So much is being written and spoken about Eduardo Nunez. Boston media is calling him a superstar and a juggernaut for the Red Sox, pointing out that he came from the NY Yankees where he was taught the game by superstars the likes of Jeter, ARod & Cano.
I can understand the euphoria to a degree because since being dealt to the Sox at the trade deadline from the Twins, he has hit .420 / .442 / .780 in 11 games. He has absolutely helped energize an anemic offense, and the result has been astounding. The Red Sox went from 2 behind the Yankees in the loss column for first place to now being up 4 in the loss column over the Yanks in only 11 games.
Now some Yankee fans will say why did we trade Nunez? Why did we give up on him? Well, let me point out an important fact this way … you can’t spell Eduardo without the letter “E”. E as in ERROR. Everyone in the Yankee organization knew that Nunez had great potential with the bat. None other than Yogi Berra himself said .. ya gotta give this kid 500+ ABs. As far as I was concerned the issue always was his defense. The Yanks tried him at SS, 2B, 3B, LF, and he was an error machine at all positions. My thoughts back then were can’t someone in the organization “coach-up” this guy to be an adequate fielder somewhere .. anywhere ? The Yankees were very close to trading for Cliff Lee back in 2010. They were willing to send highly touted Jesus Montero to the Mariners along with 2B David Adams, and that deal came very close to being made. In fact, if I recall, Joel Sherman prematurely announced the deal as done. The reality was, at the last minute the M’s were concerned about Adams’ ankle and asked for Eduardo Nunez instead. The Yanks said no. Brian Cashman would not part with Nunez. I would have been reluctant, but would absolutely have made that trade for Lee who was 4-0 in the 2009 postseason with a 1.56 ERA including being 2-0 vs. the Yankees in the World Series. Well the trade for Lee didn’t happen, he was traded for Justin Smoak of the Texas Rangers instead. The footnote there is that the Rangers, thanks in large part to Lee, defeated the Yanks in the ALCS, his wife was spit at ( allegedly ) at Yankee Stadium, and Lee decided not to sign with NY at the end of the season as a FA despite the Yanks offering the most money. I truly believe that whole scenario cost the Yankees at least one more WS ring.
But getting back to Nunie, I along with every die-hard Yankee fan was rooting hard for the kid when he was on the team. He worked, he hustled out of the box, seemed respectful to his teammates, always smiled, and had a lot of pop in his bat. However the bottom line was that Eduardo Nunez was a defensive liability no matter where they played him. Unfortunately the Yankees could not coach him-up with the glove and eventually traded him for little in return. He was traded to the Twins for LHP minor-leaguer Miguel Sulbaran. Who? … Exactly!
So now the Red Sox come into the Bronx with an 8 game winning streak, riding the hot hitting of Nunez along with 20 year old sensation Rafael Devers at 3B. It doesn’t surprise me that Eduardo has flourished in Boston. Chili Davis is an excellent hitting coach, and Nunez always had the speed & ability to be an impact offensive player. But having said that, it would surprise me if Nunez didn’t cost the Red Sox runs with his glove. Then again, I just saw Rob Refsnyder play a very solid 2B just weeks after being traded from the Yankees to the Blue Jays because he couldn’t field. Time will tell. Jumping to conclusions would be an E in judgment.
As always,
GO NYY !!
