Larry Brown Sports

When Adrian Gonzalez homered in his first at bat as a Dodger, a number of people had the same thought in mind: Maybe this guy is better off on the west coast. His numbers in his first full season in Boston (.338, 27 homers, 117 RBI) were impressive and he has been one of the league’s hottest hitters since the All-Star break, but Gonzalez didn’t exactly wear out the Green Monster the way scouts envisioned he would. His bat also had a tendency to disappear at crucial moments in Boston, which led fans and writers to question his mental toughness.

Now that he has begun a new chapter in L.A., Gonzalez took some time to reflect on why things didn’t work out in the ballpark experts say was designed for his swing.

“(The Boston media) didn’t like that I was a calm person,” Gonzalez said according to the LA Times. “I won’t throw my helmet, I won’t scream, I won’t use bad words if I strike out. That’s what they want over there. I was the same person in San Diego. They took me over there and I didn’t change. My intensity, how I prepared, everything was the same. When they took me over there, they took me over there to drive in runs. And I did that.”

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Adrian Gonzalez denied the information in a Yahoo! Sports report that said he and other prominent Red Sox players blasted manager Bobby Valentine to the owners, and it looks like he was partially truthful.

Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan reported that some Red Sox players met with the owners on July 26 to complain about Bobby Valentine after Adrian Gonzalez sent a text message on behalf of the team. Gonzalez admitted a meeting took place, but he denied the information in the report.

“The source is inaccurate,” Gonzalez said on Wednesday. “It says that I was animated and one of the most vocal guys in the meeting, and that’s false. I had a discussion with Bobby about that today. He knows exactly what happened. He knows the truth. I don’t know why this all of a sudden becomes something because this happened a month ago. So it’s all been cleared, and now somebody decides to write it. It’s already old.”

Gonzalez may have been partially telling the truth when he said the source was inaccurate. A report from the New York Daily News says that though the text message came from his phone, he was not the one who composed it.

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Adrian Gonzalez missed Saturday’s Red Sox-Rays game after his back tightened when he bent over to greet a child at the mall on Friday. You can’t make this stuff up.

Gonzalez told reporters he was at a mall in Tampa next to the team’s hotel when he ran into a family with kids.

“I bent over to say ‘Hi,’ to one of the kids and when I came out of that, it locked up on me,” Gonzalez said, per CSN New England’s Sean McAdam. “I tried to get treatment, to go out there and move around, but it wasn’t feeling any better.”

Gonzalez said he told manager Bobby Valentine that he could play on Saturday, but Valentine and the trainers agreed there was no point to rush him. He returned on Sunday, going 2-for-4 in Boston’s 7-3 win over the Rays.

We know backs are extremely sensitive and that they can be “thrown out” at any time (even when reaching for pancakes at breakfast), but how bad does it sound to say that you’re missing a game after hurting yourself greeting kids? That’s pretty embarrassing.

If Gonzalez goes through our entire “weird injuries” archive, at least he’ll find out that he’s not alone. There are many more embarrassing tales in there.

By normal standards, Adrian Gonzalez is off to a decent start at the plate in 2012. He’s batting .279 with two homers and 20 RBIs, so things could obviously be worse. Based on his reputation and the amount of money the Red Sox are paying him, Gonzalez is underachieving. Part of the reason, he says, is that the umpires are making horrible calls against him.

“I do have a question,” Gonzalez said after his 0-for-4 night against the Rays Wednesday according to ESPNBoston.com. “How are you supposed to have a professional at-bat with these umpires nowadays? Gosh. The first pitch in my last at-bat wasn’t even close. You’re up there, trying to have a professional at-bat and look for a pitch to hit and that’s called? …

“(Tuesday) there were a couple of pitches that weren’t close and they were called strikes. It put me behind two strikes and then you’ve got to protect. It’s unfortunate because you wish you could keep them on the plate and force them to come in, but that doesn’t happen anymore.”

