First of all, the Providence Journal reports that the Rockies are now going to flip Bigbie to Boston for outfielder Adam Stern and catcher Kelly Shoppach. I guess Larry won't get to have any Coors-inflated seasons. Being an objective observer, Bigbie fits Boston pretty well as a short-term replacement for Nixon and a fourth/fifth outfielder the rest of the way. Better than Gabe Kapler probably, but they are similar players.
Now, if you're unfamiliar with Eric Byrnes, here's a quick update. He's a 6-2, 210-pound outfielder from Redwood City, California. He played his college ball at UCLA.
In 2004, he hit .283/.347/.467 with 20 homers and 17 steals for the A's. This season, he was hitting .266/.336/.474 with seven homers in 59 games for Oakland. In his fifteen games with the Rockies, he struggled mightily (.189/.283/.226).
Is he a better player than Bigbie? I dunno, they're pretty similar. Byrnes has more speed and is a lot more exciting to watch. He absolutely crushes left-handed pitching but he's a non-entity against northpaws. Bigbie wasn't really all that effective against either. And, as has been said, it simply didn't make sense to have three (weak) left-handed hitting outfielders on the team.
Byrnes is 29 and is not a long-term impact player. For that matter, he's not a short-term impact player. This is not a "Wow!" move. This is just a minor move that makes sense, at least in my mind. We got about as much as could be expected for Bigbie: another fourth outfielder. It's as likely that we're gaining a potential star as it is we're losing one; that is to say, not very likely.
And, as you can see, he has arms sculpted from magma, steel and thrown womens' undergarments.