Renteria Happily In Brave New World
By Rob Bradford
Newburyportnews.com
March 07, 2006
ORLANDO - He makes no excuses, but he does have some explanations.
Edgar Renteria roamed the Atlanta Braves' clubhouse yesterday at The Ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex a thoroughly content man. At 30-years-old, the shortstop can't help but relish his current lot in life, back hitting in the second spot in a National League lineup.
"This is the best," said Renteria, smiling through a mouthful of chewing tobacco. "It is the best (situation) I can be in baseball. It is a winning team, which is their attitude. That is the kind of team you want to play for."
But there will always be Boston, the place he thought he was ready for, but wasn't.
"That was my first time," he said of having to deal with the Fenway Park boo birds after hitting .228 in April and .231 in June. "It was something that had never happened to me. When it did happen to me, I never had that feeling.
"It was in my head. Last year, I was always trying to be the same guy, but it was different. It was weird."
Renteria said dealing with the Fenway fans' displeasure was only part of the problem when it came up to analyzing where his one and only season with the Red Sox went awry. There was a finger injury in the season's first half, a lingering groin problem in the second half, and occasional back soreness as the schedule wore down.
"I played because I know what it's like to play hurt. I had done it before," he said. "A lot of people can't play like that, but I can do that."
He also supplies another a piece of the puzzle when trying to figure out how a Gold Glover can make 30 errors. A psyche that was already swimming with uncertainty because of a slow offensive start was tweaked because of Renteria's disdain for the field he called home.
"It was in my head," said Renteria of playing at Fenway. "I never felt comfortable in the field, and when you don't feel comfortable in the field it's a big mistake because you have to play no matter what. I'm not making excuses that the errors were because of the field; it was me. It happened, but I just realized it too late."
Yet, through all of the problems and failures, Renteria has appeared to change his tune about one thing: He said he never requested a trade, as had been reported this offseason. In fact, he hints that a return to the Red Sox might have yielded much better results because of his familiarity with the landscape.
"I never said that," said Renteria. "I never complained or anything. I never said I wanted to be traded. I don't know where that came from.
"They said Johnny Damon was the same. The first year they booed and throw things on the field at Johnny Damon. But then they cheer him and they loved him. They turned around. I knew that could happen to me."
But what Renteria does admit to is being ecstatic to be in his current surroundings. Once he got the call at his home in Columbia that the Braves were shipping their top prospect, Andy Marte, for a replacement for former Atlanta mainstay Rafael Furcal (and $11 million of the $30 Renteria was still owed), there was no looking back.
"When they traded me to Atlanta, it was the best thing that could have happened," he said. "It was where I always wanted to play. I always believed in what I could do. I like to play hard, I like to play the game, and I like to win. Whether it is here, in Japan, in the American League, or wherever I go.
"Boston still has a very good team. When you have those two guys in the middle (of the lineup), Manny (Ramirez) and David (Ortiz), it's an unbelievable team."
Renteria, who has three more years left on the deal he originally signed with the Red Sox before the 2005 season, appears to already have left an impression on his new teammates, who also seem to have some sympathy when it comes to their new shortstop's past.
"I think he's going to be happier here," said Braves reliever Mike Remlinger, who had a brief stay with Renteria in Boston last season. "I know how the media gets in places like Boston. Here you have the coverage, but you don't have as many people in your face. You have expectations, but Boston fans are unique. I just think he's going to thrive in this atmosphere."
Braves starter Mike Hampton, who had his share of problems with the big market New York Mets, can also understand where Atlanta might be the perfect tonic for Renteria.
"I think being in this atmosphere is only going to help him," Hampton said. "Boston is similar to New York in that if you don't get off to a fast start people start booing you, your mind starts wandering, and it's tough to deal with. Here he will fit right in."
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