Lowrie back to Boston

Green has played above expectation but his hitting will begin to suffer because he is a utility player. He can't be the answer to a full time shortstop unless the Red Sox are willing to carry a 220 average. Maybe they are, but I doubt it.

Lowrie is starting to look kind of brittle (Nomar the second?) and Papelbon sometimes reminds me of Matsuzaka.....

Green's hitting was never really an issue from the minor leagues. His fielding and lack of focus has been. I think he is a 250-275 hitter with a little power. Not great, but not bad. The real question is "Is Lowerie+Green enough offense?" I don't think so. Ignore Lowell's golden glove D skills for a moment, he is a SOLID hitter on a club that does not have much. We have Bay. Thank you Manny for being such a jerk that you got tossed from town. Youk has come back to reality: good hitter. He is trying to hit for power, and that is not his game. Average is his game with some power. Papi is a question mark. Who protects Bay? Lowell. If not Lowell, Lowerie? No way. We need a power hitting corner infeilder. If the hip stops Lowell (and please come back Mike), we need to deal for one.

Lowrie is proving to be pretty darn brittle.

Lets not rush into things...Green has had a handful of years in the majors...and if we need to count on someone for a season, let's see what a vet can do.

According to the numbers, Green is a much better fielder. Logo, Lowrie and Green are all in the 250 range batting - if anything, Green is at 270 right now, but let's leave that off the table...and Theo's always been a defense-first person...which I agree with.

For Lowrie, in 430 innings at SS, he has 173 total chances (that's putouts and assists). Green, in 26 fewer innings (404), has 29 MORE chances...202. This tells Green gets to more plays. If you subtract out the errors, over the course of a year, say 1200 innings, Green would come up with 90 more successful plays than Lowrie.

Nothing against Lowrie, but I'd go with the player with the track record

Seems like they can't keep this kid on the field. Some guys are like that. Unlucky?? Maybe.

Green can't hit the stuff only fastballs. He's too used to the minor league's pitching; namely, little or no control. But he'll come around as the season progresses.

You mean ANOTHER 220 average and he may be the real deal. Get rid of Lugo by packaging him with a young pitcher in a Beckett/Lowell type of take-it-or-leave-it deal. Let Lowrie come back and prove he should take his place. If not, he is the back up at three infield positions. Not a bad position for the Sox to be in!

@Timmy:

Last I checked Green was batting .271.

I always liked Nick Green when he played with the Braves and wish he'd been given more of a chance. His defense is very pretty...right now his average is hovering around .270...but like you said Timmy, he probably wont be a very big bat because he's technically a UT guy. But I love he's been given a chance to play. When he does, he shows why he needs to be in there on the field every day. I love to watch that arm...its really a gun!

Why not leave Green at short and move Lugo to third. He played there for the Dodgers prior to the Sox picking him up. Why put two players out of position (Green and Lugo who has limited range at SS)?

I don't believe Green is a utility player- just a player who functions in that perceived role. In fact, he certainly hasn't performed like a utility player this year.

If the Sox were willing to take a shortstop with a .220 average full-time, I'd hope they'd bring back Alex Gonzalez.

it's hard not to fall in love with that cannon arm though. i have not seen a sox ss have that sort of power in his throws in the last decade. he's solid and reliable, just like lowell (hopefully not out long), pedroia and youk. why mess with consistensy, look at it like a blessing. depth = protection against injury which is 100% certain to happen to somebody every season.

Lowrie got injured. It happens. It doesn't mean he's brittle. Drew was on the DL a lot before coming to Boston, but not so much since.

I'd like to make a correction. I think if Nick has a chance to play on a consistent basis, his offense will become more consistent. I have confidence in his ability at the plate. Didnt mean to make my last post sound like he cant hit, cause until the last few games, he sure had been hitting pretty good.

A healthly Jed Lowrie is more than capable offensively IMO, he had a knack for getting getting clutch RBIs last year before the wrist injury occured. Last August he had 24 RBIs in 27 games. If Lowrie isn't healthy by July 31, then pursue Tejada or Jack Wilson for an upgrade in offense.

Lowrie got injured. It happens. It doesn't mean he's brittle. Drew was on the DL a lot before coming to Boston, but not so much since.

Neither Lugo, Green, nor the increasingly brittle Lowrie appear to be the answer to who will be the day-to-day shortstop on a yearly basis. In 2004, they didn't want a patchwork (six days Nomar and one day Pokey) at shortstop, so why would that philosophy change now.

I agree with Comment 5 (Kevin in Vegas). I think Lugo's the odd man out here, not Green, and I think they'll need Lowrie to play some third base.

I don't much care if a SS isn't an outstanding hitter, if he can get to a lot of balls and make plays.

I think the deal with Green is that everyone says he can't play consistently over a full season. That and the iffy offense. But so far, he's playing out of his mind for the Sox. He obviously sees the rare opportunity he has here, and really wants to stick. I say let him play until he proves he can't.

bucholz, bowden,and lowrie for hanley

I would rather put a pet rock at third base than Julio Lugo.

I don't understand how these self-styled experts can determine how many games a player is good for in a particular year. Like the many on this thread about Nick Green 'not being a regular', etc. Everyone who makes it to the majors has played full, complete seasons at many levels - Little League up through college to AAA. So, what comes over them when they get to the major leagues that prevents them from being able to play an entire season?
The answer is - NOTHING. And, the people who make such ridiculous comments as #1, #10, and #19 show how little they really know about the sport and about the sport and about the men who play the sport.