Tyler Seguin has not been an offensive force in this postseason. We can say he’s underachieved in terms of what he’s capable of doing offensively. No problems with saying that.

I just find it a bit distasteful that every time I’ve turned on the radio since the Bruins 3-0 win over the Penguins Saturday night that I’m hearing a discussion about how bad Tyler Seguin is.

No matter how good things are going, people need something to complain about, I guess.

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I’m amused at the methods Nick Cafardo uses in his continued season-long stance that  Jose Iglesias should be the Red Sox everyday shortstop.

Red Sox have tough decision to make at shortstop

The funny part to me, is that he is taking an almost completely opposite stance to the one he took a decade ago when Tom Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe. Now obviously the example isn’t a perfect one, as Bledsoe was a fixture here, and had just signed a $100 million contract.

Some of the quotes:

The new issue for the Red Sox, who gave Drew a contract for $9.5 million this season, is do we continue to make Iglesias a utility player? The Sox seem to have a policy that the veteran doesn’t switch positions for the rookie, and it appears they’re stuck in that mind-set.

Back then, Nick insisted that protocol dictated that a veteran couldn’t lose his job to a younger player because of injury. Now the Red Sox are “stuck” in the mindset that a veteran should keep his job.

That’s why this is tricky. When the team is winning, why fix what’s not broken? Yet if you want to put your players in the best position to succeed in the best interest of the team, then you stick by your guns — the best shortstop (offensively and defensively) should play shortstop.

Bill Belichick was crucified by Nick for sticking to his guns when he kept Brady as starter because he was the best quarterback for the team and they were winning with him.

Everybody knows what nobody wants to say — that Iglesias is the best shortstop on the team. The Sox could try to pretend he isn’t and stick to veteran protocol, keep Drew in place, and wait for those great days amid the 0-for-17s.

Let’s try that paragraph again:

Everybody knows what nobody wants to say — that Iglesias Brady is the best shortstop quarterback on the team. The Sox Patriots could try to pretend he isn’t and stick to veteran protocol, keep Drew in place, and wait for those great days amid the 0-for-17s 18-28, 2INTs.

The old Nick would NEVER write that paragraph.

I think Nick is just scared of getting burned by backing a Drew again.

My own thoughts are that thing will sort themselves out. I don’t Iglesias is going to continue hitting as he is, but if he does, the Sox can trade Drew, he’s on a one-year deal, and wouldn’t be too hard to move. Or, you *gulp* trade Iglesias while his value is so high.

Meanwhile Alex Speier writes about Iglesias without all the unnecessary speculation and drama:

For Jose Iglesias, a long, hard road to acceptance

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Despite them joking about it this morning, WEEI has not replaced Mike Mutnansky with Tom Caron. Caron is filling in this morning, and he and Lou Merloni had their own intro for the show today, and joked about Chad Finn reporting weekly that the station was considering replacing Mut with Jessica Moran (which they have considered) or something else.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

8 thoughts on “Bruins Look Good, But Don’t Forget, Tyler Seguin Sucks”

  1. The thing I hate is that none of the media reporting on the SS position (including Nick) discuss (or possibly even realize) the fact that Iglesias’s future with the Red Sox is completely dependent on Xander Bogaerts, and whether he stays at short.

    Going into last year, the organization felt that there was basically no way he was going to stay at short long-term; that he’d either wind up at third or (more likely) as a corner OF. However, he significantly improved his footwork and positioning at short last year, to the point where there appears to be a building feeling that the move off of SS isn’t necessarily a sure thing; that he could be on track to be a competent (if not great) SS at the MLB level.

    If Bogaerts does stay at short, he’s WAY more valuable than Iglesias, and Iglesias is almost a lock to be moved. If Bogaerts does move off of SS, Iglesias will be given the job unless/until Devin Marrero takes it away from him.

    I’m glad Iglesias is making the most of the opportunities he’s being given at the MLB level. But the Red Sox are not, in the middle of a pennant race, going to hand the SS job over to a guy who has yet to prove that there isn’t a non-trivial chance of his going 0-72 for a stretch. And that isn’t an indictment of his future with the team!!!!! That’s what bugs me about Nick’s reporting. There is no reason or need to install Iglesias as the shortstop right now, and there’s no damage done to his long-term position with the team by keeping him as a secondary option for Drew’s one-year term. Drew is not Jose Offerman, dammit. He’s made himself into a better fielding shortstop than Derek Jeter, and I heard the Yankees won a couple of World Series with that guy. He was brought in as part of a plan, and you don’t disrupt the plan because your backup guy gets hot in a short sample size period.

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    1. I am firmly in the camp that Inglesias should be the starter, should have been coming out of camp and the Drew signing should have been looked at as expensive insurance and not as a license to hand the guy the job. WHat is lost in all this talk is that Inglesias whether he hits or not (and the fact that he keeps hitting makes this argument a little moot) makes the pitching staff significantly better both literally (with his defense) and mentally (because they know his defense up the middle is so good they can make the occasional mistake. If I were the organization I would be looking long at hard at converting Bogarts to 3B or even Left field, and do everything they can to develop Inglesias as the SS. If that means trading Drew, or making him the utility player…so be it. At this point they have to pay him the money regardless. Let the kid play, if he goes 0-72 deal with it then…see if he learns from adversity. Offense does not seem to be a problem for this team. Inglesias is flat out the better player right now. Heck he never played third before in his life and after one minor league start is proving to be better defensively than Middlebrooks.

      As much as I think Cafardo is a lousy Football writer I think his take on Inglesias is correct. Might he have an agenda…I don’t know…I try not to read too much of his stuff because I am still angry about his (and any of the Globe guys) Pats coverage. But the Sox should install Inglesias everyday at SS and let the rest of the chips fall where they might. If they absolutely do not have a better 3B option while Middlebrooks is out and if Drew can’t play 3b then leave it until Middlebrooks is back then trade Drew post haste because a utility guy who can’t play all of the inf. positions is useless to the team.

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      2. Drew has 1 error in 185 fielding chances this year. He’s #1 in the AL in SS fielding percentage right now, #2 in TZR, and #3 in RF/9.

        I don’t think the pitchers are clamoring for Drew’s replacement.

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  2. I think all this SS discussion will shake itself out but not this year. I think Middlebrooks will either be dealt or just fade away. Raw talent is there but he can’t stay healthy. I think you have Iglesias at 3rd and Bogaerts at SS. Vice versa is a possibility as well. Either way I think the Sox are set up well for the future.

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    1. Considering how difficult SS is to play defensively, if both Bogaerts and Iglesias are on the team, I’d rather have Iglesias at short. But if Iglesias stays up this year, we’ll see if he can continue hitting or not. I’m rooting for him.

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      1. Yeah I am rooting for Iglesisas as well. The hot corner is difficult to play too and with Bogaerts size he might be better suited to play it. Salient points all agramante

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