Roger Clemens left in a huff. Mo Vaughn departed with harsh words for the organization. Ugueth Urbina didn’t talk to the media during his one-year stint in Boston. Manny Ramirez hasn’t spoken with the local chapter of the fourth estate since last September. Pedro Martinez has been extremely tight-lipped in recent weeks, and Nomar Garciaparra seems to relish speaking with the assembled reporters as much as one would look forward to a wisdom-tooth extraction.

And these were/are the Red Sox players that Boston fans held in the highest esteem, and all have, through words and deeds, made it clear that really don’t like it here that much.

Is it the atmosphere? Is it the cramped clubhouse quarters? Is it the media who apparently rain down criticism far too often? Is it the overly passionate fans? What is it about playing for the Boston Red Sox that makes its stars so damn miserable?

Those sulking veteran players notwithstanding, Sox fans still figured that some of their favorites were immune from such pouting fits. Red Sox Nation surely believed that at least some of the younger players would appreciate the myriad blessings that playing major-league baseball brought them, particularly the youngsters who could not possibly have become as jaded as some of their elder clubhouse brethren.

Recently traded Shea Hillenbrand was one of those guys that fans perceived as perhaps different from the highly paid yet constantly disgruntled superstars that wear the Boston uniform. Shea had made the jump from Double-A to the Show in 2001, and he instantly became a fan favorite with his hustle, desire, and dirt-dog attitude. He made it clear that he was just out there to play the game, and no Soxer spent more time watching video — studying his swing and analyzing opposing pitchers’ tactics against him. He was a student of the game, and seemed to give his all every time he took the field.

When he became rumored trade bait during the off-season, he may have felt betrayed that the organization through whose ranks he had risen would consider ditching him at the precise moment when he had established himself as a permanent member of this up-and-coming team. Nonetheless, his skills and his low salary ($260,000 for 2002) made him an attractive bargaining chip for the team, and when an opportunity came along that offered the Sox the chance to improve their downward-spiraling pitching situation, GM Theo Epstein jumped at it. He traded last year’s starting All-Star third baseman to Arizona — Hillenbrand’s home state — for All-Star closer (and recent starter) Byung-Hyun Kim.

As the trade rumors swirled ever more thickly in recent weeks, Hillenbrand had to know his days as a Red Soxer were numbered. When news of the trade began to filter out early Friday afternoon, a friend informed the 27-year-old third baseman that ESPN.com was announcing the deal.

Epstein, to his credit, wanted to do the right thing and tell Hillenbrand in person about the trade. To that end, the 29-year-old GM hopped a flight up to Toronto — where the Sox had arrived the day before for their recently completed three-game series — to break the news at around 6:30 p.m. Epstein did not want to make the PR mistakes that his predecessor, Dan Duquette, had routinely made during his reign of terror as Sox GM — such as leaving a voice-mail message on a player’s home phone to let him know that he had been released, as happened to former catcher Mike Stanley. Epstein wanted to let Hillenbrand know face-to-face how much the organization appreciated his two-plus years of service at the major-league level.

So did Hillenbrand appreciate this gesture? Not according to Boston Globe correspondent Chris Snow, who quoted Shea as saying, "I could care less what Theo did. I would have been more appreciative if he had given me a phone call when he found out because I could have flown out that night. The last flight was at seven. I could have been here with this team.... He had his reasoning. He had his thoughts. If that’s the way he thinks, that’s fine, but as a player I could care less. If they don’t want my services anymore, let me know so I can get on. I was sitting around from one until 6:30 trying to figure out what the hell was going on." According to Snow, the pair shared a flight back to Boston on Friday but didn’t sit together. "We flew back on the same plane," said Hillenbrand. "Luckily, he didn’t have the seat right next to me."

Nice. Some other comments that the new Snake shared with Snow about his new surroundings:

• "How is it going to be playing in a nice ballpark? How is it going to be to park my car in a parking lot? How is it going to be to go to a clubhouse and just play baseball without all the outside distractions and playing in a market like Boston?"

• "There’s no distraction that can contend with playing in Boston."

• "It’s nice to meet reporters who are decent people."

• "It’s a nice mixture of veterans and new players [playing for Arizona] ... veterans rooting you on. I haven’t seen that in Boston."

