The Red Sox are finally sitting Ortiz. After Papi single-handedly left 12 men on base Thursday night in his latest show of ineptitude, Sox management has done the unthinkable, but probably necessary. David Ortiz will get one day to get his head clear, then two more days (while the team faces lefties) to get ready for Fenway and an attempt at a midseason recovery.
He got Friday night off, and will presumably get the rest of the series and the weekend off as well. He will be back in there Tuesday, though I'm not sure if it will be in the 3 hole or not.
As much as I hate to say this, this is something the Sox really needed to do. I was going to give them another week before moving him down, but they could have done this anytime this month, really. Unfortunately, they don't get Youkilis back for a few more days, so losing Papi couldn't have come at a worse time (assuming he could be a productive bat). I think the Sox will scrape by in their absence, though. Ellsbury is hot, Pedroia, Bay and Lowell are all hitting, and even Drew and Lugo are heating up at the dish. What scares me are the hitters 6-9. In that span, Varitek is probably their biggest offensive threat.
Unfortunately, I am still undecided about Ortiz' comeback. The last few weeks I've found myself not even considering the possibility of a bomb when he steps in. A wall-ball double, maybe, but no jacks. I know he almost certainly will not be returning to the 140 RBI behemoth he once was, but now it's looking like the '08 Ortiz might even be a stretch. I mean, the Sox tried to let him get it together, but if this doesn't work, and if moving him down in the lineup doesn't work, then what...? I guess they could bring up Lars Andersen or Chris Carter (despite the fact that he looked awful up there earlier this season). Frank Thomas doesn't have a home yet... Boston doesn't have a lot of depth options right now to cover for Ortiz' loss. If they lose him, they lose much more than a bat. They lose an important 'L' beside his name in the batting order. They have already lost his presence, the fear he instilled in opposing pitchers.
Right now, I think the Sox just take this in stride. When Youk comes back, the lineup will be back to a strong top six hitters, which is better than a lot of teams. Right now, my number one concern is the starting pitching. You can't win without it. The Sox have been lucky so far this season - a dominant bullpen and timely hitting have made up for the lack of starting pitching, but they can't play six months without a few guys having some sustained success, and expect to win.
Getting seven strong from Beckett tonight would be a huge bonus for the Sox.
Thanks for stopping in,
-Matt
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