Hermida to Red Sox

[Namaste]

For those that are predicting that Hermida will "blow up" next year.......

Would you also have predicted he would "blow up" next year if he was still playing in FLA?



Edit: I hadn't read Beef's and Festa's post yet when I posted this. I now see I'm not alone in my thinking.

[wanks1212]

a large part of the belief he'll blow up is that a change in scenery is going to do hermida worlds of good. it's largely based on conjecture, because if you actually look at hermida's career numbers nothing indicates next year is the year he finally figures it out (no matter where he is)

[Swifty]

Oh not at all, but sometimes you just Rick Ankiel a guy and say you're going to languish here before we let you thrive elsewhere so figure it out.

Hermida was compared to Paul O'Neill coming up. O'Neill had to get out of Cincy (albeit because Piniella rode him overly hard)...I think Hermida needed to get out of Florida. (And yes, I'm talking about his inevitable success elsewhere as a foregone conclusion).

[Namaste]

But Swift, you yourself said that he will get eaten alive in Boston. Maybe I misunderstood your post but how will microphones stuffed in his mouth after a slump/LOL-defensive play increase his chances of blowing up?

I'm confused. And as Festa pointed out, other than Peski's pole, Fenway may not be the breeding ground for a blow up year that some think it is.

[Swifty]

He's gonna kill it if they spell him at DH (and since the Epstein Red Sox have less loyalty than the Marlins, making Ortiz compete for the job is not out of the question).

If they ask him to play left, he's done in Boston. However, I also think there's an excellent chance that Hermida doesn't even open the season with the Sox. I know that he was on several team's DFA wish list, so this could just be to block him from the DFA and to direct him to somewhere like Siberia, err, Seattle, or it could be more value hoarding as the Sox go after Felix/Halladay. There's any number of scenarios in which Hermida has a great year next year and still is utterly incapable of playing left field at Fenway.

[Party]

I'm with Daft, there have more than a few who have painted Hermida as the over self-conscious. How is going from a market where, aside from 20 people here and 40 idiots over at .suck, no one cares about baseball to a market where everything is under a microscope going to be conducive for a Hermida type?

[Ramp]

I think the change of pace is going to help. That and he's just 25, which is still not even close to his prime yet. He still has a very good eye and his lefty stroke is too good to suck forever.

Not suggesting he would have been good in Florida if here next season, but I think in 400 at bats in Boston he finally has a good full season.

[Swifty]

Because if you start him in Boston (and at any position other than left) you're not asking/expecting him to do anything and really, when you don't expect anything, if he hits .250, it's like, "whatever." If he hits .300 he's celebrated, propped up as a testament to Epstein's genius and 5,000 guys in the bleachers are wearing his jersey and screaming they love the gutsy kid. He's really in a no lose situation if he starts in Boston. Anything above .250 and it's gravy. Anything above .270 and it's celebrated.

He K's with 2 on and 2 out, it's like "oh, right, he was meant to suck."

The only way it's a disaster is if he's being brought in to play 75 games in Fenway as the left fielder or he's consistently asked to hit second or third.

"No expectation" seasons have a way of reviving careers when the guy still has something left.

[Namaste]

I can get on board with him possibly having a good season in Boston next year as a DH but they will sodomize that kid if he's a position player.


No lube.

[Swifty]

I can get on board with him possibly having a good season in Boston next year as a DH but they will sodomize that kid if he's a position player.


No lube.

Only if the position is left. He can play right in the AL East. There's no treacherous too much ground to cover right field in the East. And everyone's allowed a brain-fart when the go out west or whatever. You have hell to pay if you screw up at home, and he will absolutely 10000000000000% get eaten alive by the monstah.

[Namaste]

Hermida will never ever be thought of a gutsy player Swift. He needs to have a JD season to not get raked over the coals in Boston.

Let's face it, Hermida is not a likable guy. Some guys can get away with the whole " I'm a gutsy, hustling, scrappy guy who has meh numbers". Hermida can't do that. He'll have to put up numbers because he's flaky and he will rub people the wrong way.

[Swifty]

Players with an inside out swing inevitably get labeled "gutsy" in big markets. It's like a proven fact.

Not saying I believe it, but you've already got the scrappiest little scrap whoever scrapped up there, and a true meathead's meathead, let Herm do the inside out lefty swing, bang the monstah 30 times and watch people fawn (provided he doesn't play left in Fenway).
--------------------
PS:

Oh, and also, .270 hitters in big markets are labeled one of the following:

"blue collar"

"grinder"

"scrappy"

"crafty"

"resourceful"

"tough"

For whatever reason, the words 'average' 'decent' 'productive' seem lost from the vernacular. Hence another reason why I see Hermida getting adopted as their own.

[Party]

Epstein on the trade: “This is not a blockbuster. It’s a value trade and a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled potential at a reasonable cost. I don’t think we can draw grand conclusions about our offseason, or the offseason in Major League Baseball, with this one transaction. It’s just a small move, and I’m sure that there will be increased activity with a lot of clubs once we get to the general managers’ meetings.”

On Hermida’s health issues: “That’s one of the things that has held him back and has prevented him from reaching his potential. But most of the injuries that he has had have been soft-tissue types of injuries, nothing that should be chronic — nothing structural that should impair him going forward. Often times, young players, when they get hurt early in their careers, it really hampers them. As they move closer to their prime, and mature a little bit, some figure out how to stay on the field and that helps them to reach their potential. Others don’t. We’ll see what happens with Jeremy.”

On Hermida’s declining production: “I just think he hasn’t really put everything together offensively yet. If you look back at 2007, as a 23-year-old, he had a really solid season and was starting to fulfill the promise he had showed in the minor leagues. He’s got a lot of offensive tools, and he’s got a sound approach and a good swing, and he’s got some power. I think that the last two years there were high expectations, and it didn’t come together for him. He was nagged by some small injuries, and his performance certainly hasn’t been as good the last few years as it was in 2007. I can tell you that that’s the reason we were able to acquire him today. Had he maintained that performance, or had linear progression from 2007 until today, there‘s no way we would have been trading for him today, let alone in this kind of a deal. So, he‘s a guy who needs to figure it out, and needs to get straightened out, to reach his potential, and I think that there‘s a chance that he will. It may not happen, or it may not happen with us, but we‘ve had really good scouting reports on him, and we like the way that he controls the strike zone, and we certainly liked him a lot as an amateur and throughout his minor league career. Taking those factors, we thought it was certainly a reasonable deal.”

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1431

[Namaste]

I'd like to add also.....

It may appear next year at times that he is "breaking out" or "blowing up" but it will be because 75% of the HR's/doubles he hits will now be on ESPN instead of 15% when he was with Florida.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. I guess I could sit here and lie and say I'm really really hoping he does well in Boston but I've never really liked the guy (with the exception of his first major league AB). Over the years we've had SO many guys who were so much more likeable (IMO). In fact, there are too many to name.

I think who we got in return for Hermida speaks volumes about Hermida. Don't blame the GM on this one, blame the player.

[Ramp]

I don't think people on this board use stats by how many times someone is shown on ESPN.