Apparently, even Hillenbrand was of the opinion that playing for the Boston Red Sox — with 32,000 passionate fans filling arguably the nation’s most beautiful ballpark at every home game — is an endeavor that tests one’s patience each and every night. He didn’t care about playing baseball in one of the most baseball-obsessed towns, with a devoted media and adoring fans eager that elevate him to hero status. Instead, he focused on the "distractions" — playing in a 91-year-old ballpark, where there’s no parking lot for the players (sacre bleu!), and probably even having to carry his own luggage. He had to deal regularly with reporters, apparently uncivilized ones at that. And, most surprisingly, he had to play in a place where his veteran teammates didn’t shower him with approval and support.

The Red Sox organization provided him with such a despicable work environment that he was preparing to close on his second house purchase in the last six months. Now, the four cars, four dogs, and quarter horse that he had in Norwell will have to be picked up and moved cross-country to the Gilbert, Arizona, house he was going to close on in two weeks anyway. Two luxury houses in the suburbs, now only one — brutal.

Shea’s miffed, but I would have loved to see his miffed mug if he had been moved to a place like Milwaukee or Montreal or Pittsburgh or even San Diego, where fans just don’t give a damn about their teams. Instead, the Sox traded him to his native state, to a team that just a year and a half ago won the World Series.

And let’s see just how much he likes being away from the kinds of fans who pack their ballpark every night, temperatures in the 30s be damned. In the Diamondbacks’ most recent 10-game home stand, they drew an average of 35,000 a game in perfect weather, but they still needed to host promotions on nine out of those 10 dates, and seven of those promotions involved fan giveaways. In addition, Bank One Ballpark holds 50,000 for baseball, and that means that on average the BOB is only 70 percent full — for a team that’s just 19 months removed from a memorable championship season.

Seriously, what is it about Boston that makes all these ballplayers become such malcontents? Is it the criticism? Well, if you or I don’t perform to our best abilities on a regular basis, we don’t get to collect millions in guaranteed contracts — we get shown the door. Is it the booing? I think that booing, in any sport, is part of the game, and Sox players should be glad that Fenway’s residents care enough to show up every night to boo or cheer (frankly, it’s more often the latter). But those same fans — paying the highest-priced ticket in all of MLB — have the right to be critical if they perceive their left fielder dogging it and costing them games, not getting to balls that average outfielders would have (and in one memorable case last week, throwing the relay to no one in particular, thus giving the opposition’s leadoff hitter a bogus triple in the bottom of the ninth in a 5-5 game). They have a right to be critical when their vaunted pitching staff gives up 34 runs in three games. They have a right to be incensed when the ace of their staff bitterly complains about a lack of "respect" a day after receiving a guaranteed $17.5 million contract option for 2004 — and then gives up 10 earned runs in his next outing against a subpar opponent. And they certainly want to know why the shortstop they’ve idolized since day one apparently can’t wait to get out of town when his contract is up at the end of next season.

For guys like Manny, Nomar, Pedro, and now Shea, apparently too much fan support is a bad thing, and their egos are all too fragile to handle the frying pan that is the Boston baseball scene. Perhaps a nice relaxed atmosphere like the Bronx or Philly would be more to their liking.

The fact is, Boston fans are getting more than a little bit tired of whining multimillionaires, and they have every reason to point out that their hardball heroes just don’t get it.

Snow’s article about Hillenbrand’s farewell parting shots quotes former Soxer Carlos Baerga — now Hillenbrand’s teammate in Phoenix — as saying, "Shea told me Manny cried when he heard.... Manny said, ‘They trade everybody. They got rid of Urbina. They traded Hillenbrand.’"

Poor Manny. I don’t know how he’s going to get through this. I guess he’ll have to bite his quivering lower lip and take the field this week in Pittsburgh safe in the knowledge that at least he hasn’t been traded yet (which would necessitate him giving up his penthouse apartment at the Ritz), he’s collecting $123,456 each game day, and he doesn’t need to be overly concerned about the fact that he’s got just eight HRs in two months of play and his 2-for-21 performance helped the Sox drop both series to the Empire last month. After all, it’s not his fault that the Sox are paying him $20 million this year and therefore can’t afford anyone else — much less keep his buddies on the team.

By the way: Hillenbrand, who collected all of seven walks in his first 49 games this season (and just 45 in 344 career games with the Sox), walked twice in his first game with Arizona on Sunday.

I guess that change of scenery was just what he needed to become a more relaxed and complete ballplayer. Who’s next?

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com