What a shocker...

by onthevirg on May 17, 2007 9:40 AM PDT

From Mike DiGiovanna over at the Times re: Suckenbrand.

""We evaluate the team constantly, and if there are options that make you better now and in the future, we'll look at them," Scioscia said. "But I'm still confident that Shea's upside is our best option, and our goal is to see if Shea can be the player we think he can be. Shea swinging the bat to his potential is something this team needs. We know what Shea can bring when he's swinging to his capabilities, and right now, we want to explore that."

Holy crap...if someone's talking about "upside" you know that a guy is sucking. Yeah what he's bringing is great when that's what he's actually doing. Instead of just sucking for 30 games. Welcome to Steve Finley 2005 all over again.

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F*CK YOU Scioscia.

Shut the fuck up and cut Katrina......his upside is a strong beginning(he didnt have it) so now he has nothing to offer.

Your BEST option is to go with ROOKIES........KENDRY/EVANS/HAYNES and so on.

Put Kendry Morales at 1B, and move Sean Rodriguez to 3B......NOW LETS GO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by acuda27 on May 17, 2007 9:49 AM PDT reply actions

Big Deal

As if Scioscia's gonna come out and say "Yeah, he sucks, and we're about a week away from releasing him".

What the hell do you expect him to say?

by LA Seitz on May 17, 2007 9:53 AM PDT reply actions

exactamundo

good point...hillenpoop has the worst swing I have seen since finley...he has problems squaring up the ball

Vlad, GMJ, Willits, OC =good ////Kotch,Aybar,Molina, Figgins=not bad..not good////Hillenpoop and Napoli F'cking terrible

by P237 on May 17, 2007 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions

He COULD say

something along the lines of, "Shea has shown throughout his career that he's a heck of a lot better than this, and I'm sure he'll turn the corner. But if it doesn't happen soon, then yeah, we may have to consider other options."

But no, they're going to stick with him come hell or high water because he's a veteran, even though there are better and younger options in the organization.

It is way beyond obvious that Kendry should be in the lineup, not Hillenbrand.

For all of the gobbledeygook spoken about how he's a professional hitter and so forth, the fact of the matter is that Hillenbrand's career numbers (including his peak years) make him barely above average. He's on the wrong side of 30 now.

I was looking at his baseball-reference.com page. And while I'm not quite sure how to use their comparison tools, it looks like a heck of a lot of the "similar by age" players pretty much dropped off the table at around age 32.

Guess how old Hillenbrand will be in July?

I suspect that Angels' management really doesn't understand that guys like Hillenbrand really do just fall apart at this age. They keep expecting him to "return to form." Since there's no reason to believe he is suffering from some sort of injury that is impacting his swing (and if he is, then he should be on the DL and Morales or Quinlan or maybe even Nathan Haynes should be in the lineup in his stead), then this may just be the real Shea Hillenbrand, v.2007, and he won't get better.

But, as with Steve Finley, it will probably take them until August to figure it out.

by jjackflash on May 17, 2007 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions

If Scoscia answered the question that way, the follow up would be: "So what is the date that you're giving for Shea to start performing?"

And then after every game where Shea has a poor performance: "Mike, you said that you'd consider other options if Shea didn't start performing. Given that Shea is batting xxx since you made that statement, isn't it time to drop him."

by akathelorax @ Halos Heaven on May 17, 2007 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Shea, the Requiem

All Scioscia is doing is playing the good spokeshole, in the spirit of what Baghdad Bob, Tony Snow, or Goebbels would do. Pay that no mind, that's just for public pacification/consumption.

