You would think this would be an easy decision and go with Ortiz.Although, with the way Youkilis is hitting, and his "gold glove" defense, can you really justify taking him out of the lineup?
2007-10-25 22:29:31 · 15 answers · asked by Carlin 3 in Sports ➔ Baseball
I would start Youkilis in game 3 of the series and see how he does.
pros of starting Youkilis:
-better defense
-solid hitter and is batting .396 in the postseason
-We are up 2-0 in the series, so if we were to lose this game it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
-Josh Fogg is pitching
Fogg has been solid in the playoffs(8IP) but overall he is a medicore pitcher.
W:10 L:9 ERA:4.94
opp.avg.vs:Left: .279 Right: .305
Home ERA: 5.97
-Having Ortiz available to hit in any spot
Cons:
-papi is on the bench(obv) and you break up the big three(Manny,Ortiz,Lowell)
I saw on the news that Francona is going to start Ortiz.
Thanks everybody!
2007-10-26 14:19:06 · update #1
I'd say Youkilis and then use Big Papi to pinch hit for a pitcher later in the game.
2007-10-25 22:36:50 · answer #1 · answered by SW1 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Youkilis. Any incremental upside in offense by putting Ortiz at first is more than offset by the significant downgrade in defense. Also his knees are visibly hurting him, the rest would do him some good and the Sox would also have a great left-handed bat on the bench to pinch-hit.
2007-10-26 01:52:45 · answer #2 · answered by nicedoc 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say to play Youk for the D and a hot bat, but Francona will probably put Ortiz in for the first two games against the RHP and Youk in the game against Francis. Just be glad we have this problem(having to decide on which great hitter to put in the game). Colorado has to put thier DH in the 9 hole
2007-10-26 02:07:04 · answer #3 · answered by Brandon M 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Start Ortiz and you can always pinch hit youkilis and use him as a late inning defensive replacement, the last thing you want to do is mess with your offence in a stadium when you play in a hitters park
2007-10-25 23:24:24 · answer #4 · answered by allenmontana 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
You start Ortiz... He is arguably the best hitter in baseball right now. Youkilis has been playing good, but most players would be playing good with a red hot ortiz and manny hitting right behind them
2007-10-25 22:58:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
For Game 3 I'd use Ortiz, and sub in Youk if the defense suffers. Depending on how well his knees hold up, do the same for the next games. Otherwise keep him pissed off on the bench so he can bide his anger and frustration at not playing in the World Series and hit a walkoff RBI of some sort when he's needed!!
2007-10-25 22:55:58 · answer #6 · answered by bweaing 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's a good question, I'd say maybe Ortiz for the first one and Youkilis for one of the others, depending on how they're doing against the Rockies pitching. This is one of the interesting moves that goes on in baseball, you can't put them back in like football, and there's always second guessing the next day.
2007-10-25 22:42:57 · answer #7 · answered by seadog 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Without thinking, most would go with the '04 plan- Papi on first. BUT it's different now. With Papi's hurting knee in addition to his not SO great hitting, it's best if he had time off. Youkalis is doing REALLY well at bat right now- him and Pedroia are doing exceptional. They should try that for the first game there, and then maybe have Papi come in for game 4.
2007-10-25 23:34:53 · answer #8 · answered by girl 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'd have to stick with Youklis. Ortiz is murder with the bat but though he's hitting well he's not hitting as well as Youk and he's a liability on the bases. They will probably go with Ortiz, but that would probably be a mistake.
2007-10-26 02:59:46 · answer #9 · answered by Sarrafzedehkhoee 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Start Youk. He's red-hot, far superior at defense, and Ortiz is hurting and needs the rest. If need be, Ortiz can pinch hit.
2007-10-26 01:49:13 · answer #10 · answered by Greg C 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