Adrian Gonzalez

[Gringo]

How do you feel about him now that he's a month + into his second year with us?

[lesterkett]

he is the albert pujols on the team

[wyo-sox]

I really like this guy but way to many chances to hit clutch pass by him.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

As of right now, I'm disappointed but who wouldn't be? He'll be fine and at the end of the season, everyone will be satisfied with him. Apparently good players can't go in a slump?

[SoxFanForsyth]

Gonzo is OPS'ing .701 right now. He struck out to Chris Davis.

 

He's all kinds of wrong right now. 17% of the season has come and gone, and the Red Sox are 11-16. A lot of it can be attributed to Gonzalez. In a time where this team needs someone, anyone, to step up Adrian Gonzalez is struggling as bad or worse than he has over any 27 game stretch in a Red Sox uniform.

 

He's not driving the ball at all. He's got 8 XBH, and he's slugging .402.

[jung]

I don't like the complete surrender in the guy. He swung at those 3 first pitches thrown to him in 3 of the last 4 at bats today and none of those were even the outer half first pitches he sometimes goes for trying to wall ball...they were just pitches and then he just completely gave up in that last at bat against Davis. Where do you think a swing like that comes from...do you actually think the hitter is focused on what he is doing when a 1st basemen throws meat up to home plate and that is the swing you take for strike 3! No way folks...if you want to make excuses for that s***...go ahead. In truth there are no excuses. He is a professional ball player or is supposed to be...the money is already in his pocket and he just gives up...Oh wait...God must have told him it was futile today. Agons knew he should have just stayed in bed today and frankly I wish he had.

[Ghost Of Theo]

I knew this guy was a fraud the second he talked about wanting to beat the "Yanks" in his press conference. Thanks for the script Larry. This guy is bogus and is WAY over paid.

[kapsis21]

I knew this guy was a fraud the second he talked about wanting to beat the "Yanks" in his press conference. Thanks for the script Larry. This guy is bogus and is WAY over paid.

 

ROFL... love your avatar!

[SoxSport]

I said somewhat satisfied. I think he's a very good player, but I don't think they needed him. They pretty much wrecked Youkilis moving him to 3B. And they gave up several prospects they could use right now. Rizzo is hitting about .380 in AAA, and Kasey Kelly is pitching in SD. I think he and Crawford were both mistakes. They upset their chemistry.

[FredLynn]

As of right now' date=' I'm disappointed but who wouldn't be? He'll be fine and at the end of the season, everyone will be satisfied with him. Apparently good players can't go in a slump?[/quote']

 

By the end of the season it won't matter any more. Give me a guy that can hit the baseball in the clutch, not a guy who pads his stats during garbage time.

[Ghost Of Theo]

0 for 8 today. That's all. He's a FRAUD.

[redsoxbeatz]

laser show just around the corner.

[jung]

Of course good ballplayers can have a slump. Good ballplayers cannot just phone games in like Agons did today. Agons swung at the first pitch no matter where it was in 3 out of his last 4 at bats today and in the 4th at bat against the other team's 1st baseman/ DH/Pitcher went down on three pitches, flailing helplessly at the last one not even getting close to a swing that would have accomplished anything even if he made contact. AGons packed it in, phoned it in, raised the white flag. That s*** may have been good enough in sunny every day, never rains San Diego and that is exactly where he should have kept his s*** act. It's not good enough here.

[Dojji]

Need a "still reserving judgment" option.

[Dojji]

What do you gain from dumping on Adgon right now? He's here for he next 5 years, or is it 6, regardless of whether he's popular in Boston or not. He's not going to be shipped out. He's not going to be anything but our starting first baseman for the entire life of that contract. So there is no satsifaction to be gained from venting your spleen here. Any momentary relief will be short-lived because he'll still be our starting first baseman tomorrow -- no matter what.

 

There's a time and a place to pile on a player who isn't performing. Boston fans have proven to me time and time again that they have absolutely no clue whatsoever when that time and place is.

[jung]

In my experience nobody in this town will ever dump on a player that shows up every game and plays hard. But when guys check out the way Agons checked out today....all bets are off. If you take at bats against salary, JH paid over $28,000 today to see Agons flail at three pitches from the Orioles DH/part time pitcher and scurry back to the dugout as fast as his little legs would carry him after six other plate appearances today that were not much better. In most cases today, AGons could not end his plate appearances fast enough swinging at first pitches four at bats in a row and in most cases swinging at anything that was close to being a strike. At least on other days, you could surmise that maybe Agons was trying to hard to wall ball and picking at pitches from the outer half out. Today, it did not matter where they were. Anything that ended the misery of batting for AGons as fast as possible was good enough for him today with each successive at bat worse than the one before it. As far as I am concerned AGons deserves to be criticized when he so blatantly checks out. Not performing and packing it in are two entirely different things. I have rarely seen a more gutless, heartless performance by any baseball player anywhere in any uniform.

 

Surrender takes different forms and different shapes depending on the circumstances. In case nobody has ever seen it before, that is what surrender looks like for a baseball player.

 

You want to vent about clueless Boston fans....vent about the clueless Boston fans that insist that AGons is as clutch a player as Pedey. Now that is truly clueless.

[example1]

I was the only one who voted very satisfied. I probably should have voted "somewhat" but I'm not disappointed by him. Yes, slow start this year, but he had a huge season last year and I think he'll be fine in the long run. He's the least of my concerns about this team.

 

That said, I had to go live my life after the 14th inning today and missed whatever people seem pissed off about, so I may be missing something.