In the inner sanctum of Angeldom, you know the axe is being sharpened, the black hood is being prepared, and the basket ready for the head to drop. Any last words Shea ............?

by PieceOfAase on May 17, 2007 10:22 AM PDT reply actions

Its a joke now

Watching Shea go up there and mash a bloop single in a futile attempt to be victorious in his ongoing battle with the Mendoza line.

by Wytelitning on May 17, 2007 10:49 AM PDT reply actions

haha

thread winner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlTvSUCCqPo

by ANewFoundThrice on May 17, 2007 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions

What sucks the most about Hillenbrand

is that I now have someone on the Angels that I hate. I have never felt this before and it sucks. Even when other guys play bad like Nappy and Figgy, I still pull for them; I would rather have them snap out of it and stay on the team than be tradded even if it is unrealistic. But this guys Shea actually pisses me right off to the point when I want him to do shitty like I want guys like AJ Persenski to do shitty....I don't like that, I don't like that at all.

Save the season, DFA Hillenbrand

by Hutch (someone took my name) on May 17, 2007 10:57 AM PDT reply actions

If Hillenbrand gets the axe...

You can still hate on Oliver.

by Sweetmeats on May 17, 2007 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions

unlike Shea

I don't have to see Oliver almost every game.

Save the season, DFA Hillenbrand

by Hutch (someone took my name) on May 17, 2007 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions

My sentiments

exactly.

Like the title to your post. It makes me think of a good diary topic that could be titled "Shea Hillenbrand, let us count the ways in which you suck."

Anyone with the 6-7 hours of free time it would take to complete that project, go for it.

If I went to war and could only take one weapon, it would be an HK47.

by RallyMonkey5 on May 17, 2007 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Figgins

needs about a month down in AAA to work on his swing and his "release point" of his throws. When he can break a .250 in Salt Lake bring him back.

by higdog on May 17, 2007 11:49 AM PDT reply actions

Problem is

Figgins was in AAA on rehab and hit .357, though it was only 14 at bats.

We can't send him down without it being a rehab assignment, and there are limits on how those can be used or how long they last.

If I went to war and could only take one weapon, it would be an HK47.

by RallyMonkey5 on May 17, 2007 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions

7th

I think he hit 7th last night for the first time.

The writing is on the wall, there is not much lower to go as a DH. If he doesn't start mashing some RBI doubles in 2 weeks his time as a regular is done.

by elricsi on May 17, 2007 11:59 AM PDT reply actions

Here's what I got in 2 minutes, 24 seconds

1st pitch swinging when he's the first batter to face the pitcher.
Thinking he's Vlad and swinging at pitches out of the strike zone.
Trying to pull an outside pitch and either

a)tapping out softly to third
b)tapping out softly to short
c)tapping out softly to the pitcher

First pitch swinging with runners on the corner and 2 out.
Not running out ground balls.
Taking halfassed, half-hearted swings with RISP.
General ho-hum attitude when popping up to 2B with RISP.
Hitting under .230 as a DH.
1 HR in 31 games.
Turned me into someone that has no interest when you come up to bat. At least with Steve Finley, I was hopeful, and felt bad for him when he was with the Halos. Finley had some wheels and played CF well enough. She's too one-dimensional on a team that needes guys to take a walk every now and then.

It is way overdue Arte. #5 needs to be retired by the Angels.

by BrianDowningFan on May 17, 2007 1:13 PM PDT reply actions

Bravo!

Nice list, I guess this is the one time I am happy I almost never get to see the Angels on TV.

One interesting thing about Shea is evidently he kills balls in the upper half of the zone, so any pitcher who can keep to ball down turns him into an automatic out.

Maybe someone should make a website:

www.dfashea.com

by elricsi on May 17, 2007 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions

At the minimum

Mike should make Shea into a 2/3rd time player until he proves otherwise. To throw him out there everyday when he is not hitting probably won't help him rebound faster. Cherry pick the good matchups for Shea until he rebounds and sit him the rest of the time.

by LosAngel on May 17, 2007 2:15 PM PDT reply actions

i am sooooo glad

That reactionary and overly emotional fans don't fill out the line-up cards, make deals for trades, or determine who comes up from or goes to the minors.

