Spring Training always gives me writer’s block. After the season preview is written, you usually have the luxury of a trade to analyze, a new player to give an opinion and forecast of, or a position battle to take a side on.
But with the 2008 Boston Red Sox, you really don’t have much of any of that and I refuse to give thoughtful analysis of two inning outings from our starting pitchers or get all excited about a handful of at bats of questionable merit. If you are in Fort Myers, you have the pulse of the team and the menial activity of the day to report on. But sitting in a snow-ridden New Hampshire, it’s hard to be captured by the feel of the Fort.
So with writer’s block in full effect, I reached out to the Internet to give me something to write about. And thanks be to Twitter and Twitter-er user warrenss as within minutes of posing my desperate question, a response formed in the bits of zeros and ones and tiny little data packets coalesced on my screen.
“What do we do if J.D. Drew continues to suck?”
Ahh, a challenge. My first reaction was; Is Drew likely to continue to suck? and then; What do the Red Sox need out of Drew for him to have value greater than that which is described as “suck”?
I immediately looked back to my “Better or Worse” projections for my visceral gut reaction.
Drew had significant troubles in 2007 finding his place in Boston and with American League pitching. The big issue coming into the season was would Drew hold up physically? Well, 140 games played says yes. But no one expected Drew would pound one ground ball after another to the second baseman. He hit a measly .270 with only 11 home runs and 64 RBI. Not what you expect from your