Renteria Finally Heard From
By Dan Shaughnessy
The Boston Globe
August 22, 2005
ANAHEIM, Calif - If he has suffered, he has suffered in silence.
Edgar Renteria doesn't say much when he's in the Red Sox
clubhouse. The
Colombian-born shortstop is not particularly comfortable with the
English
language and he appears to be quiet by nature. His game has been quiet,
too,
since he signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Red Sox last
winter.
And the vultures have been circling. Radio guys have been
calling him
"Rent-a-wreck," and this space yesterday dared submit that he's been
playing
like Jose Offerman. Ouch. Low blow.
Before yesterday's series finale with the Angels, Sox manager
Terry Francona
launched into yet another defense of Renteria, concluding with, "He's a
good
player."
We want to believe. We've been waiting almost five months to see
the Renteria
who earned raved reviews in his nine years in the National League.
So just about the time the Route 6 traffic was backing up to
Hyannis early
yesterday evening, Renteria finally delivered for the Red Sox. He broke
open a
scoreless game with a two-out three-run homer off Paul Byrd in the top
of the
eighth. The Sox went on to win, 5-1, but we'll never know how it might
have
turned out if Renteria didn't produce the game-breaker.
There were signs that he was ready to do something special. He'd
already
crushed a couple of Byrd's serves when he walked to the plate for the
final
time. He'd also pummeled a couple of pitches in Saturday's loss. It was
his
defense (23 errors) that was hurting the Sox most.
Theo Epstein, the boy wonder general manager who signed Renteria
after the
World Series, makes no attempt to inflate Renteria's accomplishments in
Boston
thus far.
"He's played fairly well, but I think his best days with the Red
Sox are
ahead of him," said the GM. "He's capable of more. He's done well, but
there's
more in there than we've seen."
"I know he's made some errors, but I still consider him
reliable," Francona
said. "You watch him on defense and you wonder if his legs are sore or
if his
back is sore. At the same time, his bat is so active. When a guy is
dragging a
little, that's not usually when you see his bat get aggressive."
Though Renteria's bat has been "aggressive," it's also been
relatively
powerless through the summer months. When he walked to the plate in the
eighth
yesterday, he'd batted 199 times without hitting a home run. His blast
on a 1-0
pitch was his first four-bagger since June 22.
"It's about time," Renteria said as he dressed and prepared for
the flight to
Kansas City. "It was a good one, too, yeah? It feels good because we
won the
game."
This was a key blow. The Sox were in danger of falling to 2-5 on
a trip that
now takes them to Kansas City to face the white-hot (two straight)
Royals. Now
they have the satisfaction of a split in Anaheim and still lead the
Yankees by
four. After Kansas City, the Red Sox play 24 of their final 36 at
Fenway, where
they are 38-18.
Meanwhile, though Renteria's defense continues to be surprisingly
shaky, the
shortstop is hitting .342 with a team-high nine doubles this month.
He's also
got 15 RBIs in August. Since the All-Star break he's hitting .312. He's
hit in
11 of his last 13 games. So though he hasn't yet played like a $10
million-a-season player, he's no Offerman, either.
Captain Jason Varitek said: "He's a tremendous teammate. He moves
runners
over and does the little things. Driving the ball is the least of his
game, but
he's a very intelligent baseball player. He goes out and plays every
single day.
I'm extremely happy for him today. We needed this one and that's a huge
home
run."
Renteria's slow start at the plate put him in the doghouse with
Sox fans and
his defense hasn't been what anyone expected from the veteran. But he
appears
more comfortable, on and off the field, as the Sox prepare for the
final six
weeks of the season. He even made a few jokes, poking fun at David
Ortiz's bunt
single, saying, "We've got a new leadoff man."
No matter what happens, Renteria forever will be a part of Red
Sox history.
He hit the ball that went back to Keith Foulke and officially ended an
86-year
Boston baseball championship drought.
Now we wait. The manager waits, the GM waits, and Red Sox
Nation waits to
see the player who was respected and feared in his championship days in
the
National League.
"Start Me Up" on stage at Fenway last night? Mick should
have dedicated it
to Edgar.
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