Blue Jays second baseman Mike Aviles talked to Peter Abraham of the Globe about the fallout from his trade for a manager, his thoughts on Jose Iglesias, and his allergy to taking pitches.
Since I can't be bothered to think about anything other than Jose and his future Gold Gloves piling up at Fenway, here's what Mike has to say about Iglesias' future:
"That kid is special. He does things in the field I've never seen anybody do and I know I can't do," Aviles said. "His hand-eye coordination in the field is amazing and it's only a matter of time before that translates into hitting for him. It will happen.
"I like Jose a lot. I was planning to talk to him a lot in the winter and I still will. He can do the job and I hope they give him the chance. It's fun to watch him play."
On the one hand, listening to Mike Aviles talk about how he can evaluate stellar shortstop play is a little bit like hearing Nomar Garciaparra give ESPN viewers the ins and outs of postseason play (enjoy that ring, Nomar!).
On the other hand, if he's a fan of Jose I'm on board with him. Thanks for the endorsement, Mike!
In the aftermath of the trade, sentiment seems to be all over the place. On the one hand is the argument that it's amazing that they were willing to give up a major leaguer for a manger. On the other hand is the understanding that while Aviles surprised us in the field last year, he still was a .282 on-base guy with no ceiling.
I feel some guilt in making fun of Aviles -- he was fine. He was acceptable. In fact, I do think he's a useful utility guy. But so is Pedro Ciriaco, or a handful of other guys that can be had. He was ultimately a redundant asset on a team with a lot of issues, and if unloading him is what gets us the right manager -- and the right shortstop, hopefully -- it's not worth crying about.
Go read the rest of the piece; Mike seems happy about the trade and the opportunity to play. He also indicates some tension with Bobby V -- not that that's a surprise at this point.
