Where does Bay fit in the Sox lineup?

J.D. Drew hit third and Papi 4th. Lowell 5th and Bay 6th

pedroia
youk
ortiz
lowell
drew
bay
lowrie
v-tek
ellsbury

1. Pedroia
2. Youk
3. Big Papi
4. Lowell
5. Bay
6. Drew
7. Lowrie
8. Varitek
9. Ellsbury/Crisp

Pedroia
Youk
Ortiz
Bay
Drew
Lowell
Lowrie
Tek
CF

I'd start with Lowell batting cleanup and Bay at #5. See how he does. Ptittsburgh to the media/fan intesive Red Sox Nation will be quite a jump. If he performs as we all hope he will, consider swapping them back around and have Bay pickup the cleanup role if he makes the adjustment ok.

This is how i see the line up:
Peds 2ed
Youk 1st
Ortiz DH
Drew RF
Bay LF
Lowell 3B
Lowrie SS
Tek C
Elsburry CF

When Ellsbury is on track:

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Youk
Lowell
Drew
Bay
Varitek
Lowrie

Lowell Drew and Bay are all interchangeable

pedroia
youkilis
drew
ortiz
bay
lowell
lowrie/cora
varitek
ellsbury

yes ortiz has been effective in the 3 hole, but drew has been effective in the 3 hole THIS SEASON. they can tool around with the lineup in the offseason, but this is how it should be done if they want to make it to the postseason.

Drew needs the 3 spot - he's shown us that. Pops moves down as he should to the clean up spot, then our new (RIP Manny Being Manny, we will miss thee) LF goes into the 5 spot, with Mikey and Youk protecting them all. So, in a perfect world today, it would look like...

3 - Drew
4 - Ortiz
5 - Bay
6 - Mikey
7 - Youk

Mi

Pedroia
Youkilis
Ortiz
Drew
Lowell
Bay
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

Good work on your lineup, Fram.

The middle of the lineup MUSTMUSTMUST be: Ortiz, Bay, Drew, Lowell

Anyone thinking that Lowell should be in the cleanup spot is crazy. Bay is one of the best run producers in baseball, people.

Now all we have to do is call up Kottaras or Brown, release Varitek, get the Oki-Doki working again, and find 2 basketballs for MDC.

Just plug Bay into Manny's spot. Ortiz should remain 3rd.
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Bay
Drew
Lowell
Youkilis
Varitek
Lowrie

WHEN ELLSBURY IS PLAYING WELL:

Jacoby or Coco
Bay
Ortiz
Drew
Youkilis
Lowell
Tek
Lugo/Lowrie/Cora

Pedroia
Youkilis
Drew
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Lowrie/Lugo/Cora
Varitek
Ellsbury

The only thing off with this is the 3-4 lefties, but i guess there can be a little tweaking there.

1. D. Pedroia, 2B
2. K. Youkilis, 1B
3. J. Bay, LF
4. D. Ortiz, DH
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. M. Lowell, 3B
7. J. Lowrie/A. Cora, SS
8. J. Varitek/K. Cash, C
9. J. Ellisbury, C. Crisp, CF

My feeling is Ortiz will protect Bay's bat in the lineup; if it is as line-drive friendly as people say, this will produce more RBI totals for Ortiz; If Bay is as patient as people say, putting him up towards the top of the lineup is a good way to drive up pitchers' pitch counts. Perhaps the more pressing question Terry faces now is how do you deal with your 7-8-9 black hole in the lineup?

Just wanted to post a correction to Mr. LeFort . . . Youk has more RBIs thus far this season (70) than Bay.

B.com: Good catch Lucas, it's been adjusted.

1 - Elsbury
2 - Pedroia
3 - Drew
4 - Ortiz
5 - Bay
6 - Lowell
7 - Youkilis
8 - Varitek
9 - Lowrie / Cora / Lugo

1. Pedroia
2. Drew
3. Youkilis
4. Ortiz
5. Lowell
6. Bay
7. Varitek
8. Lowrie
9. Ellsbury

Sean McAdam said today that Jason Bay is hitting in the 5th hole for now and that either Youkilis or Lowell are hitting 4th. He said they are doing this to try and take the pressure off of replacing Manny.

Bay is equal to the Manny of today. He bats clean up. Period. Even better would be to move Drew to 3 and slide Ortiz and Bay down (not feasible politically).

1. Pedroia - 2B
2. Youkillis 1B
3. Ortiz DH
4. Lowell 3B
5. Drew RF
6. Bay LF
7. Lowrie SS
8. Varitek C
9. Ellsbury CF

Pedroia and Youkillis batted 1-2 in the playoffs last October and were very productive. If Bay has a hot start, I'd flip him in the order with Lowell, keeping Drew in the No. 5 spot. The bottom of the order is still light, but at least you can still utilize Ellsbury's speed at the No. 9 spot ahead of the patient 1-2 hitters.

The key to this order is 4-5-6 (Lowell, Drew, Bay). If those three guys get it going, the Red Sox offense will be fine. Lowell and Drew each had a tough July and need to reverse slumping trends.

Other than the top 2 guys, I prefer the left, right, left, right approach that forces the opposing manager to use up his situational relievers. I'd play Crisp against lefties to keep Ellsbury fresher down the stretch and I'd spell Lowell (who may be tiring) a little more in the 2nd half with Casey, who needs more at bats to keep his hitting edge. Crisp or Ellsbury should be the primary pinchrunner-defensive replacement late in games the Sox are ahead, with Casey your key pinch hitter off the bench in games your behind. The Sox still need a right-handed bat off the bench.

lets first realize lowell is over rated, hes not a number four hitter(or a number 5 either). he provides no protection for papi or anyone else. drew plays great with protection and should be bumped up and hit infront of papi...i love lowell but hes a number 6 hitter (hes like this generations john valentin)
best lineups

Pedrioa, youk, bay, drew, papi, lowell, lowrie, tek, elsberry
or
elsberry, pedrioa, drew, papi, youk, bay, lowell, lowrie, tek
l

1-Pedroia
2-Youkilis
3-Drew
4-Ortiz
5-Lowell
6-Bay
7-Ellesbury/Crisp
8-Lowrie
9-Varitek

btw any lineup is great that doesnt have lugo in it!!!!!

