Sox Notes: Renteria Not Coming Up Short
Red Sox shortstop starting to find his groove at plate
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
May 28, 2005
NEW YORK -- The breakthrough moment for Edgar Renteria in a Red Sox uniform occurred Saturday afternoon, when he belted a grand slam in the fifth inning of Saturday's 17-1 walloping of the Yankees.
However, the signs have been there all week that Renteria had at last found the stroke he had been well known for before joining the Sox.
Renteria's 3-for-3 performance lifted his average to a season-high .281. But it was merely a carryover of what he's done on the first five games of this road trip, slamming 12 hits in 19 at-bats.
Don't look now, but the shortstop, whose early-season struggles have kept the Boston talk show lines busy, has found his groove.
"I just concentrate on the game," said Renteria. "I don't pay attention to what the fans are going to say. I always try to play hard and be me."
The Red Sox have thorough respect for Renteria as both a player and a person, which made for a lot of smiling faces in the clubhouse following the game.
"The guy works so hard every day," said Sox designated hitter David Ortiz. "Our fans need to know they're going to have Edgar here for the next four years. At the very beginning of the season, they be booing the guy and just taking his confidence away. They should give him support. This guy turned things around because he's a guy that doesn't give up. I'm pretty sure the Red Sox went and got him because of the kind of player he is."
Sox manager Terry Francona supported Renteria all through his struggles, moving him to the No. 2 spot in the batting order as soon as he gave the slightest glimmer that he was ready to start hitting.
"I think seeing some left-handed pitching on this trip helped," said Francona. "Now he seems to be taking good swings on all pitchers. Again, he's a good player. He struggled, it's been well documented, but he's handled himself great. He's real intelligent, real conscientious and very aware that we're relying on him to be a good player."
It appears as if the work Renteria has done in the cage with hitting coach Ron Jackson is paying off.
"He's really been working," Jackson said. "He made little adjustments here and there and he's taking off. He's staying back on the baseball better. He's getting through the baseball better. His confidence was a little down. He's not trying to do too much. You know he's going to hit. If you have confidence, you're gonna hit."
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