Who's on Second?

[jacksonianmarch]

I dont think he outfoxed LaRussa. The sox steamrolled that team into oblivion.

[jacksonianmarch]

The globe today had a scouting report on pedroia. Here it is.

 

Second impressions

A veteran scout who watched a lot of Dustin Pedroia last season had this evaluation: "I can see why the Red Sox like him. He's scrappy and wants to get better, but a couple of things he needs to do. One, he has to learn to hit the ball the other way. He can crush a fastball -- you saw that with Roy Halladay at the end of the year -- but he pulls the ball and at some point they're going to take that away from him. Secondly, he's got to improve his footwork at second base. He's very awkward. I would think that's what [new Sox infield coach] Luis Alicea will be working on a lot in spring training."

[seabeachfred]

Jackson, the Red Sox might have already made the decision that Dustin Pedroia, their second baseman of the future, is going to be the future in 2007. The biggest mistake the team could make would be to sign a veteran 2Bman who Francona would be tempted to use in most situations. It would be another example of how the team misuses their farm system and ruins in prospects. The scout is right about Pedroia learning to hit the ball the other way, but he is a very intelligent and hard nosed player. He will make the adjustment in quicker time than many will realize. As mentioned he crushed Ray Halladay and he did the same to Randy Johnson, not to mention getting the winning hit against the Yankees in the first game of that Sunday DH in September. To me it is of paramount importance that Pedroia make it next year, which I think he will, and have CF ready for Jacoby Ellsbury in 2008. We have to start breaking in our young prospects to blend in with our vets and keep the team competing for years on end without having to always resort to the FA market or signing worthless veterans whose best days are long behind them.

[seabeachfred]

The globe today had a scouting report on pedroia. Here it is.

 

Jackson, in those first two games of the '04 WS there were numerous times that Tito really made some classy moves and LaRussa kept throwing boxcars and making strategic mistakes. That WS could have gone the other way if we had not won those first two games.

[jacksonianmarch]

Jackson' date=' the Red Sox might have already made the decision that Dustin Pedroia, their second baseman of the future, is going to be the future in 2007. The biggest mistake the team could make would be to sign a veteran 2Bman who Francona would be tempted to use in most situations. It would be another example of how the team misuses their farm system and ruins in prospects. The scout is right about Pedroia learning to hit the ball the other way, but he is a very intelligent and hard nosed player. He will make the adjustment in quicker time than many will realize. As mentioned he crushed Ray Halladay and he did the same to Randy Johnson, not to mention getting the winning hit against the Yankees in the first game of that Sunday DH in September. To me it is of paramount importance that Pedroia make it next year, which I think he will, and have CF ready for Jacoby Ellsbury in 2008. We have to start breaking in our young prospects to blend in with our vets and keep the team competing for years on end without having to always resort to the FA market or signing worthless veterans whose best days are long behind them.[/quote']

 

 

if you plan on contending, you must always have a contingency plan. You arent the pirates or the reds who can afford to have a black hole on the field for the betterment of the player. There are enough questions in that lineup to make pedroia's production necessary. If he bombs out, then the sox are in deep s***.

[jacksonianmarch]

take a look at the way the yankees broke in their players.

 

Jeter won the job in ST. They had their previous yr's SS in camp in Pat Kelly.

Posada had Girardi.

Cano had Womack.

Melky had Bernie.

 

These guys all had players that could replace them and at least give replacement level performance. Cora is a sub par offensive player. Him as a regular if Pedroia bombs out will be death.

[a700hitter]

take a look at the way the yankees broke in their players.

 

Jeter won the job in ST. They had their previous yr's SS in camp in Pat Kelly.

Posada had Girardi.

Cano had Womack.

Melky had Bernie.

 

These guys all had players that could replace them and at least give replacement level performance. Cora is a sub par offensive player. Him as a regular if Pedroia bombs out will be death.

