this has tito written all over it, especially starting cora over pedroia. does anyone think the front office suggested it to him?

ellsbury over coco is probably a marginal offensive improvement with the attendant risk that ellsbury f's up in center. he doesn't look great when balls get near the wall.

Piehole--

I agree with you about the risks of starting Ellsbury. He has looked a bit shaky in the field but I do think he's more than a marginal improvement over Coco with the bat. That would be based more on a scouting/eyes thing than the numbers, which probably would put them pretty close.

I wonder if the Cora/Pedroia thing was brought up by the reporter. Maybe he asked something like "Did you consider replacing Pedroia too?" And instead of saying "no way" Francona just said, "yeah, we considered it..." I hope that was the case.

As for who made this decision, I think the Front Office would agree or at least not disagree with playing Ellsbury.

ellsbury/coco vs a rhp is a pretty lateral move

cora/pedroia vs a rhp would be a pretty lateral move too in all honesty. i like rooting for pedroyer a lot more though so holla

I don't see much downside in starting Ellsbury. I don't see the point in judging the management based on what someone (we don't know who) said they thought about, but ultimately decided not to, do.

I see no reason to think that Tito is either a puppet of the FO or can be a renegade. I assume they work together, bat about ideas, talk through plans, and decide what to do.

"the Sox decided against the Cora/Pedroia switch"

Thank god.

Agree on the defensive risk of starting Ellsbury, especially with pitch-to-contact Schilling on the mound. But Coco looked awfully tight at the plate the other night-- particularly on that botched bunt. I'd say it's a close call, but the odds that Ellsbury adds a run at the plate seem slightly greater than the odds that he gives one up in the field, so I think it's a pretty good move.

And if the Sox, knock on wood, can take a lead into the 8th or so, I assume Ellsbury moves to left and Coco comes in to play center, depending on where the lineup is at that point (that is, whether Manny is due to come up again in the 8th or 9th).

Speaking of the Sox lineup, is anyone else starting to think there was something to that "Youkilis can't hit in the five-hole" meme earlier this year? Not that the spot in the order itself matters, but maybe he really does benefit significantly from having Ortiz and Manny right behind him.

Edit: Also, someone on SoSH made the intriguing point that Ellsbury may have personal reasons to hate the Indians. Have any reporters asked him about that?

cora/pedroia vs a rhp would be a pretty lateral move too in all honesty. i like rooting for pedroyer a lot more though so holla

How so? Pedroia's a much better hitter and similar fielder.

Speaking of the Sox lineup, is anyone else starting to think there was something to that "Youkilis can't hit in the five-hole" meme earlier this year?

I think they moved him to the 5-hole to protect Manny/Ortiz and I think he approached it that way. He's better off just doing his get on base thing.

I would have been dissapointed if they didn't consider both of these moves. I think they made pretty good choices on both ends.

This could be a good move, or end up being a bad one, but I have to admit it: I love it, because Coco Crisp pisses me off so much.

More objectively, I worry about defense (like everybody else) and I'm not certain it's an actual offensive upgrade. Jacoby did hit nearly .360 in limited time in Boston, but in 87 games in Pawtucket, he hit 298 / 360 / 380, which looks an awful lot like Crisp's season line of 268 / 330 / 382 after accounting for league differences. I suppose there's an argument to be made that Crisp is pressing, or clutching, or something, but I don't see it: He just looks like his own kinda-crappy self at the plate, to me, and the reason he hasn't hit that well in the playoffs is that he's not a very good hitter. Unfortunately, Ellsbury isn't yet, either. I think this looks like an offensive wash and a defensive downgrade to me -- but it's very close to a an overall wash, really.

Don't have it in front of me but Ellsbury's MLE for the entire year is something like 350/420, which is better than what Coco's delivered. But again, I think this is really a scouting/observation move, where Coco seems so out of it that he couldn't lay down a sac bunt. (And religion should be lefted out of all important decisions.)

Anyone else going tonight?

Effin' pumped for this shite.

Why do people ignore Jake's 1.162 line at AA this year (or .821 at AA last year)? Using all available evidence (incl. his majors line) it's pretty clear to me he's a significantly better hitter than Coco right now. Defensively his mediocre zone ratings (in a SSS) may be due to adjustments to new ballparks (I recall a few balls off the wall which gave him problems).

