FanHome - View Single Post

Zen653 · June 4th, 2007, 04:59 PM

I just thought this might be a good time to compare what our recent shortstops have done through two months of 2007:

Julio Lugo ($9 million per year): .226 AVG, 3 HR, 33 RBI, .289 OBA, 17 SB, 0 CS, 6 E

Alex Gonzalez ($3.5 million per year): .275 AVG, 11 HR, 26 RBI, .323 OBA, 0 SB, 1 CS, 9 E

Edgar Renteria ($10 million per year): .338 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, .394 OBA, 3 SB, 1 CS, 5 E

Hanley Ramirez ($400k): .314 AVG, 8 HR, 17 RBI, .382 OBA, 16 SB, 4 CS, 10 E

Orlando Cabrera ($8.5 million per year): .318 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI, .370 OBA, 6 SB, 0 CS, 3 E

Pokey Reese (retired)

Nomar Garciaparra (1B, $8.5 million per year): .286 AVG, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 335 OBA, 1SB, 1 CS, 3 E

----

As many of us said at the time, I think we missed the boat on Orlando Cabrera. He seemed like a good fit in Boston both as a player and personality. He was a great defensive shortstop who held his own offensively. He's gotten even better in Anaheim. This was easily one of Epstein's three biggest blunders.

We also may have been too impatient with Edgar Renteria. As good as Coco Crisp has been defensively, he doesn't bring anything to the table with the bat. Would we have been better off playing Dave Roberts everyday in CF and holding onto Renteria at SS? Tough to say. Renteria didn't seem like he had the same mental makeup for Boston that Cabrera possessed.

Hanley Ramirez is playing quite well but we picked up a young ace and a pretty good veteran third baseman for him, so I can't complain.

The 11 homeruns for Alex Gonzalez seems very uncharacteristic of him. He's got more dingers than Ortiz and Ramirez. The 9 errors are also atypical. Did he suddenly lose his glove and gain a bat? I don't know what to make of Gonzalez's numbers.

Garciaparra's decision to reject the contract extension with the Red Sox turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He hasn't been much of anything since leaving Boston, and now he's not even a shortstop anymore. He once looked like he'd be a Hall of Famer in the mold of Carl Yazstrezmski. Now I'd be surprised if he gets 20% of the vote.

Given how disappointing Lugo has been with the bat, not to mention the glove, we probably would have been better off with (1) Cabrera, (2) Renteria, or (3) Gonzalez, in that order. Lugo will likely have better numbers than Gonzalez at the end of 2007 but I doubt he'll be $6 million better. Sort of like how I doubt J.D Drew will ever come close to being worth the $14 million per year he'll make through 2011.

It's weird how Epstein pinches pennies with proven stars (trying to unload Ramirez, letting Damon walk, etc.), yet has no problem paying huge bucks to chronic underachievers and question marks. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

June 4th, 2007, 04:59 PM	#27 (permalink)
Zen653 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 7,297	I just thought this might be a good time to compare what our recent shortstops have done through two months of 2007: Julio Lugo ($9 million per year): .226 AVG, 3 HR, 33 RBI, .289 OBA, 17 SB, 0 CS, 6 E Alex Gonzalez ($3.5 million per year): .275 AVG, 11 HR, 26 RBI, .323 OBA, 0 SB, 1 CS, 9 E Edgar Renteria ($10 million per year): .338 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, .394 OBA, 3 SB, 1 CS, 5 E Hanley Ramirez ($400k): .314 AVG, 8 HR, 17 RBI, .382 OBA, 16 SB, 4 CS, 10 E Orlando Cabrera ($8.5 million per year): .318 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI, .370 OBA, 6 SB, 0 CS, 3 E Pokey Reese (retired) Nomar Garciaparra (1B, $8.5 million per year): .286 AVG, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 335 OBA, 1SB, 1 CS, 3 E ---- As many of us said at the time, I think we missed the boat on Orlando Cabrera. He seemed like a good fit in Boston both as a player and personality. He was a great defensive shortstop who held his own offensively. He's gotten even better in Anaheim. This was easily one of Epstein's three biggest blunders. We also may have been too impatient with Edgar Renteria. As good as Coco Crisp has been defensively, he doesn't bring anything to the table with the bat. Would we have been better off playing Dave Roberts everyday in CF and holding onto Renteria at SS? Tough to say. Renteria didn't seem like he had the same mental makeup for Boston that Cabrera possessed. Hanley Ramirez is playing quite well but we picked up a young ace and a pretty good veteran third baseman for him, so I can't complain. The 11 homeruns for Alex Gonzalez seems very uncharacteristic of him. He's got more dingers than Ortiz and Ramirez. The 9 errors are also atypical. Did he suddenly lose his glove and gain a bat? I don't know what to make of Gonzalez's numbers. Garciaparra's decision to reject the contract extension with the Red Sox turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He hasn't been much of anything since leaving Boston, and now he's not even a shortstop anymore. He once looked like he'd be a Hall of Famer in the mold of Carl Yazstrezmski. Now I'd be surprised if he gets 20% of the vote. Given how disappointing Lugo has been with the bat, not to mention the glove, we probably would have been better off with (1) Cabrera, (2) Renteria, or (3) Gonzalez, in that order. Lugo will likely have better numbers than Gonzalez at the end of 2007 but I doubt he'll be $6 million better. Sort of like how I doubt J.D Drew will ever come close to being worth the $14 million per year he'll make through 2011. It's weird how Epstein pinches pennies with proven stars (trying to unload Ramirez, letting Damon walk, etc.), yet has no problem paying huge bucks to chronic underachievers and question marks. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Last edited by Zen653; June 4th, 2007 at 05:07 PM.