What would Bill Belichick do if he was told that he had to sit down either Tom Brady, Randy Moss or Wes Welker for a championship game? What would Doc Rivers do if he was told he had to sit either Paul Pierce, Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett in the NBA Finals?
Terry Francona has this problem. Either David Ortiz, Mike Lowell or Kevin Youkilis must sit in the next two (three, if needed) games because those are the rules of the National League. As the Sox fight for the right to be called World Champions, an important cog in that fight is being eliminated.
How can you sit David Ortiz? The soul of the team, the greatest clutch hitter in Sox history, the man with a .385/.527/.744 line this postseason?
How can you sit Kevin Youkilis, leading all postseason contestants in hits at a .396/.483/.771 pace? Can we survive without his sweat dripping off his helmet?
How can you sit The Professional Part Two (part one being, of course, Billy Ballgame Mueller) with his steady play at third and his .333/.404/.548 line and only three strikeouts (Papi seven, Youk eight)?
You can’t possibly fathom having to sit one of them…and yet it’s going to happen.
So who do you sit, then?
Terry Francona chose Kevin Youkilis. He’ll be on the bench at least for Game 3, and we’ll see what happens the next two games. Did Francona make the right choice. Let’s explore who to sit down.
Not David Ortiz. How can you sit Superman down? Yeah, he has a balky right shoulder and a right knee that will require surgery.
You don’t do it. It’s nonnegotiable.
Now, if Jeff Francis gets the ball in Game 5, maybe you think about sitting Papi for three reasons. One: he’s Superman against righties and Superreallygood (but not Superbad) against lefties. Two: sitting him down allows a defensive plus on the field. Three: It allows Papi to get two straight days off should there be a Game 6.
But to advocate sitting David Ortiz (if memory serves me right, 41 percent of polled people said to sit Ortiz down during the Game 2 telecast on FOX) down? That ranks as one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard — right up there with people still pretending Peyton Manning is better than Tom Brady.
(And don’t forget, David Ortiz enjoys throwing out pitchers at third base.)
What about Kevin Youkilis? Can you take the bat out of his hands? Fortunately for Youk, he has an advantage over Lowell and Ortiz: he can play both first and third. This is also a curse, because it could mean that Tito selects to sit Youk down because of his flexibility (he’s seen some time in left-field, too).
There have been some whispers that Kevin Youkilis could see time in right-field. I couldn’t disagree more. Drew has been on fire since mid-September and provides a valuable defensive weapon out in right field. You could move Drew to center, but I think having defense in Coors Field in the outfield is a must. Our starting pitchers are fly ball pitchers pitching in the thin air of Colorado. We need their wheels out there.
What about Mike Lowell? He’s not as on fire as either Ortiz or Youkilis. Youkilis is a capable defensive third baseman, and we can bring Lowell in to pinch-hit for David Ortiz in the late innings if (and I don’t think this would ever happen, but the option is there) Jeremy Affeldt or Brian Fuentes come in to neutralize Ortiz.
As valuable as Lowell is, I can’t think of one prevailing reason why Mike Lowell should be in the lineup over these two players. Defense? You don’t think Ortiz’s offense and postseason credentials carry more weight? (Ortiz’s career defensive numbers at first aren’t bad, by the way.)
I’d sit Mike Lowell. I can’t take Ortiz’s bat out of his hands, and his credentials are impeccable — injury and defense be damned. I can’t take Kevin Youkilis’ bat out of his hands. If Lowell was hitting far better than Youkilis, it would be an easy choice. But Youkilis is on fire with the bat. Just can’t do it.
And yet, Youk is the one riding the pine. I couldn’t find anywhere where Francona explained his reasoning, but at least he got the most important thing right: not sitting Ortiz.
It’s not an easy choice, but it’s a choice that has to be made.