3rd Drew
4th Ortiz
5th Lowell
6th Bay
7th Youk
8th Tek

If Papi stays at 3, Bay should hit 4th. It is a deep lineup of hitters.

In an ideal world?
A L-R-L lineup looks like

Jacoby CF
Dusty 2B
Papi DH
Lowell 3B
Drew RF
Youk 1B
J-Bay LF

As they're hitting now:

Dusty
Drew / Youk
Ortiz
Lowell
Drew / Youk
J-Bay
SS
Tek
CF

I only hesitate to bat Tek 9th b/c its nice to have speed together in the lineup. Also, depending on pitching, Youk and Drew can be interchanged.
Tek C

Pedroia
Drew
Youkilis
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

1. Ellsbury - CF
2. Youkilis - 1B
3. Ortiz - DH
4. Bay - LF
5. Lowell - 3B
6. Drew - RF
7. Lowrie - SS
8. The Pitcher (Ortiz hits for Tek. Can the pitchers bats be any slower? Sorry JV.)
9. Pedroia - 2B

1. Drew (the natural choice: best OBP on the team, some speed on bases)
2. Pedroia (perfect #2 hitter)
3. Youkilis (gets on base and hits for average)
4. Ortiz
5. Bay
6. Lowell
7. Lowrie
8. Varitek
9. Ellsbury/Crisp

Pedroia
Drew
Ortiz
Youk
Bay
Lowell
Ellsbury
Tek
Lowrie

Pedroia
Youk
Drew
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
CF platoon
Lowrie
C

Pedroia
Drew
Youkilis
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

Want Lowell batting sixth because he's an RBI guy, and not as much of an on base guy as others. Shouldn't be afraid to bat Papi fourth -- just a better chance of runners being on base when he gets up.

I've looked at how the players bat in each position. This would probably be our best bet:

1. Ellsbury/Crisp
2. Pedroia
3. Ortiz
4. Bay
5. Drew
6. Youkilis
7. Lowell
8. Varitek
9. Lugo Lowrie

After deep thought i think the only thing that makes since is Youk # 4...WITHOUT QUESTION THE HARDEST OUT IN THE LINEUP......sorry i was screaming.

I seem to remember that Ortiz and Manny had both wanted to bat #4 some time ago, but Papi acquiesed. I would go to Papi and ask him where he wants to play. My guess is he will say 4th. Based on that, here's two lineups, one for August 1, and the one I think they will have when the season ends.

1. Pedrioa
2. Youkilis
3. Drew
4. Ortiz
5. Lowell
6. Bay
7. Varitek
8. Lowrie
9. Ellsbury

And September

1. Ellsbury
2. Pedrioa
3. Bay
4. Ortiz
5. Bay
6. Drew
7. Lowell
8. Varitek
9. Lowrie (or Lugo)

1. Pedroia 2. Youkilis 3. Drew 4. Oriz 5. Bay 6. Lowell 7. Tek 8. Lowrie/Lugo 9. Crisp/Ellsbury. When Pedroia rests Ellsbury/Crisp lead off and Cora hits 9th.

Drew returns to the 3 spot where he thrived in front of a big bat, now Papi's. It is time for Papi to claim the 4 spot, he is the best all around hitter with significant power. Bay's power and slugging % (career .515 vs .529 for Ramirez) is hopefully enough to force opposing pitchers to pitch to Papi.

1. Pedroia 2B - Bats: RIGHT
2. Youk 1B - Bats: RIGHT
3. Ortiz DH - Bats: LEFT
4. Lowell 3B - Bats: RIGHT
5. Drew RF - Bats: LEFT
6. Bay LF - Bats: RIGHT
7. Ellsbury/Crisp CF - Bats: LEFT / Bats: S
8. Varitek C - Bats: S
9. Lowrie SS - Bats: S

Until/If Ellsbury starts hitting:

Pedroia
Drew
Youk
Ortiz
Lowell
Bay -- if he hits, move him to 4
Ellsbury
Tek
SS

1) ellsbury - stick with him here - eventually he'll be fine
2) Pedroia - where he's best
3) Drew - proven he can produce here
4) Ortiz - the best there is
5) Lowell - solid
6) Bay
7) Youkilis - wow
8) Varitek
9) Lowrie

drew third papi fourth bay 5'th and then stretch the lineup with youk and lowel who are interchangeable then pretend the last 3 spots in the order dont exhist and simply turn the game off when those guys are up and flip back for the next inning
and dont call me a pinkhat
ive been watching this team since valentin and lowell is no valentin
he's much better

Line Up

Kevin Youkilis
Dustin Pedroia
David Ortiz
Jason Bay
JD Drew
Mike Lowell
Jason Varitek
Jed Lowrie
Coco Crisp - Jacoby Elsbury

im pretty sure the line up is gonna look somewhat like this
1 Pedroia
2 Ellisbury
3 YOUUUK
4 big papi
5 J.D
6 mikey
7 Bay for now,lets see how he handles the pressure
8 lowrie
9 varitek

i think ellisbury could be a safe bet knowing that he doesnt take the burden of being theleadoff man but hes still up there at #2

1 - pedroia
2 - drew
3 - youk
4 - ortiz
5 - lowell
6 - bay
7 - lowrie
8 - ellsbury / coco
9 - varitek

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Jed Lowrie, SS
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Youkilis 1B
Ortiz DH
Bay LF
Drew RF
Lowell 3B
Lowrie SS
Varitek C
Id hit Youk 3 to give him strong protection (cause Ortiz is behind him) Bay 5 to help him get acclamated to red sox nation id hit drew before Lowell to keep the left right switch going and ellsbury leadoff because hes bound to heat up eventually

With Ellsbury
1-Pedroia
2-Youk
3-Drew
4-Ortiz
5-Lowell
6-Bay
7-Varitek
8-Ellsbury
9-Lowrie

With Crisp
1-Crisp
2-Pedroia
3-Drew
4-Ortiz
5-Lowell
6-Youk
7-Bay
8-Varitek
9-Lowrie

Ortiz's #3 spot is quite frankly, sacred. Losing Manny is going to be a bit of a challenge, add that to being moved and that might just be too much change.

Bay also needs to be given a chance. Hes better offensively in terms of numbers than most of the 40man. Plus maybe he will rise further to the occasion of playing for a team like the Red Sox instead of the Pirates. That and its no secret that hes a replacement for Manny.

