Morning in Toronto
TORONTO - The roof is closed and it's expected to remain closed for this afternoon's game.
Julio Lugo will lead off today. No particular reason except to change things up. Terry Francona said that Lugo really enjoys leading off and hopes this can get him going.
Sean Casey gets the start at first base to give Kevin Youkilis a day off. This will happen from time to time because the Sox don't want Youkilis getting overly tired.
Coco Crisp gets the nod in center field. Francona wants to make sure everyone is playing and would like to keep both Crisp and Ellsbury sharp.
Mike Timlin was throwing this morning. He's still on schedule to throw in a game in Pawtucket on Monday and Wednesday.
Here are the lineups:
Boston:
SS Lugo
2B Pedroia
DH Ortiz
LF Ramirez
3B Lowell
RF Drew
C Varitek
1B Casey
CF Crisp
SP Buchholz
Toronto
SS Eckstein
LF Stairs
RF Rios
CF Wells
DH Thomas
1B Overbay
2B Hill
3B Scutaro
C Zaun
SP Litsch
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
Your comment on keeping Ellsbury and Crisp sharp is off-base. It's springtime and players need to play to get a feel for the pace of the game. Ellsbury needs playing time to find a groove. Looks like Francona is pulling another Willy Mo Pena and, at a critical time in their career, not letting a young player get into a rhythm by playing them sporadically. What a contrast to the infinite patience he showed Pedroia and we know how well that worked. They should get rid of Crisp and go to Ellsbury with Moss as a backup plan. It certainly wouldn't be any worse than last year when Crisp was miserable in the first half.