CrespoBlows

What happened on the Tavarez play?

This guy has an odd strike zone.

I don't know why everyone wants Youkilis batting 5th. He should be getting on in front of Ramirez and Ortiz, not Lowell and Pena.

The average value for hitters on the free agent market skyrocketed. Lugo career - .272/.335/.396 Cabrera career - 273/.321/.406 Cabrera got 4 years $32 million, which is comparable to Julio Lugo.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/images/uploads//bos_park.png Fenway is overall a hitter's park, no is disputing that. Fenway also significantly supresses home runs for left-handed batters.

I don't see the Angels trading Kotchman at this point. The Dodgers might be better off just inserting Loney at 1B, and looking for an upgrade elsewhere.

I don't think the Padres are going to be trading anyone in that bullpen. They don't really need an LF, anyway. Giles is in RF, Cameron is in CF, and Jose Cruz is in LF.

A few, expanding on the last paragraph. Eric Gagne Akinori Otsuka Jon Garland Mark Buehrle

I agree with everything up to this point, but even then, it's just a small disagreement. Cora is slumping very badly. He's hitting .150/.186/.150/.336 over the last month, and his defense isn't at an elite level at SS. (It certaintly is at second) Lugo, however, is probably the worst everyday regular in major league baseball, and his glove is costing the Red Sox games. Lugo still is an effective hitter at Fenway, and while his average is atrocious against LHP, he is getting on base at a decent clip, and his slugging percentage is acceptable. His BABIP is at a woeful .208, which may suggest that Lugo has been somewhat unlucky, and his average might normalize. Getting to the point, I propose a platoon of Cora and Lugo. An extremely odd one. vs LHP (Away) - Lugo vs RHP (Away) - Cora vs LHP (Home) - Lugo vs RHP (Home) - Lugo Based on this year's sample sizes (small, I know, but we got to try something else) both players are played in which they are suited best. Lugo (2007 at Home) - .281/.344/.404/.748 Lugo (2007 vs LHP) - .210/.324/.371/.695 (BABIP - .208) Lugo (Career at Fenway) - .306/.364/.450/.814 Cora (2007 vs Away) - .333/.367/.622/.989 Cora (2007 vs RHP) - .284/.330/.457/.787 I strongly doubt that this would work over a period of a season, but with a little bit of strategy, luck normalizing, and players playing to their skill level. This might be OK, for a month, until Lugo gets his stroke back. I like your idea of Drew at the top of the lineup, but while he's still mirred in his slump, I'd think you'd have to drop him lower in the lineup. As Dr. Jacko pointed out, the lack of RBI's from Ortiz and Ramirez are troubling. In order to give that a little kick, our highest OBP guys have to be toward the top of the lineup. Youkilis' .422 OBP, would be better served in the leadoff or second spot in the lineup. I don't know why he was dropped, the lineup was doing splendid when he was in the second spot. If I'm writing the lineup cards, I'd go with something like this: 1. Pedroia, .395/.436 2. Youkilis, .422/.527 3. Ortiz, .449/.603 4. Ramirez, .390/.461 5. Lowell, .372/.556 6. Drew, .344/.352 (drop to eight against LHP) 7. Pena, .318/.429 (switch with Varitek against LHP) 8. Varitek, .361/.454 9. Lugo, .270/.317 (platoon with Cora) The front eight of that Red Sox lineup was the potential to absolutely mash, and if the platoon works just a little bit, that's a legit offensive juggernaut. Supposedly, the Red Sox are an organization based on sabermetrics. Just take a look at those, why on earth was Francona giving an extra PA per game to those two black holes? I think we need another arm in that bullpen, and we need to quit babying our prospects. Buchholtz has dominated AA ball, and needs to get up to AAA. Julian Tavarez can not be taking the ball every 5th day, and if the front office has no intention of bringing up Jon Lester, they should pull the trigger for a trade to upgrade there. I have to laugh at the "if it ain't fix don't break it" mentality. Without a few tweaks the whole f***ing thing falls apart. Maybe this losing streak was actually good for the team.

Yeah, they were. You just couldn't be punished for taking them. Bonds did admit to using steriods, (unknowingly) but he never has failed an MLB test. Until he does that, he is still the single season HR king.

Youkilis Pedroia Ortiz Ramirez Lowell Pena Drew Varitek Lugo You're highest OBP guy can't be getting 108 fewer PA than Pedroia.

This season's not over, yet? Drew, more on him later.... Coco Crisp has been pathetic, and I'm sure more than 75% of the members are on the Wily Mo bandwagon. Lugo has been ghastly, too. That being said, these guys (with the exception of Crisp) are all better hitters than they are showing. J.D. Drew has a career .890 OPS, he'll be fine. I don't know why Lugo refuses to hit on the road, but I don't think we have an alternative right now, and I don't see one coming available. (.739 OPS to .447 OPS) J.D Drew has drawn 31 BB's, which puts him in the top 20. He's not driving the ball, which isn't a huge shock, moving to Fenway has dimished his power.

Anderson Varejio = Joakim Noah

Ooh, this game is fun. Watch this!!!! I'm going to subtract the following: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB 3.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB 5.0 IP, 10 H, 0 BB 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 BB 6.0 IP, 10 H, 2 BB 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 BB With - 48.3 IP, 73 H, 21 BB, 7.84 ERA, 1.95 WHIP Without - 17 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 3.71 ERA, 1.58 WHIP My pitcher is not bad, he just had some bad starts.

Wait... His ERA is 4.98, and his WHIP is 1.51, because of lack of run support? Maybe his W-L record shouldn't be 2-7, but he's been dreadful this year.

Dreadful.

I agree. Ortiz deserves a pass, Ramirez deserves some of the blame.

Why are you always this uppity?

OPS 2007 - 1.052 OPS 2006 - 1.049