Hanley has probably had a better career than Xander will have.
But Hanley was also coming off of a shitty season in AA where he regressed in almost every phase of the game and was starting to develop "attitude problems"* and furthermore was apparently pretty pissed at the idea of moving to 3B or CF and the Sox didn't think he could stay at SS. Beckett was thought of as one of the best young pitchers in the game. He was still only 25 at the time of that trade. As well there was the whole distraction of the Theo gorilla suit and many other transactions that off-season. Whereas this off-season has been pretty boring.
* - turns out the attitude issues were likely the result ofTrenton Portland coaches and Sox player development guys fucking around too much with his swing and approach at the plate. Somewhere between "all Hanley's fault" and "all Red Sox fault" lies the truth.
The SoSH thread for the trade, if you are interested.
(In the "things that make you feel old" vein, I always underestimate how long it has been since the Sox ditched Trenton for Portland, since I used to go to Trenton as an adult)
But Hanley was also coming off of a shitty season in AA where he regressed in almost every phase of the game and was starting to develop "attitude problems"* and furthermore was apparently pretty pissed at the idea of moving to 3B or CF and the Sox didn't think he could stay at SS. Beckett was thought of as one of the best young pitchers in the game. He was still only 25 at the time of that trade. As well there was the whole distraction of the Theo gorilla suit and many other transactions that off-season. Whereas this off-season has been pretty boring.
* - turns out the attitude issues were likely the result of
The SoSH thread for the trade, if you are interested.
(In the "things that make you feel old" vein, I always underestimate how long it has been since the Sox ditched Trenton for Portland, since I used to go to Trenton as an adult)