I totally agree. You don't build a $150 million payroll and give a starting position to an unproven kid with no contingency plan. Pedroia is not a very impressive youngster. This is not like watch Nomar break in or Jim Ricce and Fred Lynn(and Rice had to win the job from Tony C in 1975). I was more excited about Glenn Hoffman and Tim Naehring than Pedroia. It's just poor planning to not have a better contingency plan if the kid bombs. Second basemen are not very expensive.

[a700hitter]

From yesterday's Globe:

 

A veteran scout who watched a lot of Dustin Pedroia last season had this evaluation: "I can see why the Red Sox like him. He's scrappy and wants to get better, but a couple of things he needs to do. One, he has to learn to hit the ball the other way. He can crush a fastball -- you saw that with Roy Halladay at the end of the year -- but he pulls the ball and at some point they're going to take that away from him. Secondly, he's got to improve his footwork at second base. He's very awkward. I would think that's what [new Sox infield coach] Luis Alicea will be working on a lot in spring training."

Scrappy? Sounds like a star in the making. If "fiery" is added to this scouting report, he could be the next Billy Martin.

[example1]

I totally agree. You don't build a $150 million payroll and give a starting position to an unproven kid with no contingency plan. Pedroia is not a very impressive youngster. This is not like watch Nomar break in or Jim Ricce and Fred Lynn(and Rice had to win the job from Tony C in 1975). I was more excited about Glenn Hoffman and Tim Naehring than Pedroia. It's just poor planning to not have a better contingency plan if the kid bombs. Second basemen are not very expensive.

 

He may not be very impressive or exciting but he's got some skills and will be given a shot at a starting job.

 

What second baseman would you suggest (not rhetorical)? I think Loretta would have been a "high end" 2B, who would have been wasted on the bench. There is some sense that the sox are trying to cultivate some of their younger base into a core more quickly, and giving Pedroia the job is part of that.

 

You're right that second basemen are not very expensive. I think that's an argument against them going out to get someone else... second basemen are not very expensive because they're all relatively the same. On the top end you have a guy who gets 15-25 HR, drives in runs and plays solid defense (say, Utley). Under that there a bunch of guys who have different skill sets. Some guys have speed, some are tremendous fielders, few are very useful batters, most are average.

 

What's the problem with giving Pedroia a shot for the first 3 months of the season and making changes along the way? In the past we've had Guitteriez, Pokey Reese, Damian Jackson, to back up guys like Bellhorn and Todd Walker and things worked out fine.

 

What do you hope to get from a second baseman?

[a700hitter]

He may not be very impressive or exciting but he's got some skills and will be given a shot at a starting job.

 

What second baseman would you suggest (not rhetorical)? I think Loretta would have been a "high end" 2B, who would have been wasted on the bench. There is some sense that the sox are trying to cultivate some of their younger base into a core more quickly, and giving Pedroia the job is part of that.

 

You're right that second basemen are not very expensive. I think that's an argument against them going out to get someone else... second basemen are not very expensive because they're all relatively the same. On the top end you have a guy who gets 15-25 HR, drives in runs and plays solid defense (say, Utley). Under that there a bunch of guys who have different skill sets. Some guys have speed, some are tremendous fielders, few are very useful batters, most are average.

 

What's the problem with giving Pedroia a shot for the first 3 months of the season and making changes along the way? In the past we've had Guitteriez, Pokey Reese, Damian Jackson, to back up guys like Bellhorn and Todd Walker and things worked out fine.

 

What do you hope to get from a second baseman?

