Terry Francona and the Boston Red Sox have started the season an abysmal 0-6.
While it is still early, it is not too early for Francona to start playing around with his lineup. The Sox have a bevvy of versatile hitters capable of hitting in different lineup slots.
Carl Crawford and Dustin Pedroia both have the ability to hit in any of the top three spots in the lineup. Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz are all virtually interchangeable in the middle of the lineup.
On Opening Day, Terry Francona used the following lineup:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B
3. Carl Crawford LF
4. Kevin Youkilis 3B
5. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
6. David Ortiz DH
7. Mike Cameron RF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
9. Marco Scutaro SS
Cameron only started over lefty J.D. Drew on Opening Day because C.J. Wilson, the Sox opponent, is tough on lefties. Besides that, Francona made two switches for Boston's 1-0 loss on Thursday: flipping Crawford and Pedroia and Gonzalez and Youkilis.
It's time to tweak more. Baseball players can be finicky about where they bat in a lineup. With a few changes (none of them too major), the Red Sox offense that looked so good on paper to start the season, can get back to where it is supposed to be.
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