Kuzul

The Boston Red Sox have been suffering from an identity crisis. 

Yes, this is in part referring to the fact that they finished in the basement of the American League East this season, a feat they had not accomplished since 1993. 

In 1993, Boston still managed to post a record of 80-82, something Sox fans would have been more accepting of instead of the 69-93 record they “earned” this season. That equates to a cool .426 winning percentage. 

The last time the Red Sox had a worse winning percentage was in 1965, when the team went 62-100 for a .383 winning percentage. 

Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office. The Bay of Pigs invasion had not even taken place yet and Elvis Presley was back from war, making music once again. 

In other words, it’s been awhile since the team has been this bad. 

These are the Boston Red Sox after all, aren’t they? 

The problem that exists with the identity of this team has been the front office’s inability to actually identity the right kind of player for Boston. 

Allow me to clarify. 

In some situations, the front office has opted to sign players they’ve lusted after (see J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo). 

Such was the case with Adrian Gonzalez. 

No, the team didn’t sign him via free agency. Lucky for Boston they were fortunate, if you can call it that, to have traded for him. Of course, it did cost them talent in the form of Anthony Rizzo and Casey Kelly. 

That said, the team was able to get their power hitting corner infielder and promptly signed him to a large contract extension that would pay him $154 million over seven years for an average annual salary of $22 million per season. 

Ouch. 

Now, if the production was there to warrant such money, it would be another story. The Red Sox coveted a power hitting corner infielder and what they got was a very nice hitting corner infielder. 

The problem: Boston already had their man, and they let him go. 

Since leaving the Red Sox, Adrian Beltre has been every bit the player the Red Sox wanted Adrian Gonzalez to be, and for less money.

Beltre signed with the Texas Rangers in 2011 for five years and $80 million, or an average annual salary of $16 million. 

In the same time that the Red Sox were waiting for Gonzalez to come around and embrace the role they had predetermined for him, Beltre was doing just that in Texas.

Since 2011, Gonzalez played in 282 games for the Red Sox compared to Beltre’s 280 for the Rangers.

That resulted in 1091 at-bats, 177 runs, 338 hits, 66 doubles, two triples, 68 home runs, 207 RBI and 61 base on balls for Beltre in Texas.

As for Gonzalez in Boston, he had 1114 at-bats, 171 runs, 358 hits, 82 doubles, three triples, 42 home runs, 203 RBI and 105 base on balls.

As for their batting lines:

As you can see, the offensive numbers are fairly comparable. Why then were Red Sox fans so disappointed in the performance of Adrian Gonzalez?

It might be as simple as the type of extra base hits. It can’t be the quantity—Beltre only has the edge by nine in that category, 136 to 127 in the course of over 1000 at-bats.

Or it could be the fact that Beltre hit home runs while Gonzalez was busy peppering doubles off of the Green Monster.

Of course, it could be the price tag attached to the double-hitting machine. Red Sox fans know better than most as to what it’s like to overpay for a player that just doesn’t give you what you want or need (again, see J.D. Drew).

The value attributed to Beltre is significant as he owns a 12.3 WAR in the past two seasons versus Gonzalez’s 9.2 in the same period of time (9.9 cumulative if you count his time in Los Angeles.)

While nobody will say that they are glad to see Gonzalez gone, there was a collective sigh of relief when the team was able to absolve itself of so much salary.

Whatever the case may be, Red Sox management missed the boat on the opportunity to build the franchise around solid baseball players like Beltre. 

At this juncture in team history, Red Sox Nation can hope for a realigned sense of player scouting and team ideals. This franchise and fanbase may not be able to stomach another season of mistaken identity.

Follow @THEChrisBenvie

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Mike Trout will, in all likelihood, win the 2012 American League MVP Award.

With just 118 games under his belt in his rookie season, Trout leads the American League with a .328 batting average and 45 stolen bases. He owns a .393 OBP which is third overall in the AL, second in OPS with .963 and his .570 slugging percentage is third behind Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera.

Needless to say, the kid is in good company.

Beyond that, he has 27 home runs, 23 doubles and six triples in his 158 hits.

According to Fangraphs, he has a 8.6 WAR rating, while Baseball Reference puts him at a 10.2 WAR.

The evidence is there. Trout is very deserving of the MVP award. However, there are other players that have been playing incredible baseball this season in the AL that should not be overlooked.

Here is a tip of the cap to those players.

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The race for the 2012 American League Most Valuable Player award looks to be a close one.

Among the top candidates are familiar names you might expect. But this season, we also have a breakout rookie superstar who changed the race as soon as he was called up to the majors.

Bleacher Report’s MLB Lead Writer Ian Casselberry and Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar name the top candidates for the AL MVP and make their picks for the eventual winner.

Who is your choice for AL MVP? Do you disagree with our picks? Did we snub anyone from the list? Sound off in the comments section below.

Follow Gabe Zaldivar on Twitter @gabezal

Follow Ian Casselberry on Twitter @iancass

If you like what you see, click here for more from Bleacher Report Productions. 

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The 2012 MLB All-Star Game rosters will be released on Sunday. Fans are eager to see which of their favorites will make the Midsummer Classic and third base in the American League is one of the more interesting position battles.

A fan poll on ESPN.com shows third base is one of the most competitive battles. Miguel Cabrera is leading, followed by Mark Trumbo. But Adrian Beltre is a distant third at third base.

The fans are getting this contest wrong.

