[pacman720]

will help bosox pitchers with his glove far more than todd walker would of with his bat what a great play !!!

[Spaceman]

I know he's an average hitter with little power and certainly not a great fantasy player, but I've watched many Sox games on TV this year and defensively he is a pleasure to watch. He routinely performs with grace, balance, and artistry. If you enjoy the aesthetics of athleticism, Pokey is the man to watch! He is spectacular and brings a rare dimension to the game.

[Rabdulbaseball]

Reece is also gonna be clutch when crunch time arrives. I see Bellhorn as somewhat of a choker. He's come through here or there with the bat, but usually making up for a bad defensive play.

[christophero]

Originally posted by Spaceman
I know he's an average hitter with little power and certainly not a great fantasy player , But I've watched many Sox games on TV this year and defensively he is a pleasure to watch. He routinely performs with grace, balance, and artistry. If you enjoy the aesthetics of athleticism, Pokey is the man to watch! He is spectacular and brings a rare demension to the game.

You've just capsulized the difference between fantasy and "real" baseball in two sentences. There really is a reason why Pokey plays and Jack Cust rots away in AAA.

[Mark Quinn]

Its too bad that Franconia won't give Pokey the green light more often to steal a few bags. Pokey is 5 for 6 in SB's this year.

[Spaceman]

"Its too bad that Franconia won't give Pokey the green light more often to steal a few bags. Pokey is 5 for 6 in SB's this year."

We in "Red Sox Nation" are used to getting base stealers and reforming them to have a gentler nature...ask Jerry Remy, Tommy Harper and a list of others. I heard Ellis Burks speak after his rookie year. A questioner asked why he stopped stealing bases in the 2nd half of his rookie year. His reply was that he had swiped 14 in 15 attempts before the All-Star break and then the organization put the stop sign on him!!!!!

[jacojax]

His defense has been very nice, that play last night was amazing, I wonder what his vertical is, and he also comes up with some really nice offensive days. The guy wont get multiple hits every game, some games he wont get any, but then he has a 3 for 4 day with 3 RBIs. I will take that from a 9 hitter who is playing for defensive reasons only any day.

[Devil RayB]

Originally posted by Rabdulbaseball
Reece is also gonna be clutch when crunch time arrives. I see Bellhorn as somewhat of a choker. He's come through here or there with the bat, but usually making up for a bad defensive play.

Do you have anything to back this up or are you just talking out of your ass? The simple facts are Bellhorn has had about a 150 point margin over Pokey in .OPS the entire season and can get on about 40% of the time and I doubt Pokey's defense is THAT much better.

[Kevin Seitzer]

A quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation says Reese and Bellhorn are roughly equally valuable.

Reese generates about 66 runs a year with his hitting, 5 net runs on the basepaths, and 22 runs above average in the field.

Bellhorn generates about 85 runs a year with his hitting, and 0 net runs on the basepaths. I don't have career defense numbers from UZR for Bellhorn, but he's about average or a little below on some other defensive metrics.

There's a lot of holes in the above calculations, but they can't be too far off. Through 2003, Clay Davenport's DT numbers show Bellhorn producing 4.4 wins above replacement per 400 outs, and Reese producing 4.2 wins above replacement per 400 outs.

[KMonster]

Pokey's catch last night against the Dodgers was SICK! I don't know that I've ever seen an infielder make such a great verticle leap for a ball. Pokey is one of the few guys in MLB that can make you stand and cheer for a defensive play. I know he sucks as a roto player but you can be darn well sure the Red Sox pitchers LOVE when Pokey has their back. Personally, I think he has earned a spot with his second to none defense and not-awful hitting (.266 and 24 RBIs is not bad) and that Bellhorn should go to 3B full-time.

KM

[Kevin Seitzer]

Actually, Pokey's been a pretty decent roto player this year, too. He ranks around 9th among AL shortstops and 16th among AL middle infielders.

[jwlincy]

Originally posted by Devil RayB
Do you have anything to back this up or are you just talking out of your ass? The simple facts are Bellhorn has had about a 150 point margin over Pokey in .OPS the entire season and can get on about 40% of the time and I doubt Pokey's defense is THAT much better.

I disagree, I think that Pokey's defense IS that much better than Bellhorn's. Plus I think that on this team Pokey is a better fit than Ballhorn. The Sox have plenty of hitters, Varitek, Ortiz, Nomar, Manny, Damon, and soon Nixon. I think they would be better off starting Pokey over Bellhorn at 2B. Just my opinion.

[jgrendel]

Originally posted by jwlincy
I disagree, I think that Pokey's defense IS that much better than Bellhorn's. Plus I think that on this team Pokey is a better fit than Ballhorn. The Sox have plenty of hitters, Varitek, Ortiz, Nomar, Manny, Damon, and soon Nixon. I think they would be better off starting Pokey over Bellhorn at 2B. Just my opinion.

Pokey will play 2B most days, playing short occasionally and getting the occasional day off. Bellhorn will play some 3B (splitting time with Youkilis) until Meuller is back, with the occasional day at 2B and the more than occasional day off. Eventually Youks (and Crespo--finally) will head back to AAA and Bellhorn will be the utility guy.

j