 

He's largely passionless and doesn't seem to have many ups or downs. Not much of a leader... I didn't really expect that he would be. He does play GG defense at 1B and finishes near the top in MVP voting and is a dangerous hitter. I can't complain about that.

[mvp 78]

Dude, but he checked out because he struck out to the DH!!!!!!

 

AGon isn't the problem here.

[mvp 78]

If you want to talk about clueless Boston fans, how about anyone who voted very disappointed. AGon had a career high in hits last year and an OPS .001 less than his high. Who did you think they were getting? If you're disappointed, you weren't paying attention to him in SD. He has a bad game and people go crazy. Give me a break. Now that's clueless.

[jung]

Dude, but he checked out because he struck out to the DH!!!!!!

 

So you think that was AGons giving his best effort?.....Seriously....I don't know which would be sadder...that it was his best effort or that he simply went up there, frustrated and defocused, flailed away three times and sat back down again.

 

So that was the best effort our multi-multi million dollar man could give us against the Orioles DH substitute pitcher.....that is what some of you think?

 

I don't think so...I don't think that was anything like his best effort. I am not nearly as disappointed in the result as I am with Agons just giving up. That was still a game....we still could have pulled that out. In fact Agons gave up long before that last at bat.

 

He has the right to a bad game. Any player can have a bad game. He does not have the right to just go up there like some petulant child, defocused, frustrated by the fact that things have not gone his way today, and flail away aimlessly as if the only effort he is really willing to make is an effort to end the game and his participation in it as quickly as possible. He owes the fans and his employers his best effort every time up. He doesn't have the right to turn plate appearances into his own personal pity parties.

 

Do you guys even watch the games....do you watch these at bats? So you seriously think that a professional hitter going up against four different pitchers four straight at bats swinging at the first pitch he sees from every one of them is giving you a focused, concerted effort, his best effort? You honestly think those three swings he took in the fourth and last at bat in that sequence, the one against Designated Hitter Davis was a focused and concerted effort, his best effort?

 

You are willing to accept that AGons can and will just give up because things are not going his way?

 

That is what he did on Sunday in my view...he just gave up.

 

But wait.... I am sure everything is just fine. Agons will just get in front of the microphones again and tell us that was just one more thing that he will "never do again". Frankly that is another indication that Agons is something of an empty uniform. Any baseball player that is willing to pronounce to the world that something will "never happen again" on a baseball field simply has no idea what he owes his team, his owners and the fans the pay to see him play. I need your best effort Agons...I don't need empty, hollow pronouncements that you could not back up if your life depended on it even if you were A-God. Go tell it to King Labron James. If there is one thing I am absolutely sure of it is that King James would understand you completely AGon because you two are cut from the same cloth.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

If you want to talk about clueless Boston fans' date=' how about anyone who voted very disappointed. AGon had a career high in hits last year and an OPS .001 less than his high. Who did you think they were getting? If you're disappointed, you weren't paying attention to him in SD. He has a bad game and people go crazy. Give me a break. Now that's clueless.[/quote']

 

MVP spot on like always.

[mvp 78]

3 hits on Friday, 3 on Saturday, 0 hits on Sunday

 

He's slumping! He's not trying! He's given up! He's childish! He's petulant!

[a700hitter]

3 hits on Friday, 3 on Saturday, 0 for 8 on Sunday and he struck out against a first baseman.

 

He's slumping! He's not trying! He's given up! He's childish! He's petulant!

^Corrected to give proper context. Yesterday, was the equivalent of going hitless for 2 or 3 games. Plus, his XBH ability has not shown up. You don't pay $22 million for a singles hitting first baseman who can't run.

[ibot2much]

God didn't want him to get any hits on that Sunday game......

[mvp 78]

^Corrected to give proper context. Yesterday' date=' was the equivalent of going hitless for 2 or 3 games. Plus, his XBH ability has not shown up. You don't pay $22 million for a singles hitting first baseman who can't run.[/quote']

 

So was Salty petulant and childish for striking out as well???

[ellsburyforMVP]

Albert pujols has been the best hitter in baseball the last 10 yrs right??? If anyone says no, your an idiot .....As of yesterday pujols was statistically the WORST hitter in baseball this season..... I'm not saying gonzo should be compared with Albert, but to say "good " hitters don't go into slumps is 100% percent wrong

[a700hitter]

So was Salty petulant and childish for striking out as well???

I never made that statement about Gonzo. I just changed your post to give it the proper context. He didn't merely go hitless for 1 game yesterday. Plus, his XBH power has been nonexistent up to this point.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I never made that statement about Gonzo. I just changed your post to give it the proper context. He didn't merely go hitless for 1 game yesterday. Plus' date=' his XBH power has been nonexistent up to this point.[/quote']

 

8 XBH in 110 AB.

 

That's 2 more than Darnell. In 49 AB.

[SoxFanForsyth]

To be clear, I voted "somewhat disappointed" because, to be honest, since the ASB last year, he hasn't been driving the ball. I think he will turn it around, but for now it's a little disappointing to see him clam up when the team has needed him most this year, especially after the injuries.

 

I do think he stepped it up last September, though. He hit .318 with a .977 OPS last September.

 

Of course, in the last 2 series of the year, when the Sox needed him the very most, he hit .250 with a .673 OPS, but that was clearly because he was expanding the zone and trying to do too much.

[Bellhorn04]

I went with somewhat disappointed. I am definitely getting that gnawing feeling that his power has seriously tailed off, possibly because of the shoulder surgery and the idiotic Home Run Derby. And yes, I'm getting that gnawing feeling about his ability to step up and do big things in big moments like Ortiz or Manny.