Ortiz dropped to sixth

Only problem with putting him 6th is that Bay won't see good pitches any more. Should swap him and Tek.....

Hmm. I'd have put 'Tek ahead of lit- er- once big Papi but hey, what do I know, anyway..

with lowell out just for tonight, i think that puts papi in the 7th hole for the foreseeable future.

Lugo AGAIN!!??
Doesn't Jon Lester deserve better?

DH Lowell and play Papi at 1B...we can't win again with Bailey and Lugo 8-9...more of Nick Green and less of Lugo, please.

And Jason Bay goes 0 for 0 with four walks, stranded four times

honestly, i feel that papi should be dropped to seventh. Varitek has been hitting the ball hard and with Bay's high OBP, I feel that the Sox will have a better chance of moving him around the bases with Varitex in the six hole

looks like the media wont get a chance to talk to big papi for a long, long time.

cmon Tito why Lugo

Good move if Drew hits like he did last june.

"After I go deep tonight."

Gotta love his spirit. Go Papi.

Don't you think Lowell gets a break because of the effects of the hard turf of the Metrodome on his newly repaired hip? Certainly a deserved rest, can't take his recovery and current contributions for granted.

By batting Ortiz behind Jason Bay, Francona has effectively taken the bat out of the hands of one of Baseball's top hitters...and our offensive MVP.

Pedroia is on pace to walk twice as many times as he did in his each of first two seasons as a direct result of hitting ahead of Ortiz.

Francona is a strategically unsound manager who, by the way, is clearly terrified of Julio Lugo.

won't make any difference...look for the usual 0 for 4 with 3 K's....

FINALLY!

Forget the Sox - what's up with the Twins not batting Mauer 3rd or 4th? That kid's on fire!

Get behind Ortiz he warrants the fans support. People forget so fast. He was key to so many wins in the past few years in both the regular and post season.

Papi has been struggling badly. It makes sense to drop him lower in the order. As soon as he starts to hit, Tito will have him back in the 3 hole.

Ortiz batting 6th behind Bay? not good, Bay would get 4 walks per game.

I think this is a good move. Hopefully he'll feel less pressure now and get back whatever it is that he's missing at the plate (other than fastballs).

The modern-era record for lowest batting average for a player that qualified for the batting title is held by Rob Deer, who hit .179 in 1991.
I seriously think Ortiz has a legitimate shot of breaking this record if Francona and the Red Sox organization insists on playing him everyday.

What a stupid move. He should be moved down to tee ball. Great idea Tito and sit one of your hottest hitters. We have to stop resting on past accomplishments, and play those that are producing. I do not know of anyother job where people get paid so much money despite not producing.

Yes, Asolutely I agree, in fact it is long overdue...........

'A Change will do you good' Shake it up some .This move is about 3 weeks late but it will help this team and Papi. I would like to see Youk-03rd Bay cleanup then Nancy hitting 5th,but I guess Tito does know a little more than me,even though I do have a youth Batting System in the style of Walt Hriniak endorsed by one of the greatest managers in recent times-Grady Little,so I do Know a little about this sweet science.

It's about time.....

i think its only fair for the team as well as himself , he will come around with less pressure expected. cream always rises

Agree. And next step if that doesn't work is Pawtucket.

What we need here is a roll. Lester needs to attack the 6-9 hitters so we can see a full night from him, also he needs to pitch to contact with Span, we need him off the basepaths. 3 batters have a lot lower chances of winning a game this way.

As for the Red Sox lineup, I think that the move of Ortiz will make him see more quality pitches as he should be gone after, he has to get those hands in on the ball and become a hitter before reinventing himself as a power hitter. Let him use the field, get off his back, we saw what Lowell did as the DH, all we need is the base hits for now, even if he is slow, the basehits will only help.

I'm sorry, but I don't know why this is even up for debate. The question should read "Did he go far enough down the order"? Please...

9th sounds better

Love the confidence and swagger in that Ortiz statement. Let's hope it translates!

Makes sense, takes the pressue off him in the 3 spot. Also Drew gets on base.

Moving Papi to the 6 spot is definitely the right move. I'd go one better in fact; I'd ink him in at first base, too. Pulling your butt off the pine to DH in the clean up spot is too much pressure for a struggling hitter. Let him get back "in the game." Finally, I'd have a kinesiologist take a look at his follow through. He's all bound up in the end. And that's all about the stroke.

Why is Lugo playing?

I think Jason Bay should bat 3rd, and Papi should be 9th.

of course, decisions should always be determined by "what is best for the team"
in it's quest for a division title playoff spot and hopefully beyond .

this is not a personal decision and a team player recognizes that fact . . . and I beleive, unlike m. ramirez, that Ortiz is a team player. Amen !

Agreeing with everyone about more Green, less Lugo, and hoping Papi can just go for solid contact.

Big Papi is lucky he is even in the lineup. He owes his status as a going concern to hope, nostalgia, of course, and a heaping helping of denial, topped off with, "we have no other viable options at this time."

I think these so-called fans who want the sox to sit Papi on the bench oughta move to NY where they'd fit right in.

Papi has lost his batting mojo. Send him down until he gets it back.

