Oh yeah! Manny tied it with Coco on base. What's that you say, "Coco who?". Well as it turns out Coco figure into today's come from behind victory in a couple key ways, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 RBI. The one run was in front of Manny which tied the game and his RBI was in the form of a sacrfice fly in the 9th to help seal the deal. Way to go Coco. It is nice to see some production, finally! It begs the point to look at Coco's production by situation:
Batting 1st: .261/.308/.366
Batting 2nd: .313/.358/.482
Batting 8th: .268/.321/.429
Batting 9th: .230/.269/.339
I know this year is a ridiculously low sample size but it works in my favor so of course I am going to reference it. His recent production came from batting 2nd and 1st in the order. The rest of the season he has struggled at the bottom of the line up (mostly 9th). Would they consider a move? In my opinion, you can't move Lugo. He's a table setter as well and when you compare Coco to Lugo, Lugo wins. However, if you look at Youk and his production batting 6th (.389/.421/.611) you have to wonder if it could work (18 AB - so this is really silly). Just because I am on a ridiculous roll, here goes my proposed line up change:
Lugo
Crisp
Ortiz
Manny
Drew
Youk
Lowell
Varitek
Pedroia
It's a long shot, but I just might be able to say, "you read it here first".
That would work if Crisp learned to be a little more patient at the plate. Hitting in front of Ortiz might work wonders, as Crisp would see more fastballs...But, as long as he swings early in the count, forget it...
ReplyDeleteNow, some other things to start thinking about...
Pedroia is having a ton of trouble at the plate.
Hinkse is looking like he should play a lot more. But where?
Wily Mo won't get close to the 400 at-bats they wanted him to get (at this pace).
The Sox pitching is awesome. Bullpen included.
Worst thing about the game today?
Papelbon threw a bunch of pitches, and has pitched two days in a row...He probably won't be available tomorrow night against the Yankees.
I hate Cleveland...
ReplyDelete6-2...two outs in the ninth and they can't hold the Yankees down? They suck...
A-Rod...another walk-off...I wonder if they booed him in NY still?
Ugh.. that really sucks! 6 runs in the 9th. Well, both the Sox and Yankees will be coming into the weekend series with momentum. This ought to make for an interesting series. Maybe someone will throw pizza and Abreu!
ReplyDeleteOR, maybe someone will throw pizza AT Abreu! But that wouldn't be as exciting.
ReplyDelete(Hey, remember when Dino was on amphetamines? That was awesome.)
Coco supposedly was a great fastball hitter in CLE. It would make a lot of sense to have him batting second. Nothing like Ortiz on deck and Manny in hte hole to make a pitcher think "I better not walk this guy. I need to throw strikes. Fastballs are my most likely strike."
ReplyDeleteNot to mention if Lugo is on base, the threat of steals brings out more fastballs.
Yeah, that's what I was alluding to about Coco...He has a rep of being a fastball hitter.
ReplyDeleteStill, I have to say that Youk will get on base more than Coco in the second slot, and it is better to have guys on base with Papi and Manny hitting behind them.