Pedroia, Youk, Bay, Papi, Drew, Lowell, Cora/Lowrie, Tek, Ellsbury (Until he gets hot)

1. Pedroia
2. Youk
3. Ortiz
4. Bay
5.

When Ellsbury is hot:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury - CF
2. Dustin Pedroia - 2B
3. David Ortiz - DH
4. Jason Bay - LF
5. Kevin Youkilis - 1B
6. JD Drew - RF
7. Mike Lowell - 3B
8. Jed Lowrie/Alex Cora/Julio Lugo - SS
9. Jason Varitek - C

Bay came here for big things..let him been even bigger in the cleanup spot..he looks like a confidence kid, hopefully big market team would not affect him, it would make him only better

When Ellsbury is not playing well:

1. Dustin Pedroia - 2B
2. Kevin Youkilis - 1B
3. David Ortiz - DH
4. Jason Bay - LF
5. JD Drew - RF
6. Mike Lowell - 3B
7. Jed Lowrie/Alex Cora/Julio Lugo - SS
8. Jason Varitek - C
9. Jacoby Ellsbury - CF

1. Pedroia
2. Youk
3. Bay
4. Papi
5. Drew
6. Lowell
7. Lowrie/cora
8. Tek
9. Ellesbury/Crisp

Bay should bat just ahead of Varitek. The Sox have no cleanup hitter now.

1.ellsbury
2.pedroia
3.drew
4.ortiz
5.bay
6.youkilis
7.lowell
8.lowrie
9.varitek

he should be playing in Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, or LA right now Not for Boston.

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Youkilis
Bay
Lowell
Drew
Lowrie
Varitek

unless it's a Lefty pitcher in which case I go with

Pedroia
Youkilis
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Drew
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

Ellsbury is our leadoff hitter... the pedroia move was only temporary. Francona may start wait bay further down in the lineup, but after a week or 2, bay will definitely be in the 4 hole. The only thing that worries me about him is he is very poor with 2 outs and men in scoring position (.212).

1. Ellisbury
2. Pedroia
3. Ortiz
4. Bay
5. Lowell
6. Youkilis
7. Drew
8.Varitek
9. Lowrie

Hmmm. The Sox have no lead off batter, no cleanup hitter and no 7, 8 or 9 hitter. Also no center fielder, no short stop and no catcher. Wait 'til next year or next decade.

I disagree with some of these lineups - Bay has more homers than Manny. Try him out in the 4-hole and see how he does. Think of how he may perform if he is protected by Lowell or Youks, depending on how you flip them in the order for a lefty/righty combination against lefty/righty pitchers. Maybe Ellsbury would hit better if he didn't have Boras as his agent. Who knows?

My lineup:

1-Pedroia - 4
2-Youks - 3
3-Drew- 9
4-Ortiz - DH
5-Bay - 7
6-Lowell - 5
7-Tek - 2
8 -Lowrie - 6
9-Ellsbury- 8

6-

I have a feeling this trade is going to uplift the Sox more than people are saying.

Ideally, this would be my order
Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youk, Ortiz, Bay, Drew, Lowell, Tek, Lowrie.

Youk and Pedroia have shown that they're two of the best in the league, so Ortiz doesn't necessarily have to bat third anymore. He's more feared by opposing pitchers than Youk and Pedroia, but you see who manufactured the only two runs against Lackey the other night? This lineup has a nice mix of left and right, plus adds more stability to the bottom of the order that's been struggling so bad all season

1 Pedroia
2 Drew
3 Youkilis
4 Ortiz
5 Lowell
6 Bay
7 Lowrie
8 Veritek
9 Ellsbury

I despise the 7-8-9 black hole in the line-up . . . why not just move Lowell or Bay or Drew into the 7 or 8 spot? (I know, I'm dreaming . . . but hey, dreaming is free, right?)

I also like the idea of mixing up the left- and right-handed hitters . . . Ortiz / Bay / Drew could work well in this regard . . .

1. Pedroia - R
2. Youkilis - R
3. Ortiz - L
4. Bay - R
5. Drew - L
6. Ellsbury/Coco - L or S
7. Lowell - R
8. Lowrie/Cora - L or S
9. Varitek - S

1. Ellsbury 2. Pedroia 3. Bay 4. Papi 5. Youk 6. Drew 7. Lowell 8. Lowrie 9. Tek

1-Pedroia
2-Drew
3-Ortiz
4-Youkillis
5-Lowell
7,8,9-Lowrie,Ellsbury/Crisp,Varitek

sooner or later either Ortiz, Lowell, Drew, or (hopefully) Bay will have to bat clean-up.

A lot of people are putting Drew and ortiz back to back... then a lefty specialist goes right through the heart of the order. For now, I would bat lowell, drew, bay as 4,5,6 (R, L, R). Adjust as necessary after that.

Hey Red Soxs fans ya'll just got swept twice by the Angels. How ya like them apples? No mas Manny! No mas World Series!

These lineups point out the real problem here - it's not Manny one way or the other, or JayBay.

It's Ellsbury. Get him straight, and you can make out a potent lineup any way you like. He's the Number One reason the team's been in such an awful funk.

I'd add Varitek, but he is what he is at this point. I'm pretty resigned (as are the Sox I think) to his contribution or lack of same at the plate. But you can't have TWO big holes in Varitek and Ellsbury, especially stacked on top of each other.

1. Cora
2. Bay
3. Cash
4. Kotteras
5. Lugo
6. Bonds (Barry)
7. Varitek
8. Mirabelli
9. Lowrie

I think Theo should ask Commissioner Selig if it would be possible to bring Dougie Mirabelli back and make him the DH for all nine players. In other words since we've lost Manny what's the point in even hitting any longer. We lost the best hitter the Red Sox ever had sans Ted Williams. If Selig is not cool with this idea than here is what I propose. Have Dougie and Tek alternate and if either of them gets on base and needs to hit again then Bud should allow a replacement runner each time they make a hit. I would suggest that the replacement runners be designated as Manny Delcarmen, Curt Schilling and Alex Reimer (the kid who has the Red Sox Podcast on Mysportradio.com and refers to himself as the 15th Year Old Phenom.

