Stumbled on this interesting tweet from Joe Haggerty (a regular guest of Fireside Chats) after tonight’s game.
I think it’s time. Since coming back from his “break”, Ortiz has hit a measly .158 with nine, count them K, K, K, K, K, K, K, K, K, in twenty one plate appearances. That’s a remarkable 43%. Of course, he does have his only home run of the season (whippeee). Granted he’s faced a ton of left handed pitching since his hiatus. But it is time to make a change for the good of all parties involved.
If I were drawing up tomorrow’s lineup, here’s my card:
1. Ellsbury
2. Pedroia
3. Drew
4. Youkilis
5. Bay
6. Ortiz
7. Lowell
8. Varitek
9. Green
Time for Tito to take some action.
Loading ...
It is time, for Papi’s sake and the team’s sake. I would hit him behind Mike Lowell, despite the L/R rhythm, because Bay & Mike are hot, and they need to get good pitches.
How about him platooning with Bailey against lefties for a couple of weeks, so he can focus on hitting righties for a while.
It is time, for Papi’s sake and the team’s sake. I would hit him behind Mike Lowell, despite the L/R rhythm, because Bay & Mike are hot, and they need to get good pitches.
How about him platooning with Bailey against lefties for a couple of weeks, so he can focus on hitting righties for a while.
In a perfect world (which it’s not) here is my lineup.
1. Pedroia
2. Drew
3. Youkilis
4. Bay
5. Ortiz
6. Lowell
7. Ellsbury
8. Varitek
9. Green
I know it’s not not gonna happen, but I want Ortiz in the 9th hole, pure and simple. Let’s face it: he is the WORST hitter in the lineup right now. Even our bench players are hitting better than him (all of them).
And the truth is I’m a little sick of the sentimentality. I simply don’t understand this idea of sacrificing the season in the name of a misplaced “gratitude”. The team always come first. If you are not contributing you have to accept the position in wich your problems hurt the team less. You cannot expect the whole team to sacrifice just because of your own ego.
The players play for the team. Not the team for the players.
If Papi is not finished, it’s in his hands to demonstrate it. If he thinks he belongs in the third hole, the only thing he needs to do is begin to hit.
I like your lineup except I would swap Ortiz and Lowell, IOW bat Lowell 6th and Ortiz 7th. With your configuration, opponents will pitch around Bay constantly — at least so long as Ortiz continues to slump. Lowell has hit this year, but not nearly at Bay’s level, and so teams are more likely to pitch to him even with Ortiz behind him.
Hopefully this is the move which alleviates the pressure on Big David and gets him hitting… tho I’m not terribly confident. He has looked terrible and appears to have lost actual bat speed. He’s committing earlier to his swing, which reinforces the ‘lost bat speed’ theory, and that’s showing up in fewer walks, more strikeouts, and less power. As it would. There’s a whole lot of evidence that Ortiz is already in steep decline.
I’ve wanted Drew in the two hole since he arrived :) Play it to his strength, which is getting on base a ton.
A few quick observations: Ortiz is still on-basing over .330 against right-handed pitching. While this is still abysmal, I’d be willing to leave him toward the top of the lineup against righties and give him a chance to figure out how to hit again.
Against left-handed pitching he’s not getting on base as much, but he’s still getting a fair amount of doubles from that side (one for every 9.8 at bats), so he should still be useful for driving in runs, just from a lower spot in the order.
Ellsbury is getting on base far better against righties (.363) than lefties (.262), so he should still be hitting leadoff against righties.
Tek is destroying left-handed pitching (1.381 OPS).
Drew is nearly the same against righties and lefties (.881 OPS against righties, .900 OPS against lefties).
Lineup against righties:
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Youkilis
Drew
Bay
Lowell
Varitek
Green
Lineup against lefties:
Pedroia
Drew
Youkilis
Bay
Varitek
Ortiz (4 righties in a row is too many)
Lowell
Green
Ellsbury
I would also considering starting Baldelli against lefties (.321 OBP). He’s not great, and wouldn’t be leading off (I’d probably bat him 8th), but he’d be a better option than Ellsbury in those games.
If the Sox have kept Ortiz in the #3 slot longer than many would like, and if they continue to keep him in the lineup when some are calling for a benching, it’s not a matter of gratitude for his past contributions, or excessive loyalty on the part of Tito. It’s a matter of trying to get some value out of an investment.
You give Papi every chance to succeed, and maybe — maybe — he comes out of it and resumes his place as a force in the middle of the order. That’s a huge asset. The potential payoff is worth the “investment” of some subpar at-bats from your #3 hitter.
Whereas if you bench him or severely limit his playing time, there’s virtually no chance that he will ever come out of it. The best he could do is revert to his underwhelming performance as a part-timer in Minnesota. And then you have an expensive, useless player on your roster. Or, if you release him, a significant sunk cost. In that light, the Sox’ strategy is logical — if occasionally maddening to the rest of us.
IMO here is the best possible lineup
1.Ellsbury-Speed and improved OBP this year make him an excellent leadoff hitter.
2.Pedroia-Doubles machine, good OBP, some HR power last year
3.Drew-He has been great over his career hitting 3rd…I cant find the actual stats but I remember his OPS was amazing.
4.Youkilis-Just look at his season to this point, and remember he was injured.
5.Bay-One of the hottest hitters in the game
6.Lowell-Rockin like its 2007
7.Varitek-Hitting like the Varitek of old, or in other words a Varitek that is not so old.
8.Ortiz-Give him a chance to work it out, but keep the “2nd leadoff man” philosophy working
9.Lugo/Green-Your worst hitters talent-wise round out the order
I agree with Brian Myers. I don’t want Ortiz hitting behind Bay, because he is gonna give zero protection to Bay. I don’t want the problems of Papi to hurt other memeber of the team, specially our best power hitter.
Lowell has proved to be the best protection for Bay. I want to keep it that way.
I know this won’t be propular but its time the Sox put Papi on the disabled list and sent him down to the minors for “rehab.” Maybe the coaches in Pawtucket or elsewhere can help him regain his form and his confidence as they did for Clay. It is painful watching Papi day after day be humiliated at the plate and walk heads down back to the dug out. Grady left Pedro in too long and Tito is leaving David in the lineup much too long for his own good and that of the team.
I am Okay with Ortiz batting anywhere from 6th-8th. I never really considered the Bay thing till reading these comments so I guess I feel most comfortable with Ortiz batting 7th.
Later word from the Globe’s website: Papi is out of the lineup today, and Lowell is the DH. Another mental health day? Who knows.