Julio Lugo, no. 23

Birth Date: November 16, 1975 in Barahona, Dominican Republic

Height/Weight: 6'1", 175 lbs.

College: Connors State Junior College in Oklahoma

Contract: 4 years at $36 million (through 2010)

Lugo had a down season last year. His Batting Average was just .237. Historically, his Batting Average has been .275. He walked only 48 times last season (8%) and struck out 82 times (14%). So, his On Base Percentage was just .294, as opposed to .345 (which it used to be.) His Slugging Average was only .349, when it had been .403. The two combined equal a measly .643 for his On Base plus Slugging.

Defensively, Lugo struggled this year, as well. His fielding has always been just about average and this season, he came in a little below average. He made 214 Put Outs, had 360 Assists, and was charged with 19 Errors. All of which led to his Fielding Percentage being .968 (the league average was .970) and his Range Factor being 3.96 (the league average was 3.97.)

He's another quiet guy, about whom I know little. He is very good at jumping and seems to do that quite a bit. He gets along famously with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. I think he's similar to one of them. I read a story (it must have been on A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory, I can't find it now) about Lugo coming out for a game in Varitek's jersey-so either he's got Manny's space cadet tendencies or Ortiz's love of practical jokes.

As for next season, I can't think of any reason for his poor performance last season. He played 147 games. He wasn't injured; at least, he wasn't on the disabled list. My guess is that it was slump that started to snowball on him and he couldn't break out of it-maybe he should ask Youkilis for help if is happens again. He always looked kind of scared when he came up to bat, with that nervous little pluck of his sleeve. If it was an extended slump, then it's both good and bad news. Chances are that he'll return to his previous numbers next season. But if he should start to slide and his confidence is that shaken again, then it will probably be a return to more of the same.