Glove at first sight: Newcomers can field

MINNEAPOLIS -- It reminded one of the clubhouse attendants of the clubhouse-to-clubhouse walk Rick Aguilera made after he was dealt from the Twins to the Red Sox after a game July 6, 1995.

After hearing the news of Aguilera's trade (for Sox prospect Frankie Rodriguez), Twin Chuck Knoblauch said, "I want to throw up."

The reaction was not so violent this time around. Gold Glove first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz was popular with his teammates on the Twins, a bunch of guys who had come up together and grown up together in the big leagues, but imagine playing for one organization all your life and then walking over to the other side just moments after you've been informed of a trade and then starting against your former teammates?

"It was the longest 12-foot walk of my life," said Mientkiewicz after putting on his Sox garb for the first time. "It feels a little awkward right now. But I think this is for the best for everybody. I'm not leaving with bitter feelings, by any means. They gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues. One thing the Twins are all about is they give the young guys a chance. Justin [Morneau] is going to be one helluva ballplayer. I've helped him along as best I could. This is what the Twins wanted, they wanted a [Kent] Hrbek-style first baseman and he'll be a damned good one." Mientkiewicz loves the thought of wearing the white home uniform at Fenway, but he hopes "I'm not the guy blamed for Nomar leaving."

"I'm looking forward to seeing my best friend's college apartment where he could look out the window and see the Citgo sign," said Mientkiewicz. "It's pretty neat. I love playing at Fenway. Obviously, the Pesky Pole [302 feet away] will help me out."

Once Pokey Reese comes off the disabled list, the Sox will have three Gold Glove infielders in Reese at second, Mientkiewicz at first, and Orlando Cabrera, acquired from the Expos as part of the deal, at shortstop. It's not known whether Mientkiewicz will play all of the time, but the reason for trading Garciaparra for Cabrera (via Montreal) and Mientkiewicz, and acquiring outfielder Dave Roberts from the Dodgers in a separate deal was to improve team defense and speed.

Mientkiewicz, who received a standing ovation when he came to the plate for his first at-bat and when he singled in his third trip to the plate, has been in a bad situation with the Twins, where he believed manager Ron Gardenhire intended to trade him to make room for Morneau, and that he was getting playing time merely to improve his trade value. Gardenhire has denied telling Mientkiewicz his intentions, but it caused much distraction on the Twins.

"It's been a little crazy," said Mientkiewicz. "It's been tough to play. It's been tough to go to the field. I always wanted to go somewhere where I was respected and it's nice to know that someone with the history and tradition of the Red Sox want me to play. Seeing we're in the same city in spring training [Fort Myers], I'll be seeing familiar faces."

Mientkiewicz, who is batting .250 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 79 games after a stint on the disabled list July 16-22 with a sore left wrist, is an expert glove man, but he's not a washout as an offensive player, either. Drafted in the fifth round out of Florida State in 1995, the 6-foot-2-inch, 205-pound first baseman is a career .275 hitter. He won the Gold Glove in 2001. He also had his best offensive season in '01, hitting .306 with 39 doubles, 15 homers, 74 RBIs, and 77 runs in 151 games.

Mientkiewicz, signed through the '05 season (at $3.5 million), was part of the gold medal-winning USA team in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Cabrera drew rave reviews from Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, who watched him play in the National League.

"I remember Cabrera as a young, good steady player at shortstop in Montreal, but he's gotten better over the years," said Martinez. "He's going to be a good player for us. Good glove man and he can hit for power."

Schilling said, "I know Orlando from playing against him and he's one of the best shortstops in the game. He can hit and he can play good defense. Getting the players we got we addressed some concerns on our team defensively. This is going to help us."

A native of Cartegena, Colombia, Cabrera was having an off season with Montreal, hitting .246 with four homers, 31 RBIs, and 12 steals. A righthanded hitter, he's 5-10, 190 pounds, and has played in every game for the Expos in three of the last four seasons. He hit 14 homers and knocked in 96 runs in '01 and in '03 he set career highs in average (.297), doubles (47), homers (17), and runs (95).

One National League scout said last night, "Get him out of Montreal and go someplace that matters, like Boston, and he'll be an excellent player. When this guy has some urgency to be out there, he'll perform at a high level."

Roberts, 32, was acquired in a separate deal for Triple A outfielder Henri Stanley. After the Dodgers acquired Steve Finley, Roberts was available for little or nothing. The outfielder had stolen 33 bases in 34 tries and was on track for his third consecutive 40-steal season.

Roberts has battled injuries, missing three weeks in May with a hamstring pull, but the lefthanded hitter and thrower protects the Sox in center field, where Johnny Damon has played with nagging injuries. "It's great to have Dave around so this old, broken-down body can get a day off every now and then," Damon said. "I played with Dave and Mark Bellhorn on Team Florida years ago. He's a good player with speed who makes things happen on the basepaths."