Tito's job, after being seemingly one of the hardest managing jobs in 2010, could be one of the easiest managing jobs in 2011 with the Christmas shopping that Theo did this week--a $296 million trip to Walmart that brought two of the game's best players to Boston. It should be interesting to see how this team does in 2011, I'd say this is a potential 100-win team.
Lets begin the lineup. Adrian Gonzalez brings one thing with him, and that is everything the Sox lost when Manny left. In the 2+ seasons since Manny brought his talents to Chavez ravine, the Sox have scored lots of runs, but it is the timely hitting that has killed them. Adrian, a guy I see as a 40 homers-40 doubles guy playing 81 a year at Fenway, now puts that beast back in the middle of the order, making the Sox lineup once again a pitcher's worst nightmare, much like it was in 2004 and 2007.
Now all they need is solid pitching, which I believe they have. To begin, Jon Lester is their ace and in my opinion the best lefty in baseball, Clay Buchholz emerged as one of the game's most dominant starters in 2010, and someone I see as the close runner-up ace to Lester. Ohh and by the way, they have Josh Beckett and Jon Lackey who were terrible last year, but I see them having solid bounce back years this year, and at their best, I see both them being legit #2 guys, maybe aces.
This how I see the Sox lineup panning out:
Carl Crawford, LF- Prefer him 2nd, but I feel the speed at the top of the lineup is important.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B- Good player, but I feel Laser Shows happen when Pedroia is batting 2nd. This is also a great guy to put behind Crawford and Jacoby, given his grinder-like ability at the plate and ability to move runners along.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B- Put your best power hitter and run-producer third. He is one of the best power hitters and run-producers in baseball, I feel this guy will put up monster numbers as a result of not playing at Petco.
Kevin Youkilis, 3B- .311 AVG/.972 OPS hitting cleanup, plus sticks a righty between Papi and Gonzo.
David Ortiz, DH- Still say he can hit third, Gonzo is just the better option..wouldn't be surprised if he were to hit 40 home runs this year.
Jed Lowrie, SS- Scutaro deserves to be a starter, but could also be a great 10 position player like he was on the A's. I just feel Lowrie needs to be in the lineup as a result of his ability to switch-hit and hit LHP (.309 career AVG vs. lefties), and it takes away the opposing manager's ability to bring in a lefty late in the game to face Papi and Drew back-to-back.
JD Drew, RF- Like Drew in the 7-hole, not quite a top of the order guy in my opinion.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C- This can allow him to quietly have a great season, not having to be the young up and coming superstar at the top of the order. Instead, it allows him to test some things out, and I can honestly see him finding his stroke and being a 20-homer guy.
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF- A .363 career hitter in the bottom third of the order, brings a second leadoff hitter to the bottom of the lineup, not to mention NFL running back-like speed. It also makes for a nice Jacoby-Crawford-Pedroia-Gonzalez batting order in the lineup.
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