Red Sox lineup: Ellsbury out again

I like the lineup.

The only other change I would make is let Matsuzka bat and DH for Varitek.
The worst part about the way Varitik is hitting is I think it has gotten so bad that it is starting to effect his defense.He just has not seemed "in command" back there in this series.

Anyway Go Sox!!

So, I am glad about the two lead off (at the top and bottom of the order) of players who are not too proud to bunt and give Pedroia a chance to hit more than solo homeruns, and maybe start intentionally walking him so that Papi can see pitches he can hit.

I would have played Jacoby his defense to me so valuable and plus JD looks worst in the field than at the plate. Regardless the BoSox will win big tonight. Then the weekend its a wrap! Red Sox will run through and burn Tampa down they will make Sherman proud.
BTW is it just me or is Skip Carey the worst. Talk about nepotism.

As hard as it may be I think Ortiz needs to drop in the 6 or 7 spot. We need the guys actually hitting together so we arent leaving all the runners stranded.

i like the lineup however i am a little lost with Drew in there. Yes he can be a threat but he has trouble with lefties his whole career. I have to agree with leaving varitek even with the bad numbers. He is the tone setter for the starters and its hard to replace that. Heck Dice K trusts his judgement.

Nice to see Francona shaking it up, even just a little. I would have liked to see Pedroia leadoff and Youk 2nd...Think Bay and Drew can give Papi enough protection

Good: Coco leading off (finally) and Bay in the 5 spot.

Bad: Kotsay at the bottom of the order. The guy has been scalding the ball and has probably had the most consistent ABs in this series!

So much for the late inning Drew PH theory....

Socrates, it's CHIP Carey who sucks. His father was Skip Carey, and he's dead. That said, I do think Buck Martinez is doing a great job on color! Too bad TBS decided they needed to throw Ron Darling in the mix - he's contributing nothing.

I really do not like this Adam Kilgore.

Sitting Ellsbury is the right thing to do. He's been horrible in the ALCS and Crisp's glove is equal to Jacoby's any day. Ellsbury should be playing in the AFL with Buchholz. He's added nothing to the postseason roster, especially when you consider 3 of his rbi came on that pop up play against the Halos. He has one of the worst swings I've ever seen. Chops the ball down or pops the ball up. He's got speed, but if he can't get on, he can't utilize it. I like this lineup today. Best of luck to Dice-K ....we need a solid 6 from him.

atleast Varitek will be hitting from the right side and not the left

Good lineup. Papi has to hit, no matter who leadsoff.
Today the Sox begin the comeback.
2004, beat the Angels for the ALDS, comeback from 0x3 against the Yankees.
2007, beat the Angels for the ALDS, comeback from 1x3 against the Indians.
2008, beat the Angles for the ALDS, comeback from 1x3 against the LUCKY Rays.

Guess waht Tampa Bay, luck can turn and bite you in the A**. Your turn is over. Sox in seven!
Fenway, make some noise!!! Cojme oon!!!!!

What's the point of posting a players stats from an individual series, 4 games and around 18-20 ABs isn't a statistically significant sample. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw Youk's low on base % and slugging numbers, then I realized it was just for four games.

For all of you who are insulting varitek for his lack of offense... check the his stats for the series..... third highest obp in the starting lineup......

Oh Lord, just give it up people... This lineup is NOT gonna do it.. this thing is DONE.

Look at the lineup. 3-4 and 6-9 are hitting about .150 against Kazmir. I'm afraid it's the best we can do.

Nothing could possibly be worse than Rick Sutcliffe and gems
like "The Cubs are a better team than *what* they were last year."
Please disappear you unnecessary word-adding yokel.

i'd go kotsay leading off and coco 9th. kotsay isn't the slowest guy and is consistently hitting singles and doubles.

A friend in St Pete just told me they've already got baseballs with the Rays logo and the World Series logo for sale in stores there...(Publix I think)
Hopefully that'll send a little bad mojo their way....

I hope what I say is a jinx??? It's all over but the crying...!

We've crushed Kaz the last two times we've faced him, including in Fenway. With Tek switched round to the right, that'll help. Numbers don't really mean too much right now, not when you're taking a game like tonight's, at bat by at bat. Who's to say any one of our guys won't start hitting tonight? With Ellsbury out, our lineup is much better. Not only can he not hit, but he'd be facing a lefty in Kaz. I've seen us come back from deficits before when everyone said we couldn't, so I won't give up hope til all hope is gone. We've got the pitching set up the next three to do something special. We'll see. I read in the Washington Post today "Suddenly The Red Sox Are Old News"....if that doesn't piss you off enough to win, what will.

I guess Sean Casey is a really expensive cheerleader for the postseason roster...even a 2-12 Kotsay career against Kasmir keeps Casey glued to the pine.

You could have Cora DH and he'd outperform Papi right now. But Tito just won't do it. He'd prefer to lose.

Sox might take this game, but basically you can stick a fork in them.

It's over. As long as they have Ortiz in the 3 hole, they have no chance of winning. Had to end sometime.

That said, what's the post-game chant? Beat Phil-a-del-phi-a.... I'm taking the Rays over the Phils in 5.

Honestly, I don't get the love for Sean Casey By all accounts, Casey is one of the absolutely nicest guys in baseball, but at this point in his career, his foot speed makes Kevin Cash look like Apollo. Watching him at the plate is painful as he struggles, grimacing and stretching between pitches to stand in at the plate.
Mark Kotsay is not the second coming of Ted Williams, (or Bernie, Billy or even Todd, for that matter), but he can move around a little bit at first base, he can go first to third on a single, and he can hit the ball up the alleys. I'm thinking Sean Casey's popular appeal is simply the "Devil we don't know", and that's not really a devil much worth knowing at this point in his career.