Just Dive, Drew!

I don’t know if I was the only one who noticed this, but last night, Sox fans gathered another piece of evidence in the case of Red Sox Nation v. J.D. Drew. In the sixth inning, Justin Masterson was charged with his first blown save after David DeJesus hit a 381 foot home run just into the right field bullpen. Now, most outfielders would relish a long ball that clears the wall by less than a foot, because most outfielders like to give the home crowd a show by making a magnificent catch that robs a home run. But not J.D. Drew. He was content to bump into the wall as gently as a leaf falling to the ground, content to watch the ball skim the top of the wall, as two Royals jogged around the bases. But we were playing the Royals, and already had the game in control, so why risk an injury, right? Actually, no. Dejesus’s two-run shot essentially won the game for the Royals, who ended up beating Boston 8-6. Here's J.D.'s lack of effort. http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5501039

It hurts me to say this about a professional outfielder, but J.D. must still be haunted by the time he crashed into the right field wall in 2007: chasing down a fly ball, he bruised his back, putting him out of the lineup for a few days. OK, so he’s a little wimpy for not wanting to put his body on the line like we watched Coco do time and time again. But there’s more. In 2007, two months after he bruised his back on that wall, Fenway groundskeepers added two inches of padding so that J.D. Drew wouldn’t have to fear hurting himself if he decided to play all-out baseball for once in his life. And yet, even now, J.D. still isn’t comfortable playing his position the way it was meant to be played. To see a real outfielder, see Aaron Rowand’s body-sacrificing running catch for the Phillies. I know people always look to J.D. as the cause of all the Red Sox’s problems, and I’m not one of those people. I know he’s ultra-talented, and his on-base percentage is off the charts. Plus, who can forget his grand slam in game six of the 2007 ALCS against the Indians (we won the World Series that year. Thanks, J.D.!) But I’m still waiting to see some $14 million-a-year defense from this one-time All Star.a