satch9841

nice lineup. Can't hit ortiz 7th because opposing pitcher then would have 3 softies in a row, although nick green has been hitting well. I wonder what the coaching staff is doing with ortiz during his time on the pine? When you are on the road i don't suppose there is any access to video for ortiz/coaching staff to review. If there were serious fears on the health of his wrist u might think they might send ortiz to boston to have him checked out. But it looks like they will wait till the team returns home.

thanks. Someone posted that ortiz is not in todays lineup so i thought a lineup was available somewhere.

Turns out lopez was put on waivers and cleared them, and accepted a demotion to pawtucket. If anyone is wondering, here are his WBC numbers; games;3 innings pitched; 2.1 hits; 1 k's; 3 walks; 0 era; 0.00 whip; 0.43 How in the world did he start out the season so miserably? I hope daniel bard is here to stay

i have always thought kottaras would eventually start hitting after seeing enough MLB pitching. I thought the same of cash, who turned out to be a real dud. I think the sox will stick with kottaras as the backup. He does a good job with wakefield. Kottaras would probably have to go into a deep nosedive to lose the backup role. I think sox will stand pat at catcher. But a serious injury to varitek would get the wheels in motion. We need youk to get well and get production out of the DH spot. I think the starting pitching will come around. There seems to be a ton of good pitchers this year with lousy era's thus far.

I did a poor job describing my thoughts. I was thinking of options outside the organization if all the in-house options go down the toilet. For now the best option is baldelli. He has been hitting so let's see what happens. I'm sure terry will have papi back in the lineup soon unless he is in total disarray, which could be.

has anyone seen tonight's sox/mariner lineup? I couldn't find it on boston.com. I have heard ortiz is not in the lineup.

hopefully ortiz is not hurt and his problems are mechanical. But now it must be considered as to what his mindset is. It is very difficult to say for sure, but the loss of the torrid hitting youkilis hitting behind papi didn't help matters. I like bay in the 4 hole for now but youk commanded more respect from opposing managers and pitchers. I think baldelli is the best option for now at DH.

it's possible but ortiz has faced plenty of pitchers with ugly ERA'S. He needs to sit and use baldelli for now in the dh spot(haven't seen today's lineup). I have read ortiz is not in lineup tonight vs mariners. If some time off doesn't work and ortiz is healthy, some time in pawtucket is in order. I truly don't believe ortiz is finished. In the back of my mind i keep thinking that his surgery may have altered his swing along with a seemingly slower bat.

cris carter was my first thought after today's game, then i started thinking of someone who could produce some serious offense and thought of bonds. Has he been indicted yet? Frankly i can't remember. Jim edmonds is still available i think. He had decent #'s last year. I was surprised noone picked him up. I just keep seeing the poor at bats carter had early on. If he is doing well now, he is probably the best option for now.

I do realize there is injury risk with mauer,but he is still young and producing quite well. I am not up to speed on his health situation but i know he has had some back problems. Down the road he is likely to be a 1b/dh type. Are his health issues temporary or chronic?

I couldn't agree with you more. Masterson in the pen would be sensational, although in a perfect world 2 lefties in the pen would be ideal, especially one who could get you a strikeout in a tough spot. Hunter jones isn't that guy.

or maybe mike piazza if he's not retired? Almost anything would be better than ortiz right now.

yup, dots connected. Mauer is a prize player. I think the twins will try to extend him, unless mauer wants the "lotto", meaning sox or yank money. It would be nice if the sox could land him.

I like the idea of playing the wbc in the middle of the season. Players are not rushing to get in shape. I don't have any figures to spit out but i wonder if the nhl is FORCED to shorten the regular season because of the sheer numbers of players wanting to play for their countries? Anyone seen any figures on that?

Papi's problems may be deeper than a slump. I admire francona in a way for believing in papi. I believe in him too. But i thought terry should have sat ortiz down for a game or two starting 2 weeks ago. Now we are almost 6 weeks into the season and papi has cost the sox offense some real problems now. Today was embarrasing as ortiz goes 0-7 and 3 k's and a little tapper in the 12th. Our exclusive .200 club, namely ortiz and varitek, managed to end an inning 7 times today between them. Ortiz 5 times and tek 2 times in a 12 inning game. I think we are now past the point of a 1 or 2 game benching. I don't think ortiz confidence can get any lower. Simply put, the sox should have won today. My best guess is ortiz should get a couple days off and maybe look at more film of the good days and maybe some tests and xrays on his wrist might be in order to be sure it is healed properly. If that doesn't work a trip to pawtucket is in order to iron out his problems. At this rate no way papi makes it to 7/31. He will be replaced in the lineup before then. Anyone for barry bonds?

whats surprising is that LUGO wasn't ready. Do you know why gil was sent down? Was he injured? If gil was not injured why promote lugo after 2 AAA starts and NONE were in the field. Lugo was not ready to play at the ML level, if that is the only option the sox had, case closed.

agree with you kilo, ortiz will see even fewer pitches to hit if he is dropped in the order. zkeep papi in front of youk for now. I too think he has a timing problem and i don't think his swing is the same as in the past. Therefore one wonders if his surgery has somehow affected his swing. Seems like he is either a little too quick on some pitches and pulling them foul, or a little too late and popping up. Ortiz is working hard to solve his dilemma. I think papi has made some progress, but something is holding him back. Sox can't afford to have papi slump this bad for another month. I think he will get it going.

yes, nick green is the man for now. Lugo needs time at AAA 'tucket to get in shape, physically and mentally, 2 blown strong dp chances, have cost the sox dearly. I am surprised he was called up when he was. I think green is slightly shaky defensively but his bat is alive. He has been very aggressive at the plate his last few appearances. Would like to see nick become more selective at the plate. He does chase some bad pitches. Weird why nick didn't get the start after his 3-5 game. The return of franCOMA?

add me to the team, DFA lopez, his command of his pitches has dropped significantly. Hunter jones has been a pleasant surprise and is capable of throwing 2 innings if needed. Lopez just puts too many hitters on base. And oh yeah, hunter can get you a strikeout more readily than lopez. Lopez must really hit his spots to be successful. I can also see the sox sticking with lopez, but i hope not.

j-beck, love your IZZY video, i think his name was Izzy alcantara

stinge, your analyses of the hanging socks is perfect. Looks great on fans. Only the "B" works for me on the cap. I don't like all the blue either on the sox road uniform. The "BOSTON" letters should be in red. The 2 sox logo on the sleeve is genuis, looks great!