1 Ellsbury
2 Pedroia
3 Ortiz
4 Bay
5 Youk
6 Drew
7 Lowell
8 Lowrie
9 Tek

I don't feel that Mikey Lowell is over rated. He filled in just fine in the 4 spot when Manny was out, and he would do fine. I don't feel that he's tiring either, he, as well as a lot of the other guys are just in a bad place right now. Could have been with all the stuff going on with Manny. Now that he's gone, things will hopefully change. I say put Mikey in the 4 spot, and see what happens, and if it doesn't work out, put him back in the 5 spot. My lineup would be the following:

1-Pedroia
2-Youkilis
3-Ortiz
4-Lowell
5-Bay
6-Drew
7-Ellesbury or Crisp
8-Varitek
9-Lowrie

Bay hits .190 against lefties. .190! He can't be next to Drew or Papi in the lineup.

Pedroia
Drew
Ortiz
Youk
Bay
Lowell
Lowrie
Tek
Ellsbury

Theo sucks as a GM.

He is just a yuppie who thinks too much.

Anyone could have been the GM when we won the world series.

John Henry is just queer for this guy.

Yes we needed to get rid of Manny, but two prospects plus 7m. Talk about a desperate move.

I say he's good at drafting young talent and running the farm system. Maybe make him director of player development but someone else needs to take care of trades.

Carlos Fernandez-Oliva
Greenville Drive Roster (why not?) Without Manny the Sox are now a Class A Time. Thanks Theo for selling us out!

1. Ryan Kalish
2. Che-Hsuan Lin
3. David Mailman
4. David Marks
5. Jered Stanley
6. Yahmed Yema
7. Michael Almanzar
8. Manuel Arambarris
9. Tomas Di Benedetto

1 - Ellsbury
2 - Pedroia
3 - Drew
4 - Ortiz
5 - Bay
6 - Lowell
7 - Youkilis
8 - Varitek
9 - Lowrie / Cora / Lugo

Pedroia
Drew
Ortiz
Bay
Youkilis
Lowell
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

Whatever the lineup Terry Francona chooses, Pedroia should not lead off in. He is the consumate 2-whole hitter. He loves to first pitch swing, and hes a great contact hitter. Thats how he does his damage. He is perfect wehre is and maybe the best in the bigs batting second. His productivity is orgasmic. Unfortunately theres no prototype leadoff hitter infront of him(Ellsbury, Im lookin at you) but insert Bay 3-4-5 even without Manny is intimidating. Personally I like Drew, Papi, Bay, Youk. But to each his own

1. CF
2. pedroia
3. drew
4. papi
5. youk
6. bay
7. lowell
8. tek
9. SS

now that manny's gone ortiz is the main man. he's got the most tenure of the elite hitters and should bat 4th, he can handle it just fine. drew has mashed while hitting 3 this year, as has youk in the 5 slot. and mikey lowell does better the lower he is in the order. batting 6 will put next to no pressure on bay out of the blocks.

Can the guy throw some middle relief?? that's what we really needed. I sure hope the Rays can knock the Yanks out of the playoffs.

statistics are how players hit in that respective spot in the lineup. This is the best matchup (statistically), as far as I can tell
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (.266/.329/.360) --> will get better with more experience; has the tools
2. Dustin Pedroia (.319/.366./.451)
3. David Ortiz (.303/.408/.609)
4. Jason Bay (.288/.388/.525) or 5 (.331/.431/.562)
5. J.D. Drew (.304/.410/.542) or 4 (.281/.389/.471)
6. Kevin Youkilis (.321/.390/.593)
7. Mike Lowell (.280/.340/..458)
8. Jason Varitek (.278..360/.458)
9. Julio Lugo (.285/.353/.385) or Jed Lowrie

Ethan, please do a little research before spewing your ignorance to the rest of Red Sox Nation.

Yes, Bay is having a bad year against LHP, but for his career he is a .276/.389/.515/.904 hitter against them, which is dominant. His bad numbers this year are just an 84 at-bat small sample anomaly.

Again, thanks for your time and effort.

Pedroia
Drew
Ortiz
Youkilis
Bay
Lowell
Lowrie
Varitek
Ellsbury

Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay and Ortiz (in limited at bats) have been hitting well in July. Drew, Lowell, Varitek and Ellsbury have been hitting poorly in July. Thus, I wouldn't move Lowell up. Drew might get hot again hitting in front of Ortiz, and Youkilis. This is my line up for August 1st, it should change with Bay getting more comfortable, which will give them the opportunity to move Youkilis if necessary.

I am hoping that Magadan will help Bay through his weird lefty problem. If his swing is like Youk's things should work out.
Pedroia
Drew
Bay
Ortiz
Youk
Lowell
Lowrie
Vtek
Ellsbury/Crisp

PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME!!
As a baseball fan that is also a lifelong Angels fan, I am baffled at the BoSox fans. I am not here to toot any horns, but I want to know what goes on in the minds of you fans.
I usually read local websites and blogs of the Angels’ competitors just to get a fresh perspective. I must admit the Bosox’s fans walk away as the most arrogant, irritating and delusional of them all (of course I am generalizing). Several days ago, after the Angels swept Boston in LA and dominated the Sox the first two games of the series and the poster said: “it doesn’t matter, this is not the post season, wait till the playoffs, they can’t beat us.” With this attitude, I have become a Yankee fan by default. There is very little love for Boston outside of the New England area (excluding expatriates in other cities).
How ironic, being a Boston fan and given their “glorious” history of post seasons failures and playing second fiddle to the Yankees for almost a century, the last thing you want to do is to dwell in the past. I do applaud and respect the Red Sox, as they are the reigning world champs, but clearly they have dropped a step or two in 2009. The numbers don’t lie, the Angels are a far better team than last year (and healthier too!!) and I would bet the farm on them should they play Boston again…that is…if they even make the playoffs. But still, it appears that the New Englanders are so blinded by their passion and loyalty to their beloved Sox, that they cannot, for once, be objective and give credit where credit is due.
I am glad that the Bostonians are looking ahead and taking the Angels lightly, because being complacent will be their downfall. Boston have bigger things to worry about….such as the Marlins and Yankees. Because of these two teams, there is a good chance they will never face the Angels in the post season. The Sox’s best chance was just traded to the Dodgers today.
Manny Ramirez – I was sad to hear of this trade. I was hoping for another Angels vs. Red Sox playoff with both teams at full strength…not like last year.
SO BOSTON FANS….PLEASE ENLIGTEN ME…CAN YOU BE OBJECTIVE?

