Rosenthal is, in a lot of ways, the new Gammons: a prolific writer who often pulls trade rumours and speculation out of his, er, hat. Kennedy would be a nice upgrade for the Blue Jays, but he's no shortstop. Presumably, the Jays would move Aaron Hill back to shortstop and send Russ Adams to the bench or Syracuse, perhaps to learn a new position (Mike Green's suggestion of left field still strikes me as eminently sensible). Hill has been terrific at second base defensively, and his bat is starting to come around, so it wouldn't make any sense to bump him from the lineup.

But from LA's perspective, Hillenbrand isn't much help. They need to start rebuilding, since this season appears to be a lost cause for them. If I were in their position, I'd be asking for a Francisco Rosario and Dustin McGowan in exchange for Kennedy, with Hillenbrand coming back just to give them a major-league bat. For Kennedy, who's essentially Orlando Hudson without the glove (.281/.332/.401 career), that would be a pretty steep price. Unless the Angels are really desperate to make a change for change's sake, I can't see this one taking off.

To say that Kennedy is Hudson without the glove, sells Kennedy's defense short.  I think Kennedy has generally been considered one of the top defensive 2B in the league for a few years now.  In fact, Toronto's visits to Anaheim the last few times have sparked a Hudson vs. Kennedy defense debate.  I do generally agree with the concept that the idea as floated doesn't make a ton of sense.

For what its worth, if management is considering the thought of bringing in a 2B and moving Hill to short, I would like to see a switch of Adams to second tried first. 

At the root of Kennedy's potential availability is the development of Howie Kendrick.  The Angels may believe that they have a better chance to win this year with Hillenbrand than with Kennedy. As both are free agents at the end of 2006, it would be a "present for present" trade with the focus on positional needs. Curiously, they're about equal in Win Shares right now.

But from LA's perspective, Hillenbrand isn't much help. 

Why not?  They've been miserable so far and are only 6.5 games back.  There's no need to punt the season now.

The Angels have Kendrick in line to replace Kennedy who they're very unlikely to sign after the season.  They're getting a miserable performance at 1B right now from Quinlan and Kotchman (sounds like a law firm) and 3B isn't all that settled either.  Kendrick & Hillenbrand is almost certainly an upgrade over Kennedy and Quinlan/Kotchman.  The Angels were apparently interested in Hillenbrand last year at the deadline so it seems like they value him.

I generally don't put much stock in splits based on the time of the year, but the last three years Hillenbrand has been at an .833 OPS prior to the All Star game and .752 OPS after it.  At .333/.370/.496 now might be a good time to sell high.

What I'm not certain of is whether this helps the Jays.  I guess it depends on how you feel about Adams (I assume that he'd be the one getting replaced if a MI was acquired) and how you'd feel about Hill at SS.  Adams isn't fielding well and his hitting isn't good enough to overcome that right now.  So if that swap were made it'd be essentially Kennedy & Hinske for Hillenbrand & Adams in the Jays lineup.

I'd be asking for a Francisco Rosario and Dustin McGowan in exchange for Kennedy

What teams are out there that need a 2B that are willing to give up a quality prospect for him?  I'm not sure that's realistic.

An argument in May 2006 that Erubiel Durazo is more valuable than either Hillenbrand or Hinske can only reflect an uncritical acceptance of caricature-worthy "look at me, I value walks" dogma.  He is out of shape, slump- and injury-prone, and cannot play even one inning of defence.  Shea and Eric are far more durable and versatile.  And yes, in their 2006 incarnations, they also hit much better than does the Holy Grail.

A Hillenbrand-Kennedy trade (and I agree with those that think Jordan's assessment of Kennedy's trade value is too rosy) might make sense if the Jays believe that Hill is a substantial defensive upgrade over Adams at short.  Offensively and defensively, I actually think that Hill and Kennedy will be similar players for the rest of the season if Hill stays at second, since he may well out-hit AK and will provide glovework that's almost as good.  Adams is unlikely to be even mediocre defensively over the second half.

But if Hill isn't similarly excellent as a defensive shortstop, it doesn't make as much sense.  Then, you're giving up a key component of your offensive depth for two very, very modest upgrades (Hill to Kennedy and Adams to Hill). 

Just because the Jays haven't suffered too many offensive injuries doesn't mean they won't.  I love their depth as it stands now.  If you're going to move Shea in his walk year, why not try to acquire a true shortstop or a power arm in relief?  Both would come in handy and neither are necessarily available from the minor league ranks.

The Durazo/Pena/Choi debate of the late off-season rears its ugly head once again.

Any of these 3 could have been tucked away in the minors at minimal expense and provided an additional bat if/when a trade opportunity/injury involving Hillenbrand or Hinske materialized.

Unfortunately we don't have one of the 3 aforementioned guys waiting in the wings, otherwise a Kennedy for Hillenbrand swap would be a no-brainer, and likely is in any event. 

Hill's defence at short is good.  He's quick, and has a fine arm and instincts.  The price for a shortstop who fields as well as Hill does at second, and hits as well as Adam Kennedy, would be much higher than Hillenbrand. 

At this point, the team is deeper at the corners (Hillenbrand and Hinske) than in the middle infield. (John McDonald). 

I, for one, as well as every other fan in section 105, was glad that Adams was out of the game.

The one proper throw he made was when he was slightly hurried, and had to make a strong throw.  He had one other toss in the dirt that Overbay scooped.

He is clearly losing the mental battle on his throwing right now.  I wouldn't want to give up on him, but his throws are really scary , and if he keeps making an error every 3 games the Jays will be hardpressed to stay in contention.

On an unrelated note, sitting in the front row in section 105 is a lot of fun.  You can heckle the bullpen guys, or even get candy.  Rudy Lugo threw us a tootsie roll and some Red Vines from the pink knapsack they keep filled with candy in the seating area.

I couldn't tell the Devil Ray relievers apart, but it was fun to ask them about Mons Venus, and answer the question 'What holiday is this, anyway?".  I was impressed that Walker (or at least I think it was Walker) was curious enough to ask about our wacky Canadian traditions...

To briefly branch away from the trade rumours (although the are fun)..... It was reported by Jordan Bastian on bluejays.com today that the Jays have actually already passed Josh Towers through waivers, and if he struggles again tomorrow against Tampa, he'll be shipped off to Syracuse:

<i>"If Towers continues his slide, a move to the bullpen could be pending, or perhaps even a trip down to the Minors. Prior to his win over Tampa Bay, Toronto exposed Towers to waivers, which he cleared. That means the Jays could send him to Triple-A without any fear of losing the pitcher to another club. "</i>

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060522&content_id=1466147&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Rudy Lugo threw us a tootsie roll and some Red Vines from the pink knapsack they keep filled with candy in the seating area.

And he only missed you by three feet!  His control is improving.

Since the rookie in the pen is supposed to stock the candy and gum, I am assuming that the Devil Rays just assign each guy one day a week.