Ortiz Finally Dropped In Order

[love_that_reefer]

David Ortiz has been dropped down to the sixth spot in the order against the Twins on Tuesday.
Manager Terry Francona is obviously hoping that hitting further down in the order will help shake Ortiz out of his slump, and the struggling DH told a reporter that he'd talk to the media "After I go deep tonight." J.D. Drew moves up to Ortiz's customary third spot in the order.

Its about damn time!! Sure the Red Sox sit atop the East now but just think how many games up they could have been with a proper #3 hitter instead of dead weight in the middle of your order. Its a smart move about a month too late. Maybe this will wake Ortiz's bat but I doubt it. If it hasn't woken up yet after all the media picking him apart, I don't know what will.

[cjkalt]

Month too late... its only may... u don't drop a guy cause he has a bad month... we are still winning the division, it hasn't cost us anything.

I don't doubt Theo and Francona for a minute... you don't just drop a guy that quickly, he'll still get it together

[ljshorty89]

CJ, I would normally agree with you, but not after seeing the shadow of David Ortiz that played this past weekend. Ortiz just doesn't have the same aura about him anymore. I'm pretty sure he got 1 hit in the entire series against the Mets....

He just hasn't been hitting the ball well, he's not even putting good swings on the balls he used to crush. I don't know what it is, whether it's not having Manny for protection, whether it's age/injury, or what, but he's not the same hitter, and that's easy to see when you watch him swing, struggle, and complain to the ump as frequently as he did this past weekend.

[love_that_reefer]

Its almost June dude. The Red Sox have cost themselves plenty and to deny that is utterly ridiculous. The Red Sox have won DESPITE Ortiz, not because of him. Yes, you do drop a guy that early. You keep saying he'll get it together with no evidence to suggest he will. Watch this man bat. Nothing looks good and definitely no signs of it getting better. This was a great move but a little late. Red Sox should be doing a lot better than they have been and having a huge hole in the middle of the order is a major factor.

[cjkalt]

A win is a win is a win. The reality is it cost them nothing. They stayed loyal to the guy and he'll turn it around. I am watching him bat, he's getting closer and closer.

Why didn't you complain about BJ Upton being dropped? His average was worse than Ortiz for 7 weeks and there team was losing?

A LOT BETTER?!? Considering there strength of schedule they are in amazing shape. 8-0 against the Blue Jays and Yankees. What else do you want from the team? They aren't going to win every game. We are playing well, even if he's struggling. We had injuries bite us and we fought through them.

You couldn't have asked more from the TEAM at this point? Every team has a guy that struggled and they can always do better. But to say they should have been doing much better is absolutely ridiculous

[browntown653]

You are vastly overestimating the remaining talent level of David Ortiz.

[love_that_reefer]

He's underestimating a lot too by saying things like "a win is a win" and "it cost them nothing". The Red Sox could have a lot more wins as a result of dropping your worst hitter out of the prime spot in the order. Its basic baseball knowledge. They stayed loyal and it never paid off. BJ Upton should be removed from the leadoff spot no question, not the issue here though. I could have asked more since I have been asking Francona to take his head out of his ass and realize Ortiz is no longer a good hitter. Ortiz should have been moved way before tonight's game. Your homer look at Ortiz is very scary and off base.

[cjkalt]

I'm not arguing about Ortiz... to expect a team to be well over .600 is just unrealistic.

[ljshorty89]

It's unrealistic, but you have to acknowledge that having a black hole in the #3 spot in the order is only going to cost your team wins. Therefore, the Red Sox may indeed have had MORE wins if Ortiz was in a more fitting spot.

[cjkalt]

Your playing a what if game... it was time to move him down... but to say it cost us a lot of games is ridiculous... what happens if he's batting 6th and they walk bay and drew to get to him... maybe those rallies don't happen... too many what ifs

[ljshorty89]

When was the last time you saw anybody intentionally walk two straight batters (without it being 9th or extra innings and a leadoff man on 3rd)?

[cjkalt]

You know what I mean LJ... u can't play the what-if game

[love_that_reefer]

Its easy to assume the Red Sox would have done a lot better with a proper #3 hitter. To deny that is just being blind to the truth. A team playing over .600 is not unrealistic this early in the season. Red Sox should be doing better and Ortiz dragging the offense down in key spots is a part of that.

[cjkalt]

NO ITS NOT... if they didn't have a 3 hitter, they don't have as good a 6 hitter... the middle to bottom of the order has been doing most of the damage... ITS A TERRIBLE ASSUMPTION... maybe if the guy was batting 8th instead of 3rd it would be a big difference but the difference between 6th and 3rd in a lineup like ours is not much at all

[ljshorty89]

CJ, the point is they'd have the exact same lineup, but Ortiz (with his mediocre numbers) would have been a more typical 6 hitter, and the better hitters below him would have had more at bats(probably with more people on base), LIKELY resulting in more wins.