The Best of new Red Sox 3rd Baseman Andre Beltre...

Amalie Benjamin shared this YouTube link on Twitter and it's certainly worth passing along here. It's a highlight reel of Adrian Beltre's defensive plays with the Mariners. Lots of good stuff on there, plus a little Vin Scully. Lets hope the Beltre finds the hitter friendlyto his likely the opposite of his feeling for Seattle's spacious Safeco Field..

Beltre is regarded by scouts and defensive metrics as a premier defensive third baseman, perhaps the best in baseball, and his arrival gives the Red Sox their best infield defense in memory
In both 2007 and 2008, Beltre won the American League Gold Glove award at third base after recording fielding percentages of .958 (2007) and .964 (2008).

The statistic Ultimate Zone Rating -- a complex but increasingly well-regarded measure of how many runs above or below average a player saves with his defense -- indicates that Beltre is a truly elite defender at third base.

He had a UZR of 14.3 last season, and 12.7 in 2008. His career best came during his sensational final year in LA, when he was 23.1 runs above average defensively.


wil.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/I8IKDeH9SEg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/I8IKDeH9SEg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

A little more Red Sox info for the 2010 season Ellsbury to LF, Cameron to CF..

As soon as the Red Sox signed Mike Cameron, manager Terry Francona said he knew what he would do. It was obvious to him that Jacoby Ellsbury belonged in left field, and that he'd prefer Cameron to man center. He just needed to check with general manager Theo Epstein and bench coach DeMarlo Hale.



Jacoby Ellsbury dives for fast falling liner in Fenway during 2009 season.

That done, it took just a call to Ellsbury to let him in on the switch.

"The way we're constituted with [Cameron's] long strides and Jacoby's first-step quickness, it seems that we're set up better that way," Francona said.

He could hear in Ellsbury's voice that it wasn't his first choice, that he would probably rather have remained in center field. But, with the Sox working toward the best defense they've had in the tenure of the current management, he'll instead be replacing Jason Bay in left.

"I think he was a little disappointed, a little concerned that it was like a demotion," said Francona, who made the call with Hale from Florida about a week before Christmas. "We explained that it's not. Again, we've got a guy with longer strides. Jacoby can be a force in left, kind of like Carl Crawford in Tampa. We're going to have an outfield where not a lot of balls hit too much ground."

Francona said that Cameron, despite playing only three games in left in his career, had offered to play either spot for the Red Sox when he signed. But Cameron, who turns 37 on Friday, also has three Gold Gloves, and is regarded as an outstanding center fielder.

"It came down to the fact that Cameron's experience is almost exclusively in center and Jacoby demonstrated in 2007 and 2008 that he can be an impact corner outfielder defensively," Epstein wrote in an e-mail. "We are more than comfortable with Jacoby in center. We just feel that -- for now -- this alignment puts us in the best position to win games.

"Both Mike and Jacoby were great about it and said they would do whatever was best for the team. Jacoby knows he'll still be a centerfielder in the long run, and Mike looks forward to helping Jacoby any way he can."

With the additions of Cameron, Marco Scutaro, and Adrian Beltre, the Sox are shaping up to have an outstanding defensive club. Their rotation, bolstered by the signing of John Lackey, should also be superior to the staff they used in 2009.

"This is is going to be our best defensive team we've ever had," Francona said. "Every time we've played good, we've caught the ball very well. You won't see too many sloppy games. Those runs we put together when we're catching the ball, we've got a chance to be really good defensively. You've got to score, things like that, but this gives us a chance to be a solid team. That's what we're trying to accomplish.

"If you're scoring 10 runs, but you're giving up 11, that's a tough way to play. This is going to make a tough pitching staff better. That's the idea."

The idea, too, is that the move for Ellsbury won't be permanent. It's unlikely that Ellsbury will remain in left field for the rest of his career.

"I know there will be a day in Jacoby's career where he goes back to center," Francona said. "Just for the way we're built now, this makes us a better team."


Boston Globe

2 outs away from a WS ring..

Oh and for the Rangers!!!!

Pretty good Rangers 3b



- A. Beltre homered to deep left

#23

GOING UP THE ALL TIME LIST:

The two homers gave him 20 for the season and put him in a tie with teammate Lance Berkman for 74th on the career list with 366, according to the Rangers.

33rd spot

Beltre also joined in the fun with his seventh homer of the season, tying recent Hall of Fame inductee Chipper Jones for the 33rd spot on baseball's career list with 469.