Drew and Manny, Sox Warriors.

by Allen Chace on Jun 10, 2008 2:10 PM EDT in Open Thread

You know. We've been told for years that Manny is a soft player, unwilling to play through pain and that his MBM antics result in him missing many games per season. "Being" is, of course, dealing with hamstring issues at the moment, and could easily beg out of the lineup. However, he has missed only one game in recent days, in light of the David Ortiz injury, and has also OPS'd 1.254 over the last two weeks. Hitting and driving in runs is what Manny Being Manny is all about, really. And the fact of the matter is, despite what some CHB's might tell you, he's one of the hardest-working players on the roster and does not exactly relish his time off. He's also become delightfully quotable this season, reassuring us as of late that when Papi is ready, he will not make Ortiz move to LF.

The other side of our now-dynamic duo? Our new #3 hitter and 1 year + RF, JD Drew. Drew was a bit of a disappointment last season, having been expected to give the Sox some power along with excellent on-base skills and the ability to play Fenway's RF. Well, according to most Sox fans for most of the season, two out of three was bad, and Drew was seen as a contract disappointment along with Julio Lugo.

No longer. With Papi out, Drew has been punishing AL pitchers to the tune of a 1.130 OPS over the last month (eh, 28 days). And while I've seen people point out his apparently-lucky .347 BABIP over that timespan, and the likelihood that we'll see some drop-off, I can't disagree. There will be "some" drop-off, but what I think some people are not taking into consideration is that Drew has a career BABIP of .320. He's above-average in that respect anyway, kind of the way Manuel is (.337 BABIP lifetime). So, in that respect, we shouldn't expect the unexpected 1 to our current 1-2 punch in the lineup to just fade out anytime soon.

The only question will be, when Papi comes back, how best to accommodate the resurgent bat of our RF? This is a question we will happily over-dissect when the time comes.

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Comments

Bat him ahead of Youk

Why not? We wouldn’t have 3 righties in a row, and Drew gets on base a lot to bat ahead of Tek and Lugo. Mikey is a good 5th hitter, so I wouldn’t move him.

It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.

by MerryGoByeBye on Jun 10, 2008 3:15 PM EDT reply actions

How about?

Youk, Drew, Manny, Ortiz, Lowell, L’sbury, Pedroia, Tek, Lugo.

Insane, right? It goes R-L-R-L-R-L-R-S-R. Youk concentrates on getting on base, rather than swinging for the fences, which might help with his K #s. The bottom’s a little weird; maybe Lugo should be higher. I still think that Dustin’s more likely to be better than him long-term.

by 0157H7 on Jun 10, 2008 3:29 PM EDT reply actions

Yes. Lots of this, please Tito.

Bottom 9th B:1 S:0 O:0 With Bill Mueller batting, Dave Roberts steals (1) 2nd base.

by britsoxfan on Jun 10, 2008 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Let the over-analysis begin!

I think that that Lowell/Ortiz would neutralize Ellsbury’s speed and base-stealing antics.

I also question whether Drew is benefitting from the Manny-protection or from the confidence boost from sitting in the “best hitter” spot?

Rock me, sexy Jesus...

by nuthinboutnuthin on Jun 10, 2008 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Problems

Youk has made it clear he doesn’t like the lead off spot, why put him there when he produces in virtually any other spot in the lineup. I also think his K’s are so high because he never swings at first pitches so pitchers are just throwing fastballs down the middle and start out the AB 0-1. He is worrying too much about getting the walk and not swinging at good pitches.

Ortiz should still be the #3 spot. Statistically speaking you are supposed to put your best OPS guy at #3 and that is clearly Papi, his numbers aren’t there this year because he slumped and got injured.

by drabidea on Jun 10, 2008 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Lineup

3 should be your best OPS hitter. That is Ortiz. The #4 slot should be your next best slugger, which is Manny. #1 and #2 should be your next best OBP players which are Drew then Jacoby. With the thought of not having 3 lefties in a row, the next best OBP is Youk. You then take the better slugger and put him in the #2 hole. This gives you two options for the 1 and 2 slots, Youk then Drew or Jacoby then Youk. To stay with the R-L alternation, and Ortiz in the #3. This gives us a 1-4 of Jacoby, Youk, Papi, Manny.

The rest of the lineup goes from descending Slugging. Which is Drew, Lowell, Tek, Pedroia, Lugo.

The end lineup is….
Jacoby, Youk, Papi, Manny, Drew, Lowell, Tek, Pedroia, Lugo
L, R, L, R, L, R, S, R, R

The above mentioned criteria for selecting a lineup was taken from many sources including Bill James and Hardball Times.

by drabidea on Jun 10, 2008 6:06 PM EDT reply actions

I like this lineup

though I’d flip Dustin and Tek. Dustin-Lugo-Ellsbury is a relative power drain.

Manny ain't the only bad man.

by tommy.otm on Jun 10, 2008 11:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

I like that line up

"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.

by SoxDevil on Jun 11, 2008 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Couple things.

The Sox current best OPS hitter is Manny (.938), not Ortiz (.840). And Ortiz would be coming off injury, so going forward Manny might be the better hitter of the pair.

Where did you read Youk doesn’t like to lead off? I can’t find any mention of that.

Anyway, I like your line-up, although like Tommy I’d flip Dustin and Tek.

by 0157H7 on Jun 10, 2008 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I've heard it too.

I think Remy said it.

Manny ain't the only bad man.

by tommy.otm on Jun 11, 2008 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd Just like to take a moment to say...

I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so!

You can take the boy outta Boston, but you can't take the Boston outta the boy.

by B Cap on Jun 11, 2008 5:33 AM EDT reply actions