I guess all the Boston Red Sox needed was for me to come back from North Carolina on Sunday to win a game against the New York Mets. They had lost the first two while I was away.
I do kid though as it was nice to see the Red Sox offense wake up and give some run support to Tim Wakefield who wasn’t at his best on Sunday afternoon. But when the offense gets into a groove like it was in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings, sometimes whatever you can give will work too. Just ask today’s starter Brad Penny about that one.
The big question though right now remains is what to do with David Ortiz. Ever since hitting his first home run of the season, he’s gone back to stinking up the joint. Since the home run, he is 2-for-18 with 9 strikeouts. In a 16-hit attack yesterday afternoon, he was the only member of the starting nine without a hit.
So the question is where do you move Big Papi in the lineup. Do you move him down to say the 7th spot in the order? He can’t be moved to the 9th spot because you don’t want a slow runner on (if he could even get on) in front of Jacoby Ellsbury, who by the way has a 19-game hitting streak.
My lineup would go a little something like this:
- 1. Ellsbury 2. Pedroia 3. Drew 4. Youk 5. Bay 6. Lowell 7. Big Papi 8. Varitek 9. Green
Let me know in the comments what your ideal lineup would look like.
In another development, could JulE6o Lugo have lost his job at shortstop? Terry Francona said that whomever started Saturday’s game at short (Green), that the other one (Lugo) would start on Sunday. That wasn’t the case though as Green got the start again, played flawless defense, was actually able to turn the double play and also sparked the offense with 2 hits and 2 RBIs. By the way, the Red Sox are 18-6 in games that Green has started.
To me it really seems like when Jed Lowrie returns to the lineup, he’ll get a chance to be the starter with Green being the backup and Lugo being the odd man out. Worst case scenario is that Red Sox look to acquire a shortstop before the trade deadline.
A Sox victory is Green-lighted [Boston Globe]
Red Sox 12, Mets 5: Bottom of the order rises to the top [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Defeat Mets, Move Into First Place [Hartford Courant]
Red Sox restore order, but David Ortiz continues to sink [Boston Herald]
Hints dropped on Ortiz spot in order [Boston Globe]
Red Sox journal: Ellsbury hitting streak reaches 19 [Providence Journal]
By George, he’s got it [Boston Herald]
Rookie catches on [Boston Globe]
Ortiz: ‘No more breaks. It’s ride or die’ [Providence Journal]
Nick Green a winner [Boston Herald]
Moments frozen in time [Boston Globe]
Instant replay replays again [Projo Sox Blog]
Kevin Youkilis’ bat says it all [Boston Herald]
Five Things We Learned: People Can’t Stop Talking About Papi [Full Count]
Four hits help J.D. Drew break through [Boston Herald]
Red Sox focus on helping Ortiz rebound [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if the enemy papers are more your style, head over to the New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsday and LoHud websites
