Lugo refuses to be thrown by woes
MINNEAPOLIS - Maybe the Red Sox reacquiring Hanley Ramirez was always wishful thinking and pie in the sky, but that dream seemed to have ended yesterday when the Florida Marlins agreed to terms with Ramirez on a six-year, $70 million deal.
This can only make Sox fans feel worse when they think about the team's current plight at shortstop, where Julio Lugo has made 11 errors and almost threw another ball away late in Friday's loss to Minnesota.
The six-player deal that sent Ramirez to the Marlins on Nov. 24, 2005, has been a tremendous win-win for both teams. The Sox acquired their ace, Josh Beckett, and an All-Star third baseman, Mike Lowell, while the Marlins got the NL's 2006 Rookie of the Year.
"Good for him," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona of Ramirez's deal, which was first reported by ESPN Deportes. "He got good fast. I remember in spring training the first time we had him up. It was a split-squad game and Millsy [Brad Mills] had him. I didn't see him play, but [Mills] said, 'You've got see this kid play. This kid is some kind of special.' "
There was always that glimmer of hope that Ramirez, 24, would be so good that he would become too rich for Florida's blood and that the Sox would reacquire him in the prime of his career. Still, that doesn't solve the Sox' shortstop dilemma now.
Lugo, who signed a four-year, $36 million deal prior to last season, has not quite lived up to the size of the contract, offensively or defensively. The Sox got a decent defensive year from Lugo last season (19 errors), but this season has been an adventure.
Lugo was scratched from last night's 5-2 win because of a mild concussion he suffered while going into second on a fielder's choice in the sixth inning Friday and is considered day to day.
Ask Francona, Lugo, Sox coaches and players about the situation and you suddenly see a stiffness in body language and demeanor. Nobody wants to talk about this, but you know everybody's thinking about it. Lugo is obviously thinking too much about it because he's reached that stage where he's likely to be saying to himself, "Don't hit me the ball." He would never admit this, and neither would his teammates or anyone close to him, but 11 errors in his 35 games are eye-popping.
He had three errors in one game (Toronto, April 6). But if you take away that bad day, he still would be tied for most in the majors (with Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion).
Aware of the severe criticism he takes, Lugo just shrugged his shoulders and said, "What can I do? I go out there and try my best. I always play hard and sometimes you make errors in streaks and sometimes you make good plays in streaks."
Confidence broken?
"No way. I know I'm one of the best shortstops in the league," he said confidently.
There might not be a person in Red Sox Nation who agrees with that assessment, but I will say that Lugo isn't running away from his recent woes. He understands the angst. He said he feels it 10 times more than anyone who might be critical of him. He knows 11 errors are a lot for this point in the season and that, if he could, he wouldn't make one the rest of the season. But that's not the reality.
The Sox have not had great success at the position recently. When Edgar Renteria played in 2005, he committed 30 errors, citing the uneven Fenway infield as the major culprit. Lugo doesn't blame anyone or anything but himself, but he's on a worse pace than Renteria, who didn't commit his 11th error until June 6.
Lugo said he was aware that he's going through a tough time, but that he vows he will turn the season in his favor.
Lugo has been around, playing for his fourth team in nine seasons, and he's not the type of guy who someone is going to have a long chat with to soothe him. Yet I asked David Ortiz, who seems to be the great father figure or big brother to everyone, if he had said anything to Lugo.
"What am I going to say? That's for the coaches to help correct things like that. I'm not going to be able to help him with that. He's a veteran player," Ortiz said.
But just a few minutes later, Ortiz interrupted this reporter's conversation with Lugo. He put his arm around the shortstop and took him to a vacant locker area where he appeared to be having a heart-to-heart discussion.
There was certainly concern yesterday that Lugo was a little dizzy and had a headache after his collision Friday. Ortiz seemed to be seeking information on how Lugo was feeling mentally and emotionally, as well as physically.
"I got up to walk around and then I felt better," said Lugo, who said he's never had a concussion before. "I know I got hit, I just didn't want to lay there. I went to the bench, I was dizzy. It went away, so I went back in there. At one point I thought I was going to have to leave the game but I didn't want to come out."
When he got to the ballpark yesterday, it was evident that he wasn't feeling right. His name was removed from the lineup and Jed Lowrie's was added. In Pawtucket, Alex Cora was playing shortstop.
It is obvious that Lugo's plight is on everyone's mind in Red Sox Nation and in the Red Sox organization. Everyone, including Lugo, is anxious to see how it turns out.
