Bellhorn plays role well

Welcome to another edition of Red Sox Mailbag. Sorry it's been so long. It's been a busy season, as usual. Thanks for all the great e-mails.
Why don't the Sox move Bill Mueller to second and Kevin Youkilis to third? Youkilis appears to be a stronger, more solid player than Mark Bellhorn. -- Molly K., Boston

The Red Sox would weaken themselves at two positions defensively. Bellhorn is a vastly underrated defensive second baseman. And while Youkilis works very hard, he's not yet the defensive player Mueller is at third base.

I must say, I don't understand the obsession with Bellhorn. He is a No. 9 hitter. Sure, he strikes out a lot. But he has shown the ability to get big hits -- remember Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 1 of the World Series? I think Bellhorn is fine for a No. 9 hitter in a lineup that has eight other pretty good hitters.

Why does manager Terry Francona keep Bellhorn in the starting lineup? We have Alejandro Machado and Dustin Pedroia in the Minors, and Youkilis can play second, as he did before. Bellhorn is too unreliable and strikes out way too much. -- Ben N., Dudley, Mass.

Why are Bellhorn's strikeouts such a big deal? If he's going to hit, say, .270, by the time the year is out, does it really matter if those outs are strikeouts or groundouts? I don't see the difference. Bellhorn does things people don't appreciate, such as draw key walks and work the opposing team's pitch count.

I've been hearing that the Reds may be looking to trade Adam Dunn. Trot Nixon is a great player, but he gets hurt often. Do you think the Red Sox could trade for Dunn? -- Ryan V., Boston

I have a hard time believing the Reds would be eager to trade Dunn, who has perhaps the best raw power in the National League. And I don't get your point about Nixon, who is part of the heart and soul of a defending championship team. Nixon had one injury-filled season and gutted it up enough to get back in time for the crucial playoff run. I'm not sure the Red Sox would have gotten by the Yankees in last year's ALCS without the clutch play of Trot Nixon, both at the plate and in the field.

Why does John Olerud wear a plastic helmet in the field rather than a typical fielder's wool cap? -- Jonathan L., East Greenbush, N.Y.

Olerud had emergency cerebral surgery for an aneurysm during his days at Washington State University, and he has worn a helmet in the field ever since.

Do you think it's possible that Hanley Ramirez could replace Johnny Damon in center field next year? Also, do you think the Sox could move Ramirez to second base, and Dustin Pedroia could be used as a bargaining chip in a trade? -- Kaushik V., Needham, Mass.

If Damon is not retained next year, there will be a lot of possibilities, and Ramirez moving to center is certainly one of them. I don't see the Sox moving Pedroia and playing Ramirez at second. They love Pedroia's makeup and approach and look at him as a big piece of the not too distant future.

Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/