2007 Sox Lineup/Order

[mar_022]

Now that the FO has filled out many of the holes, we actually have an idea of how the lineup will look. My guess, and not that i'm claiming i came up with it, most of this is pretty obvious:

 

Lugo

Youk

Papi

Manny

Drew

Lowell

Tek

Coco

Pedroia

 

I think coco is better suited towards the bottom. Don't get me wrong i like crisp much more than most and feel that he will rebound next year, i just feel like his speed can be more utilized in the 8 spot than the 2 hole, where Tito doesnt like to send him with Papi at the plate (and rightly so). Plus, youk will more-than-likely continue to have a higher OBP, which is what we want to set the table for our version of Murderer's Row. I'd also think that Youk would bat leadoff, with crisp second, when cora subs for lugo. I guess i just want to see people's opinions on Youk v. Crisp in the two hole, and if anyone is ambitious enough to make some projections, have at it.

[Bud]

I'd like to see Coco and Lugo should be at the top of the order. I'm not too high on Drew - I'd put him 6th or 7th. He strikes out quite a bit and leaves guys on base.

[jacksonianmarch]

Coco is not a top of the order hitter.

[example1]

I'd like to see Coco and Lugo should be at the top of the order. I'm not too high on Drew - I'd put him 6th or 7th. He strikes out quite a bit and leaves guys on base.

 

In 50 more at-bats last year, JD Drew K'd 4 more times than Manny Ramirez. I wouldn't call that a lot of strike outs. It would be more concerning, also, if the guy weren't getting on base at a .400 clip.

[Bud]

Coco is not a top of the order hitter.

 

well, he hit at the top of the lineup for both us and the Guardians - solid speed, decent pop in his bat. Granted his patience needs work, but I think Lugo and Coco at the top could be effective

[jacksonianmarch]

well' date=' he hit at the top of the lineup for both us and the Guardians - solid speed, decent pop in his bat. Granted his patience needs work, but I think Lugo and Coco at the top could be effective[/quote']

 

he flat out sucked at the top this yr.

[Bud]

he flat out sucked at the top this yr.

 

I know, but I think some of it was because of his injuries. I'm hoping he returns to form this season.

[mar_022]

well' date=' he hit at the top of the lineup for both us and the Guardians - solid speed, decent pop in his bat. Granted his patience needs work, but I think Lugo and Coco at the top could be effective[/quote']

 

i dont disagree that coco could be very productive up top in the lineup, but i think his skill set is best utilized towards the bottom of the lineup.

[mar_022]

from Ian Browne at Redsox.com

 

Lugo, SS

Kevin Youkilis, 1B

Ortiz, DH

Ramirez, LF

Drew, RF

Mike Lowell, 3B

Jason Varitek, C

Coco Crisp, CF

Dustin Pedroia, 2B

 

The Red Sox think that Youkilis is a better fit near the top of the order because of his ability to get on base, and the speedy Crisp would be more free to run near the bottom when he wouldn't be taking the bats out of the hands of Ortiz and Ramirez.

[Bud]

from Ian Browne at Redsox.com

 

Lugo, SS

Kevin Youkilis, 1B

Ortiz, DH

Ramirez, LF

Drew, RF

Mike Lowell, 3B

Jason Varitek, C

Coco Crisp, CF

Dustin Pedroia, 2B

 

The Red Sox think that Youkilis is a better fit near the top of the order because of his ability to get on base, and the speedy Crisp would be more free to run near the bottom when he wouldn't be taking the bats out of the hands of Ortiz and Ramirez.

 

I guess that makes sense...

 

Our lineup looks pretty stacked. Of course we probably won't be able to count on Drew being in the lineup for the entire season

[BSN07]

I'll take a stab at some projections

 

 

Player AVG HR RBI OBP Steals

 

SS Lugo .285 12 60 .375 15

1B Youk .280's 15 70 .375 1

DH Papi .300 45 135 .355 1

LF Manny .315 35 125 .415 1

RF Drew .280 17 90 .420 10

3B Lowell .275 14 65 .300 1

C TEK .270 12 55 .300 -1:D

CF Crisp .285 10 45 .365 20

2B Pedroia .260 10 45 .350 8

 

Just some random numbers on my part, please don't think i'm taking myself to seriously on this, all in good fun.

[Bud]

my predictions:

 

Lugo .271 11 55 .354 20

Youk .295 18 71 .372 11

Ortiz .279 51 152 .330 0

Manny .283 42 107 .440 0

Drew .269 18 81 .371 5

Lowell .284 23 70 .335 2

Tek .263 17 72 .310 1

Crisp .288 13 49 .332 18

Pedroia .263 8 41 .328 2

[jacksonianmarch]

Predictions. Hmmm. Crapper. Okay.