Bay needs to be eased into this. He's going from freakin' PIttsburgh to Boston. That's a huge, huge adjustment. I bet Tito bats him 6th at least for the first few weeks:

Pedroia
Drew
Ortiz
Youk (I love Youk, but watch this go to his head in a hurry)
Lowell
Bay
Lowrie
Tek
Ellsbury

1.Ellsbury
2.Pedroia
3.Ortiz
4.Youkilis
5.Lowell
6.Bay
7.Drew
8.Varitek
9.Lowrie

1. J. Ellisbury, C. Crisp, CF
2. D. Pedroia, 2B
3. J. Bay, LF
4. D. Ortiz, DH
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. M. Lowell, 3B
7. K. Youkilis, 1B
8. J. Varitek/K. Cash, C
9. J. Lowrie/A. Cora, SS

Why weren't we trying to get Pudge and his .329 BA ? Whatever the line-up, the Sox are going nowhere unless Drew and Ellsbury get it going again. Also, why do we keep playing Cora when Lowrie needs as much time as he can get ? Cora should be on the bench with Lugo unless Lowrie stops breathing. Lastly, anytime the Sox get down by more than 2 runs we should pinch hit Casey for Varitek and put Cash in there. (If the Sox fall from the race the Sox need to give Varitek the rest of the year off and bring up one of their prospects to see what they can do....an average under .220 just doesn't make it). Here's the line-up I feel is best:

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Drew
Papi
Bay
Youk
Lowell
Varitek
Lowrie

For this team to be successful the order needs to start w/ Ellsbury. Lately to have him in the bottom of the order w/ Tek, & Lowerie has been just awful. The three of them combined that is. For this team to be successful putting Ellsbury @ the leadoff spot is essential. By alternating between lefties and righties wil give any opposing pitcher trouble and a manager added problems going to his bullpen. In order for this team to get out of this little rut and make a push towards the postseason this lineup would be the cure.
The order should be as follows:

1. Ellsbury CF (left)
2. Pedroia 2B (right)
3. Ortiz DH (left)
4. Bay LF (right)
5. Drew RF (left)
6. Lowell 3B (right)
7. Youk 1B (right)
8. Tek C (switch)
9. Lowerie/ Lugo SS (left, right)

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Youkilis
Ortiz
Bay
Drew
Lowell
Tek
Lowrie

1. Pads (R)
2. Drew (L)
3. Bay (R)
4. Ortiz (L)
5 Youk (R)
6. Lowell

And to quote Gilligan's island, "and the rest" ...

Still gotta go with the righty-lefty setup in the top 5, it pays off in the long run ...

Bay is going to crush homers over the monster with Papi behind him ... just give hime some time to adjust. Papi IMO is the better 4rth hitter, always thought ManHe and Papi should have been reversed.

Lets not forget Drew was huge is the 3rd spot too ... lots of options, this team will be different, but the hitting will be there. Wporry more about the pitching.

Pedroia
Youk
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Drew
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

Once Jacoby is back on track

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
RF J.D Drew
DH David Ortiz
LF Jason Bay
3B Mike Lowell
1B Kevin Youkilis
C Jason Varitek
SS Jed Lowrie

Lowrie would be ahead of V-Tek but he is more likely to get on bas for the top of the order

Once Jacoby is back on track

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
RF J.D Drew
DH David Ortiz
LF Jason Bay
3B Mike Lowell
1B Kevin Youkilis
C Jason Varitek
SS Jed Lowrie

Lowrie would be ahead of V-Tek but he is more likely to get on bas for the top of the order

Hello... Number One. JD Drew excelled at the three hole and thats where he belongs. Big Papi in the four hole and Bay in the Five hole.....

Just plug him in - he has been hitting clean up most of the season
Pedroia
Youk
Papi
Bay
Drew
Lowell
Varitek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

LA Boy, your post is completely irrelevant to this thread. If you want to blow hot air, go do it in an appropriate thread.

Now, back to the thread:

1. Pedroia (better at #2 but we don't have the luxury right now)
2. Drew (good OBP and OK speed)
3. Yook (batting before Papi, can he hit even better?)
4. Papi (#3 is not 'sacred', batting him anywhere but #4 is just plain dumb)
5. Bay (I like Mikey, but I like Bay's numbers better)
6. Lowrie (OK, Mikey probably could be here, but I want more pop down the lineup)
7. Lowell (at #7? Sweet..)
8. Tek (least damaging spot for the automatic out)
9. Jacoby (Please get better soon, we need you up top)

There it is and a full L-R-L all the way through the 8 spot

vs. R
1. Ped
2. Drew
3. Youk
4. Papi
5. Lowell
6. Bay
7. Tek
8. Lowrie
9. Ells

Vs. L
1. Ped
2. Youk
3. Papi
4. Lowell
5. Bay
6. Drew
7. Tek
8. Lowrie
9. Ells

Since V-Tek can't hit the ball right now I'd put him at 9th

Pedroia
Youk
Papi
Lowell
Bay
Drew
Lowrie
Ellsbury
V-tek

We weren't trying to get Pudge because we already have two adequate catchers. Sure he's hitting .300, but he has no pop and his defense (aside from his arm) isn't all that great. I was surprised the Yankees gave up one of their key bullpen arms for him.

Anyway, the lineup will change once Ellsbury gets going again, but for tonight, I think Tito will ease Bay in. I think we'll see this:

Pedroia
Youkilis
Ortiz
Lowell
Drew
Bay
Lowrie
Varitek
Ellsbury

With maybe a swap of Bay and Drew. Given Tito's track record, there's no way he's hitting Drew and Ortiz back-to-back. That's just asking for a situational lefty in the late innings.

Pedroia
Youk
Drew
Bay
Ortiz
Lowell
Lowrie
Tek
Ells

1. Pedroia 2B - Bats: RIGHT
2. Lowrie SS - Bats: S
3. Youk 1B - Bats: RIGHT
4. Ortiz DH - Bats: LEFT
5. Bay LF - Bats: RIGHT
6. Varitek C - Bats: S
7. Drew RF - Bats: LEFT
8. Lowell 3B - Bats: RIGHT
9. Ellsbury/Crisp CF - Bats: LEFT / Bats: S

Something a bit different, but just as effective.

