Friday, May 26, 2006

The reinforcements are on their way

Good game last night. Josh Beckett pitched a gem, and he did so against a team that, even though it's a cellar dweller, features a lineup that can hit

(“He’s got no-hit stuff,” Tito told to Nip in the middle of the first inning. This despite the fact that he gave up a base hit to the second batter of the game.)

The cause was helped by a heads-up play by “good baseball player” Mark Loretta.

And, of course, an excellent bullpen, led by the Best Closer in Baseball™.

In other new Manny Ramirez is happy. His hitting shows it.

David Ortiz must be pretty copacetic too, because even with Joe Maddon’s bizarro shift he still managed to go 2-5 with a ribbie.

Matt Clement, on the other hand is another story.

I feel bad for the guy, I really do. But I sure do hope we’ll soon be able to change the last letter of the name inked into his spot in the rotation from a T to an S.

Assuming that doesn't happen, Jon Lester has finally come around and may just be the answer we seek.

And, of course, David Wells’s start tonight — word just in that he’ll be taking Dustan Mohr’s roster spot — will tell us a lot. But seldom has an IF been so big. Just wish he wasn’t going up against Scott Kazmir.

Even if Edes doesn’t “believe Boomer has many bullets left — 43 years old, bigger than ever, bad knees ... Friday may be a real struggle” it’s also possible that with his return, and with Coco’s on Monday, SI’s John Donovan is correct when he says “The Sox could get a lot stronger in the weeks ahead.”

Fingers crossed.

But Coco’s return raises some very interesting questions.

Or one of ‘em, at least: Should he really bat lead-off?

Tito has already gone on record saying Crisp is going to hit first. I know it’s a baseball truism that you want a speedy contact hitter at the top of the lineup, but I’m not so sure that’s the best idea here.

The discussion here brings up some valid points. Chief among them:

* Kevin Youkilis has the highest OBP among leadoff hitters in the game (.432). Do we really want to take that away from the top of the lineup? For comparison’s sake, Crisp’s OBP in the five games he's played so far was .385. It’s never been above .350 for a whole season. (And, not entirely immaterial: while Youk’s career average of pitches seen per plate appearance is 4.51, Crisp’s is 3.55.)

* Isn’t Coco’s considerable speed wasted a little when he’s slotted in front of the big boppers? Wheels don’t matter when you’re trotting around the bases thanks to someone else’s home run. Wouldn’t we be better served batting him lower in the lineup in front of guys like Lowell or Varitek? As “Tudor Fever” puts it:

[I]t's an absolute no-brainer that Youks and not Coco should lead off. In a nutshell, Coco's speed is much more useful in the lower part of the line-up, batting in front of weaker hitters, where it makes sense to try speed strategies. In front of Papi and Manny, you should just try to get on base and play station-to-station baseball. Youks is the ideal lead-off hitter in this line-up (and possibly any line-up).

It's debatable whether Loretta or Crisp should be the one to move to the lower part of the line-up, although I'd lean towards Crisp. It would be clearly wrong and counterproductive to move Youks down there.

* It’s a moot point, of course. The manager has spoken. But I’ve gotta say I’m intrigued by the lineup “RedOctober3829” suggests, which mimics the old “two clean-up” model used to great success by Tony LaRussa’s Oakland A’s.

Youks
Loretta
Ortiz
Manny
Nixon
Crisp
Lowell
Varitek
Gonzalez/Cora

Youks' ability to get on base can't be overlooked by Tito. He has to be in front of Ortiz and Ramirez. It is set up to be two 4 man lineups in one, with AGon thrown in at the bottom. You have the first four man lineup with Youks getting on base and Loretta moving him over with good situational hitting and also getting on base in front of Papi and Manny. Then, the second 4-man lineup leads off with Nixon(.418 OBP) and Coco to get on base in front of Lowell and Varitek(if he can snap out of his funk). AGon has to be in there so he bats 9th. I love this lineup and it would score lots of runs.

I suppose we should thank our stars that these are the dilemmas we’re facing. (Rather than, say, these.) If Coco hits like he did in the tiny sample size we saw in April, I’m sure we’ll score runs no matter what formation we go with. Just some food for thought.

In the mean time, to clear his mind of such weighty questions — and taking a break, I presume, from finding us some pitching depth — our rock star GM did some Pearl Jamming over at that other Boston sports venue last night, sneaking onstage dressed in a wig and big sweater. (Check out Marsh1077’s snaps here, here, and here.) What a master of disguise he is! I see a career as a secret agent or CIA spook should he ever decide to walk out for good.

P.S. Speaking of Coco, anyone who’s dismayed by the proliferation of ads on the Fenway walls should first take a look at this one, from 1942. And then take a gander at this photographic relic from our centerfielder’s past to see how bad it could be. Yikes. Distracting much?

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