 

1. Lugo SS

I am actually not the biggest Lugo fan. 2005 was the first time he eclipsed .280 in a full season in his career. Then he goes through last yrs mess and has a Jekyll and Hyde season. His history says that he is a .270-.275 type hitter. His power is up and down between 7 and 15 HRs. He isnt a long fly type hitter, but a line drive hitter and that may hurt him in Fenway with the monster. His biggest asset is his speed and we all know Francona doesnt use it. His OBP was almost like clockwork in the .333-.338 range until 05 when he jumped to .362 and started it off at .373 in tampa before the trade. So what to believe. Hmmm. Well counting the adjustment period, I think he will have a good but not great yr. .280 10HR 60RBI 90R 15SB with a .345OBP and a .450SLG

 

2. Youkilis 3B

You guys may not know it, but I like Youkilis a lot. This guy will bleed himself to his last drop for the red sox. He also declined a lot late, because it was his first full MLB season. I see an improvement on the way. .285 15HR 80RBI .400OBP .450SLG

 

3. Ortiz DH

.280 50HR 2976RBI (j/k more like 140) OPS well over 1

 

4. Ramirez LF

yawn..... .300 38HR 130RBI 1+OPS

 

5. Drew RF

Seeing as he is hurt every other yr and this just happens to be the yr to be injured, he will injure himself playing tiddlywinks with Ortiz and will miss 60 games

.280 14HR 60RBI .395OBP .480SLG

 

6. Lowell 3B

DECLINE. Trade him NOW. The league learned him very well in the 2nd half last yr. If he doesnt get dealt, I see.

.260 15HR 70RBI .310OBP .450SLG

 

7. Varitek C

I like the guy, I really do, but how often does an aging catcher look this bad for an entire season and rebound into a fabulous hitter again? Very, very, very infrequently. More of the same from old ironsides.

.240 10HR 50RBI .315OBP .385SLG

 

8. Crisp CF

He declined as the season went along rather than got better as it was expected due to his injury. I see him as a .270 10HR 50RBI guy at the bottom of the order with a .300OBP and a .400SLG

 

9. Pedroia No friggin clue.

[ORS]

5. Drew RF

Seeing as he is hurt every other yr and this just happens to be the yr to be injured, he will injure himself playing tiddlywinks with Ortiz and will miss 60 games

.280 14HR 60RBI .395OBP .480SLG

In years divisible by 3, he is always north of a 1.000 OPS and hits HRs at a rate of one every 15 ABs. He's a lock for MVP type numbers if he can play 140+ games.

 

Sounds silly, right? Well, I don't really believe any type of "every other/third/etc. year..." to be a good predictor of future performance, but it's no more silly than a belief he'll get hurt simply because he does "every other year".

 

6. Lowell 3B

DECLINE. Trade him NOW. The league learned him very well in the 2nd half last yr. If he doesnt get dealt, I see.

.260 15HR 70RBI .310OBP .450SLG

He traditionally is subject to big 2nd half splits, and that holds every year of his career. Nobody figured him out, he just did his usual 2nd half swoon. I do agree that the time to deal him is now, though, but not because he got "figured out".

 

8. Crisp CF

He declined as the season went along rather than got better as it was expected due to his injury. I see him as a .270 10HR 50RBI guy at the bottom of the order with a .300OBP and a .400SLG

Well, he never really recovered. I would think that is obvious due to the offseason surgery. I'm expecting a bounce back, one that will put him in contention for the leadoff spot.

[Fried Neckbones]

I don't have much in the way of predicting numbers here, just an observation that came to me this morning in the shower.

 

This is one slow-ass team.

 

From 2 through 7, we've got Youk, Ortiz, Manny, Drew, Lowell, and Tek. That is a lot of station to station baserunning, and not a lot of first to third or second to home. When yoou've basically got to rip 4 singles in a row to score one run, or when guys are going first and second to bases loaded rather than a run in and guys on the corners, it's going to hurt in the long run. Not to say that this isn't a good lineup - I think they will do just fine offensivly - but they will be counting on long balls a lot, and that can kill teams, especially in the playoffs/stretch runs (not to get ahead of myself or anything:D ).

[Fried Neckbones]

4. Ramirez LF

yawn..... .300 38HR 130RBI 1+OPS

 

I like that. That is humorus to me.

[Cocos Disciples]

3 guys have OBP's under .315? Really?

[riverside sluggers]

I don't have much in the way of predicting numbers here, just an observation that came to me this morning in the shower.

 

This is one slow-ass team.

 

From 2 through 7, we've got Youk, Ortiz, Manny, Drew, Lowell, and Tek. That is a lot of station to station baserunning, and not a lot of first to third or second to home. When yoou've basically got to rip 4 singles in a row to score one run, or when guys are going first and second to bases loaded rather than a run in and guys on the corners, it's going to hurt in the long run. Not to say that this isn't a good lineup - I think they will do just fine offensivly - but they will be counting on long balls a lot, and that can kill teams, especially in the playoffs/stretch runs (not to get ahead of myself or anything:D ).

