Renteria Justifies Praise
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
March 13, 2006
Two hours after Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sang his praises, Edgar Renteria underscored La Russa's points. The shortstop went 2-for-3 with a double, a three-run homer and solid defense Sunday in a 4-3 win over St. Louis.
He homered off Braden Looper with two out in the fifth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit. It was his first homer as a Brave for Renteria, acquired from Boston in a December trade for third-base prospect Andy Marte.
"Smart move," La Russa said of the trade. "He'll be real successful [with the Braves]. He's a ballplayer - he can player anywhere. But for whatever reason, it didn't work [in Boston]. He'll be himself in Atlanta. People will love him."
Renteria had a disappointing year for the Red Sox (.276, eight homers, 30 errors) after a nine-year National League run with St. Louis and Florida.
In six seasons (1999-2004) with the Cardinals, he hit .290 with 71 homers, 451 RBIs, two Gold Gloves and three All-Star selections.
"He does everything well," La Russa said. "He's a great teammate, and he loves to play the ninth inning of close games."
Renteria was hitting .214 (3-for-14) with one RBI before Sunday.
"Edgar's been swinging the bat great," manager Bobby Cox said. "Like [Brian] McCann, he's been swinging great with no luck. He's hitting everything hard. To me, he's probably swinging batter than anybody in camp except [Matt] Diaz."
Back to 2006 Articles Page