Some slugger must sit

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Sat Oct 27, 2007 3:35 am

Just read that Ortiz will start at first during the games in Denver. We'll see if that lasts through the Rockies' homestand.

Not that Francona should listen to me, but why bench Youklis? He's hitting as well as Big Papi. Ortiz usually catches what he gets to, but even when his knees are well he has little range.

Ortiz has been running hard on the bases and scoring. He says his knees are good enough to get through the Series. If I were the Rockies, I'd bunt on him when practical. When his knees act up, his hitting suffers and he clogs the bases.

I understand keeping Lowell at third. He's hitting well and has good range in the field. That'll be important with Manny behind him in that big outfield.

Coco Crisp and Youklis should stay loose to come in for defense. To their credit, they aren't complaining. And Youklis should be a strong pinch hitter.

A peeve: We constantly hear about the disadvantage AL teams experience in Series road games because they can't use a DH and their pitchers must bat. But NL teams are at some disadvantage on the road because they lack DH specialists. That's seldom mentioned.

Vanderhoof Viking · **Posted:** Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:49 am

Wayne Countryman wrote:

Ortiz has been running hard on the bases and scoring. He says his knees are good enough to get through the Series. If I were the Rockies, I'd bunt on him when practical. When his knees act up, his hitting suffers and he clogs the bases.

I agree. Even if it doesn't slow Big Papi down, it could affect him psychologically, as well as the rest of the team. The pitcher might come off the mound to get to a ball the first baseman would normally get to, which could lead to a wild throw to first.

Wayne Countryman wrote:

A peeve: We constantly hear about the disadvantage AL teams experience in Series road games because they can't use a DH and their pitchers must bat. But NL teams are at some disadvantage on the road because they lack DH specialists. That's seldom mentioned.

Yeah. They normally have a pinch-hitter specialist on the bench, but making him into a DH is like taking your eight-inning reliever and having him start the game. It's a whole different way to have to approach the game.

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:15 pm

Benching Youkilis seems more about the pecking order of stars than about practicality.

Docsdoctor · **Posted:** Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:15 am

Looks like it was Francona's plan to put Youklis in if the score was favorable, and it worked out. I would have given Ortiz a break.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:45 pm

Sometimes, strategy is overrated.

addendum: Obviously, Ortiz was fine, despite my doubts. The decision to start him wasn't even Francona's most important.

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Some slugger must sit

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