Jose Iglesias

[SoxSport]

They ought to bring their AAA manager, Beyeler, in to manage the Sox next year. I see he's already joined the Red Sox coaching staff for the rest of this year. Good move. He knows all those young players, and has had a hand in developing them with some success. If they want to get the most out of Iggy, Beyeler is the guy to do it. I'd like to see Gomez get a shot, too. Looks like he can hit at the ML level.

[example1]

It's really too bad Iglesias' bat is so damn bad. His glove is so damn good.

[cbbosox]

Big question for me is who is a worse hitter Iglesias or Lavarnway

[redsoxrules]

Big question for me is who is a worse hitter Iglesias or Lavarnway

 

Are you serious ?

[Behindenemylines]

Remember what Pedroia did early on. Lavarnway has a track record of hitting so I have hope. Iglesias I am a little concerned about. He is never going to be a .300 hitter, but what can we live with if he plays the special D. .230 - .250 range?

[Station 13]

Lavarnway will hit. He's a catcher, they take a while longer. Blocking 75 pitches from Lester takes him out.

[jacksonianmarch]

Lavarnway is a weird case. He goes from being an absolute bomber for his whole MiLB career and a butcher behind the dish, to a solid average defensive catcher and a guy who loses his power. His AVG and OBP are nearly identical to a year ago, but he drops down to 8 homers in the minors and loses 130 points of OPS. Very strange. Regardless, the sox are learning that deficient defensive catchers kill them on the mound. Salty is abysmal. Lavs is a lot better defensively. If Lavs can figure out how to catch 130 games or so and still have the energy in the batters box to whack the ball over the monster, then they will have something. But even if he is adequate defensively and can his .290 with minimal power and a .350+OBP, he will be a humongous improvement. Based on what I have seen defensively, you dont have a choice for next yr. And if you think Salty will be better offensively by not catching 120 times a year, then you relegate him to DH or 1B, have him catch 30 games, stick with Lavs at catcher and let Papi walk. 2013 will not be a banner yr in Boston without massive changes. And if they can see Salty hit to an .800+OPS with 30HR when pulled from the catcher spot and Lavs can man the C spot well while not being abysmal at the dish, then they upgrade without making any acquisitions

[jacksonianmarch]

Also, with Iglesias, you have to see what he is. 2013 is a big year to determine the direction of the team. If you delay with Iggy, you might end up having to move him and watch him blossom elsewhere. I have a weird scenario for you. Why not keep Ciriaco as the super utility guy, hand the job to Iggy and if he cannot handle it, swap them.

[Dojji]

I'd be willing to put up with virtually nothing from the shortstop position with that kind of glove, in the hopes that with time the bat will move up in the general direction of at-least-he's-better-than-a-pitcher. We haven't had a guy who can play SS like that in a very, very long time. Bearing in mind that we have Bogaerts to fall back on if the bat is too bad, I think it'd work out pretty well.

[lospunchados]

I'd be willing to put up with virtually nothing from the shortstop position with that kind of glove, in the hopes that with time the bat will move up in the general direction of at-least-he's-better-than-a-pitcher. We haven't had a guy who can play SS like that in a very, very long time. Bearing in mind that we have Bogaerts to fall back on if the bat is too bad, I think it'd work out pretty well.

 

If that is the plan going forward then the Front office better sign or resign a couple of bats, because we need more offense to have a guy hitting that poorly at the end of the lineup.

[jacksonianmarch]

I'd be willing to put up with virtually nothing from the shortstop position with that kind of glove, in the hopes that with time the bat will move up in the general direction of at-least-he's-better-than-a-pitcher. We haven't had a guy who can play SS like that in a very, very long time. Bearing in mind that we have Bogaerts to fall back on if the bat is too bad, I think it'd work out pretty well.

 

If he brings a .200BA with no power or OBP, then your team will sink. You dont have the lineup of even a year ago, and with Papi being a FA, you could be dealing with a pretty thin lineup and contributions from 1-9 will be needed to win it all. 2-3 yrs ago, you could punt a spot in the order. In 2013, you need production. Now, you dont need .320/.400/.600 production, but you will need a guy who can reach base 30% of the time and not K every 4th AB

[Behindenemylines]

If you have Iggy and Peddy up the middle that is pretty solid defensely. If they pick up some bats for the outfield they could live with a no hit SS. Remember Omar Vizquel when he first came up he struggled with the bat. He did become a better hitter later in his career, but the glove was always there. It would be great if that is what happens with Iggy.

[SoxSport]

It will take a couple of years for the young players to get their confidence levels and abilities up to major league levels, and you have to give them a chance and see what they can do. The Red Sox have not given younger players enough opportunities recently, and what's needed is to play these guys and give them some experience to bolster their confidence. That means patience, and no rushes to judgement after 20 games.

