Since declining to bring back Orlando Cabrera after winning the 2004 World Series, the Red Sox have used 13 different shortstops.Next up, Alex Gonzalez. Actually, Gonzalez -- who Boston acquired Friday from Cincinnati for Class A shortstop Kristopher Negron -- was already on that list, having played for the Red Sox in 2006.
Gonzalez, an excellent defensive player. hit .210 in 68 games for the Reds, but he was hampered early in the season by bone chips in his right elbow, and he eventually had four loose bodies removed, causing him to miss more than four weeks. Since returning July 24, he has hit .197 with a .279 slugging percentage.
But Nick Green had not been doing much better in recent weeks, and Boston would rather have him in a utility role. Julio Lugo's performance earned him a dump trade to St. Louis, and Jed Lowrie is injured.
Gonzalez's defense was even more appealing to the Red Sox because they see Clay Buchholz pitching down more now and getting more groundballs.
Boston's .621 OPS from its shortstops is 25th in baseball.
Gonzalez's contract calls for a $6 million team option for 2010, but it seems unlikely the Red Sox pick that up.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-15-2009 @ 12:02PM
tonytiger18 said...
Shortstop is second to catching in order of importance to a baseball's everyday lineup.
How valueable is Jeter?
He has played in over 90% of the Yankee games since 1995!!!
Remember when he broke in, the other good shortstops were Nomar , Tejada,Vizquel, and Alex.
There were others but none in this class.
He is still productive and better than ever, while the other guys are either playing a different position or no where as productive.
He was considered the lesser of all those guys.
Remember the chant: NOMAH IS BETTAH.
They didn't measure is will to win and his competitive attitude. Plays hurt not like Nomar, when he gets plunked,which is quite often by the Sox, he acts professionally and goes to first base, not like Youkilis.
Hall of Famer? Strong possibilty!!!
Reply
8-17-2009 @ 4:01AM
James said...
I don't see anywhere in this article about Jeter. Is it because the Yankees are ashamed of having the most players in MLB using and been caught using steroids? I wonder how long Jeter's been using.
Reply