With the news that Sox slugger David Ortiz will miss at least a month with his wrist injury, the question that needs to be asked is: Can the Sox survive without Papi? With their superstar DH in the lineup this year the Red Sox are already trailing the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East standings. Now Papi joins Dice-K on the sidelines, where he will likely stay 4-6 weeks. The short term solution will likely come from within, with Manny shifting to DH, Ellsbury to left, Coco starting in center, and Youk taking over the 3rd spot in the batting order. This certainly becomes a faster team and better defensively, but clearly no team is better without David Ortiz. It's foolish to suggest otherwise. The only question is how much worse will they be. As long as this injury only keeps him out the month that has been discussed, and as long as Papi returns to the form he was showing throughout the month of May, the Sox will not be crushed by this. Only if Ortiz is gone for the two months or more will I worry. The Red Sox at 80% are still one of the best teams in the majors, and if he is back in July there are still 2+ months to win the division and defend their title. Plus they have NL away games coming up where there will be no DH, so the timing could be worse for sure. This is certainly no time to celebrate, but the Sox should be grateful they have the depth they do and thus it's no time to panic either.
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14 comments:
Somebody needs to step up for the Sox, who will it be? I'm going with JD Drew to heat up.
Papi could easily be out for the year. Wrist injuries suck...and they say that his injury is very uncommon. I say make a call....to BARRY BONDS!
9 games in June are in NL parks. That helps. And the All-star break is 7/14-7/17. Positive thinking. But the direct answer to the question can Sox survive w/out Papi? Yes! But can they Win the East, the AL and the World Series w/out Papi?
Barry brings a steroid filled circus with him. But if Papi is gonna be out a long time, i can't say that would disagree.
I'm nervous that associating ourselves with Bonds would lead to another 86 year curse. I'm intrigued how other people feel about it though...may need to make that a poll. Skill-wise I don't doubt he could help us, but I would have a hard time rooting for him for sure.
Another problem with Ortiz being out is it means Crisp replaces him in order (basically) which means the bottom of the order is now Varitek, Crisp, Lugo. Yikes.
If Crisp doesn't play well I wouldn't doubt going with Casey @ DH, Manny back to left and Crisp back to platooning/out.
The Sox, and I dont have any stats in front of me, do play surprisingly well without Papi. Tonight was Okajima's fault, but we play well. We need Coco to step up big time. He, Drew. and Lugo need to hit a total of 14 HRs before the All Star break
Sox will not make the playoffs without Papi.
Manny is the biggest benefactor of Papi's presence in the lineup and if teams know Papi is out, why pitch to Manny at all?
JD Drew has not proven to be reliable or a power threat.
Lowell is a solid player but not a big power guy and neither is Drew. They need ducks on the pond but won't generate enough offense on their own or enough protection. They may hit 20 homers each....maybe. If Papi is out for a while the keys will be Crisp, Lugo and Pedroia. Sox have the players to play small ball and manufacture runs with speed - but Crisp and Pedroia need to get their OBP up and put pressure on teams. Give Lowell/Drew and others good RBI opportunities. Lugo is around .350 - which is slightly above the league average of .340. Crisp is below .300 and Pedroia around .315. Not good enough for those 2 guys if Papi is out.
I understand that Boston.com partners with NESN, but who gives a shit that Hazel Mae is leaving? Seriously, it is on the cover of the site and is getting almost as much coverage as Papi.
I have one name...Barry Bonds....
Baseball is about winning games, and barry bonds would go a long way to helping sox do that...
Like the patriots, the sox have a strong veteran club house which will keep bonds in check. This will also be a great opportunity for bonds to rebuild some of his popularity with fans of baseball. IF he can into a winning environment, kept his head down and played well...people would regain some level of respect.
The problem in San Fran is that the team sucked so the only focus was bonds. In Boston, we want to win.
I think it's a little early to freak out and go after Bonds...that would be such a headache. Mike Easler would be better.
Why not get Moss up, and relax a bit...its early to count Papi out for the season.
I agree...too early to get on the Bonds bandwagon at the moment. No clue how ready he is to play at the moment...and they could always fall back on that option later since it seems pretty clear nobody else is going sign him this year.
The Sox are 4-3 w/out Ortiz this year. Last year 11-2 w/out Papi, and 5-6 in 2006.
If nec. Bonds could fill in with power or at least a walk in front of Manny but there other options that i think could contribute in other ways. here is a list.
Kenny Lofton career OBP .372
Sammy Sosa played pretty well last yr.
Ryan Klesko career OBP .370
And as far i know all are still available.
Bring up Moss or why not Jeff Bailey. Bailey in 51 games he's batting .315 w/ 17 hr and .407 OBP.
All what if situations..Papi will get healthy, i have faith.
I predicted Drew would heat up with Papi out and that is certainly looking good so far.
JD Drew (as predicted) is playing GREAT baseball right now.
Hate to keep giving myself credit (okay, I love it) but JD Drew continues to be awesome in Ortiz' absense...just as promised here!
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