I'm not against giving him a shot at the job. If he's playing well in ST, I'm not against starting him on opening day, but they have to have a better contingency plan than Alex (all brains no skills) Cora. Even if they re-signed Loretta for 2 years (as a high-end option), if Pedroia won the job outright, the Sox could move Loretta (maybe even as part of a package) in the beginning of the season or later. They might have to eat $1 million for 2 years, but to me he would be a valuable insurance policy. I'm not liking that scouting report on Pedroia. I thought one of his big attributes would be his fielding, but the scouting report says that he has awkward footwork. By all means give the kid a chance, but if he bombs and you don't have someone who can strep in and play every day, other teams will want a big price to fill that hole. Look at what happened last year when they didn't have a catcher to catch the knuckler. They had to give up a nice prospect and a good switch-hitting young catcher to get back that relic Mirabelli. I'd rather get someone now for $ (like Loretta) and dump him if Pedroia wins the job than to be held up and give up prospects if the kid is hitting .191 in June. This is big business. Big businesses have contingency plans for everything. I don't expect a lot from a second baseman, but let's face it, if he's stinking out the joint, the 7th (Tek) and 8th (Crisp) place hitters will not get anything to hit. He needs to hit .250 to hold down the job and not adversely affect others in the lineup.

[jacksonianmarch]

strong argument 700. Merry Christmas all.

[mar_022]

i think dustin's defense at second base will come around. He won the NCAA Defensive Player of the Year Award at Arizona State at SS, so we know he has the ability to play solid infield, i think its just a matter of him amassing enough reps at second (a relatively new position with some different footwork) to where he feels comfortable. I'm not worried about his D.

[seabeachfred]

If Dustin could be rated as the No. 1 fielding shortstop in College Baseball his last year of competition at Arizona State, he certainly can learn to play a good second base. Remember, he was switched there just two years ago. He's a fast learner and has succeeded every place he has played. He plays with fire and spirit and has those intangibles that all winning teams need. We don't need to get a retread or somebody else's reject to push him there. We have to remember every time Francona gets one of those guys he's tempted like an itch he can't scratch to play those bums. We've seen it in the past. That must not happen with Pedroia and it must not happen with Jacoby Ellsbury when he is ready to take over CF.

[Mr Crunchy]

I totally agree. You don't build a $150 million payroll and give a starting position to an unproven kid with no contingency plan. Pedroia is not a very impressive youngster. This is not like watch Nomar break in or Jim Ricce and Fred Lynn(and Rice had to win the job from Tony C in 1975). I was more excited about Glenn Hoffman and Tim Naehring than Pedroia. It's just poor planning to not have a better contingency plan if the kid bombs. Second basemen are not very expensive.

__________________

 

agreed

under the best of scenarios we're discussing a future david eckstein maybe even a mark loretta but not alphonso soriano or joe morgan or roberto alomar

[Fried Neckbones]

agreed

under the best of scenarios we're discussing a future david eckstein maybe even a mark loretta but not alphonso soriano or joe morgan or roberto alomar

 

So? It's called building a team, not fielding a group of All-Stars. If Pedroia can turn out like Eckstein or Loretta I for one will be happy. Someone who does the little things, the sac hits, playing hard, working counts, etc. That's all I want, and that's what we'll be getting.

[example1]

I totally agree. You don't build a $150 million payroll and give a starting position to an unproven kid with no contingency plan. Pedroia is not a very impressive youngster. This is not like watch Nomar break in or Jim Ricce and Fred Lynn(and Rice had to win the job from Tony C in 1975). I was more excited about Glenn Hoffman and Tim Naehring than Pedroia. It's just poor planning to not have a better contingency plan if the kid bombs. Second basemen are not very expensive.

__________________

 

agreed

under the best of scenarios we're discussing a future david eckstein maybe even a mark loretta but not alphonso soriano or joe morgan or roberto alomar

 

Christ you guys are all shortsighted. We have a backup second baseman, his name is Alex Cora. You want another one? Okay, how about Ricky Guiteriez or Pokey Reese or any of those guys that we've had the past few years? The Sox FO thinks Pedroia is MORE than an average second baseman, which is why they spent a 2nd Round pick on him, why this guy was their minor league Offensive Player of the Year in 2005(!) and an International league All-Star last year.

