The Gorilla Song.

It's been something of a red letter week in the legacy of Ben Cherington. First, he signed Kelly Shoppach. Then he went out and traded Jed and Kyle Weiland to the Astros for No-Neck. And then he went and signed Nick Punto, for two years. And he, according to Cafardo, didn't even bother to bid a couple of dollars on Darvish. To the general reaction of raising a hue and cry against him.

Taken on their own, they mostly aren't terrible moves. Shoppach platoons nicely with Saltalamacchia. No-Neck is serviceable and, at this point, Jed had become superfluous and Weiland could, might, maybe develop into something useful.

But Nick Punto? For two years? Benjamin, my dear, what were you thinking?

Says Cherington:

“Nick’s a talented player too. He has good at-bats, plays good defense. He knows how to run the bases. He’s a smart player. He can play all over the infield and work in a lot of areas, so we’re just glad to have him. But the clubhouse dynamic is something that is an area of discussion but not necessarily the drive when we’re making these decisions.”

So...Defense and plays well with others. Got it.

As for not even pretending to be interested in Darvish, it's just not something that I can explain.

*Apparently, Raffi has a The Gorilla Song but my title is in reference to the one from Cabaret.*