I think based on the intense media scrutiny of Boston, Bay should be hitting 3, 5 or 6. I'd like to see Ortiz in the 4 spot.

Since Ellsbury's offense has been non-existent, we now have 2 positions, SS & CF, occupied by not-ready-for-prime-time hitters...or 3 if you count Catcher.

Ellsbury has to hit 9th if he's not at lead-off. Same with Crisp--thankfully we won't have to endure both of them in the line-up at the same time!--so Pedroia leads off.

Lowry's at-bats have been decent, so why not give him a shot at the 2 hole in front of Bay, see if he can improve his OBP?

Bay hitting 3rd gives him protection in the form of Papi, who is now the clean-up hitter, period.

Youkilis, who hits wherever you put him, goes down to give the line-up some balance, and we've got a nice righty-lefty thing going.

1. Pedroia (R)
2. Lowry (S)
3.Bay (R)
4. Ortiz (L)
5. Lowell (R)
6. Drew (L)
7. Youkilis (R)
8. Varitek (S)
9. Ellsbury/Crisp (L/S)

1. jacoby
2. pedroia
3. papi
4. mikey
5. drew
6. youk
7. coco
8. tek
9. lowrie

Jason Who?

LA Boy. You just made yourself look like the biggest retard for putting Marlins in your comment. You're not even a rea baseball fan so just go away now, thanks.

1.Ellsbury
2.Pedroia
3.Drew
4.Ortiz
6.Bay
7.Lowell
8.Cora
9.Cash

Drew is hitting .326 with no one on and .236 with runner on base. He shouldnt be batting third. Bay has produced good numbers and spent his career batting 4th on terrible teams for 5 years.Keep Papi 3rd and Bay 4th. Unless the pressure gets to him there is no reason he can't produce in Boston.

The one think I don't like in most of these lineups is that JD Drew is hitting 5,6, or 7. Also, if you want to give Jason Bay the best chance to succeed, you bat him before Papi.

Pedroia R
Drew L
Bay R
Ortiz L
Lowell R
Youk R
Lowrie S
Tek S
Ellsbury L

1. Ellsbury CF (L)
2. Pedroia 2B (R)
3. Bay LF (R)
4. Ortiz DH (L)
5. Youkilis 1B (R)
6. Drew RF (L)
7. Lowell 3B (R)
8. Varikek C (S)
9. Lowrie SS (S)

Some of you keeping Bay in the clean-up spot don't realize that he has a horrendous BA agaisnt LHP. When they're facing RHP I can see putting him in the 4-hole, but against LHP it's preposterous.

Pedey
Drew
Youk
Big Papi
Lowell
Bay
Lowrie
Capn
JE

Ryan...

From Nick Cafardo's piece:

"It may be an aberration, but Bay hasn't hit lefthanders very well. This season he's hit .190 against them in 84 at-bats while batting .307 against righthanders. Nobody has a real answer as to why. Former A's manager Ken Macha, a Pittsburgh resident, has a theory: Bay hits much like Kevin Youkilis, with wrist action that sometimes makes it tougher to hit a lefty's changeup."

Sometimes pitchers find a weakness and exploit it. Could is be an aberration? Sure. Regardless, I wouldn't put him in the 4 whole just to avoid the direct Manny comparisons. The Sox use kid gloves often, and this is a prime time for them to do it.

1. Ellsbury
2. Pedroia
3. Drew
4. Ortiz
5. Lowell
6. Varitek
7. Youk
8. Lowrie
9. Bay

I know, it's a little unconventional. But I think it eliminates that black hole we used to have at the end of the lineup, Varitek seems more comfortable higher up in the order (surrounded by Lowell and Youk could help too), and I like the idea of having Bay in the nine hole serving that little boost at the end ala Bill Mueller.

Pedroia 2b
Drew rf
Ortiz dh
Youk 1b
Bay lf
Lowell 3b
Lowrie ss
Varitek c
Ellsbury cf

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Drew
Ortiz
Youk
Lowell
Bay
Lowrie
Tek

Pedroia
Youk
Drew
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Ellsbury
Tek
Lowrie

Bae couldn't hit clean up at Pawtucket! He was the third best hitter on the Pirates..
We gave up Manny, Hansen, Moss and 2 first round draft picks (which we would have got for Manny if he signed elsewhere) for this guy that hits .219 with runners in scoring position against national league pitching.. Yep Matt Clement will replace
Pedro and Coco will make us forget Johnny Damon....sure... When I pay $150.00 to go to a major league game I want to see major leaguers not a handful of guys (Ellsbury, Masterson, Lowrie and Bucholz) who should be honing thier skill in AAA.

Shame on Larry and Theo for letting us get to this.

Pedroia 2b
Youk 1b
Ortiz dh
Lowell 3b
Bay lf
Drew rf
Lowrie ss
Varitek c
Crisp cf

Drew's #'s exploded once he was moved in the 3 spot so I see the lineup as follows

1) Ellsbury (I'm optimistic he wil regain his touch and be the leadoff hitter we all hoped for)
2) Pedroia (Natural #2 hitter)
3) JD Drew
4) Papi
5) Lowell
6) Bay
7) Youks
8) "O' Captain my Captain" ' 'Tek
9) Lowrie (Here's hoping Lugo is out for the season then off the team next year!)

This is the best possible line-up. You have lefty - righty almost all the way down. not too much pressure on Bay right away

1. Ellsbury - CF
2. Pedroia - 2B
3. Ortiz - DH
4. Lowell - 3B
5. Drew - RF
6. Bay - LF
7. Youkilis - 1B
8. Lowrie - SS
9. Varitek - C

1. Pedroia- RH
2. Youkilis- RH
3. Drew- LH
4. Ortiz- LH
5. JBay- RH
6. Lowell- RH
7. Varitek- S (maybe try to break up his slump/decrease in hitting ability)
8.Lowrie- S
9. Ellsbury- LH

Pedroia and Youk were very productive in these roles during the post season, and we've all seen what Drew did in the 3-hole in June and Ortiz will provide even more production for him. Bay can get comfortable batting in the 5th slot and Lowell is there in case he faulters. V-Tek needs to snap out of it as does Jacoby because we need them now more than ever.

