Aurelia Plays Hand He's Dealt

Veteran SS Rich Aurelia hits lefties as well as righties, owns a .276 lifetime average and a silver bat for hitting .324 with 37 HR in front of Barry Bonds with the San Francisco Giants in '01. Yet Aurelia didn't even get a sniff from the Boston Red Sox, who at this moment are forced to consider starting a spare part at shortstop. Aurelia, 34, who desperately wanted a full-time gig, felt compelled to condescend to a $1.3 million offer from the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he played last year and who plan to use him at utility. Aurelia believes his game suffers if he doesn't play every day, yet he must compete for ABs with a number of other Reds, best of whom is multi-faceted 3B-2B-OF Ryan Freel. Freel's stock, however, has fallen recently due to alcohol-related incidents with authorities. There is no truth, however, to the rumor that Aurelia has sent Freel five cases of Thunderbird wine.