Slow Trot, for now

Former Red Sox hitting coach Dwight Evans once gave Trot Nixon a great line about an important trait that ballplayers must possess.

"I want patience," said Evans, "and I want it right now."

Nixon knows all too well how patient one must be when going through the rehab process. He spent significant time on the disabled list in each of his last three seasons with Boston.

Now, coming off offseason surgery to correct a herniated disc in his back, Nixon is slowed again. He said that he has no problem swinging the bat and throwing, but the disc had been pinching a nerve, affecting his movement.

"It's all about regenerating that nerve and getting those signals to my calf and ankle and foot and jump-starting it," Nixon said.

Nixon hopes to be ready to go full throttle by the end of the first week of March.

"But it might take all the way through Spring Training," he said, "and I knew that coming in."

Nixon was limited to 114 games last season due to a monthlong stay on the disabled list with a right biceps strain and a staph infection in his right elbow. The Indians, who signed Nixon last month, plan to give him the starting job in right field and the No. 2 spot of the batting order against right-handed pitching this season.

"I've been through this before," Nixon said. "If I want to play, I have to work my tail off. I just want to play baseball and get back to being healthy."

Wow, very depressing to see him in another uni, especially with the awesome hillbilly mullet he's sporting. That would have been nice on the Sox. The injury is certainly not a surprise. I hope he heals and does well.

His hair looks like a cross between Randy Kutcher's and Larry Legend circa '86.

Weeeiiiiiirrrdddd.

Also, this was news to me, and sounds pretty scary (but not suprising):
Full article. Kind of explains the lack of interest in him from other teams.

I wish him well. Not off to a great start though.

Hit free agency at a low point? Yea, a low point for oft injured mediocre outfielders coming off of yet another surgery. The FA market was booming, and he sounds a little foolish talking about it as a low point, IMO.

I think he meant he hit free agency at a low point for HIM....

For those unaware, Nixon is 5-5 in today's game with 4 RBI's. He's raised his AVG. to .320 and his OPS is approaching 1.000.

He looks healthy. Good for him.

And he still can't hit LHP

19 AB 5 H 2 BB 5 K .263/.333/.316

And he still can't hit LHP

19 AB 5 H 2 BB 5 K .263/.333/.316

Trot Nixon, whose slump is about to hit the two-month mark, went 0-for-4 Thursday in the loss to the Indians.

It's a good thing for Nixon that David Dellucci went down, as he likely would have lost a lot of playing time by now otherwise. By month, Nixon has posted OPSs of 786, 688 and 523. He's 1-for-7 so far in July, and he doesn't have an RBI in his last nine games.

Trot accepts Triple-A assignment to Tuscon, MLB.com reports.

Wow.

Not sure I want to see Trot in AAA. Wow...

I thought he was a great competitor and a dead fastball hitter in his prime. That was his one great talent, gearing up to hit a fastball.

I still remember his homers against Clemens with great fondness.

Mussina got rocked today again. He looks like he's toast to me. Id be really worried about him if I were a Yankee fan. His fastball is extremely hittable and his stuff isnt where it used to be.

I had no problem with those homers. Two guys going at each other, not giving in. The two-run homer in the ninth to break up a 0-0 duel between Pedro and Roger will live forever in my mind.

I was at that game in Yankee Stadium in 1999 with my dad. One of my great Red Sox memories. We were sitting in Right Field Loge Seats and the Nixon HR came right at us and fell below. I saw it all the way. The whole trip was memorable--it was an ESPN Sunday night game so it ended late. We had parked in a Yankee parking garage and there were a ton of fights on the way back to the car, but almost all of them were between Yankee fans. Surprisingly and despite my Sox garb, we got left alone. All the way up 95 there were Sox fans at every rest stop. We ran into the Pedro K guys at one of them in Connecticut.

My best Yankee Stadium memory, probably. Although I've been to a bunch of games there I've only seen the Sox lose once--twice if you count a game they had to finish before they played another one once in the early 90s (they won game 2).

I was at that game in Yankee Stadium in 1999 with my dad. One of my great Red Sox memories. We were sitting in Right Field Loge Seats and the Nixon HR came right at us and fell below. I saw it all the way. The whole trip was memorable--it was an ESPN Sunday night game so it ended late. We had parked in a Yankee parking garage and there were a ton of fights on the way back to the car, but almost all of them were between Yankee fans. Surprisingly and despite my Sox garb, we got left alone. All the way up 95 there were Sox fans at every rest stop. We ran into the Pedro K guys at one of them in Connecticut.

My best Yankee Stadium memory, probably. Although I've been to a bunch of games there I've only seen the Sox lose once--twice if you count a game they had to finish before they played another one once in the early 90s (they won game 2).

Trot Traded to the Mets

Per Rotoworld:

Mets acquired outfielder Trot Nixon from the Diamondbacks for cash or a player to be named.
The Diamondbacks had to be nervous about helping a team they could face in the postseason, but letting Nixon go to a team that could use him was the right move. The Mets should immediately make the 34-year-old their right fielder against right-handers. He was hitting .309/.437/.558 with 10 homers for Tucson. Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson and Fernando Tatis stand to lose playing time. Jun. 13 - 10:54 pm et

Mets are allegedly lacking in leadership in the clubhouse and on the field. Maybe Trot can help change their "chemistry."

The things people say...I heard that one SF Giant, don't know who, said that if Aaron Rowand was on the Mets, they'd be in first place in the NL East. As far as that stuff goes, I always think of the Dick Williams' A's or the 77 - 78 Yankees, fighting a lot, but winning WS titles anyways. Maybe the difference is lethargy vs. rambunctiousness. Jesa, that word gets by spellchecker?

The Mets' basic problem is they are relying on some old/injured players to come through. Delgado, Alou and Pedro, not to mention El Duque, were supposed to be productive this season. And the two young stars -- Wright and Reyes -- are frustrated and underachieving at the moment.

Blowing a 7-game lead last September to the Phillies may have shot their team confidence, much in the same way that the Yankees' collapse against Boston in 2004 started to undermine their ability to respond in October.

And Carlos Beltran, who has never been the superstar they expected after the out of this world post season he had with Houston. But yeah, too many over the hill guys and the two young stars who can't do it all the time. Do you see them turning it around? Also, I keep wondering how real are the Cubs.