Hillenbrand cut after criticizing Jays front office
TORONTO — Shea Hillenbrand was cut by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night after he was chastised during a team meeting and he refused to sit in the dugout with his teammates. Hours before, Hillenbrand criticized the organization and said he expected to be traded. The designated hitter and corner infielder was upset because he wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game and nobody in Toronto’s front office congratulated him on adopting a baby girl last weekend.
Well, I suppose this is one way to get back to a place where a dollar isn’t worth 75 cents. Then again, while Shane Hillenbrand may have gotten his wish to see Toronto in his rear view mirror, his reputation has taken a direct hit. Yes, there are two sides to every story, and while I’m certain that Hillenbrand isn’t the only culprit in this sorry saga, he’s the one who’s ended up looking like a spoiled , immature DUMB@$$. While perception may not always be reality, the perception of Hillenbrand now is that he’s a spoiled, immature, clueless, and thoroughly unprofessional DUMB@$$ who puts himself before the team. If there’s another side to this story that hasn’t been told, I’m listening, but Hillenbrand should consider himself lucky if he can find a job as a bullpen catcher for an independent league team…much less as a starting catcher on a Major League club.
Jeebus…you’re playing a kid’s game and making millions of dollars while doing so. Can you at least act like a mature, responsible, professional adult? No? OK, then…here’s to hoping you have to get a real job, then.
The Blue Jays held a meeting before Wednesday night’s 5-4 loss to Texas. Hillenbrand, reached by The Toronto Star during the game, said manager John Gibbons admonished him in front of the team.
“Gibby called a team meeting and then he stood up and reamed me out in front of my teammates,” Hillenbrand told the newspaper. “I’m very disappointed about what he did and I find it very unprofessional.”
So, going public and throwing a temper tantrum is your way of demonstrating your professionalism?
“From the beginning of the season, there were times when I wasn’t playing and there would be no justifiable excuse,” Hillenbrand told The Toronto Star. “He said that if I had a problem with the team or what was going on, I should come into the manager’s office and talk to him.
“But then, he would get mad at me when I did that and accuse me of being a selfish player.”
Gee, when last I checked, it was still the responsibility of the team’s manager to make out the lineup card every day. You might think that you’re God’s gift to baseball, but you’re a catcher, not the Blue Jays’ manager. If the manager says you sit, you sit. You might not like it, but that’s really too damn bad.
“I love my teammates here, but I’m waiting to be traded,” Hillenbrand said during a profanity-filled tirade before the game. “I should have been traded two months ago.”
No, you should have shut the Hell up two months ago, instead of infecting the team with your me-first attitude and creating problems where none should have existed.
When Hillenbrand and his wife, Jessica, applied to adopt a child in June, they figured the season would be over by the time they received any news. But they were matched quickly with a woman who gave birth last Friday.
“Not one person from the front office has even come up to congratulate me,” he said. “It’s all the little people like you guys. But nobody from higher up. That’s a disgrace.”
Hillenbrand flew to California last weekend and stayed there to fill out the necessary paperwork. He said he was “very surprised” he wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second consecutive day Wednesday.
“He hasn’t played in four days and we like the lineup we have in there,” Gibbons said before Hillenbrand’s outburst.
This is almost comical, and it demonstrates just how clueless and immature Shane Hillenbrand really is. Yes, it would have been nice if someone in the Blue Jays organization had acknowledged and congratulated Hillenbrand on the adoption of his child. No one did, however, and while that may not seem a very classy thing to do, it’s no excuse for Hillenbrand to vent his dismay in public. No one in the Blue Jays organization owes him anything except a pay check.
The psyche of a professional baseball team is a fragile thing, especially when you consider that they’re together for 162 games, Spring Training, and, if they’re fortunate, the postseason. The last thing a team like Toronto needs is a spoiled, immature, self-absorbed, and highly unprofessional DUMB@$$ who thinks he’s God’s gift to baseball. If there’s any justice in this world, Shane Hillenbrand will end up having to find a job as a beer truck driver. Perhaps working a real job will help provide him with some sorely-needed perspective.
Oh, by the way, Shane…congratulations on adopting the latest addition to your family….
