Red Sox A-Z: Q is for…

Quintana, as in Carlos

Carlos Quintana played for the Sox during five seasons. He was a fine player, taking his position at both first base, and the outfield. I have to admit, though, I wasn’t a Carlos Quintana fan. Why? Nothing that he did. he was a fine player. He held his own in the field and at the plate. My problem with him? He wasn’t Phil Plantier. Nor was he Mo Vaughn. Quintana was with the Sox for two seasons before young Phil shot to the scene. Plantier had one of the great September call-ups you’ll ever see, and was destined for greatness. Quintana had three years before the slugging Vaughn came to join him.But, they couldn’t get to their greatness until they started playing. And, the Sox…kept…playing…Quintana! Like I said, it wasn’t like Quintana was hurting the team. It wasn’t like he had no business clogging up the spot. It wasn’t even all Quintana’s fault. Tom Brunansky was playing right field for the Sox. But, he was good enough that I didn’t blame him. Mike Greenwell was, obviously, holding down the fort in left. So, it couldn’t be his fault. I knew that Plantier had no business in center. Vaughn was clearly a first baseman. So, it was Quintana that received my rath, whether he deserved it or not.

It’s the eternal struggle of the hyped youngster trying to displace the current crop. It happened when Ellsbury tried to shove off Coco Crisp. Clay Buchholz has had a devil of a time wrestling the starting spot away from Tim Wakefield. When is it finally time to turn over the keys of the car? When do you give up on what you have, and go with what you’ll get. It’s a question that has plagued teams forever. It certainly did for the Sox from 1990 to 1993.

So, it’s really too bad about Carlos Quintana. He just wasn’t as good as someone else. Isn’t that pretty much something you could say about all of us?

Q is for Quintana, Carlos.