"And on the 58th day, in the 12th inning of a 5-hour, 17-minute game against the Oakland Athletics, Adrian Gonzalez finally was exposed for all the world to see. We knew it was too good to be true. We had a feeling it couldn't last.

After two months of clutch hits and key RBI, of majestic opposite-field home runs and Gold Glove defense, of professional at-bats that made you want to pause the TV and show the kids how it's done, we finally saw a real flaw in Adrian Gonzalez' game. The guy can't run at all, and as we saw Saturday, this will create problems for manager Terry Francona.

Gonzalez is slow. Not Manny Ramirez slow, but slow afoot. Like Kendrick Perkins slow. Almost Molina brothers slow. He says he would lose a foot race to David Ortiz or Jason Varitek or Don Orsillo in his wingtips. He says he can understand why his manager would pull him for a pinch runner, which is what Francona was forced to do after he singled to lead off the 10th inning of a 7-7 tie Saturday. Drew Sutton took his spot at first base, but the A's got out of the inning and you know what happened next.

Sutton came up with two runners on in the 11th inning and struck out. Sutton came up again with two on in the 13th and lined out. The Red Sox won the game in the 14th inning when J.D. Drew singled home Carl Crawford, but the damage was done. Gonzalez' weakness was obvious, and no longer did we have to wonder if the Red Sox acquired the perfect ballplayer for Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly, Eric Patterson and Reymond Fuentes.

No, Gonzalez isn't Willie Mays. He isn't perfect.

He's just the closest thing you will find in the big leagues today.

We know he can't run (and truthfully, we knew long before Saturday), but also know this: He can do everything else."