Sunday, February 26, 2012

Fwd: Jacoby Ellsbury Could Hit Third in Red Sox Order As He Attempts to Build Off Career Season - NESN Inside Pitch



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From: NESN Inside Pitch <insidepitch@nesn.com>
Date: February 26, 2012 7:14:27 PM EST
To: <hayes95@comcast.net>
Subject: Jacoby Ellsbury Could Hit Third in Red Sox Order As He Attempts to Build Off Career Season - NESN Inside Pitch
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Jacoby Ellsbury Could Hit Third in Red Sox Order As He Attempts to Build Off Career Season - NESN Inside Pitch
NESN Inside Pitch

02/26/2012
Jacoby Ellsbury Could Hit Third in Red Sox Order As He Attempts to Build Off Career Season Jacoby Ellsbury Could Hit Third in Red Sox Order As He Attempts to Build Off Career Season
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1 comment:

  1. Well if it isn't the game show, "Pick the Batting Order!" This arm-chair managing gets revved up this time of year. I'm surprised there's no pool for guessing the exact order of go on Opening Day. Some genius could potentially make a lot of money, like the Pick 6 at the track!

    Anywho, MLB's number-crunching "Clubhouse Confidential" analyzed the handicap of the lead off spot. They figured the lead off guy's got to be one of the better hitters on the team, but his personal numbers suffer because he's forced to bat first. Aside from the absurdity of having the worst hitter bat first, where else is the lead off guy supposed to hit? Cleanup? Where then does the cleanup guy bat?

    Ellsbury is a bona fide lead off guy. He's proven that the #1 spot fits him to a tee. I'll admit I ate a lot of crow at the beginning of last season when I suggested he hit 9th until he got his sea legs back from the broken rib injury the year before. He didn't need to drop a whole letter grade down to the last spot in the batting order. He's made for lead off.

    Now along comes Bobby V trying to make this team the "Bobby Sox" and floating ideas like hitting Ells third. Who then, dear genius manager, will lead off? I think our esteemed brain-in-charge should carefully examine the numbers for the #1 & #2 batters: Ells & Pedey. They are arguably the best 1-2 hitters in baseball. To tamper with this can only spell disaster. Tito even experiemented having Cindy Crawford bat lead off, but I don't think that went well either.

    So let me play arm chair manager. Here's my order of go:
    1-Ells
    2-Pedey
    3-Gonzo
    4-Ortiz
    5-Youkilis
    6-Crawford/Sweeney/Ross/Aviles (LF)
    7-Salty/Shoppach
    8-Sweeney/Ross/Aviles (RF)
    9-Punto/Aviles (SS)

    Aside from the new names, it looks remarkably like last year's lineup. It wasn't the numbers or productivity that ended up going down the crapper in September; it was the attitude. I don't know what's to be gained by hitting guys in an order that they're unfamiliar with. Can they ultimately adapt? Sure. But figuring out your lineup is wacked is a harder pill to swallow in mid-July than in April. Study the numbers, Bobby!

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