The Hartford Courant
April 27, 2003
By David Heuschkel
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Red Sox manager Grady Little flipped open his cellphone to see who was calling. It was general manager Theo Epstein.
"Maybe he wants to trade Nomar because he's 0-for-12," Little joked before the game about shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who went 0-for-4 Saturday night and is in an 0-for 19 slump.
A player the Red Sox were seriously shopping over the winter was Shea Hillenbrand. It's a good thing they didn't part with him because he has been the team MVP the first month.
Maybe it's the deep-fried burritos he devours in nearby Arcadia that explains why Hillenbrand performs the way he does whenever the Red Sox play at Edison Field.
Hillenbrand visited his favorite taco stand in the town where he grew up Saturday. He also went to the Little League field where he played.
"They got my name on the outfield wall," Hillenbrand said.
Hillenbrand feels comfortable playing in Southern California. And it's not just at Edison Field, where he is 12-for-32 (.375) with four homers in his career.
When the Red Sox played a three-game series at Dodger Stadium last season, Hillenbrand went 6-for-11 with two homers. Earlier that week, he hit a game-winning three-run homer in the eighth that gave the Red Sox a 4-2 victory over the Padres.
"I don't know. It's something about being out West," Hillenbrand said.
Hillenbrand has been hitting wherever the Red Sox have gone this season. He had two hits and drove in three runs in a 5-2 victory over the Angels on Friday night.
Nobody took more swings that game than Hillenbrand, the DH for the first time in his career. Between at-bats he went in the batting cage.
"Just to keep warm," Hillenbrand said. "What I experience sitting on the bench, you got to keep in the game. I talked to Manny and some other guys. I talked to Edgar Martinez, who is the ultimate DH. I came up and kept busy. It's kind of tough here because it's a longer walk to get to the cage."
Hillenbrand was in the lineup 154 games last season and wore down the second half. Using him as the DH is a way to keep his bat in the lineup while giving his body a rest. He was back at third base Saturday.
Hillenbrand was surprised to be productive in his DH debut.
"I was glad to see him respond the way he did," Little said.