Right move for Moss

MINNEAPOLIS -- He may or may not be the next Trot Nixon. But a few things about Brandon Moss, the lefthanded-hitting right fielder who has turned into one of the most promising young players in the Red Sox system, bring Nixon to mind.

Like the time he fouled a ball off his mouth in the first inning of a game as a senior at Loganville (Ga.) High School, rushed to the hospital so doctors could stitch his lip back together, and returned in the fifth inning to hit a winning home run in the seventh.

And the time he fired 145 pitches over 10 innings as a senior to lead Loganville into the state finals.

By all indications, Moss possesses the kind of grit that made Nixon one of the original Boston dirt dogs. And, like Nixon, he can hit a bit.

At 20, Moss has chewed up the South Atlantic League for Single A Augusta, entering last night leading the league in batting (.346), RBIs (93), and hits (137), and ranking third in on-base percentage (.412). He has 18 steals in 25 tries.

"I wish I could play like Trot Nixon," said Moss, who grew up a Braves fan in Monroe, Ga., but has grown to appreciate the player he hopes to follow one day in right field at Fenway Park. "That man can hit, and I definitely play as hard as I can every day."

Moss shares Nixon's offseason work ethic, which made all the difference after he struggled in his first two pro seasons. After signing as an eighth-round pick in the 2002 draft (he chose the Sox over a scholarship to the University of Georgia), Moss hit .204 in '02 for the rookie team in the Gulf Coast League and .237 last year for short-season Single A Lowell with more than three times as many strikeouts (93) as walks (28).

But Moss spent much of last winter working with former big leaguer Tim Hyers, who shared much of what he learned as a teammate of Tony Gwynn. Moss improved his balance, refined his swing, and upgraded his pitch selection (his strikeout-to-walk ratio has improved to 66/45). And he has emerged as the surprise of the year among Sox farmhands.

"I knew I could hit," Moss said. "After working so hard in the offseason, it's nice to see it pay off a little bit."

The funny thing is, Moss made himself into a right fielder when the Sox ran out of room for him in the infield. Primarily a shortstop in high school, he was shifted to second base in his first pro season to clear a path for Hanley Ramirez, who remains one of the system's top prospects. Then Moss found himself getting squeezed by the competition at second base, so he ambled out to right field.

"I tried it," he said, "and I really liked the fact that I could use my arm out there."

He took it upon himself to ask Ben Cherington, the director of player development, if he could switch positions. Now, he faces the challenge of maintaining his upward trajectory.

"I hope to definitely move up at least to Sarasota [next season]," Moss said. "But all you can do is play your best."

His best has been plenty good this year.

Out of touch After a spectacular debut last season as a knuckleballer, Charlie Zink has endured a long summer of misery trying to regain the touch for his butterfly pitch. Zink commanded the knuckler so well last year that he was named the minor league pitcher of the year for Sarasota and was promoted to Portland, where he fell one out shy of pitching a no-hitter. But after he arrived for spring training as one of the most promising pitchers in the system, Zink, 24, went 1-8 with a 5.75 ERA for Portland before he was dispatched to Sarasota to try to straighten things out. At Sarasota as he has gone 0-2 with a 5.65 ERA in his first three starts for the SaraSox. Zink has walked 81 batters and hit seven with pitches in 107 2/3 innings for the two teams while striking out 53. Opponents have hit .242 against him . . . Triple A Pawtucket third baseman Earl Snyder hit his league-leading 29th home run Friday as he approaches the PawSox season record of 36 shared by Izzy Alcantara (2001) and Jack Baker (1976) . . . Righthander Barry Hertzler, an 11th-rounder last year out of Central Connecticut State, pitched seven shutout innings Tuesday for Single A Lowell to lower his ERA to 2.27, one of the league's best.