Sox players believe Drew will produce Outfielder’s durability draws questions

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The ongoing offseason drama surrounding the uncertain status of Boston’s free agency deal with right fielder J.D. Drew reminded many of an old Saturday Night Live sketch by comedian Chevy Chase.

But instead of “Generalisimo Francisco Franco is still dead,” the oft-repeated headline and broadcast blurb was “Boston’s J.D. Drew deal is still on hold” or words to that effect.

So, was the 52-day wait for the finalization of Drew’s five-year, $70 million deal worth it? His new teammates seem to think so.

“I think he brings balance and a high on-base percentage with a little more sock in his bat than we had in the five hole last year so it’s a good fit for us,” said third baseman Mike Lowell. “David [Ortiz] is left-handed, Manny [Ramirez] is righthanded, and then you come back to another lefty so I think that provides a lot of matchup problems for teams, especially in the late innings.

“Two lefties around a righty forces a manager to decide if he wants to burn three pitchers for those three spots.”

The offensive punch provided by the lefthanded right fielder has never been in question. The 31-year-old Drew has a lifetime batting average of .286 and an on-base percentage of .393 through nine major league seasons. Drew is seventh among current big leaguers having at least 1,000 plate appearances with an .415 OBP over the last three seasons.

David Jonathan Drew had one of his best seasons last year for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .283 with 20 home runs and 100 RBIs.

The knock on Drew has been his durability. He has played in at least 135 games just four times in his career. His totals in the other five seasons were 14 (due to late-season callup as a rookie) in 1998, 104 in 1999, 109 in 2001, 100 in 2003, and 72 in 2005.

In 2005, he was out for the season after a pitched ball broke his wrist July 3. In 2003, he started late due to recovery from offseason knee surgery and went on the disabled list with an oblique strain as well. In 2001, he missed two months of action with a broken right pinky finger and a lower back sprain. A strained right quadriceps muscle limited him in 1999.

The numerous injuries have led some to call him everything from injury-prone to brittle, but teammates like Lowell and Jason Varitek call those labels unfair.

“Most of the time, injuries are freak things,” said Varitek. “You can train and work out and do everything you can to be in the best possible shape, but getting hit by a pitch or tearing a muscle sliding home are things that can happen to you no matter what shape you’re in.”

Lowell agrees, adding that he understands the cynicism regarding Drew, but doesn’t buy into it.

“The thing is, people want to see him play a full season,” Lowell said. “He’s an athletic guy and I think injuries are more a freak thing. I don’t think they happen to guys because they’re not prepared or they don’t want to play.

“You can’t really say it’s a bad rap because he has been hurt, but from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t seem like the type to shy away from playing. If he was that type of guy, he wouldn’t have signed with the Red Sox.”

Drew is an affable, uplifting presence in the Red Sox locker room and adds a positive energy both on and off the field. He’s also proven to be a great resource for younger teammates.

“I haven’t necessarily had a conversation with him, but I can learn a lot from him just by watching him in the cage,” said Red Sox rookie outfielder David Murphy. “He knows himself and knows how to make adjustments, not just game to game or at-bat to at-bat, but pitch to pitch.”

Fellow Georgian Brandon Moss, the Eastern League playoff MVP who helped lead the Portland Sea Dogs to the 2006 E.L. championship, immediately clicked with Drew.

“J.D. and I were talking a lot about some of the things he does in the batting cage,” said Moss. “We’re very similar hitters in terms of stance, approach, everything. So I was really listening to what he had to say because he’s had really great numbers throughout his career.

“He’s a great guy. Really laid back. I love him.”

If Drew can avoid the injury bug in 2007 and put up some big numbers, Red Sox Nation will love him too.