Todays Red Sox lineup

[Yankeeah]

Damon CF
Renteria SS
Mirabelli DH
Manny, LF
Varitek, C
Millar 1B
Nixon RF
Muller 3B
Graffinino 2B

Sox fans, why is Doug Mirabelli batting third? Does he own Hendrickson or something??

[-tz]

And what will they do if Varitek has to leave the game?

[Yankeeah]

I was thinking this myself. Maybe they didn't want to DH Ortiz vs a lefty? But then they could have played a Olerud at 1st (buts hes a lefty) and DH'd Millar.

[BoSox37]

And what will they do if Varitek has to leave the game?

Mirabelli will catch, and the Sox lose the DH.

[Yankeeah]

Mirabelli will catch, and the Sox lose the DH.

Did they mention why Tito did this? I mean not only DHing your backup catcher, but batting him 3rd??

[somejerk]

Damon CF
Renteria SS
Mirabelli DH
Manny, LF
Varitek, C
Millar 1B
Nixon RF
Muller 3B
Graffinino 2B

Sox fans, why is Doug Mirabelli batting third? Does he own Hendrickson or something??

Mirabelli hits .583 against Hendrickson, Ortiz only .267.

[S2]

Mirabelli was 7-12 off Hendrickson before today's game with a an OPS of 1.250. Plus, Ortiz has been rather cold lately.

[Yankeeah]

I could see him in the lineup then, but why in the 3 hole, and why as the DH?

[BoSox37]

Did they mention why Tito did this? I mean not only DHing your backup catcher, but batting him 3rd??

Playing the matchups. Francona wanted Mirabelli getting ABs against Hendrickson.

[somejerk]

I could see him in the lineup then, but why in the 3 hole, and why as the DH?

Uhh... the .583 average seems like a pretty good reason to put him in the 3 hole. You could make the argument that he could catch, but I think Clement likes throwing to Varitek. With the way he's been slumping lately, why have him throw to Mirabelli? If I'm not mistaken Wakefield pitches tomorrow, so maybe they don't want Mirabelli catching 2 days in a row. Or maybe they wanted to give Ortiz a rest.

[Yankeeah]

Uhh... the .586 average seems like a pretty good reason to put him in the 3 hole. You could make the argument that he could catch, but I think Clement likes throwing to Varitek. With the way he's been slumping lately, why have him throw to Mirabelli? If I'm not mistaken Wakefield pitches tomorrow, so maybe they don't want Mirabelli catching 2 days in a row. Or maybe they wanted to give Ortiz a rest.

Over the course of 12 at-bats. I could see them playing him, but I think it's risky to DH him, and strange to hit him 3rd.

[The_Explorer]

I could see him in the lineup then, but why in the 3 hole, and why as the DH?

francona puts WAY more into a small sample size of at bats than any manager i've ever seen do. while 7 for 12 is a decent sample size, i wouldn't say he will continue to own him at anywhere near that clip, could be a coincidence. i forget the exact scenario, but earlier this year he had a scrub hitting real high in the lineup because he was like 1 for 2 against the guy lifetime but hitting like crap against everyone else.

[somejerk]

Over the course of 12 at-bats. I could see them playing him, but I think it's risky to DH him, and strange to hit him 3rd.

7 for 12 is pretty good, (Ortiz is 4 for 15). Who would you think is a better guy to hit 3rd? If you're trying to keep a consistent line up why not swap out the DHs? Why mess up the rest of the order? You're not going to put Millar in the 3 hole, definitely not Trot facing a lefty. Varitek is hitting .231 against Hendrickson. I guess my question is why wouldn't you have him bat 3rd?

[Yankeeah]

7 for 12 is pretty good, (Ortiz is 5 for 14). Who would you think is a better guy to hit 3rd? If you're trying to keep a consistent line up why not swap out the DHs? Why mess up the rest of the order? You're not going to put Millar in the 3 hole, definitely not Trot facing a lefty. Varitek is hitting .231 against Hendrickson. I guess my question is why wouldn't you have him bat 3rd?

7-12 is good, but a small sample size. I could see your point about not wanting to mess the line up around, but if you bump Manny and Varitek up a spot and insert Mirabelli as the 5 hitter, I think it makes more sense.

I would have been pretty pissed if I would have seen Enrique Wilson batting 3rd in when Pedro was on the mound back when Enrique owned him.

[BoSox37]

It paid off right there...

[somejerk]

7-12 is good, but a small sample size. I could see your point about not wanting to mess the line up around, but if you bump Manny and Varitek up a spot and insert Mirabelli as the 5 hitter, I think it makes more sense.