 

Just accept it: it doesn't look like Loretta is coming back. So.... let's start exploring some other solutions instead of saying "Pedoia isn't Soriano! Wahhhh"

 

Stop bitching and moaning about "Pedroia isn't Soriano. He's not Joe Morgan!" Jesus, just shut up already! It's true. Jason Varitek isn't Yogi Berra, Julio Lugo isn't Honus Wagner and Coco Crisp isn't Willie Mays. So what? Does that mean they can't be good, useful players? You guys would rather that Pedroia sit on his ass until 2 months in, when your mediocre aging replacement second baseman gets injured and Pedroia comes off the bench cold for the first month or two, which will inevitably lead to you guys continuing to bitch and moan at Pedroia.

 

Some of you don't seem to understand the value of a player who is a + fielder and who can get on base better than 90% of players his age at his posiiton.

 

Perhaps your just getting bored talking about getting more relievers and a closer, :dunno: but have some faith in this FO and ALL of the scouts who have watched Pedroia. When a player is, at worst, projected to be a solidly MLB average 2B then you don't need to drop everything to get some mediocre "name" that you have all heard of, to make you feel better about 3rd and 4th contingency plans. Let this guy's career unfold. You're all saying its not hard to find a replacement, its not that important of an offensive position, or most teams deal with average 2B... then it won't be hard to find a player when that is necessary.

 

This team isn't going to sign Soriano (who is a LF/CF by the way) so get over it.

 

Dustin Pedroia is goign to be on this team for 5 years (my prediction).

 

I WILL be calling those of you out who can't seem to do anything other than complain at this point.

[Peters34]

Pedroia is good but is he goin to be a all star like loretta

[example1]

Pedroia is good but is he goin to be a all star like loretta

 

There's only one way to find out.

[seabeachfred]

Christ you guys are all shortsighted. We have a backup second baseman, his name is Alex Cora. You want another one? Okay, how about Ricky Guiteriez or Pokey Reese or any of those guys that we've had the past few years? The Sox FO thinks Pedroia is MORE than an average second baseman, which is why they spent a 2nd Round pick on him, why this guy was their minor league Offensive Player of the Year in 2005(!) and an International league All-Star last year.

 

Just accept it: it doesn't look like Loretta is coming back. So.... let's start exploring some other solutions instead of saying "Pedoia isn't Soriano! Wahhhh"

 

Stop bitching and moaning about "Pedroia isn't Soriano. He's not Joe Morgan!" Jesus, just shut up already! It's true. Jason Varitek isn't Yogi Berra, Julio Lugo isn't Honus Wagner and Coco Crisp isn't Willie Mays. So what? Does that mean they can't be good, useful players? You guys would rather that Pedroia sit on his ass until 2 months in, when your mediocre aging replacement second baseman gets injured and Pedroia comes off the bench cold for the first month or two, which will inevitably lead to you guys continuing to bitch and moan at Pedroia.

 

Some of you don't seem to understand the value of a player who is a + fielder and who can get on base better than 90% of players his age at his posiiton.

 

Perhaps your just getting bored talking about getting more relievers and a closer, :dunno: but have some faith in this FO and ALL of the scouts who have watched Pedroia. When a player is, at worst, projected to be a solidly MLB average 2B then you don't need to drop everything to get some mediocre "name" that you have all heard of, to make you feel better about 3rd and 4th contingency plans. Let this guy's career unfold. You're all saying its not hard to find a replacement, its not that important of an offensive position, or most teams deal with average 2B... then it won't be hard to find a player when that is necessary.

 

This team isn't going to sign Soriano (who is a LF/CF by the way) so get over it.

 

Dustin Pedroia is goign to be on this team for 5 years (my prediction).

 

I WILL be calling those of you out who can't seem to do anything other than complain at this point.

 

Thanks Ex; some sanity for a change on this topic. Pedroia will be with us more than five years, though. I think this guy is going to turn out to be not only a fan favorite but a solid ballplayer for us for a long time and eventually be hitting in the No. 2 spot within a year or two. Now leave the guy alone. He has the ability to show what he can do and he will.