Too bad they can't bat him 10th.

anyone look at 'big' floppy's record before he came to the Red Sox??? His stats mirror exactly what is going on this year. With Manny gone..seems 'BIG' floppy only has warning track power when he makes contact...just like with the Twins. Wonder if manny was more than just support in the line-up for the 'big' one???

anyone look at 'big' floppy's record before he came to the Red Sox??? His stats mirror exactly what is going on this year. With Manny gone..seems 'BIG' floppy only has warning track power when he makes contact...just like with the Twins. Wonder if manny was more than hjust support in the line-up for the 'big' one???

i hate nytimes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think its a good idea if papi is good but not then varitek sould bat 6th and papi 9th

Hard to hit with that fork sticking out of your back...

That's the first step. If he still doesn't produce, I'd drop him down to the bench, and then maybe to some other team's bench! He's curiously reminding me of Mo Vaughn and George Scott!

Papi should have been moved at least to 7th, if not 8th or 9th. Putting him in the 6-hole leaves Bay uncovered, and leaves Tek with less opportunities to drive in runs. While Tek is not having a great year at the plate, his homers have been coming more frequently and at key times in games. We need people in front of him who can get on and score when Tek launches it. I thoroughly believe that the 6th position for Papi is a grave error in judgment. I disagree with those who have called to drop him altogether, to DH Mike Lowell or to put Papi at 1B.

UGH! Why haven't we found a bag of balls to trade Lugo for yet?

Less Lugo and lower Papi equals stronger line-up

Less Lugo and lower Papi equals a stronger line-up.

A really, really, really, good bogus injury is being concocted for Big Papi, God Luv him.
Not your garden variety fake injury, to abuse the 15 day DL to hide players...
Not even your usual September "out for the year" faux injury to players on teams out of contention.
This bogus injury will end his career without arousing undue suspicion he took 'roids and/or is actually 43 years old....
Probably the wrist .....
.

Can't trade Lugo unless you play him, show that he can move around ok. His D was never his strongest suit. Someone will want him for his bat and his ability to play short, they will overlook the E's. But you gotta play him to get anything decent for him in a trade.

Ok, you can now stop asking "why is Lugo playing".

ortiz should be batting 7th. Not a good idea positioning ortiz after bay. In that scenario jason bay probably won't get much to hit. Giving lowell a day off is a good idea, but playing lugo at shortstop is very bad. It's bad enough lowell is sitting, now franCOMA wants lugo instead of green again. Lugo is batting .194 in his last 10 games but green is hitting .366 in his last ten. Lugo has limited mobility right now, but green is giving it all he's got. This move stinks all over. Lugo is in a serious funk. he does not deserve to be on the 25 man roster. Go Sox!

I would sit him for a week and get him extra batting practice - they can come up with a DL story for him and see if he can reboot both physcailly and mentally -he is simply missing fastballs that he used to crush - unfortunately - this reminds me of the end of Jim Rice's brilliant career.

second last stop. Stop after sixth is extinction.

I love the red sox and all I gotta say is: DAVID "THE MENDOZA LINE" ORTIZ STINKS!!!

Drew in the 3 spot? am I missing something here?

Ortiz needs to get sent to the minors.

If he was a rookie he would have been released a month ago. Time to face up to the fact that his days as a productive member of the club are over.

Maybe I am wrong, but I believe a lot of Sox fans live for the most recent at bat and forget the many times when David would thrill Red Sox fans with really heroic hits.
I do not have the answer to his current woes but I think the Sox can live with it for at
least the near future. And I am willing to let Francona and the front office determine
when, if ever, they give up on him.

How are people saying Bay will not get any pitches to hit? WIth Youkilis ahead of him that is a great tandem and one of them will get pitches to hit tonight and have a big game. Youk protects Bay and vice versa, plus with Ortiz batting 6th he can hopefully come up, with less pressure on him, and start hitting again. Although, he has looked lost at the plate for most of this year, who knew Varitek would be more dangerous at the plate this year than Big Papi???
Haha man we need Lowrie back...Lugo looks lost when he plays, like when the ball is hit to him he just says to himself...."O no!!!!"

honestly, love Papi but I think it is time to trade. Doesn't matter what spot you bat if you can't hit at #3 you can't hit at #6 or #9 for that matter. Sorry Papi!

This has been way too long in coming. In fact, based on statistical analysis, Ortiz is likely to hit less than 10 home runs this year - so if folks are expecting something different, they're in for a big let-down. Ortiz was great in his prime, but his prime has long since moved on.

I'd rather see the lineup like this:
1.ellsbury 2.pedroia 3.youk 4.bay 5.drew 6.lowell 7.varitek 8.ortiz 9.green

Many people are suggesting putting Bay 3rd, but the only problem with that is then you have 3 or 4 righty batters in a row, depending on Lowell's spot in the lineup. I agree with putting Drew 3rd because then late inning relief pitchers have a harder time matching up against the sox hitters. However, Nick Green should definitely be in the starting lineup way more than he is. Lugo has just been unable to produce lately.

should sit him out and send him down to farm.

Why is he even in the line-up? But why 6 not 8th?

Why is he even in the line-up? But why 6 not 8th?

This man is in a funk but reading the above quotes now I know why players hate playing for this city, This is the Red Sox Guys, have a little Faith, and be fan through the good and the bad. And for everyone that thinks they can do a better job that Terry Francona lets not forget that this man brought us to and won 2 World Series. He knows what hes doing, sit back relax, and chant, LETS GO RED SOX !

That 6 should flip and be 9