LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — In baseball, having too much starting pitching is often considered a “good problem” to have. What happens when you have too much hitting?
Realistically, the same logic applies. The Red Sox are positively loaded with bats after the additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford this week. However, they will have to use the remaining months of the offseason to determine the best way to lay out an optimum lineup.
The one “issue” with the club even before they so deftly snagged Crawford, in the eyes of some, was that they were too left-handed, and that some of those lefty bats had issues of their own in certain situations. Just one glance at the decline in OPS vs. lefties of David Ortiz over the years (from .988 in 2006 to .599 last year) and that of J.D. Drew last year (from .926 in 2007 to .611 last year) suggests as much.
The presumption was that Boston would add a right-handed bat somewhere for balance, especially with the best pitcher on the market, southpaw Cliff Lee, a candidate to join the rival New York Yankees. Fight power with power, as the saying goes.
Now, with five starters hitting from the left side, the debate will rage on that end. While possessing a lineup as dynamic as any in baseball in recent years, at least on paper, are the Red Sox, like the many bleeding-heart liberals in their city, leaning too far to the left?
The thing is, by the time the giddiness of the gargantuan acquisitions wears off, there simply won’t be much time left to even worry. Ortiz could very well be gone after 2011. Drew is all but certain to depart as well at season’s end, his contract complete. If obtaining the likes of Gonzalez and Crawford for the bulk of the decade means having to stomach (oh, the nightmare!) of one year with a slight imbalance in the right-lefty split, then that’s not a hefty cost to pay, is it?
In addition, Gonzalez hit better against lefties than righties last year. Crawford, for all he brings, has always been worse in such situations. Putting those two back-to-back could render that issue moot, if Gonzalez continues to showcase splits more akin to a right-handed bat.
With that, here is a probable lineup for 2011:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Carl Crawford, LF
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. J.D. Drew, RF
9. Marco Scutaro, SS
Some items to consider:
- Would Crawford make some sense in a leadoff role if Ellsbury struggles out of the gate? In such a scenario, everyone could simply slide up a spot, leaving Gonzalez in his customary No. 3 hole, Youkilis in a well-suited cleanup role and Ortiz batting fifth.
- Drew and Saltalamacchia will see plenty of time on the bench against lefties. On those days, Cameron likely would hit seventh and Varitek eighth in the aforementioned scenario.
- Those of you tempted to move Pedroia up to leadoff (shifting Ellsbury to ninth and Crawford to second) or to third (putting Ellsbury and Crawford back-to-back, which is risky in its own right) should remember that Pedey’s lifetime average in the two-hole is .313 while it’s .255 between first and third.
With the two lefty bats now in the fold, it’s an intriguing discussion, but one that may only be addressed in 2011.
Feel free to leave your own lineup thoughts below.
