Just yesterday, I was talking about baseball season being over...just in time for the Red Sox to make the first offseason splash and trade for Jeremy Hermida, killer of my fantasy baseball teams in both 2007 and 2008, seasons where the former first round pick showed flashes of brilliance but was never able to sustain the production. Listening to Damon Amendolara's evening gig on 98.5 last night, D.A. himself compared Hermida to J.D. Drew in personality: a robotic, "does this guy really care?" approach to playing the game. So now, the Red Sox have two talented but perennially underachieving personalities manning the outfield at Fenway. But let's look on the bright side.
Hermida won't be an everyday player here. If the Sox re-sign Jason Bay or haul in a big free agent outfielder, Hermida will be the fourth guy out there, which almost certainly means goodbye to Rocco Baldelli - nice guy, nice story, but he got 150 at-bats last year and can't fill in for an injured player, which is what you need a fourth outfielder to do. If the Sox don't spend the bucks on a big outfield bat, they're almost certainly going to split at-bats between Hermida, up-and-comer Josh Reddick, and a low-cost free agent signing like Josh Willingham. Essentially, the Hermida deal is a low-risk investment - the Sox didn't give up much to get the former first round pick, a guy who has had some success at the Major League level. If he pans out here, great. But he'll start the season as the fourth outfielder.
Chad Finn's media column in the Globe today referenced the retirement of Bill Walton from broadcasting. If there was ever a guy who would make this type of announcement, it's Walton: “As I return after a grueling, multiyear, life-threatening, life-changing ordeal with back problems, it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service.’’ Good luck to the big redhead as he sets out to make the world a better place.
Hermida won't be an everyday player here. If the Sox re-sign Jason Bay or haul in a big free agent outfielder, Hermida will be the fourth guy out there, which almost certainly means goodbye to Rocco Baldelli - nice guy, nice story, but he got 150 at-bats last year and can't fill in for an injured player, which is what you need a fourth outfielder to do. If the Sox don't spend the bucks on a big outfield bat, they're almost certainly going to split at-bats between Hermida, up-and-comer Josh Reddick, and a low-cost free agent signing like Josh Willingham. Essentially, the Hermida deal is a low-risk investment - the Sox didn't give up much to get the former first round pick, a guy who has had some success at the Major League level. If he pans out here, great. But he'll start the season as the fourth outfielder.
Chad Finn's media column in the Globe today referenced the retirement of Bill Walton from broadcasting. If there was ever a guy who would make this type of announcement, it's Walton: “As I return after a grueling, multiyear, life-threatening, life-changing ordeal with back problems, it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service.’’ Good luck to the big redhead as he sets out to make the world a better place.
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