Before I jump into today's blog, I'm going to give you a bit of an overview of the direction I plan on taking the blog. Leading up to opening day I will continue posting 2-3 entries each week previewing different areas of the Sox on both the major league and minor league levels. Once the season starts I will be writing weekly entries recapping the Red Sox week with player profiles, chronicling and analyzing their successes and struggles of the past week. I will also write about any major transactions that involve or will affect the Sox. In addition to my weekly Red Sox post I will also be writing shorter entries throughout the week, about anything that catches my eye around the league including but not limited to; major milestones (both player and team), unique occurrences (perfect games, no hitters, etc.), top MLB prospect debuts, and anything that you the readers may want to hear about. If there is any subject, player or analysis that you like me to touch on please don't hesitate to email me at boysofsummerblog@gmail.com. Now on to the line-up...
Terry 'Tito' Francona is in a difficult yet envious position as he attempts to set the Red Sox line-up without over thinking it. Since the Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez acquisitions Francona has been steadfast in his belief, and in my opinion rightfully so, that the Red Sox line-up is at its most dangerous when Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting in the lead off position. The alternative would be having Ellsbury hit in the 9 hole. One of the strengths of the Sox current roster is the balance between speed and power, and having Ellsbury bat 9th negates a large portion of that balance. I'm sure you're currently asking yourself, 'Why does Ellsbury have to hit 9th or 1st instead of 7th or 8th?' A valid question, based off the fact that over the course of a season the leadoff hitter will average almost 2 more at-bats per game than the #9 hitter. Having Ellsbury hit 7th or 8th would obviously get him more at-bats but the problem with this is that it limits Ellsbury's speed even more because of the high OBP hitters directly in front of him aren't fleet of foot, Ortiz and J.D. Drew. Hitting Ellsbury in the 9-hole behind Scutaro and Salty means that there is a lower probability of someone being on base in front of him, which would allow him to steal his way into scoring position more often. However, none of these options benefit the Sox quite as much as having Ellsbury leadoff. Without further delay here is my 2011 Boston Red Sox batting order:
Ellsbury, CF (for the reasons stated above)
Pedroia, 2B (this is a given, he can steal 15-20 bases hit 15-20 HR and work the count)
Crawford, LF (he says he doesn't mind leading off but he's just playing nice because it's his first season with the team. Hitting 3rd will give him the opportunity to steal bases while also hitting for power given the protection he will receive from the clean up hitter)
Gonzalez, 1B (no brainer here the guy can flat out hit, he's the front runner for the AL MVP and with the three people hitting in front of him and the one behind him he should produce at a Pujols-esk level. only qualm here might be that there are back to back left handed hitters. Gonzalez hit .337 vs lefty pitchers last year so the Sox should be fine against lefties)
Youkilis, 3B (he'll give Gonzalez protection and continue to produce like a top 10 MVP candidate)
Ortiz, DH (slow start or not he should be fine in the long run and with the new acquisitions there's less pressure for him to produce right off the bat)
Scutaro, SS
Drew, RF
Salty, C
(the final 3 keep the right/left combination)
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