Tito On No DH: 'Baseball Is Still Baseball'
BOSTON (CBS) – Even without a designated hitter, Red Sox manager Terry Francona is taking his job in stride.
"Baseball is still baseball," he said Friday from PNC Park in Pittsburgh. "We lost our DH, they don't have one either. You'll see some bunting. The game doesn't really change that much. It doesn't take a rocket scientist."
However humble he seems, not having David Ortiz and his big bat in the lineup is not something Francona is pleased with. He is even more unhappy at the prospect of putting first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in right field, but it could still happen.
"I really don't know," said Francona. "I'm not happy about David sitting for nine straight games; I'm also not happy putting Gonzy in right field. Neither choice is very appealing, so I really don't know what I'm going to do."
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"Before I would do it, I'll sit down and talk to Theo and the coaches," he said. "It's not something I want to do, because if anything ever happened, I'd have to live with it."
"I'd love to get David in tomorrow, because he has a homer off (Saturday starter Jeff Karstens). But (Tim Wakefield) gives up a lot of fly balls. I don't think it makes a lot of sense," Francona said of Gonzalez in right for Saturday's game.
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"If Gonzy chases a ball down and pulls a hamstring, I'm going to have a tough time with that one," he added.
