Shortstop - the glory position. Graced by legendary greats. A strong shortstop can carry a team. In two years, the A's have compiled a 7-36-1 regular season record (though they are 1-1 in tournament play), for an atrocious .163 winning percentage. They have tried multiple solutions at shortstop to varying degrees of success, but a .163 winning percentage cries out for a massive shakeup. That shakeup was delivered this offseason when A's management broke the bank to sign free agent shortstop Matt Allee (seen in his Pirate days, before changing the spelling of his last name). While the 2006 squad got decent production from the position, the defense wasn't what it needed to be. The Puma was a vaccuum, scooping up everything hit his way, but played cautiously.
Charlie Mitchell http://www.antekprizering.com/mitchellstory.html was aggressive and made the occasional sterling play, but lacked consistency and often misplayed the routine grounders or tried to stop hard liners with his neck. That's why the team turned its sights outward when looking for a 2007 starter.
Allee comes to the A's from the Pirates, where he was a fan favorite for his gritty play and almost Zombie like focus on the game. While other players would hit the bars on road trips, Allee would be found in his hotel room taking practice swings. His work ethic has always been a strength, but some wonder how the big free agent payday will affect him.
"Honestly, when the ACLU started tossing around some of those salary numbers, I was thinking to myself 'wow, I could almost afford an apartment on that!' But I'm not going to let the money change me. I'd play this game for free,a nd I'm just happy to be a part of this A's franchise, and hopefully to be a part of a championship contender."
"Oh snap, son. Damn," noted The Puma when told Allee would be coming to camp with the starting job his to lose. Then he just sighed mournfully in to the phone.
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