SoxFanForsyth

Fixed. But if it were Granderson who had the surgery, it would just be a minor bump and actually good for him because he's able now to know how far he can push himself and utilize that knowledge to increase the speed of his recovery. Very well worth the 1-2 days off from baseball activities because it will give him a recovery of 1-2 weeks sooner than they thought. Unfortunately, it was Crawford, so he needs an MRI because he's got bone chips floating around in his wrist.

It obviously doesnt mean anything, but.. The Sox are up 17-0, and Cody Ross has 2 HR and 5 RBI. Solid. At that rate, Ross will match last year's HR production in 7 days and the RBI production in 11 days

Except for the fact that Ellsbury OPS'd .841 vs LHP last season, so that theory goes to s***. It's not bad to go lefty lefty when one of the lefties hits LHP well. Which is why it's fine to go Gonzo - Ortiz, and which is why it's fine to go Ells - Craw - Pedey - Gonzo - Ortiz.

Dear Lord reading through this sounds like his entire hand fell off. It's a minor bump in the road to recovery, he is already hitting off a tee with one hand, and he still plans to be ready by Opening Day, and if he's not, then he'll probably be out for only a few games. Doctors already said he has better range of motion and the inflammation is down. All recoveries are going to have a set back at some point. Relax guys. Geez.

Not to mention that he was incredibly exposed on all pitches on the outer half of the plate.

It's minor. Extremely minor. Like, he pulled it doing the vertical jump test. He threw from 120 today and should be off the mound in 1-2 days.

Anyone see Crawford's new stance? It's significantly different than it as last year. For you to be able to tell a difference in how much he's closed up by a side view photo says a lot.

But man. You know as well as I do, that's not how this works. Valentine doesn't put the stats into excel and go to Data - Sort by OBP. If that was the case, then Adrian Gonzalez would be the 2 hole hitter. It's about constructing a team that maximizes the production from all of the players. And putting Crawford in the 2 slot maximizes his production. Will Crawford OPS as high as Pedroia? No, but why does that matter? Pedroia's AB go down by 18 over the entire season. He will be a very solid 3 hole hitter, and what's even more important, Gonzalez is going to be a better #4 hitter than Youkilis is. By moving Crawford up to 2, you effective slot Gonzalez down to 4 where he can easily outperform Youkilis in the 4 slot, and ultimately give the 1-3 hitters a better chance of being driven in.

The reason people "conveniently forget" his stats in the bottom of the order from last season is because he did it from there for 320 AB last year and he only swiped 13 bags because the bases were consistently clogged and he didn't want the next inning to lead off with a s*** hitter. He racked up 1,500 hits and 398 SB in 5,200 AB from the 2 hole and hit .303/.346/.460. I'd say one stat is a bit more substantial than the other.

I understand this argument, but I also think that Pedroia can be just as effective in the 3 hole, potentially more effective. He could very easily be a 20 HR/35Double/20 SB/100 Run/100 RBI guy from the 3 hole. I am a big advocate on putting pressure on the SP, scoring runs early, manufacturing runs when needed, and utilizing speed at the top of the order. I think speed and it's affect on a pitcher has a big impact on the hitters after him. Crawford is a game changing player. He can hit triple after triple after triple at Fenway. He can swipe bags, and he can manufacture runs. Is Pedroia a better 2 hitter? Probably. But when Crawford is playing well, it's not a big difference, and adding another run scorer to the top of the order would never hurt. Also - if Ells has an OBP of .370, Crawford returns to form for a .350, and Pedroia has his usual .380, then there is only a 25% chance that none of them reach base in the first inning of any given game. That means, ultimately, that Gonzalez will be hitting in the first inning in 3 of every 4 games with a runner on base, likely in scoring position with the wheels that all 3 of those players have, in the first inning, and he hits around .340 with RISP, .305 with RISP and 2 outs, so you're going to score some first inning runs quite often. Getting that early lead could help with our pitching, as well, by taking the pressure off of them. So what I'm saying is that Crawford hitting 2nd will help our pitching Joking, but I think it would have a very strong effect on this team if he hits 2nd, especially because he's a guy who takes his offensive struggles on the field with him.

Yup. Just group all baseball players in to one heaping stereotype. All baseball players should hit regardless of where they are placed. So, do you have an issue with Youkilis saying he doesn't want to lead off? Or what about Pedroia saying he doesn't want to lead off? Because if you do, then it's fine for you to have an issue with Crawford needing to hit 2nd. But if not, and I don't think you do, then you can't say anything about any other player having a preference. Second, how can you possibly say that any of the other players numbers would diminish by moving Crawford to the 2 hole? Look at Pedroia in the 4 hole. He has an OPS over 1.000. SSS, but since you used Crawford hitting 7th I will use this. Getting Crawford to the 2 hole and getting him back to his career numbers is extremely important. Pedroia has shown he isn't affected by moving around in the order, especially not if you drop him to 3rd. I don't care if other players have hit in the bottom of the order and remained productive. He didn't. He's not every other ball player. Plain and simple. If moving Crawford to the 2 hole boosts his OPS by 150+ points (.851 OPS in 2010) then the team is better. By the way, regardless of everything that was just said, OPS is not the be all end all. If Crawford gets on base at a .350 clip and has an .800 OPS, but he gets Pedroia, et all a higher ratio of fastballs, scores 100 runs because he can score from 1st on a wall ball double, and makes the pitchers make mistakes to hitters after him, he's got a whole lot more value in the top of the order than an .850 OPS guy who pitchers don't give a s*** about once he reaches base.

By the way, if you want a true precedent, have a look at the only other time he had a bad season (2008), look at how he rebounded the next 2 years. 2008 vs 2011 2008: .273/.319/.400/.719 2011: .255/.289/.405/.694 Bounce Back Seasons 2009: .305/.364/.452 2010: .307/.356/.495 I'd say he's going to be just fine, judging by how he's bounced back prior to this, and judging by his career numbers.

The biggest hole in this argument is that you're using a complete aberration to project future performance. Using Crawford's 2011 season and projecting him to replicate those numbers while completely disregarding his career numbers before that is crazy. I would much, much, much rather have Crawford terrorize opposing pitchers with Pedey/Gonzo/Ortiz/Youk hitting than with Salty or Aviles or Ross.

This year, the mindset should be "Prove to me that you don't belong in the 2 hole" rather than "Prove to me that you do belong in the 2 hole". That's the best way I can explain it.

Could not disagree more. Moving Crawford to the bottom 3rd of the order not only crushes his confidence, but it also takes away 90 AB from him compared to the 2 hole. You don't want to have a guy hitting .305/.355/.450 and stealing 40 bags in the 7 hole only to get left on base 80% of the time because Salty and Aviles OPS around .730 a piece.