SoxSport

Well, Lowrie has had to hit his way into the lineup, forcing out a guy who is being paid a much higher salary. That's a hard thing to do. If this club was winning, I doubt even hot hitting would have done it. But Francona's pretty desperate right now. Looks like Lowrie is about to join Pedroia and Hanley R. as great infielders brought through their farm system recently. Stay healthy, kid.

That's one of their problems.

Pitch him every other start-- the good start.

All good points well taken. Youks has to get his power back--batting cleanup. He just hit a HR yesterday, and that's a great sign. Isn't Kalish a switch hitter? That with help in the OF next year. Though I suspect Ellsbury will be traded--at some point. Being a Boras client. Unless he gets back to form, and lives up to a Boras contract.

Crawford was a luxury they didn't need--not with Kalish pretty much ready. Salty was a gamble. Without insurance. Nobody's ass ever pays working for the Red Sox. That's one of their problems.

Yikes.

Actually, the SS and catcher issues are quite different. At SS, they have two good players, though Lowrie's upside gives him an advantage. At catcher, they are thin and vulnerable. Theo clearly gambled putting all his eggs in Salty--and not signing insurance in Martin. Martin has as much chance of lasting the season healthy as Colon does in NY, but right now they are doing the job. And all Theo has backing up Salty is old Tek.

Another thing that concerns me is the chemistry. Especially Crawford. Why did they sign him? What weakness did he correct? They had a Crawford clone ready to play in Kalish--but pushed him to the back burner for a season so he can replace Drew. And then there's AdGon, with Youks having to move to 3B. AdGon looks like a winner, but Youks has not been himself so far. Is it the position change? Or the thumb? Nobody's talkin'. It could well be the position change, and the stresses involved. The game is 50% mental. Look at how closers get bombed when they get put into non-save situations. When you change your chemistry in the off-season as much as they did, you have to spend more time in spring training to work out these changes. Get these guys playing together as a team; get the lineup straight. Tito clearly didn't do that. And the front office didn't help. It was business as usual. They lost 10 in a row playing scrubs--and they continue to lose starting the season playing regulars. Tito had no idea where Crawford fit in the lineup, and how to utilize the speed of Ellsbury and Crawford. He still doesn't, for that matter. I don't think they realized how tough an adjustment these major changes would be.

Another thing Tito has done wrong is continue to bat Youks cleanup, even though he is not himself at bat. Maybe it's the thumb. Maybe it's the position change that creates stress. I agree Pedroia should bat 3rd. AdGon 4th. Ells and Crawford 1-2. Those guys should be stealing every time they get on base. Lowrie, too. looks like he's the real deal.

You can't help but suspect that Dice-K wishes he were pitching in Japan. 'Nuf said.

Stop being so complacent. Mazz of the Globe alluded to that in his column today. Make Pedroia a captain. Give Lowrie a shot at SS. Platoon Ortiz Bat Ellsbury and Crawford 1-2 and utilize their speed. Look up the definition of Stolen Base in the dictionary. Also look up the definition of "take a walk" and "smallball" in one-run games--like last night. Replace Wake with another catcher or LHd reliever. Stop using the poor guy as a mop.

Points well taken. Especially the last one. They won 7 in a row, beating the Yankees and the Cardinals. But those were the Dirt Dogs. Millar, Damon, Pedro and the rest. And they had to kill the "curse." No complacency there.

That impression is gaining momentum. We had a hint of that last year with an unusual bunch of injuries. The Sox are a bit too layed back and casual--reflecting their good-natured manager. Not Pedroia, mind you. Never Pedroia.

When a whole team sucks, it's the management. They are doing something wrong. The team isn't prepared mentally. And the fundamentals suck. Plus they are carrying deadwood.

I don't know if Tito can do much except fiddle with lineups. He isn't Knute Rockne. You can bet there are players upset right now. They need some leadership to get out of the rut. Where they get it--hard to say. The first thing they should do is name Pedroia captain. Tek is history. The team lost 10 in a row near the end of spring training. Nobody noticed. They should have. That lineup still hasn't gelled.

Hamilton out 6-8 weeks with a broken bone in his shoulder--sliding headfirst into home plate. Serves him right. VMart hardly touched him on the tag.

Yeah--Looks like Ainge blew it trading Perkins.

Good point. If he can't walk, he can bunt. But they don't play smallball.

Madden beats Francona every time playing smallball. Tito just sits in the dugout spitting seeds and changing pitchers.

Madden took Price out at the right time. To turn Lowrie around. And it worked. When a manager takes a pitcher out just because of pitch counts, it's an unforced error.

Youks trying to pull an outside pitch. Sure sign of pressing.

Can Lowrie hit? Yes, he can. Get him off the bench, Tito.

Youks batting cleanup is hurting this club right now. He doesn't have his stroke yet.

What's the definition of a slump? When a batter almost kills the pitcher with a line drive--and makes an out.