Red Sox I Hate: #23: Jeremy McDonald Van Every Hall

It is with some reluctance I even take on this four-headed, AAAA Jabberwocky. At the start of the season, as far as I can tell, only Jeremy Hermida, freshly dispatched from the Florida Marlins, even factored into the Red Sox’s 2010 plans. And his role was defined as a fourth outfielder and an occasional late-inning pinch hitter. Nothing more. Darnell McDonald and Jon Van Every, meanwhile, two minor league journeymen, offered, at best, some organizational depth, however shallow. Bill Hall is really just a failed infielder masquerading as a super utility man, pulling spot duty this season at short, second, center field, left field and right field: A jack of all trades, master of none. Other than Hermida, none really deserve more than an extended stint on the Sox's 25-man roster.

Early unforeseen and unfortunate injuries to outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron, however, unceremoniously ushered in the ignominious Jeremy McDonald Van Every Hall era, a 30-game stretch of remote control shatteringly bad baseball. To wit: Hermida’s early misadventure in left last night and McDonald’s rumbling, bumbling, stumbling in center cost the Red Sox at least four runs between them, and probably sent to his knees Theo Epstein, loyal supplicant to the high church of run prevention, before a make-shift, sweat-stained shrine to the four ghosts of Trot Nixon, Mark Bellhorn, Troy O'Leary, and Brian Daubach.

Taken individually, then, Hermida, McDonald, Van Every and Hall would hardly get my attention, let alone my goat. Collectively, though, the quartet rises to a level of annoyance roughly on par with the likes of, say, Gary Matthews Jr.

Reasons to Like Them:

Hermida hit a grand slam in his first Major League at bat. McDonald made quite a splash in his Red Sox debut, while Van Every has one career strike out as a pitcher. On Mother's Day 2006, Bill Hall, using a specialized pink bat, hit a walk-off home run against the Mets, with his mother in attendance. He later auctioned the bat to raise money for breast cancer awareness.

Reasons to Hate Them:

Hermida's beard makes him look Amish. McDonald was suspended in 2005 for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Van Every struck out Brett Gardner. And Hall, while still an everyday player with the Milwaukee Brewers, appeared on an episode of The Young and the Restless, with his then teammates J.J. Hardy, Jeff Suppan and Chris Capuano. There are no small parts; only small ballplayers.

Overall Hate Rating:

4. One degree each, like an Orlando-based Boy Band.