Renteria More Comfortable In NL And It Shows
AccessNorthGa.com
May 04, 2006
ATLANTA - Edgar Renteria is more comfortable in the National League.
It shows.
The Atlanta Braves shortstop extended his hitting streak to 17 games Tuesday night with a first-inning single against Colorado every game he's played this season, sandwiched around nine games he missed with an injured rib cage.
``There's a lot of good guys in this clubhouse,'' Renteria said before the game. ``I felt comfortable from the first day of spring training. They know how to play the game.''
He also likes NL-style baseball, such as Monday night's 2-0 victory over the Rockies that took only 2 hours, 7 minutes.
``Now that's a National League game,'' Renteria said. ``When I was in the American League, the games took 4 hours, 4.5 hours. That's a long game. I don't really like it. Over here, you play the game, do what you have to do, and go home.''
Renteria was clearly out of his element in 2005, his lone season with the Boston Red Sox. He batted .276 with eight homers, 70 RBIs and a major league-worst 30 errors.
The Red Sox were so disenchanted with their free-agent acquisition he had signed a four-year, $40 million contract that they dealt Renteria to the Braves for a minor leaguer and agreed to pick up $8 million of the $26 million he was still owed.
``Anybody can have a bad year,'' Renteria said. ``It's too early to talk about how I'm going to do this season. But from the first day of spring training, I have been feeling good. I think I can help this team.''
Renteria eclipsed Felipe Alou's Atlanta record for longest hitting streak to start a season. Alou hit in the first 16 games of the 1966 season, the Braves' first in the city after moving from Milwaukee.
``One of my teammates told me about the record,'' Renteria said. ``I thought it would be longer. They've had a lot of good players come through this team, a lot of good hitters. I can't believe it's not more than 16 games.''
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