Toucher & Rich: Roche Says Red Sox' Lineup Still Complicated
WBZ-TV's Dan Roche spent another day in paradise, aka Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers, and he called in to Toucher & Rich on Thursday morning.
Johnston & Flynn filled in for the guys, and they asked Rochie about how the Red Sox' lineup was shaping up for the 2012 season.
Roche said it'll be interesting to see how Bobby Valentine handles Carl Crawford, who said this week that he wasn't comfortable batting lower in the batting order, like he did for much of 2011.
"I think it depends on who does what," Roche said. "I think it depends on Carl Crawford's health coming in and out of camp, as well as who starts well and what they do.
"I would think initially, he would have [Jacoby] Ellsbury at the top of the lineup, unless Carl Crawford feels great halfway through spring training or as he gears toward Opening Day and for some reason Valentine maybe wants to get him that confidence and bats him near the top of the order. [He could] bat him first, and put Ellsbury down at third.
"There's a lot of things you could do."
Unfortunately for Valentine and the Red Sox, there still remains no easy answer when it comes to drawing up the lineup.
"I think it's just a matter of comfort and feel and the signs that Bobby Valentine gets coming out of here," Rochie said. "It's not simple, just rolling out these guys one through six and then figure it out after that. There's a lot of complications here because of matchups and who's pitching."
Listen to Dan Roche's interview below:
