Revolving Doors

Well, I guess that in order to have a true revolving door at shortstop, it had to start over again at some point.

The Sox acquired Alex Gonzalez once again. Those who remember his 2006 stint in Boston remember him as one of the best defensive shortstops they’ve ever seen. Apparently, Theo decided they needed that kind of wizardry once again. The fact that Gonzalez was awful at the plate doesn’t seem to matter. The fact that that’s the reason he wasn’t kept the last time he was here doesn’t seem to matter. Theo needed a PR move, and people had been missing Gonzalez’s defense. Is Gonzalez better defensively? Yes. He’s better than what the Sox have had this year. Can he hit any better? Doubtful. Do I have a problem with the trade? Not really. Once again, the team is probably better after the trade than before it. It’s the image that I have a problem with. Just like with Doug Mirabelli, Theo has grabbed an old friend to help him out without it being much of an upgrade. If he’s going to keep trying different players at short, at least make them different players. Or, if he is going to repeat some guys, couldn’t it have been Nomar?

The Sox have fallen out of a playoff spot for the first time since April. I’m not going to panic after only taking 1 of 3 from a playoff caliber team, on the road. The Sox just need to keep doing what they’re doing, and it should be Ok. Getting Wake and Dice back would certainly help as well.

Watching the Rangers games made me wonder about Josh Hamilton. How does he get treated when he goes back to Tampa Bay? Perhaps the Rays fans aren’t into it yet. But, I’m trying to think of how Fenway would treat a loss like him. Imagine the Sox used the first pick on a can’t miss guy, only he drank or smoked, or whatever himself out of the league. Once the Sox finally cut ties with the guy, he cleans himself up and goes on to be the superstar they thought he’d be. The Rays should have him in centerfield. They should have won the World Series with him hitting third last season. Does that bother the fans?

It will be interesting to see where the Sox are one week from today. It could be a whole new race by then.

Can’t wait for the ride.