Mailbag: Hillenbrand on the move?
01/30/2006If Shea Hillenbrand and the Blue Jays can't reach an agreement on his contract, is it possible for him to be traded?-- Vivek P., Toronto
Trading Hillenbrand seems an unlikely solution to his contract situation. What is more likely to happen is for Toronto and Hillenbrand to go through an arbitration hearing, where an arbitration panel will choose either the $5 million the Jays offered or the $6.7 million Hillenbrand is asking for. He made $3.87 million last season.
The same goes for pitcher Pete Walker, who made $400,000 in 2005 and is asking for $875,000, compared to the $575,000 offered by Toronto. Hearings for both players are scheduled for Feb. 15.
Toronto can still attempt to find a middle ground on both contracts before the scheduled hearings, but it appears that the conflicting sides are headed toward arbitration. Toronto hasn't gone to arbitration with a player since 1997, when the team's offer was selected for reliever Bill Risley.
Will Hillenbrand see any action at third base, considering he is a better fielder than Troy Glaus?-- Eric B., Manchester, Conn.
Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi has expressed plenty of confidence in Glaus as a fielder. Glaus, who spent time at shortstop earlier in his career, has shown better range in his career at third than Hillenbrand or the departed Corey Koskie. Glaus also has a slightly higher fielding percentage (.945) than Hillenbrand (.942) in his career at the hot corner.
Some would argue that Glaus might have some problems playing on the artificial FieldTurf surface at the Rogers Centre, especially after struggling with a knee ailment through most of 2005. However, Glaus agreed to come to the Blue Jays partly because the turf that makes up Toronto's field now isn't as hard on players' legs as the previous surface the Jays played on.
If Glaus should have problems with his left knee again, or simply needs a day off, you can bet that Toronto will look to Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske to fill in at the corner. Second baseman Aaron Hill has experience at third, too. For now, though, Glaus will be the everyday third baseman and Hillenbrand will serve as the designated hitter.
I'm a big Jays fan who gets frustrated when commentators and analysts dismiss early season losses with the "it's a long season" comment. In the American League East, every game is big. In the opening month, the Jays play the Red Sox six times, the Yankees five times, and the World Series champion White Sox three times. I don't want to say a bad April nixes the rest of the year, but how important is it to the Jays (and their confidence) to get off to a great start?-- Everett T., Toronto
You're exactly right, Everett. The season is 162 games, but getting off to a bad start can cripple a team's chances of success later in the year. Last season, Oakland started the year 15-32, but had an amazing turnaround and finished 88-74 -- missing out on a playoff berth by seven games. Imagine where the A's might have ended up they didn't struggle so much in the first month and a half.
Early success can also be a good indicator for how a team will finish when the first month is laden with games within a team's division. You pointed out the series against the Yankees and Red Sox, but the Jays also have three games each against the Orioles and Devil Rays -- two teams Toronto should beat.
Since 2001, the Blue Jays' record within the division has ranked third behind Boston and New York every season, except for 2004. It's not a coincidence that Toronto finished in third place in all of those years except '04, when they placed fifth. In fact, over the last five seasons, the team with the best record within the division won the AL East crown four times.
So, yes, getting off to a good start against the Yankees and Red Sox is important for the Jays quest for the playoffs.
Although he has gotten better, Russ Adams has proven that he does have problems with his accuracy throwing to first. Do you think that Aaron Hill could take over as the shortstop position with Adams moving to second?-- Andrew M., Winterbourne, Ontario
The only way Hill will be moving back to shortstop at this point is if Adams suffers an injury. Adams did have 26 errors at short during his rookie year last season, but he's young and still developing. Keep in mind that even Toronto's beloved Tony Fernandez eclipsed 30 errors in his first full season at short in 1985. The Jays have plenty of faith in Adams.
As far as other options in the infield, John McDonald is the backup at shortstop. If Adams did get hurt and Hill had to move to short, Ricciardi said that Minor Leaguer Ryan Roberts is an in-house option to play second base. Roberts had a good year with Double-A New Hampshire last season. Minor League shortstop Sergio Santos, who was acquired in the Glaus deal, is another possible callup if it came down to it.
I understand Orlando Hudson had a range factor of 5.84 last season to lead the Majors. Can you tell me how exactly do you calculate range factor?-- Nigel B., Toronto
My apologies, Nigel. I've cited range factor numerous times and never explained how it's calculated. You add the number of putouts and assists a player has, multiply that total by nine, and then divide that result by the number of innings he played.
For Hudson, his putouts (302) and assists (391) multiplied by nine equals 6,237. Divide that by his innings (1,067 2/3) and the end result is 5.84 -- the best range factor among second basemen in 2005.
Source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/
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