Adrian Gonzalez checked in with his formerly local sports radio station, XX Sports Radio in San Diego. Sports Radio Interviews posted some of his comments earlier today. The interview covered what you'd expect: he talks about hitting at Fenway, whether his contract adds pressure, and adds some thoughts on San Diego.
I found one section particularly interesting, though.
"I’m getting a lot more strikes so not really swinging at pitches out of the zone this year and not walking. With the lineup we have and the amount of runs we’re able to put up we’re facing a lot more middle reliever guys and that always makes for an easier job. We’re not facing the tough seventh, eighth inning guys. We’re facing more of the mop up guy that you get in the fifth or sixth inning from there on out towards the end of the game. When you have a big ten run lead a lot of times you get that extra fifth or sixth at bat and you end up getting that second hit. It just turns your whole day around.”
On a scale of 1-10, I think Theo Epstein would give that comment a 12 billion. Is that not the Red Sox exact M.O. when it comes to building a team? Wear down starters, beat up on terrible relievers. We saw it last night, and really, we're seeing it all season. And Adrian doesn't even have to be JD Drew-style passive and patient -- the lineup's so dangerous that he still gets pitches to hit.
So let's back-track: Not only is Adrian Gonzalez a triple-crown threat, perennial Gold Glove candidate who signed an extension before he had to because he had given his word, but he also understands and buys into the organizational philosophy? Beautiful.
