Beltre Pulling into Town

By Rick Eggleston
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

For Red Sox management and fans, it’s all aboard the Beltre. With yesterday’s free agent signing of long-time Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre to a one-year deal, the Sox made two things crystal clear: A) Defense is the buzzword of 2010, and B) Opponents won’t want to mess their bench.

By signing the two-time Gold Glover and defensive specialist Beltre, the Sox will be relying on defense to get it done this year, followed by pitching and offense in that order. And why not? After all, the old mantra of “defense wins championships” applies to baseball as much as it does to football.

Finishing a respectable seventh in the league in fielding (.986) last season, the Beltre move only solidifies an already strong Sox infield. Run prevention will be the name of the game, as Boston will look to decrease last season’s AL East low of 736 runs allowed to somewhere in the low- to mid-600s. Coincidentally, Beltre arrives from a Seattle team that allowed an AL fewest 692 runs, still a far cry from the league best 611 allowed by Los Angeles (Dodgers) and San Francisco.

Add in recent acquisition Marco Scutaro at short, Victor Martinez behind the plate, and returning vets Dustin Pedroia at second and Kevin Youkilis at first, and Boston’s infield seems nearly impenetrable. And with newbie Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew roaming the outfield, things are definitely looking up defensively.

Then there’s the Boston bench, where Beltre’s predecessor, Mike Lowell, Martinez’ backup, Jason Varitek, and journeyman infielder Casey Kotchman will reside and could provide a solid glove or pinch-hit without the team skipping a beat.

As far as offense is concerned, aside from David Ortiz, the Red Sox are still lacking that one sure thing and much-needed insurance policy at the plate. That’s what Jason Bay’s defection to the Mets has wrought; at least he didn’t head to that other New York nine.

Some big names still out there: Mike Sweeney, Vladimir Guerrero, Brian Giles, Rick Ankiel, Gary Sheffield and Xavier Nady.