Forget what’s the fascination with [insert Drew here]? The question the Red Sox should be asked is what’s the unceasing infatuation with offensive shortstops?
The latest model is Stephen Drew, brother of J.D. The Shortstop Drew received a one-year, $9.5 million deal from the Sox on Monday, coming off a season in which he hit .223 with a .309 on-base percentage and a .657 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) in 79 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics. That doesn’t sound like an offensive shortstop, but that’s what Drew is with his career .762 OPS.
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Aviles was a defensive upgrade on Scutero, who, due to shoulder issues, no longer has the arm to be a regular shortstop--he's a second baseman. As the Red Sox already had one of those,m they had a choice of having a real defensive liability at short, or a very expensive utility player. To that extent, he might be classified as a "salary dump," but Aviles made a lot more sense as a fielder than Scutero.
Amen, everyone seems to overlook the fact that Scutaro played SECOND BASE! I like the Drew move, if he's as healthy as JD said he was the other day.
Yeah, can't believe Gasper repeats the "salary dump" canard...as if $6 mil was killing the Sox. Loss of cred with me.
Great column. I know can't get the thouht of Drew as "Lugo the Second" out of my head. At least this will we only have to suffer one year of his mediocrity.
If he reverts back to what he was before he SHATTERED his ankle, he's far from mediocre.
Nothing they have done inspired me to buy tickets to see them. Overpaid for average pleyers. Theo started the love for the offensive short stops and I guess that have not changed. Isn't enduring one Drew enough for the Red Sox fan base? I'm still waiting for J.D.'s great potential to show up. Oh I guess it's too late.
I wonder whether the Angels felt enduring one Weaver was enough. Specious, senseless, silly comment..amazing how eager some are to visit their irrational hatred of JD on his brother.
Thanks for writing about this. It's something I'll never be able to wrap my head around with Baseball Ops. Isglesias hit .270 at Pawtucket last year. If they gave him a whole year in the bigs he'd probably wind up in the low .200s, the same as Drew last year. The difference in fielding between him and Drew is night and day. Even if Boegarts comes up in 2014 nobody's going to give the Sox anything for Isglesias the way they've handled him. They just pee'd away $9 million for nothing. Maybe they brought him in because of the love affair Sox fans had with his brother. The whole organization suffers from tin ear syndrome!!
The difference is, Drew wasn't healthy and 70 games doesn't make a season. He's a career .762 OPS guy. Iglesias looks like a career sub-.600 OPS guy. Clearly the Sox have decided that the increased range/few errors isn't worth a possible 200 point decline in OPS.
"Of Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington’s profligate payments this offseason, Drew is the most dubious..."
Point 1: I haven't seen other teams signing comparable players for less.
Point 2: I one year deal is hardly a huge risk.
"revert back' is redundant. A simple 'revert' would do. Your comment made a lot of sense. Thank you.