillenbrand ripped the Canadian flag off his hat or uniform on Canada Day after he was removed from the game. One teammate went so far as to call him a "cancer" in the clubhouse. He's a good hitter, but I don't see a significant drop off. They can rotate a combination of Catalanotto, Hinske and Zaun through the DH spot and lose little production.

Barndog · July 20, 2006 12:28AM

so he will only be welcomed on non-Canadian teams...hmmm, that really reduces the prospects. I still think he will help a contender.

WeekendHacker · July 20, 2006 1:11AM

He is an incredibly selfish person. He was pissed off because the team didn't 'congratulate' him & his wife on their adoption (which he took 3 days leave from the team). When he found out he wasn't in the lineup the other night - he refused to sit in the dugout. What a punk. He lambasted some of the front office personnel after he was given the boot out of Boston. He just doesn't 'get it.' I hope he has seen his last day on a MLB roster. He's got talent, but far too much baggage to put on a roster in the middle of the season. He'll show up somewhere though.

His stats when given the boot from Toronto:
PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB BA OBP SLG OPS
Shea Hillenbrand Tor 296 40 89 15 1 12 39 1 2 14 .301 .342 .480 .821

Writer11 · July 20, 2006 2:15AM

<< so he will only be welcomed on non-Canadian teams...hmmm, that really reduces the prospects. I still think he will help a contender. >>

Not sure if this is at jab at me or not. Sarcasm is tough to translate on message boards. The point is that it's disrespectful to rip a country's flag off your equipment, especially on that country's birthday. I hope most people would agree.

I don't doubt that Hillenbrand's bat could help a contender. There's no question he can hit. But if you can't get along with John Gibbons you're in trouble.

Barndog · July 20, 2006 2:21AM

Not sure if this is at jab at me or not. Sarcasm is tough to translate on message boards. The point is that it's disrespectful to rip a country's flag off your equipment, especially on that country's birthday. I hope most people would agree.

I don't doubt that Hillenbrand's bat could help a contender. There's no question he can hit. But if you can't get along with John Gibbons you're in trouble.

No jab at you, just one at the Jays. They are justing adding fuel to their fire by brining up "all the reasons" for his release. My point is the same as it has been all along: that he will go to a team that will be happy to take him for 2+ months.

Writer11 · July 20, 2006 6:22AM

More revelations about Hillenbrand's hastened departure. Bob Elliott, arguably Canada's most respected baseball writer, is reporting that not only did Hillenbrand write, "The ship is sinking" on the clubhouse chalk board, he also wrote something like: Play for yourself or play for your contract.

perkdog · July 20, 2006 9:07AM

I know when Shea was in Boston, Johnny Pesky formed a really good relationship with him, Pesky is as old school as it gets so I would believe that his attitude must have gotten a lot worse since his days with the Sox.

It's hard to believe any ballplayer would put something like that on a clubhouse chalkboard, but if you say this guy is the most respected in Canada that has to hold some water.

aro13 · July 20, 2006 10:05AM

Shea said a lot of discouraging remarks when he left the Sox. He insulted Theo Epstein and I believe made a reference that this trade would be as bad for the Sox as the Bagwell-Larry Anderson trade. Shea is doing all of the talking in the papers and on the radio. The Blue Jays are pretty silent other than to say they will be better off without him on the team.

Connecticoin · July 20, 2006 10:48AM

<< Shea said a lot of discouraging remarks when he left the Sox. He insulted Theo Epstein and I believe made a reference that this trade would be as bad for the Sox as the Bagwell-Larry Anderson trade. Shea is doing all of the talking in the papers and on the radio. The Blue Jays are pretty silent other than to say they will be better off without him on the team. >>

At the time, Hillenbrand was expendable, but what Theo got for him sure turned out to be an expensive POS (BK Kim). After seeing BK get shelled in the 2001 World Series (the D'backs won in spite of him), I had a bad feeling about BK once the Sox acquired him.

Connecticoin · July 20, 2006 10:51AM

<< If what Hillenbrand is saying is true, it looks like Gibbons should be shown the door as well. I am not terribly familiar with the Jay's roster, but is their 3rd baseman and "other" DH better than Hillenbrand? >>

Looks like Gibbons can't manage either -- he pulled a "reverse Grady Little" and yanked Halliday after 93 pitches. Of course BJ Ryan blew the save. Damn Yankees!!

