I hope Loretta comes back next year

[jonlesterlover62]

I Really hope Mark Loretta comes back next year as well he is a good second baseman and is better then Pedroia/B]

[CrespoBlows]

loretta and agon were the best middle d in baseball last summer

they worked the double play as if they were playing together for ages

i'd hate to break that up

 

In terms of what? Not making errors?

 

They probably made the fewest outs, out of the DP combos within the division.

[example1]

why bat Pedroia so high if Lugo was in this line-up?

 

Lugo hit .308 with TB before the trade this year...he hit 12 hrs on the year, 24 SBs, he might be able to do some things in the #2 slot. I'm not sold on Pedroia being ready to have that huge of an offensive impact yet and there'd be less heat on him if he was hitting 8th or 9th. I do hope that he becomes the player so many expect him to become...it'd be great to see a home-grown talent turn out nig in Boston.

 

the issue with Lugo may be that he is a potential 25 E per year man at SS, and I'm not sure that is what the Sox will be looking for. time will tell.

 

 

I'm assuming that Pedroia will (eventually at least) be able to far out-do Lugo's .340 career OBP. that's why I put him second.

 

As for Lugo at SS I don't know, but I do know that if the sox can get ANOTHER good SS they could move Lugo to 3B where he played some with LA this year. Youk needs to be on one corner, Pedroia needs to be at 2B, so that leaves SS and 3B open.

[redsoxrules]

In all likelyhood he will start as the Sox everyday 2B, I think he's done all he can at Pawtucket for the time-being. Loretta is most likely gone. They're going to need to just rely on Pedroia at 2B and give Lugo (if that's who they get) SS to keep. Lugo would be happier that way and he will probably expect to start as part of signing. He's got good speed, some pop and is solid in the field. If they decide to go with Gonzo then that's fine with me too.

 

As for Loretta, I think to get Pedroia going you need to have him get as many ABs as possible so Mark would just be in the way. Pedroia should be a high OBP guy like Youkilis so I could see he and youk batting back to back eventually:

 

Youkilis

Pedroia

Ortiz

Manny (assuming no trade)

Pena

Lowell (assuming no trade)

Varitek

Crisp

Lugo

 

You end up with guys with good speed at the bottom of the order, giving the sox the ability to make some things happen when their high OBP guys get to the plate (SBs, hit and run, pitchers losing focus). If those guys (Crisp, Lugo, Youkilis, Pedroia) can work their way on then the mashers come up with ducks on the pond over and over again.

 

In any case you would have 4 potential leadoff and #2 hitters in the lineup.

 

youkilis leading off? not if he cant do better than this year , i hope crisp gets a good offseason so he can be the leadoff man

[CrespoBlows]

youkilis leading off? not if he cant do better than this year ' date=' i hope crisp gets a good offseason so he can be the leadoff man[/quote']

 

Yeah, who needs his awful .381 OBP at the top of the lineup.

[redsoxrules]

Yeah' date=' who needs his awful .381 OBP at the top of the lineup.[/quote']

 

what was it the second half of the season?

[ORS]

what was it the second half of the season?

Oh, come on now. You supposedly "knew" Pedroia's numbers through 40 ABs. Don't tell me you don't know these now? You done slipped up. No doot aboot it.

[redsoxrules]

Oh' date=' come on now. You supposedly "knew" Pedroia's numbers through 40 ABs. Don't tell me you don't know these now? You done slipped up. No doot aboot it.[/quote']

 

347

[CrespoBlows]

347

 

Better than Coco Crisp's .312, no?

[ORS]

347

And you "knew" that one, eh? Nice try, it takes about 10 seconds to look it up.

[redsoxrules]

Better than Coco Crisp's .312' date=' no?[/quote']

 

i did say i hope he gets a good offseason so he can be there i didnt say i want him there no matter what

[redsoxrules]

And you "knew" that one' date=' eh? Nice try, it takes about 10 seconds to look it up.[/quote']

 

:dunno:

[ORS]

:dunno:

http://www.buddy-icons.info/img/smile/1772.gif

[redsoxrules]

http://www.buddy-icons.info/img/smile/1772.gif

 

i dont want to know what you do at home

[CrespoBlows]

i did say i hope he gets a good offseason so he can be there i didnt say i want him there no matter what

 

Crisp's career OBP is .329. You want him in the leadoff spot, because he's fast?

[a700hitter]

Yeah' date=' who needs his awful .381 OBP at the top of the lineup.[/quote']Too often it takes 3 hits to score him. In the leadoff spot you at least want first to third and second to home speed. Youklis is base to base.

[example1]

The sox would be a great team if they could have speed at the BOTTOM of their lineup. I figure, if you have guys who don't get on-base enough at least have them be fast. Get Lugo and put him and crisp in the 9 and 8 spots respectively.

