Red Sox Ask Pedroia About Playing Shortstop
OK you guys with your defensive stuff... good move or bad? is he going to be a capable SS? If they move him we can give Kelly Johnson to the sox... no trade nessicary... just take him :p
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Red Sox Ask Pedroia About Playing Shortstop
OK you guys with your defensive stuff... good move or bad? is he going to be a capable SS? If they move him we can give Kelly Johnson to the sox... no trade nessicary... just take him :p
I was always wondering, he did come up as a SS. The move to 2B is obviously good, allowing for great range, and his average arm there - but I feel he could play SS without issue.
Brandon Phillips, welcome to the Red Sox.
I'd heard that, too. I guess it makes a bit of sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alloutwar
A bit.
But, overall (between letting A-Gon go, and now discussing moving Pedey to SS), in this ignorant lay person's opinion, there's something about the whole thing that strikes me as being a classic fix-it-'til-it-breaks mindset.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/pedroia-to-ss
Quote:
This move won’t make Pedroia significantly more valauble, as what he adds in offensive scarcity compared to the average shortstop, he’ll probably give back with the glove, but it would give the Red Sox significantly more flexibility this winter. Rather than having to pay for Scutaro, they could set their sights on a second baseman such as Orlando Hudson, Placido Polanco, or Felipe Lopez.
It sounds like it is still in the conversation stages, but it is an idea with merit, and the Red Sox should strongly consider going forward with Pedroia as their starting shortstop.
wasn't one of the reasons he was moved to 2B because of his poor defense at SS in the minors? i don't know if it was his fielding or range, but i always thought there was something they didn't like about him at SS. If i'm not mistaken, didn't he play some at SS during one of the past two spring trainings, and Tito wasn't very happy with it? Again, not sure.
i don't see a real benefit personally. unless they have a 2B in mind that would be a big upgrade, i don't see how a potential downgrade defensively from the move can make up for a marginal offensive upgrade in a Brandon Phillips. I just don't see how it makes sense.
Thx for that link, HGM.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
they should've signed Gonzo. i don't see where any of those three, coupled with a potential downgrade at SS defense is any kind of an improvement. I like OHud alot, but he was a far worse hitter when playing in the AL than he was in the NL. I'm not sold he's much of an offensive upgrade in the AL. Polanco is OK..aging, not much an upgrade IMO. Isn't lopez a poor defender? decent offensively...but again, not enough of an upgrade to justify this IMHO;.Quote:
Rather than having to pay for Scutaro, they could set their sights on a second baseman such as Orlando Hudson, Placido Polanco, or Felipe Lopez.
It sounds like it is still in the conversation stages, but it is an idea with merit, and the Red Sox should strongly consider going forward with Pedroia as their starting shortstop.
Gonzalez is a pretty poor hitter, and his defense is no longer than what it once was. I'd take Pedroia at SS + any of Hudson/Polanco/Lopez at 2B over Gonzalez at SS and Pedroia at 2B.
Lopez is a brutal defender at SS but he's been solid at 2B.
I have been thinking about this possibility all day since the story broke and I would really like to see the Sox bring in another 2nd baseman, where there appears to be ALOT better players at that position rather than shortstops. I've been an Alex Gonzalez or bust person, ONLY because he has already proven he can handle the work load in Boston and has been solid, NOT AN EXCELLENT fielder, because that has declined over the years but he was solid enough for my liking after seeing Lugo player the position for the past 3 years. I say Pedroia to short and lets get another 2nd baseman.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
Lets get Chase Utley :D
The upgrade wouldn't be Pedroia -> Phillips. The upgrade would be whatever bum plays SS -> Phillips, because the lineup would still have Pedroia in it. And I'm betting SS -> Phillips would be way more than marginal (especially if it's Alex Gonzalez)Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
I've been saying the Jays should move Aaron Hill to shortstop for a few years now. Sure, he may be a gold glove caliber second baseman, but so would be the majority of Major League shortstops. It's just a lot easier to find a second baseman in the offseason who's a good bang for his buck than to find a shortstop.
Even GG second basemen can't make the transition easy. Unlike the OF, the infield positions are vastly different from each other. Could he do it? Yeah, but there's no way to know how good he'd be.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
He could do it, he's got great range for a 2B and an ability to make plays but we won't know until he plays the position if he can handle it. The left side of the infield is almost a thousand times harder then the right.