Couple of things to keep in mind. Francona likes going lefty-righty(or righty-lefty) in the lineup especially at the 3,4 spots. For ex., he's not likely to put Drew at 3 and Papi at 4. Also, he usually wants his better, more experienced hitters closer to the top of the lineup so that your better hitters will likely get more at bats. Lastly, he probably doesn't want to put immediate pressure on Bay by sticking him in the cleanup spot. So even though Bay has more homers that Lowell, he's likely to prefer Lowell at the 4 spot protecting Papi, because Lowell's a proven veteran that's been thru the pressure and the wars here before. That being said here's what I see him going with:
1.Pedroia
2.Youk
3.Ortiz
4.Lowell
5.Drew
6.Bay
7.Varitek
8.Lowrie
9.Ellsbury

My Lineup:

Pedroia 2B
Yuk 1B
Bay LF
Ortiz DH
Drew RF
Lowell 3B
Tek C
Ellsbury CF
Lowrie SS

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Bay LF
Drew RF
Lowell 3B
Youkilis 1B
Varitek C
Lowrie SS

Lets put some pressure on everyone who isnt performing right now and take pressure off the new guy who will take some time to adjust to being in packed house every night.

Youk doesnt care wherehe hits and he leads off well. Petey is build to move him forward. Leave papi where he rocks, Mike lowell may not be a natural clean up guy but he is mr. consistancy - let him clean up. Keep Drew where he has been doing well all season (until everyone went into a MARz-induced funk at the allstar break), New Guy after him, get ellsbury on base and force Teck to start swinging the bat to move him up, give Lowrie a chance to sine just intime to get back to Youk to clear the bases.

Youk
Petey
Papi
Lowell
Drew
Bay
Ellsbury
Teck
Lowrie

When wills Ellsbury realize they throw a fastball right down the middle on the first pitch cause they know he'll take it. They they throw him junk and he strikes out, grounds out weakly or pops up. Time for him to look for that fastball and wack it!

Pedroia (2B)
Drew (RF)
Youk (1B)
Ortiz (DH)
Lowell (3B)
Varitek (C)
Lowrie (SS)
Ellsbury (CF)
Bay (LF)

Switched up Left and Right handed bats a bit, moved Tek up some to try and get him back on track, and put Bay in the 9 hole to allow him to ease into the high pressure of Boston baseball. I also like the idea of of T.J. in a previous post regarding Bay as a boost in the 9 spot ala Bill Mueller.

Pedroia
Youk
Ortiz
Drew
Lowell
Bay
Lowrie
Tek
Ellsbury

Hey LA Boy - we'll see you in the playoffs - again!

Lineup

Pedroia
Youk
Drew
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Tek
Lowrie
Ellsbury

Bat Pedroia lead off, Youkilis second, Ortiz third, Lowell cleanup, Drew 5th, Bay 6th, Lowrie 7th, Varitek 8th and Ellsbury 9th.

This gives Bay a chance to watch unfamiliar pitchers longer. When he gets comfortable with his new team and a different approach to offense (moving from the NL to the AL and to what has to be a stronger offensive team), maybe he can be moved up.

Batting Ellsbury last may cost him at bats but may help him get his confidence back, and while he's doing that he becomes a fast runner on base for the top of the order. Once he and Varitek get back their batting eye the team has the high class problem of moving around seven or eight good hitter.

It would seem to me that the trade would be deemed useless unless Bay can produce as he has at Pittsburg. My feeling is we need to bunch together some scoring punch my lineup would be.
1. Ellesbury ( he will come around as he did last fall-need some stealing threat on base !!
2. Pedroia
3 Drew (coupling speed )
4.Ortiz
5. Bay
6.Lowell-not hitting well enough at this stage
7.Youk.
8 Laurie.
9. veratek

Pedroia
Drew
Bay
Ortiz
Lowell
Tek
Youk
Lowrie
Crisp
Drop Youk down to balance out the back end of the lineup and get someone that pitchers fear a little bit hitting behind Tek so he might see some better pitches. Youk is a patient hitter and would lay off the junk, where as Tek cannot lay off the swill that he has been getting lately, because there is not much hitting behind him in the struggling Ellsbury and the kid Lowrie.

pedroia 2b
youk 1b
ortiz dh
bay lf
drew rf
lowell 3b
varitek c
lowrie ss
ellsbury cf
This is the perfect lineup. It goes from lefty to righty to lefty to righty. Hard for any manager to pitch to late in games. Each batter protects the others arounf them. Plus Bay is a huge plus in the field over Manny.

1. Pedroia
2. Drew
3. Youk
4. Ortiz
5. Lowell
6. Bay
7. Lowrie
8. Tek
9. Ellsbury

pedroia
youk
drew
ortiz
bay
lowell
lowrie
varitek
ellsbury

Ellsbury cf
Pedroia 2b
Drew rf
Ortiz dh
Bay lf
Youk 1b
Lowell 3b
Varitek c
Lowrie ss

Big thing is to get Pedroia back where he belongs, in the 2 spot.

1. Ellsbury, 2. Pedroia, 3. Ortiz, 4. Lowell, 5. Drew, 6. Youkalis, 7. Bay. 8. Lowrie and 9. Tek (or Cash).

Pressure enough on Bay as it is; let him catch his breth and seethe new pitchers

1. Pedroia
2. Youkilis
3. Ortiz
4. Lowell
5. Drew
6. Bay
7. Lowrie
8. Varitek
9. Ellsbury

Pedroia
Youk
Ortiz
Bay
Lowell
Drew
Lowrie
Varitek
Ellsbury or Crisp

By the way, Justin Duchscherer of Oakland is a right-handed pitcher!!!
Pedroia 2b
Youk 1b
Ortiz dh
Lowell 3b
Drew RF
Bay LF
Lowrie ss
Varitek c
Ellsbury CF

You need to get a high on-base guy right behind Papi so that he won't get pitched around. Putting Drew in front of Ortiz will allow the Sox to fully utilize his offensive potential (getting on base). Drew doesn't seem like the power threat that he has been expected to be. So either Bay or Youks would be a good fit to hit cleanup.

