Edgar Renteria

Who knew blank spaces would cause blank spaces!

I see a lot of BLANK FACES everyday at work!!

tigersaint wrote:

I see a lot of BLANK FACES everyday at work!!

Does it make you want to then do ths to their little heads....

LOL

That's what I DO say sometimes!!

"Anyone OUT there"??

Nobody out there THIS week.....I LOVE vacation!!

WOOHOO!!

tigersaint wrote:

Nobody out there THIS week.....I LOVE vacation!!

WOOHOO!!

I have to go to school Monday and Tuesday!

NOT.....MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

bobrob2004 wrote:

tigersaint wrote:

Nobody out there THIS week.....I LOVE vacation!!

WOOHOO!!

I have to go to school Monday and Tuesday!

Lucky you!

I have school until 5PM on Wednesday!

sorry.....teehee!!

Have a nice week!!

2007'S TOP TIGERS STORIES: New SS Renteria is complete package


December 26, 2007

BY JON PAUL MOROSI
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Devon White rolled into a fielder's choice, creating a circumstance we thought existed only in backyards, sandlots and dreams.

Two outs. Tie game. Bases loaded. Eleventh inning. Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.

This was fiction, right? It had to be.

"It's the at-bat you play in your mind all the time," said Craig Counsell, who stood on third base then as The Run That Meant Everything. "And he got the chance."

Storybook endings rarely happen. Here, though, on an autumn night in South Florida, a star stepped to the plate, straight from central casting: Edgar Renteria, the Florida Marlins' 22-year-old shortstop, was swinging too well to worry about failing in front of all these people.

"I was so young," he would explain a decade later. "You don't always recognize what you're playing for."

Renteria already had two hits in the game, but the more relevant history was in those late-inning at-bats throughout the year when he showed poise beyond his years. He had a walk-off single in Florida's first postseason game that year. Now he had his chance to do the same in their last one.

Renteria settled into that sturdy stance, with the subtle bend forward that he still has today. Charles Nagy was on in relief for the Cleveland Indians. His first pitch was a slider on the inner half of the plate. Renteria spun away, and Ed Montague signaled a called strike.

Renteria looked like he wanted nothing to do with that breaking ball, which is why he knew what would happen next.

"I was sure they were going to throw me a slider," he said.

And there it came, bending outside the strike zone, low and away. Renteria leaned in and flicked it just right. The ball grazed Nagy's glove and skipped into centerfield. The Marlins won, 3-2.

"He delivered," Counsell said, 10 years after leaping onto home plate. "He's got a knack for delivery."

Jim Leyland, then the Florida manager, was hoisted in the air by third baseman Bobby Bonilla and later bullpen coach Bruce Kimm. Soon, Leyland was jogging around the outfield, index finger pointing to the sky. He was a world champion at last, and his young shortstop had the biggest hit of all.

The two would love to produce a similar closing scene in 2008 -- Leyland's third year as Tigers manager and Renteria's first as the shortstop.

"Edgar Renteria got as many clutch, big hits that year as any player I had," Leyland said Monday, when the Tigers announced they had acquired Renteria from the Atlanta Braves for prospects Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez.

"Some guys are just capable of doing that. I don't really know how it happens. There are guys that get up in that situation and don't panic. They're very comfortable."

As reputations go, that's not a bad place to start.

What's the fun in losing?

Renteria, one of the first major leaguers from Colombia, was barely the age of a U.S. college senior when his career-defining moment arrived, and he hasn't become complacent since. Renteria, 32, has a .291 lifetime average, five All-Star appearances and two Gold Gloves.

It wouldn't be accurate to simply say that Renteria loves to play baseball. He loves to play winning baseball. And that, perhaps more than anything else, explains why he has thrived and enjoyed eight winning seasons in 12 years.

"I don't believe it when people say you're having fun when you're losing," Renteria said Friday.

"I don't believe that. I believe that when you win you have fun. You have fun when you do everything right.

"When you're losing, it's a long season, like a 10-month season. When you're winning, everything goes quick. I expect to win every series. When you win every series, it's good.

"I never think about numbers. I think about winning."

Renteria excels at doing the little things -- and a few of the big things, as well. He has great hands and reflexes. He hits, leads and exudes competitive calm. And he has played in 55 postseason games over six Octobers.