 

I wouldnt put Drew in the same class of speed as Youk, Ortiz, Manny, Tek, and Lowell. He does have 15 stolen bases over the last 3 seasons, thats more than the other 5 mentioned have combined. And this lineup does have the potential to be one of the best run producing in baseball

[Mr Crunchy]

station to station baseball is ok when your team hits .300 or even .285

drop this softball teams avg down under .275??

they will leave 1500 runners on base next summer

 

as it stands

they need coco to be big this year and i mean .300 with a .390obp

they need lugo to hit .280 with doubles up the ass

they need tek to bat my weight,not tina cervasios

lowells glove will be there but he needs to push a consistant .270 with more than 20hrs

same with youk

he tailed a bit last season(didnt they all after manny went out)

hes a .300/.400 obp guy that should be hitting for more power as he ages

im not expecting anything big out of duddy pedroia

if he hits .260 from the 9 and dont f*** up in the field i'll live with it

 

now

mr drew

since hes here for the long haul i will no longer bust his balls until he f***s us

heres what i see

.300 with a .375 obp,diminishing power due to fenway being death valley for lefty power guys such as drew,more speed than nixon and he does have a rep for being a clutch hitter

100RBI isnt out of the question

in fact it is nessesary for drew to produce or we'll get cornholed like last year.

manny best get his track shoes on,papi too

theyre will be lots of oppurtunity to go 1st -3rd with drew in the lineup

he will have crisp lugo manny and papi in front of him

he'll be up in the 1st inning of lots of games

he'll be put in a situation to earn what we're paying him

God forbid he come outta the chute 1-27,theres so much negativity pointed his way i fear he could become catatonic after his 1st year ala roger moret

 

theres 7

papi and manny need no explanation

 

wily mo being the 1st option off the bench??

another 250ab season will not reveal what this guy can be

 

with manny still in the fold i love our chances in the east this summer

[elsrbueno]

Now that the FO has filled out many of the holes, we actually have an idea of how the lineup will look. My guess, and not that i'm claiming i came up with it, most of this is pretty obvious:

 

Lugo

Youk

Papi

Manny

Drew

Lowell

Tek

Coco

Pedroia

 

I think coco is better suited towards the bottom. Don't get me wrong i like crisp much more than most and feel that he will rebound next year, i just feel like his speed can be more utilized in the 8 spot than the 2 hole, where Tito doesnt like to send him with Papi at the plate (and rightly so). Plus, youk will more-than-likely continue to have a higher OBP, which is what we want to set the table for our version of Murderer's Row. I'd also think that Youk would bat leadoff, with crisp second, when cora subs for lugo. I guess i just want to see people's opinions on Youk v. Crisp in the two hole, and if anyone is ambitious enough to make some projections, have at it.

 

I agree 100%. Crisp is IMO a good player (a much better player than he showed last season) but until he proves he can get on base in front of the big boys the same way Lugo and Youkilis can hit him in the back of the lineup.

 

Also, Coco's the fastest player on the team and you're wasting his speed hitting him leadoff. If he gets on base with Papi and Manny coming up you're telling him to keep himself on first (aka not make an out on the basepaths) because Manny and Ortiz have the chance to give you 2 runs with a longball. With Pedroia hitting behind you, run him wild because they're not going to walk Dustin to face the top of the order.

[jacksonianmarch]

3 guys have OBP's under .315? Really?

 

more due to lack of average. Varitek and Coco will be similar to last yr (IMHO) and I am predicting a precipitous drop in Lowell's production.

[jacksonianmarch]

station to station baseball is ok when your team hits .300 or even .285

drop this softball teams avg down under .275??

they will leave 1500 runners on base next summer

 

as it stands

they need coco to be big this year and i mean .300 with a .390obp

they need lugo to hit .280 with doubles up the ass

they need tek to bat my weight,not tina cervasios

lowells glove will be there but he needs to push a consistant .270 with more than 20hrs

same with youk

he tailed a bit last season(didnt they all after manny went out)

hes a .300/.400 obp guy that should be hitting for more power as he ages

im not expecting anything big out of duddy pedroia

if he hits .260 from the 9 and dont f*** up in the field i'll live with it

 

now

mr drew

since hes here for the long haul i will no longer bust his balls until he f***s us

heres what i see

.300 with a .375 obp,diminishing power due to fenway being death valley for lefty power guys such as drew,more speed than nixon and he does have a rep for being a clutch hitter

100RBI isnt out of the question

in fact it is nessesary for drew to produce or we'll get cornholed like last year.

manny best get his track shoes on,papi too

theyre will be lots of oppurtunity to go 1st -3rd with drew in the lineup

he will have crisp lugo manny and papi in front of him

he'll be up in the 1st inning of lots of games

he'll be put in a situation to earn what we're paying him

God forbid he come outta the chute 1-27,theres so much negativity pointed his way i fear he could become catatonic after his 1st year ala roger moret

 

theres 7

papi and manny need no explanation

 

wily mo being the 1st option off the bench??

another 250ab season will not reveal what this guy can be

 

with manny still in the fold i love our chances in the east this summer

 

 

crunchy, um, Crisp's career high OBP was .345 I believe. Expecting it to go to .390 may be pushing it a bit.