I don’t even know what to say about signing J.D. Drew for $70 Million over 5 years. Everyone I’ve talked to has had a different reaction. Well not exactly DIFFERENT, just verbalized in several diverse ways:“Is he even going to play 2 years over that time?”
“He better hit a homerun every at bat.”
“I can’t talk about this now!”
“Huh…wha…guh…nuh?”
Yeah, that about sums it up. This blows that little “Money for Sluggers” piece I wrote right out of the water. Drew is a guy who quits on his teams. He has quit on every team he’s ever played on and he will do it here too. And he gets hurt. He gets all these little mysterious injuries that prevent him from playing full seasons. But my bad feelings and random homicidal fantasies about his health and work ethic are neither here nor there… so let’s use STATS!!!
His highest RBI total? Last year he hit 100. Gosh!
Home runs? He hit 31 in 2004. Woo!
Oh, and he has NEVER played 150 games a season in 8 years in the league. Cut him a huge freaking check!
Ok, he has an upside too. He’s only 31, he’s a hard hitting lefty that could pepper the wall… and ummm… he can’t complain about his pay? Yeah, that’s all I got.
Drew needs to go the extra mile to be welcome in Boston. He needs to say all the right things, do all the crap commercials and YES hit a homerun as often as he can. Bang into walls and play every game unless he is missing body parts. Otherwise, Wily Mo is right there to take his place (yikes), and the name of Trot Nixon will forever ring in his ears.
Now I KNOW what to say about signing Julio Lugo for $36 Million for 4 years: entirely unimpressive.
Everyone knew this was going to happen. The Red Sox go through shortstops like I go through underpants. They change them every year whether they need it or not (wait…ewww). Cabrera, Renteria, Gonzo and now Lugo. These are ALL lateral moves. Each guy has his strengths and weaknesses. Rent was the best offensively, but couldn’t field or handle Boston. Gonzo had the glove, but not much in the way of a bat. Cabrera could field, hit pretty well and was a clubhouse and fan favorite, but wait… why didn’t we keep him?
Mostly they all balance out when weighed against each other. So why pay the guy who doesn’t stand out in ANY category and is just a little bit worse than the average of the last few guys? Is it because he’s slightly cheaper? I really can’t get behind that too much… especially when they just broke the bank for a hump like Drew.
I don’t know what these guys in the front office are doing anymore. Are they even saving money for the Japanese guy? Why were they shopping Manny? Do they know they still don’t have a closer? Did they strike oil when doing the renovations on Fenway?
Luckily, I am completely confident all these questions will be answered when the team takes the field in April. Now if you want me, I’ll be pulling my hair out and petting my many cats… so many cats.
When it comes down to it... this lineup doesn't make me SO mad/crazy/upset. It looks good on paper.
Crisp
Youk
Ortiz
Manny
Drew
Tek
Lowell
Lugo
Pedroia
Is it it worth it?
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