Kimm, the former Florida coach and Tigers catcher, described Renteria as a "great, winning-type player," and the evidence in support of that statement is overwhelming: Seven times in the last eight seasons, Renteria's team has finished with a winning record.

"I got lucky," Renteria explained.

Wait.

Could it possibly be that those teams won because of their shortstop?

"A fantastic player," Kimm said. "He does whatever it takes to win."

"A real pro's pro," said Brian Bartow, director of media relations for the St. Louis Cardinals, where Renteria played from 1999 through 2004.

"A great addition to the Tigers," Braves television analyst Joe Simpson said. "The Detroit fans will love watching him play.

"Renteria has spent one season in the American League, with the Boston Red Sox in 2005, and it did not go very well. His home runs and batting average were down, his strikeouts were up, and he committed a career-high 30 errors while playing his home games before the dedicated, demanding masses at Fenway Park.

"It was a long season for me, a tough year," Renteria said. "Anybody can have a bad year, and I had a bad year. ... I didn't feel comfortable there, and I tried to do too much. That's not me. I like to play relaxed.

"I have nothing to prove. I have my career so far. All I can do is play the game the way I always played it, and that's what I did in Atlanta."

Simpson described Renteria's 2005 season as a "hiccup," in light of what he accomplished with the Braves. Renteria was the National League's starting shortstop in the 2006 All-Star Game and finished fourth in the league in batting in 2007. He may not have the fielding range he once did, but he remains a very reliable fielder.

"When he gets to a ball, it's an out," Simpson said. "If he made an error, we were asking: 'How long has it been since he made an error?' It was so rare.

"He's real smooth. I can't imagine how good he and Polanco will be out there."

Support network in place

Placido Polanco, the Tigers' Gold Glove second baseman, figures to help Renteria in two ways. The first is obvious: Polanco has not committed an error since July 2006 and will make an ideal double-play partner.

On another level, though, Polanco will help Renteria adjust to a new league and a new city. The two are close friends after playing together with the Cardinals, and both live in South Florida. Their relationship is one reason to believe Renteria will avoid the drop in production that accompanied his last move to the AL.

"I'm excited to play with Polanco," Renteria said. "I've known his family for a long time. I know he's going to take care of me, and I'm going to take care of him."

Renteria's relationship with Leyland should also be an asset. Leyland said Monday that the two are friends, and Renteria described Leyland as "like a player because he supports everybody on the team."

When the Braves and Tigers played this year, Renteria recalled thinking that Detroit was the best team in baseball. Now it's his team, and Renteria already is thinking about how this chapter of his charmed career will end.

"I hope I can finish in Detroit," he said, "and win a couple championships."

Must have IE...

He has discovered that things are embedded in IE that are not in firefox... videos and stuff..

I'm looking into it. Microsoft has a windows media player
extension for foxfire.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

I'm looking into it. Microsoft has a windows media player
extension for foxfire.

That would be cool!

Maybe, but windows media player sucks too :haha:

Quote :

Tom Gage / The Detroit News
....
Edgar Renteria doubled in the first two runs in the fourth with the first of his three consecutive hits. Marcus Thames promptly added a two-run home run. Renteria was booed by Red Sox fans who remember he didn't have his best year when he played for Boston in 2005, but he liked being booed.

"They don't take the time to boo bad players," he said.
...

Isn't it evidence of incapacity to boo a player because of that??
Theses fans make a fool of themselves.

It;'s like stupid Yankmee fans booing A-Rod for not parting the Red Sea everyday.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tigers' Renteria gets 2,000th hit
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- Edgar Renteria recorded his 2,000th career hit Tuesday night, beating out an infield single in the sixth inning of the Detroit Tigers' game against the San Francisco Giants.

With one out in the inning, Renteria hit a sharp grounder against Jonathan Sanchez that Omar Vizquel fielded in the hole but had no play.

Renteria, a five-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner, is known for his game-winning hit that gave the 1997 World Series Championship to the Florida Marlins, managed by Jim Leyland, who is now with the Tigers.

Renteria made his debut with the Marlins in 1996 and has played in 1,788 games with a career average of .291. He's a career .363 hitter at AT&T Park.

Sanchez carried a no-hitter into the inning before Curtis Granderson singled to open the frame.

WTG Rent!

I don't think he is a rent-a wreck! Edgar has been a great fielder and hitter for us this year! He has had his ups and downs, just like all the guys!

