Dustin Pedroia, shortstop?

Bill James, 1982: “Rightward shifts along the defensive spectrum almost never work.” Boston Red Sox, 2009: “Let’s shift our two best players rightward along the defensive spectrum” Reports have come out from Boston recently that the Sox have discussed with both Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia the possibility of these players taking up more demanding defensive roles next year – Youkilis could move to third base and Pedroia to short. It should be noted that these reports also serve a negotiating purpose, positioning the Red Sox as more flexible, less dependent on Marco Scutaro’s contract demands or the whims of various possible 1B/3B backups. But I think the moves make sense in themselves. Pedroia and Youkilis seem like good candidates to be exceptions to James’ rule – Pedroia was a shortstop through the minors and has been a superlative defensive second baseman. Kevin Youkilis was a third baseman through the minors, and moved entirely because the Red Sox acquired Mike Lo...