July 20, 2006

HILLENBRAND HAD REACHED A ‘POINT OF NO RETURN’ WITH JAYS

      As unexpected as this latest incident appears to be it should not come as a complete surprise considering Shea Hillenbrand’s somewhat caustic and distant personality.   And the parting shots he took at his former club showed a frustration that was not simply from a momentary disagreement with the club but had certainly built up over time.  The end result is that a major league baseball club has unceremoniously dumped Hillenbrand for the third time in his career.

       For Hillenbrand, a decent ballplayer making more than a decent wage, the issues with the ball club seemed to stem from a spring training meeting when he was informed that because of the acquisitions of Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay his role would be reduced to being the team’s designated hitter.  Hillenbrand, a below average third baseman with a strike zone the size of a garage door, took this as an admonishment of his fielding capabilities and, instead of embracing the opportunity to be a regular hitter on a contending team allowed the “insult” to ferment in his mind.  Usually a quick starter Hillenbrand was slow out of the gate as he adjusted to simply hitting, but when he grew accustomed to the role and found his stroke he became one of the club’s better hitters for a period of about six weeks.  Through that time, however, he believed that he should be playing more in the field and when he continually asserted that claim to his manager he believed his “competitiveness” was wrongly being construed as selfishness.  He may not realize it, but his constant carping over wanting to play in the field was less about being competitive and more about filling his own personal needs.  He was being selfish.  With Glaus and Overbay the club had a better chance at winning than having Hillenbrand with his slow feet and stone glove in the field.

       The club and the player had serious differences with regards to Hillenbrand’s so-called competitiveness.  The player did not understand his limitations and believed that he should be a much more integral component of the team.  The club believed that he was a role player and had simply reduced him to a role they believed in which he could be successful, and one that would help the team win.  The player did not seem to understand this fact and became the issue that likely led to the personality conflict between player and manager that worsened over time.  Both the player and the club maintain the coldness that escalated between the two parties began a couple of months ago.  Ironically, there did not seem to be any issues last season when, because of injuries, Hillenbrand spent most of the season playing a position in the field.  The issues only came up this season when he was not.  The player didn’t seem to want to hear management’s reasoning for his role.  The cold war was underway.

       There was obviously tension between player and management and it was only a matter of time until the entire thing blew up.  What seemed to occur was that Hillenbrand, upon returning from California following the successful adoption of a child, was upset at discovering that he was not in the line-up on Tuesday.  When he was again not in the line-up on Wednesday Hillenbrand lost control.  Sometime before the game he was joking around with teammates and was likely making disingenuous and derogatory comments about manager John Gibbons.  When the manager found this out he naturally assumed that the player was attempting to create a controversy on the ball club and form a division between the players and the manager.  Gibbons, wishing to nip this problem in the bud, called out the instigator of this incident during a closed-door meeting.   The cold war heated up.  The manager likely wanted to know just how angry the player was--if he was irate enough to actually hit the manager.  More words were exchanged and the player was told to pack up and get out.  On his way out, however, the player decided to voice his displeasure with a local reporter and, with the story now public, the club decided to divest itself of a problem. 

      Hillenbrand had previously been traded by Boston after the player had made insulting and homogenous remarks about the club’s GM.  In Arizona his caustic personality caused the club to simply move him out of town to rid themselves of the player and his salary.  And now, in Toronto, a third club has terminated him and, on the way out, the player made more desultory comments.  The notion that management and the player could not communicate and that the player’s agent was needed as the middle-man in any conversation is telling.  It seems that Hillenbrand has very little to say to anyone unless he believes he is being targeted.  Then he has lots to say.     

      The comments he made on his way out the door were certainly cryptic.  His statement that he “should have been traded two months ago,” are completely at odds with the statement he made at the time when he avowed his desire to stay with the Jays.  And his remark that the organization had not congratulated him on his successful adoption is ludicrous considering the lack of communication between the two parties.

       It’s unfortunate but Shea’s world does not seem to run parallel with the actual world.

       The question now becomes--how will this incident affect the Jays as they continue an uphill struggle to contend for a division title?  The answer will come from JP and the organization.  The club needs reinforcements—more than just a replacement for Hillenbrand.  There are rumours that the club is on the verge of acquiring shortstop Julio Lugo from Tampa Bay, and with both the Angels and the Padres looking for a hitter—San Diego just released Vinny Castilla and are openly searching for a third baseman—the Jays have some options open to them.  How the club fills their needs will go a long way in deciding whether the team will make a serious playoff run over the final two months. 

       The worst-case scenario is that, for the first time, the Jays are now a contending club with the requisite pressures to win.  The experience of playing with the big boys is necessary for their growth and will only serve to help them in future years.