Gonzalez is clearly frustrated, but it’s usually not a good idea to blast the umpires like that publicly and then expect to get calls. Bad calls are made against hitters on a regular basis, but Adrian is making himself sound like the guys in blue are targeting him. Chances are, there has been a combination of borderline calls and his inability to see pitches at the moment for whatever reason. However, the Red Sox slugger quickly shot down a reporter’s assertion that his power numbers are down because he’s frustrated.

“No,” he said. “I’ll start hitting home runs. I’ll hit a homer tomorrow.”

You heard the man. Boston takes on Tampa Bay Thursday night once again. Matt Moore is scheduled to start for the Rays, and if Gonzo puts his money where his mouth is, he’ll either be taking him or some other Tampa pitcher into the outfield bleachers. Stay tuned.

Photo credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

While most of the Red Sox are accepting full responsibility for the team’s collapse in September, some people are blaming external factors. Adrian Gonzalez is one of those people.

The Red Sox first baseman put together MVP-type numbers this year. He hit .338 with 27 home runs and 117 RBIs. Though the numbers look great, he slowed up somewhat in August and September. The final week of the season, he went 5-for-20 with only one RBI and no extra-base hits. According to The Boston Globe via Eye on Baseball, Gonzalez says a rough schedule contributed to the team’s collapse.

“We play too many night games on getaway days and get into places at 4 in the morning,” Gonzalez said. “This has been my toughest season physically because of that. We play a lot of night games on Sunday for television and that those things take a lot out of you.”

When told that having TV games is part of being on a high-profile team, Gonzalez questioned the mentality of the decision-makers.

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On Monday, we told you about some of the complaints managers have had about interleague play, particularly Terry Francona.  David Ortiz has been one of the Red Sox’s best hitters this season, but he is as pure of a designated hitter as they come.  Without Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez both in the lineup, Francona has no choice but to give up a good amount of offense.  In the event that the Red Sox reach the World Series, Boston will have to find a way to get both players in the lineup on the road.  Experiment A will take place on Wednesday night.

According to Peter Abraham on Twitter, Ortiz will play first base Wednesday night in Philadelphia and Gonzalez will try his luck in right field.  If the Phillies are smart they will try to hit the ball to the right side all night.  With Boston’s defensive setup looking less than stellar, Dustin Pedroia is dreading the added responsibility he will have in the field

“It will be good for us offensively,” Pedroia joked. “But damn, I’m going to have to play second, first, and right.”

Sox fans had better hope the jockey got his rest last night, because he’ll probably have to cover some ground.  Ortiz isn’t terrible at first, but it’s going to be up to Pedroia to get to any blooper that’s hit between right field and behind first base.  Should be interesting.

Christmas has not come early for Boston Red Sox fans — yet.  Boston reportedly could not reach a long-term extension with Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez during the allotted negotiating period, and as a result the trade has not been finalized.   Sound familiar?  Sox fans were convinced their team had reached a deal with Mark Teixeira two years ago, only to have the Yankees swoop in at the last second.  Earlier in the decade, it looked as though Boston had a deal in place to acquire Alex Rodriguez until the MLB supposedly wouldn’t allow the restructuring of A-Rod’s contract that would have had to take place.

The deal is not completely done, however.  The fact that a trade was in place means the Padres and Red Sox agreed on some sort of exchange, but Gonzalez and his agent could not agree with Boston management on the financial terms of an extension.  A deal could still be hammered out down the road, but the Sox are dangerously close to a public relations disaster.

Having recently purchased a European soccer team, John Henry and the Red Sox ownership can not afford to give fans the impression that they are afraid to open the checkbook an opportunity presents itself.  Red Sox players have even chimed in on the deal and there has been an obvious level of excitement surrounding the team since the trade was revealed.

My gut feeling is that this thing will get done at some point, but the Red Sox are definitely playing with fire.  Gonzalez is reportedly seeking an eight-year deal, but considering he’s only 28 years old that should not come as a surprise to the Sox brass.  If the deal falls through completely, Henry and company will be dealing with an extremely disgruntled fan base.