1...ellsbury
2...pedroia
3...ortiz
4...drew
5...bay
6...lowell
7...youk
8...varitek
9...lowrie

drew
pedroia
youkilis
ortiz
bay
lowell
lowrie
tek
ellsbury

1. Pedroia
2. Bay
3. Drew
4. Papi
5.Lowell
6. Youk
7. Lowrie
8. Ellsburry
9. Varitek

I had to stay off the net yesterday because I was so upset over the trade. I can not believe that the Red Sox traded their # 4 hitter (which means it's their MOST POPULAR PLAYER) for someone that the fans never heard of. When I told my kids, I was heart broken and so were they. The red sox should show a sign of respect for Manny and leave the # 4 spot in the line-up empty for at least the rest of the season to show a sign of respect for him. I am think we're going to end up taking part in the Fenway Park Boycott in August too. For the people that don't know about the boycott yet, they are going to get a big trash barrel outside Fenway where everyone can throw their tickets in it and show management that we're not going to put up with their trades when they are taking the FUN out of the game! Management does not understand that the fans don't care about if Manny hits or not, but we like to see him have fun! What other player will sign an autograph during the middle of a play or give you a high five? He even pretends not to know where the ball is when he is sitting on it and he can still hold the runners to a double or a triple. You're not going to find better defense like that at Fenway and he was so silly when he went in to the green monster to use the bathroom or call his friends. Sure, we still have papelbon and I love it when he dances, but it's not going to be the same without Manny being Manny and playing with the kids and making everyone in the stands laugh at the fun time he is having! I am going to send back my red sox nation membership and probably go off and join dodgers nation because the red sox obviously don't care about their fans.

Pedroia Ellsbury
Drew Pedroia
Youk Ortiz
Ortiz Youk
Lowell Lowell
Bay Drew
Tek Bay
ss Tek
Ellsbury SS

Pedroia 2b
Youk 1b
Bay LF
Ortiz DH
Lowell 3b
Drew RF
Crisp CF
Lowrie SS
Varitek C

Ellsbury cf Pedroia 2b
Pedroia 2b Drew rf
Youklis 1b Youklis 1b
Ortiz dh Ortiz dh
Bay lf Bay lf
Drew rf or Lowell 3b
Lowell 3b Varitek c
Varitek c Lowrie ss
Lowrie ss Ellsbury cf / Crisp cf

For the record Bay has hit leftys fine (VS LH .276 .389 .515 and VS RH .283 .371 .515) for his career.

Ellsbury leading off makes this a much better line-up, if he gets on.
Ortiz should bat clean up most power, if healthy
Pedroia, Drew, Youklis or some combo should ahead of Ortiz power.

This is easy our clean up hitter is sitting at home in Barry Bonds!!! URGH Theo get off you ass and sign him already!!

Bay should hit in the 3 hole while moving Ortiz to cleanup and Drew to 2 looks like this

1. Dustin
2.Drew
3. Bay
4. Ortiz
5. Lowell
6. Youk
7. Varitek
8.Lowrie
9. Ells

Bay and Drew are interchangeable and also the 7-8-9 hitters can be to until Ellsbury starts hitting then put him in the first slot and mess around with the lineup again.
Pedroia
Bay
Ortiz
Drew
Youk
Lowell
Lowrie
Varitek
Ellsbury

I'm not a fan of Drew, but he did great in that spot!!!

Bay bats 6th in this lineup. Drew back to the 3 hole where he was most productive, followed by Ortiz then Lowell.

Ellsbury,Pedroia,Oritz,Lowell,Drew,Bay,Youk,Varitek,Lowrie

pedroia
ellsbury
youk
ortiz
lowell
drew
bay
lowrie
tek....

Bottom Line is that you want a guy like Bay seeing as many good pitches as possible. Putting Ortiz behind him will insure that he will see 1-2 fastballs left over the plate for the taking every at bat. Bay has been known to strike out a bit more than the average player because he was never protected by the players around him. Why do you think Ortiz became the hitter he did when he came from the Twins? With a guy like Manny behind him he saw more strikes! No it is time for Bay to get the same treatment once he is done adjusting a bit.
1. Pedrioa
2. Youk
3. Bay (after a game or two)
4. Ortiz
5. Lowell
6. Drew
7. Lowrie
8. V-Tek
9. Ellsbury

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Lowell
Bay
Drew
Youkilis
Lowrie
Varitek

pedroia
youk
papi
lowell
bay
drew
crisp
v-tek
ss (lugo lowrie cora)

pedroia
youk
senor papi
lowell
bay
drew
lowrie
mr clutch #33 varitek (lol)
ellsbury

I say let Pedroia bat clean-up. The way he is swinging the bat, and with his attitude, it would actually work.
1. Ellsbury
2. Youk
3. Ortiz
4. Pedroia
5. Drew
6. Bay
7. Lowell
8. Tek
9. Lowrie/Lugo/Cora

I guess tito is gonna have Lowell 4th and Bay 5th for now, which i dont like, but in a week or 2 when it changes it should be this.......

1 Ellsbury
2 Pedroia
3 Ortiz
4 Bay - leads team w/ 22 HR's
5 Lowell
6 Drew
7 Youk
8 Lowrie
9 Varitek(like in 2004)

1. Ellsbury or Crisp (whichever of the two-headed monster can get on track...we need speed at the top).
2. Pedroia...where he hits best
3. Drew...where he hits best
4. Bay...the old slugger leads the team in HR
5. Ortiz...at the rate he is going, we could soon be hitting him 9th
6. Youk...if he could only stop wimpering about the strike zone
7. Lowrie...keep Lugo and Cora on the bench, where they both belong, for the rest of the season.
8. Lowell...this guy is going downhill like a toboggan. At some point we might need to bench his ass. If so, play Lugo at short (even though we risk 4-out innings) and Lowrie at 3rd. Then bat Lugo 9th, moving the cather up to the 8-hole.
9. Varitek or Cash, whichever weak-hitting catcher we feel we can most endure on that day. Varitek swings his bat like he is trapped in a car with a bee.

Note: If either Bay or Drew is sitting, bat Crisp or Ellsbury 9th & move Papi to clean-up with Youk hitting 5th and either Drew or Bay hitting 3rd. That sums it up.

9. Varietk

1 ellsbury
2 pedroia
3 ortiz
4 youk
5 drew
6 bay
7 lowell
8 j.v. tek
9lowrie