What past or present Sox player, coach or manager has sucked by any objective measure, yet you have some weird affinity for him, to the point where you find yourself constructing sneakingly elaborate conditions under which he was slightly useful? Or better yet, your subjectivity has led you to simply misremember how bad he actually was? You think to yourself, "Solid player, if unspectacular," until you look upon his baseball-reference.org page and stare in horror at the abject suck.
Like Marty Barrett, for instance. He wasn't a favorite of mine, I wouldn't die on the hill that is Marty Barrett, but I certainly thought he was a capable hitter for a second baseman, the result of an era where too much emphasis was placed on batting average. And even his BA wasn't great, it was serviceable. Marty Barrett was pretty sucky. But, you know, Marty Barrett. '86 ALCS MVP.
I currently feel that way about Daniel Nava. He's a lot more productive than Marty Barrett ever was, but in all likelihood he'll be out of baseball in a couple of years, unless he hangs on as pinch-hitting specialist against righties. Yet part of me thinks that if he was ever just handed a starting job and told, "It's yours for the season, kid," he'd rake. I'm sure this has everything to do with his backstory and how he got here, he's a Disney film in waiting. Yet his 2013 was pretty damn good.
Then again, so was Rob Murphy's 1989.
And speaking of Rob Murphy...
Like Marty Barrett, for instance. He wasn't a favorite of mine, I wouldn't die on the hill that is Marty Barrett, but I certainly thought he was a capable hitter for a second baseman, the result of an era where too much emphasis was placed on batting average. And even his BA wasn't great, it was serviceable. Marty Barrett was pretty sucky. But, you know, Marty Barrett. '86 ALCS MVP.
I currently feel that way about Daniel Nava. He's a lot more productive than Marty Barrett ever was, but in all likelihood he'll be out of baseball in a couple of years, unless he hangs on as pinch-hitting specialist against righties. Yet part of me thinks that if he was ever just handed a starting job and told, "It's yours for the season, kid," he'd rake. I'm sure this has everything to do with his backstory and how he got here, he's a Disney film in waiting. Yet his 2013 was pretty damn good.
Then again, so was Rob Murphy's 1989.
And speaking of Rob Murphy...