Marco Scutaro

The 2002 World Series Loss Still Stings

Winning World Series titles in 2010 and 2012 should have pushed any lingering pain of the San Francisco Giants 2002 World Series loss far into the stratosphere—especially since I was among the million at the purely joyous 2010 parade.

According to Andrew Baggerly of CSN Bay Area, Pablo Sandoval will return to the San Francisco Giants' infield sometime in the middle of next week.

Bruce Bochy said trainers tell him Pablo Sandoval is a week away from activation. He's eligible Thursday.

The San Francisco Giants went into the trading deadline needing to fill three obvious areas of deficiency: a lack of power in the lineup, a lack of depth on the bench and in the bullpen due to the loss of closer Brian Wilson earlier this season.

For Giants' general manager Brian Sabean, two out of three wasn't bad.

Marco Scutaro was the "highlight" signing of 2009's offseason. For those who are true fans and/or have played the game, you know that he was not the big solution. In fact, he should never have been signed in the first place. He is simply overpaid and overrated. If the Red Sox did want to sign him it should have been at a much cheaper annual salary. 

There was an excellent article about Marco Scutaro in today’s Boston Globe. Columnist Nick Cafardo crafted an insightful story in which he detailed the shortstop’s health issues last season, providing a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes information that fans had not previously known. But does that mean Scutaro should be the Red Sox’ starting shortstop in 2011?

I am in the midst of a series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position are being ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series continues with a look at the shortstops.

The best player will earn 10 points for his team, with the remaining players being assigned points as follows: 7-5-3-1.

When the Red Sox traded one of their all-time best players, Nomar Garciaparra, they entered a state of turmoil with regard to the shortstop position.

The Red Sox acquired Orlando Cabrera in 2004, followed quickly by Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo. A combination of Lugo, Jed Lowrie, Alex Cora, Nick Green and Alex Gonzalez were used between 2007 and 2009.

Finally, the Red Sox signed Marco Scutaro, who started for the Red Sox in 2010. All in all, nine Red Sox started at least 50 games for the Red Sox since 2004.

With Major League Baseball's spring training just around the corner, most teams are about done with their offseason shopping.

But for most clubs, that's just the first step—even once everyone has signed, there are still big decisions to be made about who will play and where.

Here's a look at each team's biggest position battle heading into Spring Training.

Begin Slideshow

The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy recently entertained the idea the Red Sox would make a serious run to sign free agent shortstop Derek Jeter.

One of the main concerns for GM Ned Colletti and the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason is finding a permanent solution for second base. For Dodgers fans, the last few seasons have been confusing in the middle infield, as several journeyman veterans and utility players have stepped in, taking turns manning the right side of the infield.

The upcoming season appears to be heading in the same direction. However, it is also possible with major names on the free agent market, the Dodgers will be able to sign a solid fielder with a productive bat to a multi-year deal.