Aftermath from the Hardy for Gomez Trade
This was a shocking trade and I have not really made up my mind on the trade. Some RFB’ers have said that they like the trade. For me, it really depends on what pitchers the Brewers get now without J.J. Hardy. John Lackey’s name is out there and he would be AMAZING to bring in. One thing I believe is that J.J. for Gomez opens up the possibility of trading Gamel or Hart for pitching, especially if the big free agent names go elsewhere. Here are some reactions from around the area about the trade:
JSonline currently has a poll running that shows Brewers fans are split 50/50 right now.
Bernie’s Crew is underwhelmed with the deal.
Brewerfan believes that Gomez won’t be able to match Cameron offensively, but should be similar defensively.
Michael Hunt believes that the new youth movement will put the Brewers farther away from the playoffs.
WISN’s Andy Kendeigh believes the move was at the right time and made an interesting point saying Gomez won’t have to look over his shoulder all year.
620’s Gene Mueller hopes this means the Brewers will no longer be deathly afraid of running, but won’t be able to judge the trade until the team comes together in April
Brew Beat found a quote from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire who says that Gomez is “irritating”.
Brew Crew Ball believes the Brewers should re-sign Cameron anyway (at least still offer arbitration…what’s the worst that could happen? He takes it and you still have a leader who can help Gomez become even better in center. Plus, the team could continue to piss off the NL Central and untuck their shirts.) and they believe the trade was good overall.
Cute Sports believe that Tweens and Teens will weep (she forgot sorority girls as well), but she seems most sad that there won’t be any “J.J. makes me Hardy” jokes.
View from Bernie’s Chalet said they are excited about the young Gomez.
In-Between Hops believe the loss of Hardy isn’t a big deal and might be very good for the team.
Minnesota Blogs:
Star Tribune writer Jim Souhan believes this was an “amazing” deal for the Twins.
A Fan’s View liked Gomez (save for something he calls Gomez’s “bunny hops” when throwing to home) but likes the trade especially because it upgrades their infield defense.
Twinkie Town likes having Hardy and so do most of their readers.
The Saint Paul Pioneer Press thinks that Hardy will be a long term shortstop in Minnesota and enjoyed that it fixed two of the Twins’ problems.
Matt Borzi of MinnPost loves the trade, but believes Gardenhire will move Hardy to third (if that were the case, he would probably still be a Brewer!)
Blogger Aaron Gleeman believes that Gomez got a bum rap in Minneapolis because of who he was traded for (Santana), but believes the acquisition is very positive for the Twins.
SethSpeaks LOVES the deal for the Twins.
Twinkie Talk believes this was definitely the right move for the Twins.
The Twins Most Valuable Blogger is glad the Twins didn’t give up a king’s ransom for the player they needed.
So as you can see, Brewer fans are unsure and Twins fans are seemingly thrilled.
[polldaddy poll="2224546"]
Tags: Carlos Gomez, J.J. Hardy
November 8th, 2009 at 1:51 am
It was good for Hardy, it wasn’t fair for him to get pushed out of his position, in Minnisota they will treat him like the great ball player he is.
November 8th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Well that’s a girl’s perspective honestly.
When you look at skills and talent level, rather than appearance and charm you see Escobar was the clear choice for SS. Not to mention the Brewers were perfectly willing to move Hardy to another position. Hardy was the one unwilling to negotiate.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
This trade just seems so unnecessary to me. I would have liked to have held on to Hardy until later in the winter meetings and possibly even into the trade deadline his stock will only go up as teams get desperate. Gomez would have been on the table for awhile this trade could have been made later I would have liked to have seen what people would be willing to part with when they get bored in winter meetings
November 9th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Hardy was a fan favorite. The girls loved him because he was hot. And the guys loved him because he filled the stands with attractive young women wearing jeans skirts and Hardy jersey shirts (Is there anything hotter?).
With that being said, on the field, he was a better fielding Jose Hernandez. Look at the stats, him and Jose did the same thing. And despite the incredible amount of strikeouts Jose put up each of his 3 years here, he actually had a high OBP. No one cried when Jose left.
Carlos Gomez has a higher potential than Hardy. We’ll see how it works out in the end. Regardless, the Brewers are better off with Escobar at SS and Gomez in CF than they were with Escobar/Hardy competing for SS and a void in CF. Plus they’ll save about $14 million a year too.
November 9th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I think that last comment is dead on. Also, Bryan and Jim, I believe its on record that the Brewers never asked Hardy to even consider moving positions. I think it’s something that the media asked Hardy and he commented on.
I just think fans were expecting way too much in return for Hardy. Considering his lame level of play offensively over the last year plus and that pitching is “worth” a lot more than any position player, this trade didn’t surprise me. I agree. Perhaps they could have waited long, as Kade said, but I really don’t think they would have gotten much better. Twins fans are thrilled because Gomez completely underachieved and Gardenhire made it clear that he was frustrated with him. If he were 28 or 29 years old and had more than one year-ish of experience, I’d be concerned. We’ll see what happens.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
What we need to do is take a serious look at the vacant “Heart Throb” position that was left behind by Hardy.
My vote is for Escobar
November 11th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I think Braun took the heartthrob role from Hardy quite a while ago…
November 11th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
1. i hate Escobar, he is way to pouty and that kind of attitude is not good for a young, emotional team.
2. While admittedly i loved J.J. for many superficial reasons, i think that they should have held onto him long enough to make a Hardy, Hart, Gamel package to offer anyone for some pitching, because really, we could have just picked up Cam’s optional year and we would still be good on position players.
3. I really really hope that they can still make SOME deal for pitching, because we can’t keep running our pitchers out by the end of August because of our lack of depth……
November 12th, 2009 at 9:39 am
They will make it work. Ownership knows that in order to get the 3 million fans back in Miller Park they need to spend money. Just think, next year they will be able to wipe the books clean of Suppan’s salary! Yea!
As for this year, my money is on Washburn and Wolf. Lackey is not going to WANT to come to Milwaukee.
Btw, I was kidding about Escobar. At least his baby’s momma thinks the world of him