TC with Julio Lugo

Julio Lugo is entering his 10th year in Major League Baseball. HeÕs in the third year of a four-year, $36 million contract with the Red Sox but has struggled since coming to Boston. After hitting .237 in 2007 with the Sox, Lugo battled through injuries that ultimately knocked him to the sidelines for good last season on July 12. His batting average for 2008 was .268 with just one home run in 261 at-bats.

Now, Lugo, 33, is healthy and determined to reclaim his position as an every-day big-league shortstop. We spoke about his condition, the competition for his job, and what it will take for him to return to the form that led him to a .308 batting average with Tampa Bay in 2006 (although he struggled after being traded to the Dodgers late that season).

TC: You look a little bigger this spring. Have you added weight in the off-season?

Lugo: I worked out a little more. I added 10 pounds. At the end of last season, I was this same size. When I went home, I was able to work out and get more rest even though I didn’t want that rest.

TC: Jed Lowrie played well in your absence last year. There’s been talk about a battle for the shortstop position this year. Are you the starting shortstop on this team?

Lugo: That’s the way I look at it. That’s the way I’m always going to see it no matter what happens. I didn’t play last year for a period of time, and he came in and played well. People are going to forget about you. That’s human nature. You know what? Now I’m here, and people are going to see me working, and people are going to remember me. That’s why I get paid a lot of money. You get paid this much money for a reason. You don’t get paid that money just to be here or to be on the bench.

TC: You’ve been asked a lot about the competition with Jed Lowrie. Is that competition a good thing?

Lugo: Every year there’s competition. Every day you come to the field there’s competition. It’s not just one player, it’s the whole team. There are a lot of guys in the minor leagues trying to take your job. It’s not only this team, it’s not only Jed. It’s a bunch of guys that want to be a major league shortstop.

TC: You hit .308 in 2006 with Tampa Bay, but we haven’t seen those kind of numbers from you with the Red Sox. Will Sox fans get to see that from you this year?

Lugo: Of course. I haven’t been able to put together a full season in a Red Sox uniform unfortunately, but this year is a new year for me and I’m going to have a fresh start from head to toe. I’m ready to do that, I’m ready to step up and play.

TC: How is the relationship between you and Lowrie?

Lugo: There’s nothing bad between us. I understand he’s a young guy coming up and we play the same position. I’m just not ready to give it up right now. This is my home, and I don’t plan on going anywhere. I don’t have any grudge against him. You’ve got to understand that everybody wants to play. It’s not only him. There’s a bunch of kids in the minor leagues who want to try to take your job, too. You’ve got to get ready and do what you can do. Play your best every day.

TC: You were that guy once.

Lugo: Oh, yeah, and I remember it was our new first base coach, Tim Bogar. When I came up, he was the shortstop in Houston, and he helped me a lot. He was a little older than me then [laughs].

TC: How much was he able to help you as a new kid in the game?

Lugo: A lot. He’s one of those type of guys that doesn’t mind helping you, to teach you something. Some guys, they feel threatened. They don’t want to help you, they don’t want to work out with you. This guy, he taught me that it was easier to catch the ball at certain angles. The big leagues are different, you can’t lay back for balls as much as in the minor leagues, and he taught me that. Those little things are important. That’s the way I play. Last year I had some problems with Luis [Alicea] because he wanted to change the whole way I play. I felt uncomfortable. It was another type of Julio Lugo, trying things I’d never done. It’s difficult. I’ve been playing baseball for 20-something [years]. Seeing Bogar here, I was so much happier because he knows my way of playing, my style.

TC: Do you see yourself as that veteran now, helping out younger players like Lowrie?

Lugo: Of course. It’s something you do, it’s just being a human being. Not only him, but anybody. Anybody who needs help, in or outside of baseball. For me, it’s natural to do that.

TC: The people who knew you in Tampa always said your enthusiasm and love of the game were contagious. How tough has it been to be that guy when you’re struggling and hurt?

Lugo: When you’re battling injuries, there’s nothing you can do because you can’t run around. You can’t do anything. I love to play, and if I’m not playing I’m not going to be happy. Sometimes, when you’re not playing as well as you know you can, you’re not enjoying anything. You know you can hit. That’s something I’ve always done. I could hit. I could field. I could steal bases. When you’re not doing the things you know you can do, you’re not going to be enjoying it.

TC: Does that make being back on the field this spring that much more enjoyable for you?

Lugo: Oh, yeah. I’m going to put it together this year.

OT contributor Tom Caron is the studio host of Boston Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network.