I would have been pretty pissed if I would have seen Enrique Wilson batting 3rd in when Pedro was on the mound back when Enrique owned him.

Well Manny hit a home run in the 4 hole, and Dougie hit an rbi single in the 3 hole. It's been working out ok.

I also wouldn't really compare what you do against Pedro Martinez against what you do against Mark Hendrickson.

[The_Explorer]

7 for 12 is pretty good, (Ortiz is 4 for 15). Who would you think is a better guy to hit 3rd? If you're trying to keep a consistent line up why not swap out the DHs? Why mess up the rest of the order? You're not going to put Millar in the 3 hole, definitely not Trot facing a lefty. Varitek is hitting .231 against Hendrickson. I guess my question is why wouldn't you have him bat 3rd?

i've never been big on the 'not messing up the order' thing. i think you should put the strongest hitters in the big hitters position in the lineup. i just dont buy into the 'oh i went 0-4 because i was moved in the order'. if you're in the lineup, when you go to the plate, you try to hit the ball, regardless of where you bat. Now the situations may be different depending on where you are in the lineup (and your abilities), but i just dont see how its harder if guys get switched for a day.

i will say its questionable why he didn't just have mirabelli his catcher, or leave ortiz in there. why not keep the lineup that Hendrickson got rocked against last week? that would seem to make the most sense.

[somejerk]

i've never been big on the 'not messing up the order' thing. i think you should put the strongest hitters in the big hitters position in the lineup. i just dont buy into the 'oh i went 0-4 because i was moved in the order'. if you're in the lineup, when you go to the plate, you try to hit the ball, regardless of where you bat. Now the situations may be different depending on where you are in the lineup (and your abilities), but i just dont see how its harder if guys get switched for a day.

i will say its questionable why he didn't just have mirabelli his catcher, or leave ortiz in there. why not keep the lineup that Hendrickson got rocked against last week? that would seem to make the most sense.

Whether you believe whether or not messing up the order is relevant, it is relevant in the players minds and that is what matters. Everyone in Boston would love to see Bill Mueller hitting 2nd, but he simply isn't comfortable being in that position. I'm more of a believer in putting the players in the position to have the greatest success. If a player thinks he's a better in the 7 or 8 hole, than he is hitting in the 2 hole. Then he is.

I was reading an article today about some guy from the pirates who refused to play in the world series, against the Yankees mind you, because they manager wanted him in the 3 hole, and he wanted to be in the 2 hole. Not saying it would happen on the Sox, but why mess with it?

[scull567]

Is there a worse pitcher in baseball than Hendrickson?

[Yankeeah]

Is there a worse pitcher in baseball than Hendrickson?

Tim Redding, Kevin Brown, Alex Graman.... well, you get the point.


Now, when Hendrickson, 50 pitches, 2 1/3 IP, comes out, you have a .228 hitting back up catcher batting 3rd.

DId Trot get hurt?

[BoSox37]

Tim Redding, Kevin Brown, Alex Graman.... well, you get the point.


Now, when Hendrickson, 50 pitches, 2 1/3 IP, comes out, you have a .228 hitting back up catcher batting 3rd.

DId Trot get hurt?

Trot took a huge swing on a 2-0 count, it looked like he pulled something on his side. Jerry and Don said it looked like a rib, hopefully it is not his back.

[somejerk]

Tim Redding, Kevin Brown, Alex Graman.... well, you get the point.


Now, when Hendrickson, 50 pitches, 2 1/3 IP, comes out, you have a .228 hitting back up catcher batting 3rd.

DId Trot get hurt?

Took a big hack at a pitch and seemed to either hurt something in the oblique or back.

[Yankeeah]

Thanks, on GameDay they had Adam "I look drunk in my picture" Hydzu replace him in the middle of the at-bat

[Dr. Gonzo]

weird, maybe they just don't want to screw with the lineup. I remeber the yanks doing this once a while

[The_Explorer]

[...] I'm more of a believer in putting the players in the position to have the greatest success. If a player thinks he's a better in the 7 or 8 hole, than he is hitting in the 2 hole. Then he is.

I was reading an article today about some guy from the pirates who refused to play in the world series, against the Yankees mind you, because they manager wanted him in the 3 hole, and he wanted to be in the 2 hole. Not saying it would happen on the Sox, but why mess with it?

do you believe that a manager should put the TEAM or the PLAYER in the position to have the greatest success? sometimes its the same thing, but sometimes it's not. A slumping ortiz should outperform mirabelli any day.

