33Innings

A few ideas right off the top of my head: 1. Many analysts, particularly on ESPN are suggesting Bobby Valentine. 2. He hasn't been in any clubhouses or dugouts lately, but what about giving Kevin Kennedy a second term? He is the only skipper other than Tito to win Boston an AL East crown since the strike and has spent the last several years scrutinizing and analyzing the whole Major League scope. 3. Depending on how management feels about retaining current coaches, there is first base coach Ron Johnson, who previously managed the PawSox for a while.

But, hey, the BoSox faced a 2-0 series deficit in the best-of-five ALDS in both 1999 and 2003. We know how that turned out. If I were Arnie Beyeler, this is the lineup I would employ for Game 3 tonight: 1. Che-Hsuan Lin - CF 2. Jose Iglesias - SS 3. Daniel Nava - LF 4. Lars Anderson - 1B 5. Drew Sutton - 2B 6. Hector Luna - DH 7. Luis Exposito - C 8. Will Middlebrooks - 3B 9. Joey Gathright - RF

I was just listening to the Sports Hub and one caller asked about the idea of trading Jacoby Ellsbury in exchange for a top-notch pitcher. Tony Massarotti, in response, served up the interesting notion that Ellsbury's performance this year could prove too much of a good thing if his success rate elevates his desired salary. That said, I wonder if a hypothetical deal like this caller suggested would be a case of fixing what's not broken. Also, Massarotti noted that nearly all of the positive scouting reports concerning Ryan Lavarnway's future in catching come from Boston. Experts from elsewhere aren't so sure and Mazz says he envisions Lavarnway as more of a DH, possible a first baseman, and concludes "Don't mess with Saltalamacchia!" But I don't know. Does anyone have an opinion on either of these one way or the other?

I spoke too soon on Kalish. It looks like he's returning to the DL, which is most unfortunate for him considering the year he's had already. But the PawSox still have the multifaceted Nate Spears to function as a fourth outfielder and, in turn, can use Tony Thomas in the infield once in a while. That wouldn't be anything to sneeze at.

I thought Beyeler made all the best moves with what he has at the moment when he arranged last night's batting order even before the first pitch. My conviction was emboldened after a balanced offense got the job done, especially with Middlebrooks finally getting into the hit column. At least until (when and if) guys like Lavarnway and Sutton get back, I would say stick to this same basic arrangement. The only alterations (which are pretty much necessary on a day-to-day basis) I would make would have Luna and Anderson switching between first base and DH, Kalish rotating in and out with the other outfielders and Spring occasionally giving Exposito some time off behind the plate.

I'm aware of that. I was just saying it's kind of unlucky timing, all things considered. If his MLB debut were planned in advance, it undoubtedly would have happened when he was performing and we'd probably have a more favorable prediction for his first game with Boston.

Kind of strange that he's being called up now, right when he's in the middle of his worst slump of his season. Not that you should invest every last penny in that fact, but I do wonder how effective he can be at the Major League level at this point in time. He has only five hits in over 40 at-bats in the month of August and he's suddenly looking at the prospect of facing a higher level of pitching while playing in front of substantially bigger crowds than what he's used to. But sometimes peculiar things happen. Maybe this will somehow shake Lavarnway out of his slump. Another logical theory as to why he has plummeted so far after such an otherworldly start in Pawtucket is because Triple-A teams and pitchers have scouted him and figured out how to solve him. In that sense, he's now entering a new realm where he doesn't know his opponents that well and vice versa. So long as he doesn't succumb to the pressure of a bigger crowd, he has a shot to make an immediate impact.

Did anyone else see the Sports Business Journal and its list? PawSox and P-Bruins fans didn't do too bad, did they? What's more, Portland, home of the Double-A team, placed No. 5. And Springfield, Mass. was No. 12 (especially good when you bear in mind that 241 different markets were listed).

Granted, you can't assume that starting him would have spelled the difference between victory and defeat. Then again, with both his proficient offense and defense, you never know, even in the case of a game that ended in a three-run margin. And over the next five days, the team as a whole is going to get two days off anyway. Granted, they aren't complete off-days given that they are crossing two time zones today, then flying from coast-to-coast on Monday, but it's not as though anybody is exerting himself the same way he would on the field.

Terry Nau of the Pawtucket Times made a good point in today's paper: "The PawSox do not have an off-day until Sept. 1 and will play 28 days in a row. If the minor leaguers had a union, this could be grievance material. Alas, they don’t." But couldn't this be remedied if the IL simply started its season a week earlier? The PawSox started their season six days later than the BoSox, but if their season were to begin right at the start of April, it would result in two critical benefits: 1. Room for more much-needed off-days. 2. Room for more make-ups so that rained-out games have less chance of being cancelled altogether. As it stands now, Pawtucket will finish its season having played 143 games while some fellow playoff contenders will have played the full 144-game schedule. Doesn't seem fair to me.

More importantly, would we be ready for another Red Sox-Yankees playoff battle if it happened this year? Personally, I thought the saga had gotten a little old and was relieved when they didn't meet yet again in 2005 or 2007. But with the passage of time and several personnel moves on both sides, I'd say the rivalry has its buzz back.

With every plate appearance in today's PawSox matinee, Spears essentially had a slightly better outcome. In succession, he struck out, popped out to left, walked, singled and stole a base, then capped it all off with a walk-off homer.

It's starting to sound like Felix Doubront could be back in action before long. When/if he is, who besides me thinks it would be best to return Tony Pena, Jr. to the bullpen?

I will confess I am not much of a message board guy, but I am an avid sportswriter with a penchant for weighing in on New England and Rhode Island sports, so I will stop by here on occasion.