Roche: Theo Gives Tito A Problem
The Red Sox certainly have shocked the baseball world haven't they? Just days after finishing off a trade and contract extension that brought Adrian Gonzalez to town, they stun their fandom by inking free agent outfielder Carl Crawford to a 7 year, 142-million dollar deal.
Wow.
Two things come to mind right away when you hear the news: 1) what a line-up! and, 2) they're a little lefty heavy.
So, Theo Epstein has given manager Terry Francona a nice problem for 2011. So, let's have some fun and play the role of Terry Francona for a few minutes and give him some help.
Off the top of my head, I go: Crawford, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Drew, Salty, Scutaro, Ellsbury. And that is giving Ellsbury time to make sure he's completely healthy.
Ideally you'd like to find a balance...left/right/left....but it may be hard this season.
Against righthanded pitching it's easy: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Crawford, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Drew, Salty, Scutaro.
Against lefties, it's harder to balance things off: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Crawford, Ortiz, Drew, Tek, Scutaro?
Crawford did not hit lefthanded pitching that well last season(.256, .312 OBP, .384 Slg%), so you can move him down in the order. Ortiz also struggled (.222, .275, .324). The one guy who raked against lefthanders is Gonzalez(..337, .424, .513) so he's fine in the heart of the order.
You may also see Mike Cameron(.269, .372, .494 career vs LHP) or Jed Lowrie (.338, .420, .606 vs LH in 2010) against lefties and perhaps Drew and Ortiz sit.
That leads me to the second point that the Red Sox are now lefthanded hittting heavy. Keep in mind that both Ortiz and Drew may not be with the club next season. And, if it needed to be addressed before that Theo Epstein wouldn't be afraid to acquire a righthanded bat or two at the trade deadline.
So, go ahead fans. Have some fun. Get out your scorecards and have a blast. You've got sixty-plus days until pitchers and catchers report to figure things out.
However, keep this in mind. It's a great problem for Terry Francona to have.....
