Marco Scutaro’s Ability to Lead Off Will Serve Red Sox Well Against Southpaws in 2011

Editor's note: Each weekday starting Jan. 17, NESN.com Red Sox reporter Tony Lee will offer his take on 10 different potential lineups for the 2011 Red Sox. Check back every day to see a new offensive rundown and the pros, cons and likelihood of each.

One of the question marks, if you can call it that, surrounding the Red Sox’ acquisitions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez is the way in which it can make the lineup heavy with left-handed bats. In reality, it’s a minor issue. Two lefty bats — David Ortiz and J.D. Drew — could be gone in a year, and when you have a chance to land two stars like Crawford and Gonzalez, it’s hard to let a few matchup issues for one season get in the way.

Still, manager Terry Francona will have to address the situation when some of the better lefties are on the mound. A virtual given is that Jason Varitek will get his starts at catcher in such situations. He has been more successful against southpaws in his career, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia typically hits right-handers a bit better. Other decisions will have to be made on a case-by-case basis. The caliber of the lefty, as well as how well each hitter is going at the time, will come into play.

Below is one of multiple lineup variations Francona could go with when the opponent has a tough left-hander starting. For the sake of making today’s permutation as realistic as possible, let’s say the pitcher is CC Sabathia, the ace of the New York Yankees and someone who has faced the Red Sox eight times since joining the Yanks.

Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Cameron, CF
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C

Pros
We first have to consider that a guy like Sabathia is going to make plenty of hitters look bad, regardless of what side of the plate they hit from. Francona cannot let the fact that Pedroia is 1-for-22 (.045) with eight strikeouts against Sabathia keep his former MVP out of the No. 2 hole, unless Pedroia is overdue for a day off. What Francona can do is fill in spots around Pedroia with some sure bets. This involves giving Jacoby Ellsbury (1-for-13, six Ks, zero walks vs. Sabathia) a seat and bumping last year’s de facto leadoff man, Marco Scutaro, into the top spot for a day.

Scutaro is a .321 (9-for-28) hitter with five walks against the Yankees lefty. Crawford can stay in his familiar spot batting third as he is a .296 (16-for-54) hitter vs. Sabathia, and pairing him with Gonzalez is not usually an issue, considering A-Gon’s success against pitchers from both sides.

Kevin Youkilis and Mike Cameron, who replaces Ellsbury in center, have hammered Sabathia, going a combined 16-for-38 (.421) with nine extra-base hits. They will spread things out through the middle and lower portions of the lineup, and Varitek rounds things out.

One factor that will be looked at in future configurations is the presence of Jed Lowrie, a menace vs. lefties. He won’t bat leadoff, but is usually a better choice than Scutaro in such situations. Look for that breakdown in future editions when Ellsbury is kept in against a left-hander.

Cons
The obvious issue is the loss of Ellsbury’s speed. Crawford’s presence makes that a tad easier to stomach, but if he is neutralized the lineup could look a lot like last year’s homer-heavy, plodding crew. Drew and Varitek are a combined 6-for-35 (.171) vs. Sabathia. Unfortunately, it’s hard to keep them apart if you also want to split Drew and Ortiz. One option might be to bat Cameron sixth, Ortiz seventh, Varitek eighth and Drew ninth. Cameron will also sub for Drew against left-handers, which we will explore Wednesday.

Likelihood we will see this lineup in 2011
Including Sabathia, the best pitcher on every team in the American League East may be a left-hander. Baltimore has Brian Matusz, who was 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA against Boston last year, and Tampa Bay lefty David Price was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award. Toronto has Ricky Romero leading a staff that likely will include fellow southpaws Brett Cecil and Mark Rzepczynski. Veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte may still return to the Yankees.

There will be ample opportunity for Francona to mix things up when a tough lefty is on the mound. Above is simply one option, best utilized when Ellsbury is the casualty and Scutaro is a viable choice to lead off.

Monday, Jan. 17: Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez Balance Speed, Power in Red Sox Lineup