[a700hitter]

Keep the left-side defense and get a good #5 hitter for the lineup and they'll score 900 runs again.

[example1]

Keep the left-side defense and get a good #5 hitter for the lineup and they'll score 900 runs again.

 

Assuming that they keep Manny that means that one of:

 

Youkilis

Wily Mo Pena

Lowell

Crisp

 

won't be playing if the Sox are to pick up a #5 hitter. I'm assuming they're not replacing Manny (LF), Ortiz, Pedroia (2B), Gonzo (SS), or Varitek ©. Lowell seems like the guy with the lowest upside of that list, but his defense is difficult to judge accurately.

[a700hitter]

Assuming that they keep Manny that means that one of:

 

Youkilis

Wily Mo Pena

Lowell

Crisp

 

won't be playing. Lowell seems like the guy with the lowest upside of that list...

LOwell doesn't sit unless Aramis Ramirez signs. One of the other three would sit. Youklis slugging % isn't justified at 1B.

[CrespoBlows]

Too often it takes 3 hits to score him. In the leadoff spot you at least want first to third and second to home speed. Youklis is base to base.

 

I'd rather have him on base more frequently so Ortiz, and Ramirez can knock him in. The job of a leadoff hitter is to get on base, Crisp doesn't do that.

[ORS]

Too often it takes 3 hits to score him. In the leadoff spot you at least want first to third and second to home speed. Youklis is base to base.

I'll take someone who just gets on in front of the 3/4 on this team. With what they do, OBP should be the be-all/end-all determinant. Speed is better suited in the back of this team's lineup.

[example1]

LOwell doesn't sit unless Aramis Ramirez signs. One of the other three would sit. Youklis slugging % isn't justified at 1B.

 

Is lowell's justified at 3rd? Honestly, for all the nice plays Lowell made at 3B I saw Youk make just as many really nice scoops at 1B... unlike any Sox regular for a few years. He was refreshing at 1B and allowed Gonzo and Lowell to make some tremendous plays that may otherwise have bounded into the stands.

[example1]

I'll take someone who just gets on in front of the 3/4 on this team. With what they do' date=' OBP should be the be-all/end-all determinant. Speed is better suited in the back of this team's lineup.[/quote']

 

So how would you feel about a Crisp/Lugo 8-9 combination? Are you a gonzo guy?

[CrespoBlows]

So how would you feel about a Crisp/Lugo 8-9 combination? Are you a gonzo guy?

 

Lugo's different. He gets on base, and he can run.

[ORS]

So how would you feel about a Crisp/Lugo 8-9 combination? Are you a gonzo guy?

Depending on cost, I'm a Lugo guy. I think the difference between his offense and Gonzo's is substantially larger than the defensive difference. Gonzo is on another planet with his glove, but Lugo has better range, so the errors will likely be erased by more opportunities.

[example1]

Lugo's different. He gets on base' date=' and he can run.[/quote']

 

.340 career OBP. Nothing great, nothing horrible. I'd say that the better team is one that has guys with .370+ obp at the top with a guy who gets .340 near the bottom.

[a700hitter]

I'd rather have him on base more frequently so Ortiz' date=' and Ramirez can knock him in. The job of a leadoff hitter is to get on base, Crisp doesn't do that.[/quote']You need first to third speed and second to home speed in the leadoff spot. Manny and Ortiz cannot be expected to get Xtra base hitrs all the time. You need a guy that can score on their singles, and that can score from first on a double. Otherwise, there will be a repeat of the LOB #'s that we saw this year. We don't play little ball, but if Youklis gets on first and Pedroia pops up, he needs to got to third on an Ortiz single, so Manny can get him in with a Sac Fly. That's just one example. Crisp isn't the answer. Damon was the answer, but that's over and done. The Sox need a good #5 hitter and a leadoff guy with speed to get back to 900 + runs.

[CrespoBlows]

.340 career OBP. Nothing great' date=' nothing horrible. I'd say that the better team is one that has guys with .370+ obp at the top with a guy who gets .340 near the bottom.[/quote']

 

In his last two years as a Devil Ray, he has gotten on base at a .360 clip.

[example1]

Depending on cost' date=' I'm a Lugo guy. I think the difference between his offense and Gonzo's is substantially larger than the defensive difference. Gonzo is on another planet with his glove, but Lugo has better range, so the errors will likely be erased by more opportunities.[/quote']

 

Not only that, but I think Sox fans had such a traumatic experience with Nomar's last year or two here that they have forgotten that MOST MLB shortstops make nice plays, make most of the plays that come their way and tend to hold down the defense. Gonzo is a freak of nature, but the "average" fielding SS is fine defensively. Unless he's willing to stay for cheap.