Reds' Aurilia all right with utility role

[ghettochild]

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TAMPA, Fla. -- The daily commute to the ballpark this season will probably include an element of mystery for Reds infielder Rich Aurilia.

When he reaches the clubhouse on any given day and checks the lineup card, will Aurilia find his name slotted in at second base, or will it be third base --or perhaps even shortstop?

Or will he be coming off the bench, if, in fact, he sees any action at all that day?

Aurilia is prepared to go with the flow and accept whatever role manager Jerry Narron asks him to play.

"I've played too long to let my ego get in the way, or my pride -- to say, 'I have to play shortstop' or something like that," said Aurilia, who batted .282 with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs in 2005. "You know what? I played 10 years at shortstop. Can I still play there? Yeah. But we have a good shortstop here."

That shortstop is Felipe Lopez, who claimed the position outright last May when Aurilia went on the disabled list for 17 games with a hamstring injury. Lopez went on to earn All-Star honors and a Silver Slugger Award.

Aurilia, who was Cincinnati's 2005 Opening Day shortstop in his first season with the club, took on a utility role upon his return. He played 68 games at second base and 18 at third base and batted .306 with 11 homers over his final 89 games. His overall .343 on-base percentage led the club.

[redsrbetter]

Well I do not know if this is a way for Aurilia to act like he has grown a little. But compared to last season, this is a drastic change in attitude and I welcome it. I just hope it does not influence any of narron's decisions in a manner like this:

"Well Aurilia is a vet who does not pressure me to play him, he just goes out there and gets the job done night in and night out. He is our best fir for 2B this season."

I hope it does not end up that way, but this does help his cause if there even is one for Aurilia this season.

[ghettochild]

i wonder what made him change his decision because he's been so pissy

[volzok]

Thats a good question ghetto. Maybe he finally realizes that he wont be going to any more all star games and if he wants to keep playing baseball for the next few years, hes going to have to be a role guy. I hope this is fact instead of some type of BS.

[missionhockey21]

"Well Aurilia is a vet who does not pressure me to play him, he just goes out there and gets the job done night in and night out. He is our best fir for 2B this season."

I hope it does not end up that way, but this does help his cause if there even is one for Aurilia this season.

Two positives you can get from that though. There is no mention of 3B so hopefully that means Ed E isn't losing a job unless he just bombs (which is unlikely). And even though Aurilia playing screws Freel over, I'd take him at 2B anyday over Woemack starting there everyday.

[volzok]

Thats a good point mission. Either way, I wouldnt mind 2 of those guys coming off the bench though.

[ghettochild]

yeah the question is, will freel being on the bench help us or hurt us having both aurillia, lopez, EE and dunner in the lineup clogging the outfield barring a god forbid outfield injury?

[CincyRedsFan30]

Perhaps Aurilia was talked to by Krivsky and Narron and liked what he heard from them.

Krivsky could have caused some superior communication with him to occur than O'Brien, which could be the cause for this sudden change in attitude.

Whatever it is, I like it and I hope it keeps up.

[redsrbetter]

If Narron has to start Aurilia because he has so much lovefor him, I would have to say that he must start at 2B. Which gives EdE the chance to see MLB pitching so more and mature as a young hitter. But it does present us with the no lead off hitter option. This would put us with Felo in the leadoff spot with Aurilia batting behind him. Its common sense to say that Freel then Felo is the better 1-2 punch. But I would rather have it be Felo then Aurilia as long as EdE gets in that lineup as well.

[volzok]

Thats a very good point CRF. Maybe there is a straight line of communication now. That would be the best thing for the team. Maybe players know where they stand b/c they are told. Hence that makes them feel comfortable.

[Geki Ace]

Methinks Aurilia got a reality check when nobody had any interest in him this offseason. I'll tolerate him if he can avoid whining about playing time the entire season, but I'm still not gonna like him. And yeah, I'd rather have him over Womack any day. I'm pretty sure his road OPS still managed to be higher than Womack's overall OPS by a large amount.

[albbla2000mu]

Methinks Aurilia got a reality check when nobody had any interest in him this offseason. I'll tolerate him if he can avoid whining about playing time the entire season, but I'm still not gonna like him. And yeah, I'd rather have him over Womack any day. I'm pretty sure his road OPS still managed to be higher than Womack's overall OPS by a large amount.

yep....I have a feeling he realized only teams like the KC Royals were willing to take him on at the ML minimum and he realized it may be time to stop *****ing.

[Cincy]

Two positives you can get from that though. There is no mention of 3B so hopefully that means Ed E isn't losing a job unless he just bombs (which is unlikely). And even though Aurilia playing screws Freel over, I'd take him at 2B anyday over Woemack starting there everyday.

I'm not sold on Ed E yet. We all here know how minor league numbers can lie.

I just didn't see any spark to him last year. He looked way overmatched offensively and defensively. On top of that, he seems to be kind of small to be a successful 3B.

But maybe he'll pull a Felipe Lopez on us.

[homerun21]

I'm not sold on Ed E yet. We all here know how minor league numbers can lie.

I just didn't see any spark to him last year. He looked way overmatched offensively and defensively. On top of that, he seems to be kind of small to be a successful 3B.

But maybe he'll pull a Felipe Lopez on us.

For a rookie I thought he performed quite well. We'll see this year though.

[Geki Ace]

EdE showed a lot more power than I expected, he looked like he's going to become an amazing defender, and he showed good plate discipline. All he needs is his hitting for average to catch up, and his track record shows that it will.