[a700hitter]

Christ you guys are all shortsighted. We have a backup second baseman' date=' his name is Alex Cora. You want another one? Okay, how about Ricky Guiteriez or Pokey Reese or any of those guys that we've had the past few years?[/quote']They were backing up Nomar. Pedroia is not Nomar.

The Sox FO thinks Pedroia is MORE than an average second baseman' date=' which is why they spent a 2nd Round pick on him, why this guy was their minor league Offensive Player of the Year in 2005(!) and an International league All-Star last year.[/quote']How many of our recent second round picks have become starters in their rookie years? Don't you think that the Red Sox also valued the other second round picks?

Just accept it: it doesn't look like Loretta is coming back. So.... let's start exploring some other solutions instead of saying "Pedoia isn't Soriano! Wahhhh"

I love when another poster tells me that I have to accept FO moves. Do I have any other choice? Do you? Duh! Do you drink before you make these posts?

Stop bitching and moaning about "Pedroia isn't Soriano. He's not Joe Morgan!" Jesus' date=' just shut up already! It's true. Jason Varitek isn't Yogi Berra, Julio Lugo isn't Honus Wagner and Coco Crisp isn't Willie Mays.[/quote'].. and none of them were given starting jobs on a contending team when they first came to the majors.

You guys would rather that Pedroia sit on his ass until 2 months in' date=' when your mediocre aging replacement second baseman gets injured and Pedroia comes off the bench cold for the first month or two, which will inevitably lead to you guys continuing to bitch and moan at Pedroia.[/quote']No. I would rather have him win the job and have a contingency plan if he bombs. What is it that you can't understand about that... is it the sound approach to running a business?

Some of you don't seem to understand the value of a player who is a + fielder and who can get on base better than 90% of players his age at his posiiton.

When he proves that he can do it in the majors, I will value him.

When a player is' date=' at worst, projected to be a solidly MLB average 2B then you don't need to drop everything to get some mediocre "name" that you have all heard of, to make you feel better about 3rd and 4th contingency plans.[/quote']Who is looking for a 3rd and 4th contingency plan? I'll attribute this abrasively inaccurate exaggerated statement to alcohol consumption.

Let this guy's career unfold.

... and if he is not ready to be a major league full-time performer for another year? It has been know to happen. It does take many players a couple of years to develop after reaching the majors.

You're all saying its not hard to find a replacement' date=' its not that important of an offensive position, or most teams deal with average 2B... then it won't be hard to find a player when that is necessary.[/quote']Once every one knows that you need something the price goes up. Who thought that a knuckle ball catcher would be so costly to re-acquire.

This team isn't going to sign Soriano (who is a LF/CF by the way) so get over it.

Who is asking for the team to sign Soriano? I guess it's the alcohol again. Soriano is an "example" (how ironic that you cannot grasp the concept) of a player with major tools that would be given a starting job in his rookie year.

I WILL be calling those of you out who can't seem to do anything other than complain at this point.

Please reply after your blood alcohol level has returned to acceptable levels for intelligent posting.

[Mr Crunchy]

im not whining

im wondering why theyve annointed a .190 hitter as their starting 2nd basmeman when we had an allstar in that position last year

and if youre not wondering why theyre doing this you have no sense at all

ever hear of wilton veras??

donny sadler?

will cordero??

get back to me when you have

 

as far as what the front office thinks these days

who gives a f***

4 shortstops in 3 years while trading away the rookie of the year in the national league who plays.....shortstop

an allstar 2bman whos asking price was what??