Both Pedroia and Hill were shortstops until they reached the big leagues. As long as they have the arm, they would adapt quickly to the rest of the quirks of being a shortstop instead of a second baseman.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
You have no way of knowing they will adept quickly. Schumaker was an IF when he came up but it still took him almost the entire year to adapt and even then it was one of the rare occurrences and moving to 2B which isn't anywhere near as tough as SS.Quote:
Originally Posted by gosensgo101
If you want to think it's easy because he played it 5 years ago and has a strong arm then go ahead, but it's not.
i don't think phillips is that great an offensive player, and there is potentially a significant downgrade defensively. phillips may hit some HR's but has horrible OBP. a little offense for possibly a big downgrade defensively, no thanks. Also, is phillips even a FA, or does he have to be traded for? finally, moving positions OFTEN effects a players offense as they adjust to a new position. The team can't afford a down year offensively from Pedroia.Quote:
Originally Posted by haveacigar
I don't see any real benefit from this, unless you were to tell me they had a trade lined up for an Utley, or a significant 2B offensively & defensively.
and Pedroia was moved because the team felt he didn't have what was necessary defensively at SS. at least I recall hearing that. I see no other reason to move him...its not as if the Sox had a SS at the major level taht was a mainstay. They dealt Nomar in one of Pedey's first years in the minors.Quote:
Originally Posted by gosensgo101
They also had no one to play 2B. The only other 2B on the roster at the time was Alex Cora (woo-f'ing-hoo for that one), and IIRC they had just signed Julio Lugo to play SS, and that was supposed to be a good signing for the offense.Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
Potentially, it wouldn't be Brandon Phillips the Sox would be replacing 2B with. Orlando Hudson is a decent defender who can hit for a decent average (at least better then the bums at SS). Or hell Placido Polanco also.
Though O-Dawg is 32 next season it could potentially be a better move to go into the market looking for a position that has a plethora of decent players then playing the Marco Scutaro sweepstakes and potentially losing out on him.
Pedroia moving to SS we won't know if it will work until next year, but if the Sox can convince him and will take the risk...I think it pans out better.
All valid points.Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
In the ESPN article, Pedroia mentioned that he weighed more in spring training years back from excessive weight training and that had an impact on his poor performance at shortstop.Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
he moved to 2B because they had HanleyQuote:
Originally Posted by dickay
Originally, yes, but later on after they had traded Hanley I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the signing of Lugo and the fact that they had no one else to play 2B.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninetyfourgoali
OF to 2B is a whole lot harder to get used to than 2B to SS. Not even in the same conversation.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
My general take is that if a guy is moved from one position to a less demanding position, there's probably a reason for that, and I don't see much value in moving him back. The exception would be in the situation where a team already has a great player (or a guy that they think is great) at the more demanding position, and now that guy has retired/gotten hurt/left as a free agent/been traded.
Moving to Pedroia specifically, well, while I think that maybe a lot of people would consider me one of the more hardcore stats guys, along with HGM, when you're considering moving a player to a different position is one of the situations where you absolutely don't want to rely on stats--you definately have to watch him in action a lot to get any feel for how he might do, and I haven't seen Pedroia enough to have a solid opinion.
I belive the reason was 'Hanley's a better fielder'. Its like the Jeter/Rodriguez situation (for arguments sake, lets assume that they were both good fielding shortstops when A-Rod was traded to the Yankees). Just because the player moves out of position, doesn't mean he's incapable of playing it, it just means the other guy is better (or hugely overrated). He's not going to lose that in a couple years.Quote:
Originally Posted by dps
It's a more unique one, yes, but 2B is hands down the easier position. If you think 2B and SS are essentially the same then you really don't grasp how different the two positions are.Quote:
Originally Posted by gosensgo101
The two positions are drastically different. I definately don't think it will be an easy transition, but I think it would be workable. I would only want this to happen if there is a significant addition at second base. Don't want any old shmuck.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
what worries me most is a) a poor defensive season from Pedroia leaving the team stuck with little options because they signed a high dollar overrated 2B and b) a significant loss in offensive production from Pedroia as a result of the move.Quote:
Originally Posted by rschusta24
lets not fool ourselves....as Sox fans we see Yuke and take him for granted. I know of very few players ever that can swap positions like he does and not see an offensive deduction.
Agreed. A guy who can play first and third at a gold glove level AND not lose average is a valuable commodity.Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
Moving Pedroia is a risk, we all know and agree on this. But is the risk worth the possible gains? I mean say they don't move and they are stuck for another season with a black hole in the lineup at whoever is playing shortstop.
Little risk=little gain.
Count Michael Young as a firm believer that Pedroia could pull off the switch.
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/ar...=.jsp&c_id=bos
The site also shows some video of Pedroia playing short for the Sox, in the big leagues. Also, as I'm sure was pointed out, Pedroia routinely takes grounders and makes plays from shortstop as part of his warmup routine every game. I understand that switching the position for everyday play may not be easy as pie, but I don't think this breaks him.