Discussing the lineup

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Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2002 1:00 am
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Name: Larry Bestwick

Discussing the lineup

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Here is how the 2008 IBC Red Sox are shaping up
2b Dustin Pedroia .317 .380 .442
1b Kevin Youkilis .288 .390 .453
DH Travis Hafner .266 .385 .451
LF Carlos Lee .303 .354 .528
3b TBD (Miguel Tejada?)
RF Luke Scott .255 .351 .504
SS David Eckstein .309 .356 .382
CF Vernon Wells .245 .304 .402
C TBD

Pedroia really busted through this season and should unquestionably be the Rookie of the Year in the AL. He didn't flash much HR power, but he had more xbh than K's, more walks than K's and came up just shy of 40 doubles. If not for a very rough April, he'd have gotten there. His defense was solid if unspectacular.
Youkilis cooled off a lot in the second half, but still managed to have an impressive season. He'll never be a slugger, but 20 HR's isn't an impossibility. He had one of the best fielding seasons a first baseman has ever had in that he went errorless all season... and for half the season before. His range is good but not great. Combined with his impressive glovework, he's a well above average defender at 1b.
Hafner had an offseason, only hitting 24 HR's. The troubling thing about this is there doesn't seem to be an explanation for it. Perhaps he just had an off season or had an injury that he didn't mention. As DH his defense isn't an issue, but should the need present itself he's average as a 1b.
Carlos lee had another very solid season. Not quite as impressive as 2006, but still very, very good. He's okay with the glove but with unimpressive range. Fortunately LF in Fenway isn't exactly spacious, so he should be fine.
Luke Scott also had an impressive season, hitting lefties almost as well as righties. Statistically he hit them better but I'm presuming he sat against the best lefties. Apparently the Astros are completely unaware of the fact that he deserves to play every day. They sure don't breed for brains down in Texass... Defensively Scott is no gem, but he's solid and isn't going to embarass himself in RF. Look for him to be replaced by Crisp in RF in late game situations.
It's ironic that David Eckstein should end up with Dustin Pedroia as a double play partner since Pedroia was so long compared to eckstein. granted, that was just by people who saw to short middle infielders, Pedroia si clearly the better player, but Eck is no dog. He has less pop than Pedroia, but he's a pesky hitter and striking him out is a near impossibility, he's got 109k in his last 1677 plate appearances. That's once every 15.4 plate appearances. Eck missed some time to the DL, but he remains a solid, if unspectacular, defender at SS.
Wells had a tough season with a shoulder problem, but if he gets that straightened out, as he ought to, then this promises to be a very solid lineup. His defense remains spectacular.

6 of the top 7 hitters combined for 344bb's to 402k's... so it's not a lineup that gives away outs. Even the sluggers Lee and Hafner aren't huge K machines and have great ratios.
As a team, they hit .290 with a .350 OBP (with Wells being the ONLY OBP under .350... dragging the team down with his .304)

Filling the C role is important, but the strength of the rest of the lineup should be able to compensate for that singular weakness.
Tejada looks like he can handle 3b without being a liability and everyone else should be at least okay defensively, with Crisp as a great defensive replacement in the OF.
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