Anyone who has been a long-time reader of this site knows that the Hairston brothers are not Fan favorites. And not that the Padres are unloved here either, but they are in sort of a holding or rebuilding pattern of late and so a good dumping ground for the pair. Scott Hairston was traded there and now Jerry Hairston Jr. was signed there as a free agent according to this news story.
Being a Fan means that some judgements are irrational. The dislike of the Hairston brothers has been going on for quite a while and there really isn't a rational explanation. Sure, it makes no sense that they have played in the major leagues for so long. Jerry has a lifetime OPS of .701. Eww. How is it that fringe players like him can have such long careers and other, more talented players (like Josh Whitesell) never get a shot? Sure, Scott is the better hitter, but come on! He has 58 career homers in his 40 year career. Well, it seems like 40 years.
This Fan has the perception that some managers just like guys who will hustle and have a good attitude no matter the circumstances. A Hairston who sits on the bench for two straight weeks, but smiles a lot and say, "Good morning, Skip," to the manager every day gets to hang around maybe.
It was an ironic twist when Jerry Hairston Jr. was traded to the Yankees last year toward the end of the season. Poetic justice maybe? And all indications seemed to be that he would sign there again this year. Well, that proved inaccurate and all is well with the world.
The Fan is sure that the Yankees can find any old weak hitting utility player for a lot cheaper than $1.5 million. Seems like they had one last year from their own organization. They are a dime a dozen, even more so than back-end relievers. For every Hairston, Miguel Cairo and others, there has to be dozens of cheap options in the minors that can actually...you know...hit just a little bit?
Why do all these guys hang around so long? Bruntlett? Does being a good guy average out an 82 OPS+? Does being a glad-hander who is willing to play any position and do the laundry worth over a million dollars? Doesn't seem like it.
But the FanDome's favorite whipping boys, the Hairstons, are now together in San Diego. Besides Hawaii, that's the farthest you can be from northern Maine and still be on the same continent. Which is probably a good thing. The Padres need to become a winner again as they have a nice market and run a good ship. But right now, they are on the bottom looking up. And now they have the corner on the Hairston market. God help them.
1 comment:
"God help them." LOL.
The Padres seem to have a thing for having brothers on the roster. They had Marcus and Brian Giles on together in 2007. Most recently, they had Adrian and Edgar Gonzalez on together. Edgar just signed with a team in Japan. Too bad. Two pairs of brothers on the same team probably would have been historic.
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