4M per?

oh no,cant pay that,thats robbery and we need to save that coin to ensure we get julio lugo at 9M per and jd drew at 14M per

 

im not looking for joe morgan

im not looking for soriano

i just find it rather stupid to annoint a .190 hitter with a months experience to start the season and letting an allstar walk away for what amounts to be a tiny contract in 2007

[CrespoBlows]

im not whining

im wondering why theyve annointed a .190 hitter as their starting 2nd basmeman when we had an allstar in that position last year

and if youre not wondering why theyre doing this you have no sense at all

ever hear of wilton veras??

donny sadler?

will cordero??

get back to me when you have

 

as far as what the front office thinks these days

who gives a f***

4 shortstops in 3 years while trading away the rookie of the year in the national league who plays.....shortstop

an allstar 2bman whos asking price was what??

4M per?

oh no,cant pay that,thats robbery and we need to save that coin to ensure we get julio lugo at 9M per and jd drew at 14M per

 

im not looking for joe morgan

im not looking for soriano

i just find it rather stupid to annoint a .190 hitter with a months experience to start the season and letting an allstar walk away for what amounts to be a tiny contract in 2007

 

You were quite adament when Jeter won the gold glove, that it was a popularity contest. Are all-star selections, that different? Loretta made the all-star game, because the best player above him, (Cano) got hurt before the game. The other two, played in Seattle and Baltimore respectively.

 

Be honest, are these all-star numbers?

 

.285/.345/.361/.706, 5 HR's 59 RBI's

 

If he'd come back for $2 million, as the contingency plan, no problem, but he's looking for a starting job, and two years.

[Mr Crunchy]

all star selections are still voted by the fans arent they??

they are the ultimate popularity contest,we can agree on this 1000%

 

but where did loretta get his popularity from??

he was in the nat league most of his career wasnt he??

cano deserved to be an allstar,no doubt about it and lopez and the kid from baltimore(roberts) had decent years as well

but loretta and gonzalez were arguably the best douple play combo in the league last year

loretta had 180 hits 33 2b,59rbi and scored 75 runs on a team that quit for the season in august

i think loretta had a great year for a 2nd basemen who can turn the double play with the best of them

 

our middle defense last summer was the best ive ever seen here in my life and i also think we will pay the price for letting agon and loretta walk

defensively for sure.

now lugo and dud may indeed become the next whitaker and trammel but it will take time and in a season where we have the stars slowly coming into alignment this may be a problem that couldve been avoided sort of like giving up our 5th starter last year for what amounted to be a 5th outfielder

[seabeachfred]

Crunch, I think you are going overboard comparing Pedroia with Sadler, Veras and Cordero. First of all Cordero was a flop at Montreal and couldn't field consistently even on astroturf and by the time we got him he was on his way out. He simply stunk. Veras was overhyped from day one and he had issues other than his playing ability and a questionable attitude helped to sink him. Sadler was one of the best fielders to come up to the Bigs but his hitting was suspect even in the minors. Pedroia has hit all the way through the minors unlike Sadler, he has no attitude issues and is not being overhyped like Veras was, and he certainly is not on the downswing of his career like Cordero was. If Loretta has shown a little more power, speed and OB ability he might have been brought back. There was talk of moving Pedroia back to short if we didn't get Lugo and resigning Loretta. However, that won't happen and it is high time we start breaking some of our good young prospects in OUR lineup instead of someone else's. BTW, I know Loretta personally and he grew up in the town in which I live and played for the Sr. Babe Ruth Team I founded years before he was a star on it. Therefore, this is NOT an anti-Loretta missive by any means.

[a700hitter]

If he'd come back for $2 million' date=' as the contingency plan, no problem, but he's looking for a starting job, and two years.[/quote']If you sign him for two years and Pedroia wins the job, the FO could trade Loretta in a salary dump. We are talking about nickels and dimes here in the overall scheme of things.