I just think sometimes francona puts being everyone's pal over producing a winning team. Millar has been absolutely terrible this year and should be benched.

very interesting story about the pirates. do you remember who the player was by any chance? i'd like to read more about it.

<< to anyone watching the game, why did hyzdu PH for trot nixon with the bases loaded??? >>

[The_Explorer]

Thanks, on GameDay they had Adam "I look drunk in my picture" Hydzu replace him in the middle of the at-bat

lol!!!! does anyone think Hydzu has any major league ability whatsoever? some guys are career minor leaguers for a reason.

[somejerk]

do you believe that a manager should put the TEAM or the PLAYER in the position to have the greatest success? sometimes its the same thing, but sometimes it's not. A slumping ortiz should outperform mirabelli any day.

I just think sometimes francona puts being everyone's pal over producing a winning team. Millar has been absolutely terrible this year and should be benched.

very interesting story about the pirates. do you remember who the player was by any chance? i'd like to read more about it.

<< to anyone watching the game, why did hyzdu PH for trot nixon with the bases loaded??? >>

Well, I agree with the Millar thing, I think Youks should have been starting over him a long time ago. But as far as swapping out one player and leaving everyone else alone, I don't see the problem with that. Especially when the match ups are in your favor. And being the sox are up 5-0 it looks like it worked.

Here is the article on the Pirates player, it has a bunch of superstitions in it. I had it backwards, he usually hit 3rd and the manager wanted him to hit 2nd.

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/3741776

[S2]

Clement just hit with liner, still on the ground.

[somejerk]

Ouch Clement just got hit in the side of the head.

[nhyankeefan]

Why did Terry bring in Bradford in the second and now Myers in the third. Obviuosly he didn't plan on replacing Clement but it seems odd to use those two so early in the game.

[scull567]

The Red Sox could really use Halama in this game. Too bad they just dfa'd him.

[FreeYayo]

The Red Sox could really use Halama in this game. Too bad they just dfa'd him.

they have another long man
jeremi gonzalez

[nhyankeefan]

The Red Sox could really use Halama in this game. Too bad they just dfa'd him.

Delcarmen was a starter right? I assume we'll see him soon. Otherwise they'll wipe out their bullpen tonight.

[FreeYayo]

Why did Terry bring in Bradford in the second and now Myers in the third. Obviuosly he didn't plan on replacing Clement but it seems odd to use those two so early in the game.

I can see the reasoning behind bradford to get out of a 2 on 1 out situation.
But Myers? Thats a questionable call.

[BoSox37]

Delcarmen was a starter right? I assume we'll see him soon. Otherwise they'll wipe out their bullpen tonight.

He is a reliever, he had been closing for Portland in the beginning of the year, and he has been closing in Pawtucket recently.

[nhyankeefan]

He is a reliever, he had been closing for Portland in the beginning of the year, and he has been closing in Pawtucket recently.

Thanks, I didn't know that. I don't know who's in the Sox bullpen these days.

[dartek]

The Red Sox could really use Halama in this game. Too bad they just dfa'd him.

If they had put Halama in the score would be 10-5 Drays as opposed to tied.

[Gringaloca]

Boston down 8 - 6 in the 8th inning.... GO D-RAYS!!!!

[FreeYayo]

If they had put Halama in the score would be 10-5 Drays as opposed to tied.

more like 33-5
Bottom of the 3rd still

[FreeYayo]

I love watching debuts
Especially for good prospects

[MiamiKat]

I love watching debuts
Especially for good prospects

Delcarmen grew up in Boston, right?

Hey...first batter, first K.

[nhyankeefan]

Delcarmen grew up in Boston, right?

Hey...first batter, first K.

Hyde Park. He looked nervous but he seems to be settling down.

[FreeYayo]

some nasty stuff

[nhyankeefan]

holy crap. He just got hit, but he'll be fine.

[S2]

Finally a bright spot in the game! Nice debut, kid.

[Gringaloca]

Ouch! Delcarmen just took a 'comebacker' off his right arm...but Renteria makes the throw for the 3rd out.

D-Rays still up 8 - 6 ...top 'o the 9th coming up...

[MiamiKat]

Manny K's to start the 9th -- got the hat trick tonite per Orsillo.

(And a home run and a base hit.)

[FreeYayo]

holy crap. He just got hit, but he'll be fine.

This is getting ridiculous

[Gringaloca]

Freakin' Jason Varitek with a HR....8-7 now...

C'mon Baez...get it over with, will ya?:????

[26 and counting]

Millar gets a basehit. Olerud is up now. 1 out in the 9th.

UPDATE: Olerud basehit.