JMDurron

Actually, it gets worse. It was a choice of Womack vs. Crespo. We kept Crespo because he impressed people in Spring Training.

I bet we see the K argument return now. Both Pokey and Bellhorn let us down in the same inning...again.

That was low AND outside. Robbed.

Looks like the bashing Lowe got from Francona might have actually helped. Seems like the whole team stepped up a bit afterwards, could it be from the shock of the "Player's Manager" actually slapping someone over a lousy performance? "Whoa, we're actually accountable! Time to get it together!"

I'm expecting a slight letdown from our offense. Maybe we'll only get 6-7 runs today.

How about Pokey making one error (and it was an error, in spite of a friendly scorer) in an inning of 3 errors between SS and 2B leading to 6 unearned runs? That was just bizarre. As far as Pokey being benched, based on the lineup of the last week or so, I'd say that he HAS been benched. He seems to only be starting when Bellhorn needs a day off, or when a LHP means Nomar can DH instead of play in the field. I think it's perfectly appropriate to start Pokey in both circumstances. We KNEW he couldn't hit before the season started, and he's extremely handy to have in the field with a groundball pitcher like Lowe on the mound. We don't need to trade him (you want Crespo back as the backup IF?!? Can I slap you please?), we don't need to banish him to AAA. We need him as the excellent defensive and baserunning substitution that he has been the past week or so.

Good news in the ESPN.com game notes from tonight's win. "Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Tuesday that Kevin Youkilis and Mark Bellhorn would being taking ground balls at 1B to prepare for a possible start there." This opens up some excellent possibilities for the lineup (Why choose between Mueller and Youk?) and defense (Why choose between Pokey's glove and Bellhorn's eye/bat?), if one or both of them can adapt to the position. The fact that they're considering moving Youk tells me that Terry is confident that Mueller is recovering well.

I'm proud to say that I got the "JMDurron went to the last game and they sucked, so they're going to mock him by showing up now" mojo going for this game.

Actually, there ARE 82 games left. 43 + 37 = 80. 162 - 80 = 82.

I think that the team's main concern is all in their minds, or in their hearts (or the lack thereof). However, since we can't do anything about that, we might as well nitpick about what we think could be improved. That pretty much leaves 1B and #5 starter/long relief.

OBP would be overrated if you were talking about a 3-4-5 hitter. For a 1-2 hitter, OBP is potentially huge. How exactly do you think Ortiz became the AL RBI leader? He's had Damon and Bellhorn getting on for him all year! I really don't get why people are so quick to ignore Bellhorn, I know he looks like the poster child for Valium, but he can get on base and hit.

My argument for when everyone is hitting up to par is that we can afford to downgrade offensively...from Millar to McCarty. Keep Bellhorn's OBP in that #2 spot. Who bats 2nd when Mueller plays, otherwise? Nomar? You want one-pitch outs coming up five times a game? You said yourself that 1B is the biggest problem, and with Ortiz at DH and Bellhorn over Pokey at 2B, we can get away with McCarty's excellent defense at 1B. As for pitching, we could use a slight upgrade, I agree.

Looking at the starting lineups, does anybody else wonder if the AL has a prayer?

Considering the team's defensive woes whether Pokey's been in the game or not, I'm shocked that you're willing to add another black hole to the lineup for an improvement at one position. Daubach's no better than Millar when you have him face LHP, he actually might be a bit worse, and I'm not a Millar fan. Also, given that this is Youk's first year in the big leagues, he doesn't technically have a history of OBP at this level. He may be building one now, but he doesn't have it quite yet. Mueller has also always been more comfortable hitting lower in the order, so you can't really plug him in at #2. I really don't think that the top 4 of our order can be optimized any more than it already has been. 1) Damon (Speed, OBP) 2) Bellhorn (OBP, some power) 3) Ortiz (Two OBP guys in front = runs!) 4) Manny (Just for when Ortiz misses) If you're desperate to get Pokey in the lineup, then put Bellhorn at 3B and have Pokey at 2B, or have Nomar DH with Ortiz at 1B, Bellhorn at 2B, and Pokey at SS. In one case, you have no Youk/Mueller, and in the other, you get Ortiz fielding. I'm not sure that those negatives don't overwhelm Pokey's defensive contributions.