[a700hitter]

Sadler was one of the best fielders to come up to the Bigs but his hitting was suspect even in the minors. Pedroia has hit all the way through the minors unlike Sadler' date=' he has no attitude issues and is not being overhyped like Veras was, and he certainly is not on the downswing of his career like Cordero was. [/quote']And none of this was known for certain until they spent some time in the majors. We do know that Pedroia has very average physical skills at best, so what makes anyone so sure that he will make it as an everyday major leaguer. Sadler was one of the fastest guys to wear a Red Sox uni and he could field. If he could have hit .250, he would have had a job, but he couldn't. Maybe Pedroia can't either. We just don't know. Cordero was a much better offensive baseball player than Pedroia could hope to be, but he couldn't field and he had attitude and off-field problems.

[Mr Crunchy]

sadler and veras were overhyped??

heres will cordero's #s from 1995

 

1995 23 MON NL 131 514 64 147 35 2 10 49 9 5 36 88 .286

the #23 indicates his age the year before we got him

in 1996 he had his leg broken trying to turn the double play

if he didnt tune up his wife with the telephone he may have spent his career in boston

anyways

this kid was the total package when he was brought in here

look at the 1997#s

1997 25 BOS AL 140 570 82 160 26 3 18 72 1 3 31 122 .281

if duddy pedroia puts up these #s i'll be pleased

 

y'all are demanding to play a guy who hit .190 last year,with 1 month of MLB experience to replace an allstar and you think the above guys were overhyped??

 

as ive said

if this guy pans out to all his expectations we will have.....a mark loretta type of ballplayer

and if he dont

we will have the benefit and joy of watching alex cora getting 450-500abs next season

 

i dont know why the rush,really i dont

he didnt look ready for prime time last september did he??

i do want him to be successful

but why not be safe in this instance rather than sorry come july??

pedroia isnt going anywhere for a while and they couldve worked him into the lineup rather than giving him the job without a battle

 

who does he think he is??

scott cooper

[a700hitter]

i dont know why the rush,really i dont

he didnt look ready for prime time last september did he??

i do want him to be successful

but why not be safe in this instance rather than sorry come july??

pedroia isnt going anywhere for a while and they couldve worked him into the lineup rather than giving him the job without a battle

I can't understand why other posters conclude that our questioning of this business move means that we are rooting against this kid. I think you and I would be thrilled if he hits .300 with a .375 OBP and makes the All Star team.

[ORS]

One thing perplexes me in regards to this issue. I don't see consistency of opinion when one is critical of the FO for trading away a top-flight SS prospect (when the team needs one) while also being critical for planning to use a top-flight 2B prospect. If it pisses you off that they traded away Hanley, I don't see how you can be pissed that they are going to use Pedroia. Just doesn't add up.

 

Personally, I get tired of the hand-wringing over whether or not a kid should get a shot. If he has performed at every level, and his position isn't filled, then you use the kid. That is what the minors are for. Cora is a capable backup. If Pedroia tanks, Cora gets the job for a month or two before a trade can be made. It took very little to acquire Graffanino when Bellhorn was making WMP look like a contact hitter. We are talking about the 9 hitter. This isn't a big issue.

 

*The "you" in question here is anyone who has taken this stance, not just 700 who posted before me.

[Mr Crunchy]

its the inconsistancy of the front office thats mind boggling

of all ourpositional prospects hanley ramirez was the best of the bunch

what did we do in 05??

we signed the rent a wreck to a 40M deal and after a 19M season of suck we dumped him

now lets roll to today

we have a legit 2nd base prospect and an allstar 2nd basemen who is aging

rather than work the prospect into the scene and play the allstar we dump the allstar and annoint the prospect??

 

wheres the consistancy in player development that has been preached?

its non existant as far as i can tell

 

look

i root for the name in the front of the shirt,not the back

if the rivernator was playing 2b for us i'd want him to hit .300 and steal 40bases

 

this forum is designed for argument and opinion

we have a good 1 going here but i want to know what people saw not read about dustin pedroia that indicates hes a better fit for the 07 sox than mark loretta

 

i saw a 2nd baseman with a 1st basemans swing and a kevin millar propensity for trying to pull the ball

that indicated to me that he will struggle at the big boy level till he develops a different approach that includes going up the middle and going to right field