I have no intention of taking anything away from Cabrera or Trumbo. Both are great players having good seasons. However, Beltre is putting up the offensive numbers he needs to pair with his Gold Glove defense to earn the starting spot.

While playing with the Seattle Mariners, Beltre’s offensive output suffered. His best season produced a batting average of just .276 and 26 home runs.

However, his strong defense at the hot corner helped fans overlook his struggling bat.

The move to Boston and then Texas brought back the offensive production. His third Gold Glove, coming after the 2011 season, shows he still possesses great defense.

The same can’t be said for Cabrera or Trumbo.

Both have been moved across the diamond to get them in the lineup. Cabrera has been passable at the position, but Trumbo was so bad early in the year that the Anaheim Angels opted to bench him.

So why are they leading the ESPN.com vote?

Fans simply can’t be trusted to know who the best players are…but that is a different article.

Looking at the offensive side of the stat sheet, Beltre still holds the edge. He has the best batting average of the trio and the fewest strikeouts. While he is last in home runs and RBI, the difference isn’t material. 

The ESPN.com fan vote isn’t reflective of the official voting, as Beltre has been leading in the votes that count. He had a slim lead over Cabrera, with Alex Rodriguez a distant third.

Trumbo didn’t crack the top five.

Final rosters will be announced on Sunday. Beltre’s revived offensive production and stellar defense should make him the clear choice at third base. 

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Josh Hamilton hit for the “cycle” Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles. But when the ball flies out of the park, they don’t let you stop at first, second or third.

Hamilton hit four two-run home runs against the shell-shocked Orioles. He finished a perfect five-for-five with eight RBIs.  He now sits at 14 homers on the year with 36 RBI and appears to be steam-rolling toward another MVP award.

The first two long balls came at the expense of Orioles starter Jake Arrieta, who was coming off eight shutout innings against the New York Yankees in his last start. Hamilton’s third came off Zach Phillips and the fourth off of Darren O’Day. 

It’s somewhat surprising the O’s lost by a final tally of only 10-3.

Hamilton also set a new American League record with 18 total bases in one game and he set a personal best with those eight driven in. He also doubled in the fifth inning as he was perhaps pacing himself, taking a moment to rest at second.

The Rangers are now 20-10 and have tied the St. Louis Cardinals for the best run-differential in baseball at +65 (going into the Cardinals late game against Arizona).

He is the first player to have a four-homer game since Carlos Delgado did nine years ago with Toronto.

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Saturday was not a good day to be an All-Star third baseman in Major League Baseball. Ryan Zimmerman, Adrian Beltre and Kevin Youkilis either did not start or were pulled from their games due to injuries.

The Nationals’ Zimmerman was the first third basemen to fall victim when he was scratched from the lineup due to mild right shoulder inflammation. According to William Ladson, there is no structural damage to the shoulder.

The Nats have a day off on Monday, so they might opt to let Zimmerman have a long weekend of rest in hopes to reduce the inflammation.

Beltre of the Texas Rangers was the next one to go down on Saturday. He came up lame on a double in the second inning and was removed from the game. Jeff Wilson reported that Beltre is day-to-day with a strained left hamstring.

Beltre told reporters that he does not think the hamstring injury is as severe as last year when he was forced to miss five weeks. Richard Durrett reports that Beltre “hopes to play back in Tex where weather is warmer.”

It sounds somewhat optimistic that Beltre is ready to return by Monday when they return back to Texas.

The final victim of Saturday was Boston Red Sox third baseman Youkilis. He was removed from the game after he was hit by a pitch in the left thigh by New York Yankees relief pitcher David Phelps. According to Ken Rosenthal, Youkilis left the game with a left quad contusion.

Overall, there is a lot of uncertainty and concern for the Nationals, Rangers and Red Sox. These guys are key to the success of their ballclubs, and they will have to wait and see how each of their injuries progress.

Follow @NargOnSports

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As the Hot Stove season continues through Christmas, I thought it would be interesting to look back at the best one-year rentals in history.

Namely, players who, whether by free agency or, more likely, trade, ended up on a different team for one season before ultimately peacing out from that team at season’s end (usually via free agency).

Looking at every position, here are the best one-year rentals in MLB history.

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With the American League Championship Series under way and the National League’s edition starting up next week, some of the best-hitting teams in the league are squaring off against each other. 

So I thought I’d look at ten players who are likely to make an impact on the batting side of things.

Three things are looked at in this: traditional performance, 2011 Regular Season performance, and 2011 Division Series performance.

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We now know that cheating was a part of baseball for the last two decades. There are legitimate reasons to believe between 50 percent and 80 percent of players were using some form of performance enhancing drugs. For many, the improvements flew under the radar, preventing suspicion.

But in a few belligerent examples of perceived immunity, players exploded for other-worldly numbers. These are a few of the most glaring examples of such seasons.  

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1. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

2. David Wright, New York Mets

3. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

4. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

5. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

6. Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

7. Jose Bautista*, Toronto Blue Jays

8. Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates

9. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants

10. Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers

11. Martin Prado*, Atlanta Braves

12. Michael Young, Texas Rangers

13.Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs

14. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres

15. Mark Reynolds, Baltimore Orioles

16. Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies

17. Miguel Tejada*, San Francisco Giants

18. Michael Cuddyer*, Minnesota Twins

19. Johnny Peralta*, Detroit Tigers

20. Chris Johnson, Houston Astros

*Not their normal position but still eligible for 3B.

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