But those are years off the end of your life and those years suck anyway.

 

Denis Leary says hi!

Yes but its much easier to find a 3B that can give you .300 with 25 homers, then it is a SS or 2B. His bat is so much more valuable at short or 2nd.

 

 

Basically at 3rd he is just a good player, at SS/2B he is one of the best players in the league.

There really aren't a lot of .300/25 guys at ANY skill infield position.

 

There really aren't a lot of .300/25 guys at ANY skill infield position.

If Alexei could get his head out of his tail, we could have 2 of them.

Commenting on the game: I watched on MLB-TV and loved it. Pettite and Floyd locked in a real duel. There was no inconsistency in calling the strike zone, as was mentioned before, the ump was consistent for both teasm and called those outside close pitches strikes. Floyd had one unbelievable hook working last night. We were able to take advantage of some mistakes when they presented themselves and that's what counts. I am not a Wise fan, but he is here and needs and deserves support. I saw the concentration and determination in his eyes last night and he delivered. Kudos to D Wise.

If Beckham is really starting to get it defensively, there may be no need to move him back to ss.

If we don't trade Lexi, that could be a good ss/3b combo for a while.

It worked out for ARod. Short is a lot tougher to play. I don't care if it is Gordon's "natural position."

 

 

Why all the talk of trading Ramrez? He isn't going anywhere. The kid came up to the bigs straight from Cuba and our ST. He is still learning just like Beckham. The kid has tons of talent and I am sure this criitcism from Ozzie and the team is a way of getting him to concentrate and raise to the higher level expected in the bigs

Why all the talk of trading Ramrez? He isn't going anywhere. The kid came up to the bigs straight from Cuba and our ST. He is still learning just like Beckham. The kid has tons of talent and I am sure this criitcism from Ozzie and the team is a way of getting him to concentrate and raise to the higher level expected in the bigs

Exactly, and Gordon's natural position will be 3B by the end of the season. He is perfect for that spot. The left side of our infield should produce 50hrs and drive in almost 200 runs each season while hitting 280-310. Thats something every team strives for. Both will be plus defenders with good range and good speed on the basepaths. I dont see what the big deal is wanting to just move good players to make a move. Honestly, I think its boredom.

Exactly, and Gordon's natural position will be 3B by the end of the season. He is perfect for that spot. The left side of our infield should produce 50hrs and drive in almost 200 runs each season while hitting 280-310. Thats something every team strives for. Both will be plus defenders with good range and good speed on the basepaths. I dont see what the big deal is wanting to just move good players to make a move. Honestly, I think its boredom.

I'm not so confident on that. Beckham is making great strides, and should at least be average, probably more, but I am not sure yet. And in Alexei's case, I have seen him plateau and even regress defensively this season, which concerns me a lot.

 

As for the strike zone, it was a little lagre, but you're right in that it was consistent. I have no problem with those zones as long as they stay the same. Complain in the first few innings, but if it doesnt change adjust and STFU about it

 

The strike zone that I saw last night was large, but inconsistent. Pettitte got a lot of high strikes early on that Floyd didn't get, and I also recall Pettitte not getting some calls that Floyd got. It got more consistent as the game went on, but those first three or four innings were not well-called, IMO.

 

I'm not so confident on that. Beckham is making great strides, and should at least be average, probably more, but I am not sure yet. And in Alexei's case, I have seen him plateau and even regress defensively this season, which concerns me a lot.

Both are rookies defensively at their positions, give them a year from now and I think you will see a huge improvement.

I honestly don't get why it's difficult for some to understand how it's better for the team with Beckham at a middle infield position than at 3B. The statement "the Sox need to sign a 3B first" is irrelevant because it's a given and it's actually a separate point entirely. Simply put, it's much easier to find a decent bat at 3B than it is to find a decent bat in the middle infield. This is true of any team.

Edited July 31, 200916 yr by lostfan

I honestly don't get why it's difficult for some to understand how it's better for the team with Beckham at a middle infield position than at 3B. The statement "the Sox need to sign a 3B first" is irrelevant because it's a given and it's actually a separate point entirely. Simply put, it's much easier to find a decent bat at 3B than it is to find a decent bat in the middle infield. This is true of any team.

 

Well, that's great. But until the Sox actually go out and DO that, all of the talk about moving Beckham to 2B is premature. This may shock some people who've been spoiled by Crede and Ventura, but good bats who can field 3B well don't exactly grow on trees either.

 

Beckham and Nix are the only two people on the roster who can play 3B competently. And until Nix raises his laughably-bad .632 OPS dramatically, he's nothing more than a utility player. And building on Rock and NNS72's discussion about the long-term viability of Alexei at SS, what if he ends up moving back to 2B?

 

I completely understand the idea that Beckham should ideally play 2B. But the makeup of the rest of the roster is ultimately going to determine where he ends up.

Edited July 31, 200916 yr by WCSox

Both are rookies defensively at their positions, give them a year from now and I think you will see a huge improvement.

If you look at my post you quoted, you will see why that seems to only apply to one of them. Alexei hasn't improved, he's gotten worse over time. And I am just not sure he'll be able to get much better.