[rjortiz]

If he brings a .200BA with no power or OBP, then your team will sink. You dont have the lineup of even a year ago, and with Papi being a FA, you could be dealing with a pretty thin lineup and contributions from 1-9 will be needed to win it all. 2-3 yrs ago, you could punt a spot in the order. In 2013, you need production. Now, you dont need .320/.400/.600 production, but you will need a guy who can reach base 30% of the time and not K every 4th AB

 

Are you serious? One guy hitting .200 will sink the team? He's going to add some value with his glove.

 

Look at Darwin Barney. He's not a good hitter, but he's a 2-3 WAR player because of how talented a defender he is.

 

If the Red Sox team is this bad next year, it will be because they had no starting pitching for the third consecutive year, and that they had another year with lots of days spent on the DL.

[SCM33]

I'd be willing to put up with virtually nothing from the shortstop position with that kind of glove, in the hopes that with time the bat will move up in the general direction of at-least-he's-better-than-a-pitcher. We haven't had a guy who can play SS like that in a very, very long time. Bearing in mind that we have Bogaerts to fall back on if the bat is too bad, I think it'd work out pretty well.

 

Absolutely not.

 

He is a high school caliber offensive player. Its a joke how bad he is offensively.

[cbbosox]

Are you serious ?

 

well not really but how many more times is Lavarnway going to hit a weak ground ball or pop up off the handle?

Add both their averages together and they are barely at .300

[jung]

Well I know I have expressed some concerns for Lavs hitting. I keep waiting for him to break out and he almost looks like he was about to break out the end of last week and then...not so much.

 

However I still believe in Lavs. I think he will hit and deserves more time given the fact that he has in fact hit.

[Behindenemylines]

If the Sox go with the youth movement Iggy will be the SS some time next season before June. If they are going for a quick rebuild with short cost effective contracts then he may spend more time at AAA unless he starts producing with the bat.

[rjortiz]

If he can OPS .600, he should start at SS. He's had to have taken away at least 10 hits this month.

[SoxSport]

They can tolerate a weak hitting, slick fielder at SS--but not at 1B. The corner positions require a hitter with power. That means they should pass on Loney, who can't hit. Gomez is the guy who deserves a serious look. He made a good defensive play last night. Also, LeHair is available from the Cubs as a possible platoon with Gomez.

[jung]

Iggy does not get enough chances to rob 10 hits in a month but his fielding has been predictably outstanding. That play he made here in the last home game was magical.

[Station 13]

Start him in AAA.

[DocHolliday]

If he is ever going to be able to improve his approach, he's going to do it against major league pitching. It would do him a world of good to refine his approach in some sort of instructional league this winter to get a head start in the spring. His struggles have been well documented, but they seem to have been enhanced by the overall weak offense on this team as the 2012 season has winded down.

 

If they are able to improve next season's offense in other positions on the field, they can afford to let Iggy play out the majority of the season at short until Xander is ready.

[SCM33]

If he can OPS .600, he should start at SS. He's had to have taken away at least 10 hits this month.

 

Rey Ordonez was a career .600 OPS hitter on the dot.

 

Hes not even close.

[rjortiz]

Rey Ordonez was a career .600 OPS hitter on the dot.

 

Hes not even close.

 

Iglesias is a better defensive SS than Ordonez was.

[a700hitter]

Iglesias is a better defensive SS than Ordonez was.

Ordonez was pretty slick with the glove. I don't know how you have come to this conclusion.

[rjortiz]

Ordonez was pretty slick with the glove. I don't know how you have come to this conclusion.

 

I've never seen Ordonez make that lob toss that Iglesias made last night. No other SS in all of baseball makes that play.

 

.600 OPS is an exaggeration, but there's a lot of value in that glove.

[jacksonianmarch]

No other SS in all of baseball can make that play? Take his dick out of your mouth for a second and re-read what you wrote. Cause it's pretty lame

[Spitball]

I've never seen Ordonez make that lob toss that Iglesias made last night. No other SS in all of baseball makes that play.

 

.600 OPS is an exaggeration, but there's a lot of value in that glove.

 

There are facts, reasoned judgements, and opinions. This statement you have made is an opinion, but I'm not really sure if you watched enough of Rey Ordonez to base it on anything besides your own bias.

 

Here is a video of Ordonez:

 

[SoxFanForsyth]

No other SS in all of baseball can make that play? Take his dick out of your mouth for a second and re-read what you wrote. Cause it's pretty lame

 

Given there's some hyperbole in his comment, it was still an absolutely ridiculous play, and in terms of current SS, I'm not sure another one makes that play, especially when you consider that a large portion of them don't even get to that ball. His throw was 100% perfect, too.