The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost a big piece of their offense for an indefinite period after placing second baseman Aaron Hill on the 15-day disabled list with a broken hand.
Kirk Gibson says 4-6 weeks for Aaron Hill.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 16, 2013
Aaron Hill will be replaced by rookie Didi Gregorius, acquired from the #Indians in the Trevor Bauer trade, for #Dbacks
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 16, 2013
Aaron Hill is an easy baseball player to like. He looks like a baseball player and, if I might be so inane, plays like a baseball player. He hit line drives for days and is quite an adept second baseman, diving about and getting his uniform dirty and the like.
Then one year he hit a like a million home runs and it ruined everything. Hill went into the tank, began popping everything up in the infield and striking out more than an “aggressive” hitter can afford.
One trade, two declined options, and one great season on a pillow contract later and now Aaron Hill is rich, as the Snakes and Hill are on the verge of announcing a three-year contract worth $35 million.
When a writer in the baseball blogosphere wishes to convince his or her readership that a player previously considered to be terrible might be a’ight, he or she will often mimic the promotional strategies of Pepsi Cola and play a rousing game of the Player A and B Blind Taste Test with the selection of arbitrary numbers that prove the blogger’s point.
And so …
Player A: 556 PA; 21 HR; 7.7 BB%; 13.5 K%; .211 ISO; .302 AVG; .359 OBP; .513 SLG; .370 wOBA; 128 wRC+.
Player B: 537 PA; 31 HR; 10.2 BB%; 23.8 K%; .278 ISO; .261 AVG; .339 OBP; .539 SLG; .367 wOBA; 129 wRC+.
