Line up

[Station 13]

Potential lineups:
“If guys play to their abilities . . . I think [everybody] looks at Jacoby Ellsbury . . . [as] a leadoff guy with [the] kind of ability, not only to steal bases but to drive the ball with some consistency . . . The one variation to look at, against a left-handed pitcher we could see [Shane] Victorino in the 2 hole [but then] see him down in the 5, 6 hole [against right-handers] . . . But I think the one thing that stands out is with [Stephen] Drew’s addition, [and] now [Mike] Napoli, it gives us that complement, that balance, left-right all the way through the lineup.

“[Victorino has moved around] in the past. it's something we’ve talked about with him and he’s comfortable with it, as he’s done it, so that switching back and forth in the lineup for him wouldn’t be out of the norm.”

http://www.csnne.com/baseball-boston...5&feedID=10430

[Station 13]

Well as I said, Victorino may be the new Crawford where he fits for this club. If he plays to his pre-2012 ability, it really doesn't matter.

[Nomar]

Our lineup is going to absolutely destroy lefties though just looking at it. Wow.

[AI4]

If Victorino returns to his pre-2012, he could hit 2nd. He still got some speed left to steal 30-40.

Though Middlebrooks hitting 8th on one of that lineup vs lefties? He might be the best power hitter from the right side, and owns lefties last year.

Even 2012 Victorino should be allowed to hit 2nd vs LHP: .323/.388/.518

He's always crushed lefties so hitting him 2nd against them would be smart.

I like your lineups AI, I'd make a few small tweaks though, I'd move Napoli and WMB above Gomes against LHP just because I think they are generally better hitters than Gomes

Gomes is arguably our best hitter against LHP. He is a career .284/.382/.512 hitter vs lefties which is why I hit him above them, he gets on base and he hits for power. Also, I expect Middlebrooks to regress a bit.

and against RHP I'd debate moving Victorino above Drew and Ross. I assume your lineups reflect us trading Salty, which I hope happens.

Victorino is pretty bad against RHP, which is why I personally would hit Ross and Drew ahead of him but I could see him hitting above them. Also, yes, my lineups were made assuming Salty was traded.

[todu82]

1) Ellsbury
2) Victorino
3) Pedroia
4) Napoli
5) Ortiz
6) Middlebrooks
7) Drew
8) Gomes
9) Saltalamacchia/Lavarnway

[ruckus16969]

If these guys stay healthy im starting to really like this lineup.

[bagwell368]

If these guys stay healthy im starting to really like this lineup.

How can anybody that knows the ages and injury history of these players think they will stay healthy?

[bagwell368]

1) Ellsbury
2) Victorino
3) Pedroia
4) Napoli
5) Ortiz
6) Middlebrooks
7) Drew
8) Gomes
9) Saltalamacchia/Lavarnway

Umm, I think you have some typos.

1. Ortiz behind Napoli?
2. Salty and Lavarnway? What about David Ross?
3. No platoon in LF?

[Nomar]

Nava would probably be a decent leadoff against RHP if hes the other half of the Gomes platoon. He gets on base at a .380+ clip against RHP.

[SoxFan0407]

How can anybody that knows the ages and injury history of these players think they will stay healthy?

Nagging injuries aside...."generally healthy" might get us a long way this season. Any one of these guys being out a couple weeks to let a sore hamstring heal shouldn't kill our chances. The only real problem I see is Ortiz's heal, but even if that flares up and he's done for the year I could see us putting Napoli at DH, and platooning Salty/Gomes/Nava at first. I'd really like to see us sign Kotchman to a one year deal to solidify 1B incase something like that happens. Could also be why we haven't seen Salty delt yet?

[bagwell368]

Nava would probably be a decent leadoff against RHP if hes the other half of the Gomes platoon. He gets on base at a .380+ clip against RHP.

When the "book" on him comes out, it won't likely be .380 anymore, but he's better to use than Gomes against RHP.

The line-up is still woefully short of anchor-like, or league leading type hitters per position.

DH - Ortiz as long as the injury and age do not catch up with him.

Pedroia - top 3 as long as he's fairly healthy.

Ellsbury - if he repeats or comes near his outlier season.

So, 3 at best, and odds have it, one of them will be ineffective or play less than 120 games.

The line-up is still meh if top 5 in the AL in runs is the goal.

[Nomar]

When the "book" on him comes out, it won't likely be .380 anymore, but he's better to use than Gomes against RHP.

The line-up is still woefully short of anchor-like, or league leading type hitters per position.

DH - Ortiz as long as the injury and age do not catch up with him.

Pedroia - top 3 as long as he's fairly healthy.

Ellsbury - if he repeats or comes near his outlier season.

So, 3 at best, and odds have it, one of them will be ineffective or play less than 120 games.

The line-up is still meh if top 5 in the AL in runs is the goal.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/...ting/league/al

Rangers, Yankees should do worse. Detroit is a toss up because Miggy could do a bit worse, Jackson isn't a sure thing, and they go Hunter for RF. Toronto I expect to be top 5.

