Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Will No Competition Help Or Hurt Panda Preparations?

Recent 'Panda' Sighting
Now that Yoan Moncada and Travis Shaw have fled town, there really doesn't seem to be much competition for the 2017 Red Sox third base job. It looks as if the team is pretty much handing it to Pablo Sandoval. For most Boston fans this is roughly akin to telling the Massachusetts Legislature that they can raise taxes if they want to. Yeah. So, despite the numerous 'Svelte Panda' sightings in recent weeks, we're not buying the notion that a free path to a starting job is good motivation for Sandoval. All the good vibes generated by 'Dealing' Dave Dombrowski this week could be shattered by a Spring Training appearance of a corpulent corner infielder. Based on his non-Boston track record, Sandoval does deserve some degree of lee-way here—but not a lot. In our view, the Red Sox should audition others for the hot corner job—it's just not clear who that might be. Not a good situation.