The proposed Pedroia switch makes much less sense-Cora should be replacing Lugo not Dustin, esp. considering the confidence Tito showed in Pedroia earlier in the year after his initial slump.

I really really dunno about this. I'm afraid Jake will have a lot of trouble with flyballs near the wall, compounded by all the brain-crushing pressure of the ALCS scenario itself. Coco's D has be insanely good all year, interms of running everything hit out there down. And Schilling's a big time flyball pitcher, no?

Also, OTTOMH, it seems Jake's had the most Big Leauge transition problems at bat with balls that have dived down on him, trouble laying off that kind of pitch--the kind I've seen Fausto use as his out pitch. Maybe its only his out pitch to righties? So I dunno about this, I really don't.

Coco is the closest thing I have seen in MLB to an automatic out right now. It's time.

Yeah, but you gotta admit we're probably giving something back to the Indians in terms of run prevention. Have a blast at the ballgame, Nepostism Man! :)

I basically endorse everything Darren's said in this thread.

The numbers don't give us much separation between Coco and Jacoby - this is clearly a move premised on other factors, greatly that Coco really does look lost at the plate. I'm excited about Ellsbury.

I got last-minute tickets through complicated family connections again... and this time the tickets were correctly delivered to our apartment! I is excited.

Coco is the closest thing I have seen in MLB to an automatic out right now. It's time.

I think you're forgetting Lugo.

Wow, MCOA. I'm surprised you agreed with #10. Glad you finally came around.

Maybe you missed that parenthetical earlier though. If you really do agree with #10, just quote the first line of this post in your next post, then follow that with "Curses! Foiled again."

Wow, MCOA. I'm surprised you agreed with #10. Glad you finally came around.

Curses! Foiled again.

So no one thinks this is about Chief Wahoo then?

Yeah, but you gotta admit we're probably giving something back to the Indians in terms of run prevention. Have a blast at the ballgame, Nepostism Man! :)

Don't you conservatives love nepotism? :)

I win I win I win. Take that MC!

Don't you conservatives love nepotism? :)

Good one. Can't wait to pass it along to Pinch and Hill next time I run into them on the uptown N platform.

Coco is the closest thing I have seen in MLB to an automatic out right now. It's time.

I think you're forgetting Lugo.

I know you Red Sox fans didn't see much of him, but Lugo on his worst day is still better than a locked-in Wil Nieves. He would really get into a pitch and drive a lazy fly ball to medium depth left center. Hell, you guys are carrying decline-era Mirabelli. I know you're frustrated with the two chumps at the bottom of the Boston lineup, but get a grip.

I feel sorry for Crisp - he seems utterly exhausted from ... Well I don't know what, but I suspect he has felt he's in a marathon with Ellsbury for most of the year. Still he's absolute garbage at the dish right now, and even he might admit he isn't about to break out of it. This is the right move. Light up the night Jacoby!

Light up the night Jacoby!

Just catch the ball.

Just catch the ball.

Actually, Coco is doing that already. If we need someone to just catch the damn ball, that's already happening. We need ball-catching AND ball-hitting.

Actually, this is the ultimate example of nepotism in baseball.

he doesn't look great when balls get near the wall.

I'm afraid Jake will have a lot of trouble with flyballs near the wall


Wow, you guys called it...though it was a tough play, it looked like he could have taken another step back. Has he been like this consistently?

He's pretty much been that way since he crashed into the scoreboard in left in one game.

It was a low-leverage situation. I'm sure Jacoby woudl have taken one more step back in a higher-lev.

It was better him not making that catch then him hurting himself

The Drew HR rivaled Trot's walk-off in the 2003 ALDS for me.

Maybe because I am such a huge Drew apologist and my credibility was so invested...

Either way, sheer elation.

Yeah Marc, I felt the same exact way. That HR was the best at bat of the playoffs to me so far.

I'm not sure Ellsbury would have taken any more steps in another situation -- he looked pretty unsure, already reaching with his glove; it looked to me like he thought he was right near the wall. It's just a lack of experience with a very complicated outfield. It's one of the things that makes me nervous about making him the starter in the post-season, but if he's the starter next year, I'm sure he'll be fine with it by June.