SHEA IT ISN'T SO...
It has been awhile since my last post (thesis writing, job interviews, etc); however, my eyes and hears have still be tuned to the sports world, my one true and neverending passion. Here is my take on a few recent goodies.
An interesting story developing on Long Island and the front office (dis)organization of the New York Islanders. You may remember a little joke I threw into a post a while ago about dysfunction and the Isles, yet even with the removal of GM Mike Milbury, a man with the hockey sense of an Australian surfer, the state of this organization is not improving. And while this horse has been beaten to death in the last couple of days (get well soon Barbaro), a story about another front-office may have been missed by the "hockey-first-and-only" crowd in Canada.
For those of you who have been pre-occupied with the recent signing of Mike Peca and other note-worthy hockey stories, before tonight's Blue Jays-Rangers game, Shea Hillenbrand went on a profanity-laced tirade lambasting the Jays front office for not congratulating him for adopting a child. So, roughly a month after (supposedly) begging J.P. not to trade him, Hillenbrand maintains that he is just waiting to be traded now.
And of course, this comes on the heels of J.P. Riccardi's pre-all-star game tirade, where he called out his 3-4-5 hitters. While I personally thought (and think) this was a great move, although it would have been better coming from the bench-boss, many have made questioned his actions, certainly in light of Vernon Wells' comments, where he was obviously annoyed and upset with his General Manager.
What does this mean for the organization then? Is it in trouble? Hinske is on the market, that's obvious. I have heard rumblings that Vernon Wells may be traded next year. And ultimately, I am curious about the value in either of these moves. Hinske is making a claim to remain on the roster, and while some have argued that this is raising his trade value, I could think of a few other infielders for the Jays that could be traded away. Concerning Wells, he is quickly becoming the face of the new Toronto Blue Jays, and when a team trades away an exciting and talented player, there is usually some backlash from the fans (and the Jays P.R. and marketing divisions are already having a hard time, why give them more work?).
So then, is Riccardi simply trying to fire up his team or is his baseball ego grown to big for the glove? Some have argued that the Jays are doomed because the core of the team is still "Ash's guys." Does this matter? It may, if ego is the big issue.
Nonetheless, the Jays appear to be bleeding from numerous wounds. They are not meeting the expectations of fickle fans, despite having the sixth best record in the league. The front office seems to be suffering from the Long Island syndrome (and this is not the result of too many of those Iced Teas).
The question for Jays fans, including myself then becomes, when do we break out the Bo Sox hat? (or in my case, go Twins!)
An interesting story developing on Long Island and the front office (dis)organization of the New York Islanders. You may remember a little joke I threw into a post a while ago about dysfunction and the Isles, yet even with the removal of GM Mike Milbury, a man with the hockey sense of an Australian surfer, the state of this organization is not improving. And while this horse has been beaten to death in the last couple of days (get well soon Barbaro), a story about another front-office may have been missed by the "hockey-first-and-only" crowd in Canada.
For those of you who have been pre-occupied with the recent signing of Mike Peca and other note-worthy hockey stories, before tonight's Blue Jays-Rangers game, Shea Hillenbrand went on a profanity-laced tirade lambasting the Jays front office for not congratulating him for adopting a child. So, roughly a month after (supposedly) begging J.P. not to trade him, Hillenbrand maintains that he is just waiting to be traded now.
And of course, this comes on the heels of J.P. Riccardi's pre-all-star game tirade, where he called out his 3-4-5 hitters. While I personally thought (and think) this was a great move, although it would have been better coming from the bench-boss, many have made questioned his actions, certainly in light of Vernon Wells' comments, where he was obviously annoyed and upset with his General Manager.
What does this mean for the organization then? Is it in trouble? Hinske is on the market, that's obvious. I have heard rumblings that Vernon Wells may be traded next year. And ultimately, I am curious about the value in either of these moves. Hinske is making a claim to remain on the roster, and while some have argued that this is raising his trade value, I could think of a few other infielders for the Jays that could be traded away. Concerning Wells, he is quickly becoming the face of the new Toronto Blue Jays, and when a team trades away an exciting and talented player, there is usually some backlash from the fans (and the Jays P.R. and marketing divisions are already having a hard time, why give them more work?).
So then, is Riccardi simply trying to fire up his team or is his baseball ego grown to big for the glove? Some have argued that the Jays are doomed because the core of the team is still "Ash's guys." Does this matter? It may, if ego is the big issue.
Nonetheless, the Jays appear to be bleeding from numerous wounds. They are not meeting the expectations of fickle fans, despite having the sixth best record in the league. The front office seems to be suffering from the Long Island syndrome (and this is not the result of too many of those Iced Teas).
The question for Jays fans, including myself then becomes, when do we break out the Bo Sox hat? (or in my case, go Twins!)
posted by Pattington at 11:10 p.m.
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