the three hole
readers may recall previous concern expressed here regarding one particular sox' failure to knock in runs, with the example given of leaving 7 on base in one game. well, the record for the sox in that regard stands at 12, and the ignominious mark is now held jointly by trot nixon and one mr. david ortiz.
papi's struggles have officially moved from being merely curious, a la his absence of any home runs this year, to positively alarming. this last performance, going o-fer-seven in one game, while having guys (almost always plural) on base literally every time he came to the plate, is not just a statistical anomaly, but a growing representation of his entire season.
the franconaman is known for his patience in sticking with his starters, as has been observed in the coddling of over $20M of his payroll in two particularly frustrating positions this year, but this is getting to the point where something simply has to be done about it. the absence of a reliable lefty is one issue, observing tito's preference to alternate sides of the plate in the lineup, but having ellsbury, pedroia, youkilis and bay being your 1-4 hitters is pretty formidable, even against righties. having mike lowell protecting your cleanup guy is pretty good, too. and nobody will complain to have the likes of big papi further down the lineup where he just might see a few extra easy pitches to hit. (you know, with guys like youk and mr. jason bay behind you, and dustin and/or jacoby always on base when you come up, you're not going to see a lot of half-hearted offerings).
cmon, terry, you know you can do it.
papi's struggles have officially moved from being merely curious, a la his absence of any home runs this year, to positively alarming. this last performance, going o-fer-seven in one game, while having guys (almost always plural) on base literally every time he came to the plate, is not just a statistical anomaly, but a growing representation of his entire season.
the franconaman is known for his patience in sticking with his starters, as has been observed in the coddling of over $20M of his payroll in two particularly frustrating positions this year, but this is getting to the point where something simply has to be done about it. the absence of a reliable lefty is one issue, observing tito's preference to alternate sides of the plate in the lineup, but having ellsbury, pedroia, youkilis and bay being your 1-4 hitters is pretty formidable, even against righties. having mike lowell protecting your cleanup guy is pretty good, too. and nobody will complain to have the likes of big papi further down the lineup where he just might see a few extra easy pitches to hit. (you know, with guys like youk and mr. jason bay behind you, and dustin and/or jacoby always on base when you come up, you're not going to see a lot of half-hearted offerings).
cmon, terry, you know you can do it.
posted by kad barma at 1:05 PM
2 Comments:
My wife's view is that Big Papi needs some time off to work on his skills. That said, Big Papi needs to be treated with the dignity and respect he has earned supporting this club.
Just a thought.
Regards — Cliff
Agreed on the dignity and respect part, but leaving him to founder in the three spot in the batting order hardly seems to satisfy that criteria any more. JD Drew was gracefully given a lower spot in the order, and it makes sense to me that Papi gets one too unless and until his production once again merits the most advantageous and critical spot in the lineup. Plus, lower down in the order, he's going to get better pitches to hit, which could be exactly what he needs to get back on track.
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