Short (term) stop: Renteria's future with the Tigers is up in the air
BY JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • June 22, 2008


Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria is well-liked in the clubhouse, thanks to his strong work ethic and perpetual calm.

And he has produced in the clutch, hitting .333 (10-for-30) with runners in scoring position and two outs through Friday, according to STATS LLC.

But he no longer has great range in the field, despite smooth hands and an accurate arm. And his batting average has dropped considerably, from .332 in the National League last season to .269 this year. He will be 33 in August.

So, with almost half the season gone, it's time to wonder whether Renteria will be the Tigers' everyday shortstop in 2009.

Pros and cons
Three facts could have bearing on Renteria's return:

• The team's option on Renteria for next year is worth $11 million, a significant sum even for a big-spending team like the Tigers.

• Renteria is older than his predecessor at the position, Carlos Guillen. The Tigers determined at the end of last season that Guillen's range had diminished to the point that he could no longer play shortstop every day. No one knows when that day will arrive for Renteria, but Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski said he has been "very steady" in the field this season.

• It became apparent during the Tigers' sluggish April and May that the team could benefit from younger legs at one or two spots in the lineup. Traditionally, shortstop has been a natural place to involve that type of player.

It's difficult to predict what the Tigers will do. Dombrowski declined to discuss his plans for 2009, and there is no overwhelming candidate from the farm system. Scouts believe Cale Iorg, an All-Star in the Class A Florida State League, could be a very good everyday shortstop in the major leagues, but he probably won't be ready until 2010 at the earliest. The Tigers also have high hopes for Danny Worth, 22, who has been the regular shortstop at Double-A Erie.

This winter's free-agent class is not expected to be much better than it was last year, when Tigers officials checked the names and determined that trading for Renteria was the best option.

The Tigers might take the same approach with Renteria that they did with catcher Pudge Rodriguez.

Rodriguez had a pricey option ($13 million), and viable alternatives were scarce. Despite concerns about his age and defense, the team brought him back for one more year.

Another thing to consider for Renteria is the strong loyalty Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland have for him.

Past success
The milestone came in San Francisco, where 11 years earlier he was the Florida Marlins' starting shortstop in the National League Division Series.

Renteria legged out an infield single this past Tuesday for the 2,000th hit of his career.

He joined Omar Vizquel and Derek Jeter as the only active shortstops with 2,000 hits, according to Retrosheet.org.

That reaffirms something that might have been overlooked during Renteria's first three months with the Tigers: Since debuting in the majors more than 12 years ago, he has been one of the game's best all-around shortstops.

Five All-Star teams. Two Gold Gloves. A .290 batting average in the 1997 World Series, including the Game 7 single that won a title and changed the lives of Leyland and Dombrowski.

"He's a true professional," said Dombrowski, who was Marlins GM in 1997. "He's always handled himself well. I've known him for a long time, and he's always been a very mature player -- even when he was a youngster just breaking into the big leagues.

"He works hard. He gets big hits. He's solid at shortstop. He's the type of guy you respect."

Dombrowski praised Renteria's all-around ability, saying, "He's one of the premier shortstops in baseball."

In a recent interview, Renteria spoke about how much he has enjoyed playing in Detroit. He said the fans and organization have treated him very well.

"I think we have a great team, and this is a nice city," he said. "It's great here."

Renteria spent the previous two seasons in Atlanta before being traded to the Tigers in the off-season for pitcher Jair Jurrjens and outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez. Entering Saturday, Jurrjens was 7-3 with a 3.43 ERA and a candidate for NL rookie of the year. Hernandez is hitting .327 in 38 games at Class A Myrtle Beach. Because of how well Jurrjens and Hernandez have played, it's unlikely the industry would view this as a favorable trade for the Tigers if Renteria stays one year.

Renteria said he would like to come back to Detroit next year. He could get his wish. But the answer to that question is likely several months away.

Contact JON PAUL MOROSI at 313-223-4097 or jmorosi@freepress.com.

I dont know why, I just cant bring myself to liking him. I dont want him in our IF. Or on our Ballfield

laprimamirala wrote:

according to STATS LLC. ... according to Retrosheet.org.

Do they think they look smarter by citing two sources? All of this information is readily available at STATS LLC., retrosheet.org, baseball-reference.com, etc.

I dunno...I just post em.