For us Ells should be better and play at least as much as he did last year. Ortiz, Napoli, and Pedroia are injury prone for us. Gomes should more or less replace Ross offensively, and Victorino will likely at least equate the production from LF last year. Gonzalez was off his game last year, so to me it's more about whether Napoli can stay healthy. If he does, he'll probably be more productive than AGon's 113 wRC+ last year. That's all well and good, but with so many injury concerns I really can't see us escaping at least one major injury.

[RedSoxtober]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/...ting/league/al

Hm.. most often when we've talked "top 5 offense" it's been relative to MLB, not only the AL. Sox were #8 overall, tied with ARI and ahead of WAS and SFG by less than 10 runs.

Rangers, Yankees should do worse. Detroit is a toss up because Miggy could do a bit worse, Jackson isn't a sure thing, and they go Hunter for RF. Toronto I expect to be top 5.

Yankees likely regress but not as much as you might suspect. Russell Martin (92OPS+) and A-Rod had down years so neither loss hurts greatly. Even replacing A-Rod with Youk. The loss that hurts the most is Swisher for Ichiro. Time will tell how much Yankee Stadium helps Ichiro or whether his late-year production was just the excitement of getting into the playoffs. Yankees were +28 runs on the next team (+37 AL, 70 vs BOS) so they have a cushion.

TEX will also suffer from the loss of Hamilson but it's not like the offense will implode. They're probably slightly upgraded at catcher over Napoli's down year. Again, they had a BIG lead.

I don't have a clue why TOR would be top 5 (MLB or AL only). Rasmus (CF) is a far less safe bet than Austin Jackson and post-PED Cabrera is uncertain as well. Believe it or not, Reyes is VERY comparable to Escobar. On offense, they're really not that much improved and may have regressed slightly. Their pitching is greatly improved and is the main source of hope for 2013.

Detroit is replacing Delmon Young (89 OPS+) with Victor Martinez at DH. Even if V-Mart is 10% worse than his career he'll still outproduce Young by a long short. Likewise, it won't take much for Hunter (111 OPS+ career, 132 last year) to pass Boesch (77 OPS+).

[Nomar]

Hm.. most often when we've talked "top 5 offense" it's been relative to MLB, not only the AL. Sox were #8 overall, tied with ARI and ahead of WAS and SFG by less than 10 runs.


Yankees likely regress but not as much as you might suspect. Russell Martin (92OPS+) and A-Rod had down years so neither loss hurts greatly. Even replacing A-Rod with Youk. The loss that hurts the most is Swisher for Ichiro. Time will tell how much Yankee Stadium helps Ichiro or whether his late-year production was just the excitement of getting into the playoffs. Yankees were +28 runs on the next team (+37 AL, 70 vs BOS) so they have a cushion.

TEX will also suffer from the loss of Hamilson but it's not like the offense will implode. They're probably slightly upgraded at catcher over Napoli's down year. Again, they had a BIG lead.

I don't have a clue why TOR would be top 5 (MLB or AL only). Rasmus (CF) is a far less safe bet than Austin Jackson and post-PED Cabrera is uncertain as well. Believe it or not, Reyes is VERY comparable to Escobar. On offense, they're really not that much improved and may have regressed slightly. Their pitching is greatly improved and is the main source of hope for 2013.

Detroit is replacing Delmon Young (89 OPS+) with Victor Martinez at DH. Even if V-Mart is 10% worse than his career he'll still outproduce Young by a long short. Likewise, it won't take much for Hunter (111 OPS+ career, 132 last year) to pass Boesch (77 OPS+).

I used AL because that's what I said I'd like to see, not because others expect it. Top 5 in the MLB would be pretty darn surprising for this team IMO.

You mentioned "post-PED", which is pretty interesting to think about for sure. I'm sure boards will blow up about this before a real conversation even happens, but I can't help but be suspicious of certain people. You were weary of Miggy, but also Bautista is someone I wouldn't be shocked to se caught or have a sudden decline. Not that there isn't candidates for each team. Ortiz really turned his career around when it looked like it was over for him, I'm sure he has plenty of doubters. It will be interesting to see what happens over the course of this year.

[Polish Post]

vs RHP
CF Ellsbury
2B Pedroia
DH Ortiz
1B Napoli
C Saltalamacchia
3B Middlebrooks
RF Victorino
LF Sweeney
SS Drew


vs. LHP
CF Ellsbury
2B Pedroia
DH Ortiz
1B Napoli
3B Middlebrooks
RF Victorino
C Ross
LF Gomes
SS Ciriaco

Bench players; C platoon, SS platoon, LF platoon, Nava(assuming he can play 1B in a pinch along with corner OF)
AAA depth; Lavarnway, Kalish(when healthy), Iglesias, Gomez

Lester
Buccholz
Doubront
Dempster
Lackey

Hanrahan
Morales
Bailey
Uehara
Breslow
Aceves
Miller

AAA Depth; Bard, Tazawa, Mortensen, Carpenter, Rubby de la Rosa