All-Aughts Team of the Decade bench IF: Alex Cora

Can’t have a team of the decade without a bench, right? Ever since Nomar left midway through 2004, the shortstop position has been a revolving door. Second base was inconsistent between Marty Barrett and Dustin Pedroia. And last year, even the backup infield position was in flux, something that continues to this day.

It seems rather strange, then, to know that for four years we knew who our backup middle infielder was, and we liked him. He was good.

He was Alex Cora.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade RP5: Rich Garces

A bullpen tends to have a lot of turnover given the volatility of the position. The truly excellent relievers tend to graduate to being a closer, while major leaguers with an average baseline of talent can find themselves out of baseball after a season or two of terrible luck. The fact that Rich Garces spent seven years with Boston is a testament, then, to his durability. The only sad thing is: his major league career ended in 2002 at just age 31.

The pictures don’t do quite the job of capturing how large Guapo is. At times, he seemed larger than life with his positive attitude and brimming smile. For the first couple years of Guapo’s tenure, he shuttled between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket. Beginning in 1998, flashes started showing that Garces could be an impact reliever. Then 1999 arrived.