Drew finds his swing, Red Sox fans find him

Type J.D. Drew's name into the Google search box and the first suggestion to finish your query is "J.D. Drew sucks." Click on it, and the results aren't surprising.

The second suggestion is "J.D. Drew stats." Click here to learn that Drew hit .270 during the regular season. It was the second-worse average of his career, trumped only by a .252 season in 2002 with St. Louis. Drew, who signed a 5-year, $70-million contract with the Red Sox in the offseason, produced 11 home runs and 70 RBIs this season.

The third suggestion is "J.D. Drew son." Prominent because of Drew's 19-month-old son, Jack.

Jack had been walking strangely, then fell and broke his collarbone at the end of July. He was brought to an orthopedist, who discovered the youngster had developmental displacement of his hips. This happens to one in every 1,000 children. Surgery was required.

Luckily for the Drews, the team was in Boston at the time. The superior medical help strewn throughout the city was at their disposal. Discovering the issue prior to 18 months of life enormously beneficial.

Surgery took six hours. An additional 45 minutes were necessary to fit Jack in a cast that ran from his chest to his ankles.

The talk about Drew's son has been quiet, much like his dad. Drew is an introverted sort, his stoicism aiding in making him a target for vitriol.

The detracting began when Drew was drafted with the second overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997. With Scott Boras as his agent, The duo demanded at least $10 million from any team that drafted Drew. Philadelphia said it wouldn't pay it, yet selected Drew. They didn't pay, so he didn't play, instead heading to the independent Northern League.

Drew's (or Boras') initial demand, coupled with his calm demeanor, made him a pinata in front of people with no blindfolds. The three times he's changed teams, the yeah-but story about his potential versus his results was written. Often being injured did not help his cause.

Then he comes to the most critical fan base and media in baseball. He doesn't play well, his results far away from the expectations brought by the financial details of his contract. Drew evolving into another What if?

But there was turnabout Saturday night.

Drew's fist inning grand slam jolted an already intense Fenway Park. After rounding first, a slight fist pump represented an internal celebration for Drew. More telling was a Fox camera catching him in the dugout leaning back, exhaling, then looking up.

He was even forced out of the dugout for a curtain call by the ravenous crowd. Five RBIs and three hits in an ALCS elimination game bring that adulation.

"J.D. Drew is a special player. I'm sure he's not real proud of the year he had ... but he is the definition of 'even keel,' " Curt Schilling said to the Associated Press. "I mean, he doesn't snap. He doesn't get too high, too low. He just goes up and he plays the game. And tonight, that wins the game."

Drew was stoic in his on-field postgame interview. Not a surprise.

In the press conference he was equally sedate, presenting the ammo-supplying traits that have rankled passionate fans at each of his stops.

"It has been a tough year, my expectations are high," Drew told the Associated Press. "I didn't have the year I would like to have, but I feel like I had a good September and started getting things turned around. Just wanted to go into the playoffs and have good at-bats."

Fans see the swing, running ability, strong arm. But they wonder why the chunk of heart they display isn't readily visible from Drew. For the public, this will always keep Drew from full embrace.

His teammates as well as other players see the gifts and wonder. That was never more apparent than when Drew finished second in a poll of Major Leaguers conducted by Sports Illustrated. The question put to them: Who gets the least out of the most talent?

But now, more importantly, Drew represents a crossroads between the millionaire athlete and the human beyond the field.

His seemingly robotic personality, early demand for money many won't earn over a lifetime, and lack of outward passion for winning leave a bad taste with most.

His first-born being rearranged by a doctor and contained by a cast well before his second birthday, all the while his wife pregnant with a second child due in November, makes you wonder about the greed of sports fans.

A single swing Saturday night provided Drew a break in one world. Early detection may provide him one in another.