Millar Targets Renteria Boo-Birds
By Howard Bryant
The Boston Herald
May 23, 2005
Kevin Millar did not play yesterday, having fouled a ball off of
his foot
Saturday night, but he held court after the Red Sox' 5-2 win over
Atlanta as if
he'd hit three home runs.
He's sick of the bashing Edgar Renteria is taking.
Leave him alone.
Get off his back.
Now.
Renteria had dressed and was gone after an 0-for-4 day, striking
out with the
bases loaded in the second, and fouling out with a man on third in the
fourth.
Renteria is hitting .239, leads the majors in errors at his position
and hears
the boos every time he makes an out.
Renteria has not spoken much, but it is clear in his corner of
the room -
flanked by Millar and Jay Payton on one side and David Ortiz on the
other - that
he has spoken to some of his teammates about his forgettable start in
the Hub.
Judging by his uncharacteristic blowup and ejection Saturday
night, he's
either been watching the Celtics too much or is clearly beginning to
feel the
weight of his dismal Boston debut.
``Let me tell you, this guy's a bad (expletive). He won a World
Series almost
all by himself. He hit .330 two years ago,'' Millar said. ``They say
this is a
tough place to play, and maybe the contract is weighing on him. I say
B.S. to
that. He's a great, great player. . . . The money? Forget the money. I
make
three million and I still suck.''
As much as fans are judging Renteria - he may be judging them as
well. This
is a dangerous time for the new Sox shortstop, who could sour on the
Hub's
unyielding, fickle nature.
Millar believes Renteria's troubles have been magnified by a
sporting press
that has exacerbated every tension going on in his beleaguered
teammate's head,
driving a wedge between the free agent acquisition and an expectant fan
base
egged on by an impatient media.
Renteria has heard the stories about how Boston fans stick with
you until the
end. No less an authority than Ortiz has told him so. But after six
weeks,
having played in the supportive environs of Florida and St. Louis,
Renteria is
likely forming his own opinions about the place he has signed on to for
the next
four seasons.
``He's going to be fine,'' Ortiz said. ``He's learning everything
'cause he's
from the NL. But at the same time, I don't know what it's like to be
booed at
home. It's never happened here, thank God. In Minnesota, it didn't
happen when I
struggled because Minnesota doesn't have that kind of people. There,
they are
always on your side. They know you work hard. They know you struggle,
and they
support you. You look at Edgar and you know he's playing hard.''
Renteria's booing is not the cascading, lusty booing Byung-Hyun
Kim endured
in a Sox uniform, but it is nonetheless undeniable. On the field,
Renteria has
acted more animated with each failure, an already difficult game
becoming more
so.
``Tony La Russa managed some pretty fair players and Edgar is one
of his
favorites,'' Millar said. ``What I told everyone is to buzz off and
leave this
guy alone. It's not like he's hitting .210. So what if he hit a pop-up
with the
bases loaded. He's hitting .250. The other night, he gets two errors,
both which
could have gone another way. Try throwing a baseball in 47-degree
weather when
it's raining across a diamond. I'm telling you, it's like throwing a
wet bar of
soap.
``I got booed at Fenway, hit three home runs and got cheered in
the same
game. All I said was this: Leave this guy the hell alone. Don't let six
weeks of
struggle negate eight years of being a great player.''
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