....give Stephen Drew 9 million dollars but saw the need to dump Marco Scutaro because of his 6 million dollar salary ???

In response to prknsdnld's comment:

1) That was then (budget problems), this is now (salary inflation due to demand exceeding supply).

2) Drew is physically able to play shortstop, Scutaro was and is not.

3) Drew is 7 years younger.

4) Drew has been a better player and has far more upside.

In response to prknsdnld's comment:

1) That was then (budget problems), this is now (salary inflation due to demand exceeding supply).

2) Drew is physically able to play shortstop, Scutaro was and is not.

3) Drew is 7 years younger.

4) Drew has been a better player and has far more upside.

Because Scutaro can't play SS anymore and the Sox already have Pedroia at 2B?

In response to carnie's comment:

Drew is no defensive wizard himself!

In response to Alibiike's comment:

Drew is slightly above league average, Scutaro is no longer able to throw from SS.

 

In response to Alibiike's comment:

Did you look at his numbers for other than last year? I know the answer is NO. if you did you'd have seen he was similar to Andrus, Reyes,  and many others. He also had more chances than 2/3 of all MLB SS.   He is not The Wizard of Oz but he is better than any past SS going back to Nomar.

In response to JimfromFlorida's comment:

Actually Alex Gonzalez was a very good defensive SS. So were Orlando Cabrera and Pokey Reese.

In response to JimfromFlorida's comment:

That's debatable. Gonzalez and Cabrera were no slouches. Truth of the matter is he's just another rental. the Sox can't seem to decide on a SS for the long term. Rent-a-wreck and Yugo were supposed to be the saviors but we all know how that turned out.

Now, we do have a "wizard of Oz", but ben doesn't want to use him. Go figure!

In response to Alibiike's comment:

That's debatable. Gonzalez and Cabrera were no slouches. Truth of the matter is he's just another rental. the Sox can't seem to decide on a SS for the long term. Rent-a-wreck and Yugo were supposed to be the saviors but we all know how that turned out.

Now, we do have a "wizard of Oz", but ben doesn't want to use him. Go figure!

[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, in todays baseball, defense at SS is second to offense from SS. The way Ozzie hit in his ealry years, if it were today, a) he never would have developed into the hitter he became and b) he wouldnt have gotten enough playing time to ever be know as the Wizard of OZ.

In response to Alibiike's comment:

why start an inept offensive SS with GG defense when you can have drew on a 1 year deal (providing iggy with the extra year in AAA he DESPERATELY needs) with above average D and 6 times the offense iggy will give you.

In response to mef429's comment:

Again I say, Iggy has 89 PAs at the big league level, hardly enough to judge his offensive capability. He is more than capable of hitting .260 or better playing everyday. You apparently didn't watch his ABs. The average doesn't show it but the kid knows how to hit.

This post has been removed.

In response to Alibiike's comment:

what about all the ABs in AAA? surely that is enough time to judge his offensive capabilities... he had 1 (ONE) decent month of hitting in AAA. that is hardly reason to proclaim that he can magically hit the ball consistently in the MLB. its asanine-asaten-asatwelve!

if he managed to hit .220 in the majors right now it would be a MASSIVE OVERACHIVEMENT and yet your claiming he will hit .260! LMAO! you should never drink the bong water ali..

I don't know why he picked out the number 260, he would have an out of the world rookie season.

In response to Alibiike's comment:

Because. He. Can't. Hit. MLB Pitching. Yet.

In response to carnie's comment:

i was ready to give him the job in 2013 because of the lack of a visible upgrade in our system. but with drew in the mix now i think its best for everyone he goes back to AAA and puts his work in just like every other prospect. hopefully he will be ready in 2014 or even the AS break if we decide to move Drew out. Plus it gives us an insurance policy if someone gets hurt. Pretty sure Drew can play all IF positions then we could just bring iggy back up to play SS

In response to carnie's comment:

Not as good when you include his ability to hit as well!!!!!

In response to Alibiike's comment:

If the Red Sox braintrust and sabermetrics team had any inclination that Iglesais could hit anywhere near .260 then they'd be running with him...I wouldn't expect Drew to hit much higher than .260 himself, so assuming Iggy could do that at the MLB level is  a reach.

The kid may have a .260+ BA in the minors, that doesn't necessarily translate to the majors...for the primary reason that major league pitchers are just a little better than those toiling in the minors.

Ike, I do appreciate the positive spin for a change, but I think it is still misguided.

 

In response to carnie's comment:

He puts the ball in play just as well as many of the veterans. If you were watching his ABs, he hit the ball pretty well but a lot of them were right at people. He has good plate discipline and those balls will find holes. He just has to "hit 'em where they aint"!

This post has been removed.

In response to Alibiike's comment:

and all lester had to do was pitch the ball where the batter wasn't going to swing.. easier said than done. he has given NO indication WHATSOEVER that he can hit. in AAA or otherwise. he needs more time in AAA. period.

This post has been removed.

He puts the ball in play just as well as many of the veterans. If you were watching his ABs, he hit the ball pretty well but a lot of them were right at people. He has good plate discipline and those balls will find holes. He just has to "hit 'em where they aint"!

No, he doesn't put the ball in play much.  His 20.8% K-rate would top all qualifying SS's.  The median guy was actually Aviles at 14.1%, so Iglesias is about 50% than median.

Which is not to say I don't like the guy.  If the choice was a pedestrian SS with a 3-year contract, I'd have gone with Iglesias.  But I cannot understand why we wouldn't go for the far superior 2013 choice for a mere $9.5M.  We're talking about close to a 200 point advantage in OPS.