Otherwise, we'd never have any consistency on this team.

We're in first place given the number of people on the DL this first half of the season and the team seems to be coming together a bit better offensively.

Hillenbrand's getting $6 million this year after all. Before you flush that down the toilet woulnd't you stick with him as long as possible until it REALLY starts to hurt the team's chances to make the postseason?

Or are you all so freakin' wealthy you wipe your asses with hundred dollar bills or something?

by SactoFan on May 17, 2007 5:17 PM PDT reply actions

No but Moreno is!

Put Kendry Morales at 1B, and move Sean Rodriguez to 3B......NOW LETS GO WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by acuda27 on May 17, 2007 6:33 PM PDT up reply actions

you think this team couldn't eat $6 million?

Save the season, DFA Hillenbrand

by Hutch (someone took my name) on May 17, 2007 6:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Easily

Can eat $6 million, but wouldn't you, as a businessman, attempt to get something out of an investment before you settled on a loss of that $6 million?

I know I would.

by SactoFan on May 18, 2007 3:32 PM PDT up reply actions

www.DFAshea.com

If it's a young player or player coming back from injury, then sure you show patience or try again later.

At the moment Shea was signed, 90% of this site knew it was a waste. When his hits are not dropping he is beyond useless. At least when Side Salad is hitting around .200 he gets some walks and pops a HR now and then.

by elricsi on May 17, 2007 10:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Shea is finished

Washed up. Done.

As noted above, Hillenbrand turns 32 in July. Players like Hillenbrand often completely fall apart at that age. Happens overnight, almost, and that's exactly what's happened to him. He's simply not going to get appreciably better. The problem is with the manager who doesn't necessarily understand this, and who will keep running him out there almost every day believing that he'll turn it around because once upon a time he was better than this.

I don't blame Stoneman nearly as much. Hillenbrand wasn't even on the team's radar until Juan Rivera's leg exploded, and kudos to Stoneman for moving swiftly in trying to fill the void.

by jjackflash on May 18, 2007 10:05 AM PDT up reply actions

90% of this site

also knew it was a waste when we signed Matthews. What do they have to say now?

by DChalofan on May 18, 2007 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

I could be wrong

but I think most people were unhappy about the fourth and fifth years (and to a lesser extent, the third year) on GMJ's contract, rather than the simple fact that he was signed, period. I think the catcalls got a lot louder when the HGH rumors surfaced.

by jjackflash on May 18, 2007 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions

wrong

The comments were to the effect of Matthews had a career year, we will be lucky if he hits .250, and his below-average defense has been overlooked because of his one or two great plays. In fact, I recall specific comments that Stoneman needed to stop signing players based on Sportscenter highlights. The animosity toward Matthews (while greater because of the fourth and fifth years and the HGH allegations) began simply because we signed him.

by DChalofan on May 18, 2007 11:19 AM PDT reply actions

I was a critic

at the time. I looked at his .249 career average prior to 2006, and figured he was much more likely (at his age) to do that than to do what he did in 2006. So far I've been proven wrong, and I'm peasantly surprised.

I made a lot of the comments you recall, but I really wouldn't have been moved to say those things if he'd been given a one or two-year deal. Again, it was rewarding a guy on the wrong side of 30 with a contract befitting an all-star, to a guy who had been a fringe major leaguer for his career, except for what appeared to be one fluke season. When the HGH rumors surfaced, it offered an explanation for the fluke year, and made the length of the contract seem all the more unreasonable.

Again, I think that a significant percentage of the naysayers took the position that it was the length of the deal, and the money (but see below; also, in an offseason where Gil Meche gets $55 million, the dollars are irrelevant), not so much the signing (particularly at a time when it appeared that there might be better CF solutions on the market in a year or two).

It's Arte's money, and he's got a lot of it, and I don't have a problem with him deciding to pay it to whomever he wants.

by jjackflash on May 18, 2007 11:29 AM PDT up reply actions