The Yanks announcers commented that Gibbons overuses the bullpen. Kinda sucks for Halliday that they have blown 5 leads for him this year.

Writer11 · July 20, 2006 11:32AM

<< 

<< If what Hillenbrand is saying is true, it looks like Gibbons should be shown the door as well. I am not terribly familiar with the Jay's roster, but is their 3rd baseman and "other" DH better than Hillenbrand? >>

Looks like Gibbons can't manage either -- he pulled a "reverse Grady Little" and yanked Halliday after 93 pitches. Of course BJ Ryan blew the save. Damn Yankees!!

The Yanks announcers commented that Gibbons overuses the bullpen. Kinda sucks for Halliday that they have blown 5 leads for him this year. >>

Gibbons has had a bad run with some of his bullpen decisions. But I can't really argue with bringing Ryan into to pitch to Giambi. Left vs left, plus Giambi was 0 for 13 with 7Ks against him previously.

A761506 · July 20, 2006 12:44PM

I don't understand why Toronto even wanted him to begin with... he never walks, so his OBP is low every year, he's an unremarkable hitter and defender...

He has little value, perhaps a shaky middle-reliever the Twins or Dodgers... teams that are close but need improvement in the hitting from 3B.

softparade · July 20, 2006 12:57PM

Shea Hillenbrand does not have "little value". He is a career .290 hitter with a OBP of .328 for his career. The guy is aggressive, can hit, and stikes out at a VERY low level for a guy who does not walk much. He has definate value ....

ctsoxfan · July 20, 2006 1:11PM

He may have had a relationship with Pesky while he was in Boston, but all I remember of him being in Boston was that he was a selfish, immature jerk on his way out of town. He doesn't seem to have changed a bit during his time in Toronto, and for the Blue Jays manager to call him a "clubhouse cancer" so soon after his release, that tells you something.

Barndog · July 20, 2006 8:56PM

<< He has little value, >>

The only reason I agree with that statement is this: any club looking to trade for Hillenbrand knows that Toronto must let him go. It isn't like a team will have to work hard to convince the Jays to trade Hillenbrand. He has been given his release, so he is going out the door, guaranteed. So he has little value because Toronto tipped its hand and has no power in any negotiations. To whomever he ends up with, I believe he will have plenty of value as a hitter.

Writer11 · July 20, 2006 10:25PM

The more that I hear I can't believe how incredibly self-absorbed Hillenbrand is. Here is segment of an article from today's Toronto Sun written by Steve Simmons on what Hillenbrand wrote on the clubhouse message board:

*******************************************************************************

The beginning of the end for Hillenbrand came with words scribbled on the clubhouse message board Wednesday afternoon, words that infuriated the fiery Gibbons. They read:

"Play for yourself.

"Play for your contract.

"This ship is sinking."

*********************************************************************************

I can't imagine writing this on the clubhouse messageboard for your teammates to read, right before the biggest series of the year.

sagard · July 21, 2006 1:15AM

<< ...He has little value, perhaps a shaky middle-reliever the Twins .... >>

No thanks. The guy is nothing but a headache. The Twins have finally got a couple of guys in the lineup who are willing to take a pitch or two and I really don't want this clown getting into the mix.

ctsoxfan · July 21, 2006 2:23PM

Well, now he can learn how to be a real a**hole, from the king of all a**holes in baseball, Barry Bonds.

Shea To Giants

A761506 · July 21, 2006 2:48PM

He did have little value, traded for a shaky middle reliever...

grote15 · July 21, 2006 2:58PM

Good move for the Gaints, they'll need whatever help they can get after Bonds gets indicted.

Writer11 · July 21, 2006 10:50PM

I think the Jays were going to consider any Hillenbrand deal a success as long as they didn't have to pay any of his salary. They succeeded in that. I don't know much about the reliever they got in the trade, but he has to be better than most of what they have in their pen right now (Ryan and Speier excluded).

onlyanumber · July 21, 2006 11:06PM

Hillenbrand and Vinnie Chulk (called up recently due to Ty Taubenheim going on the DL with a staph infection) for Jeremy Accardo. Accardo has a lively arm and was supposedly being groomed as the next Giants closer.

Apparently, several Giants players petitioned to get Hillenbrand...

Jays designate Hillenbrand for assignment after outburst

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