By him, I mean Jeremy Hermida, who hit a clutch bases-clearing double in the 8th to put the Sox ahead of the Twins 6-2 at the time. Hermida, who is filling in at LF for Ells, has hit .357 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, and an OPS of over 1,000 in the 14 at-bats he's had so far. The sample size is tiny, but this 26-year-old is making the most of the opportunities he's been given and has earned plenty more at-bats as far as I'm concerned. Once Ells returns, which will be Friday at the earliest, it would be a shame to see him riding the pine until there's another opening in the lineup. Hermida could be well on the way to reaching his potential as a hitter and would benefit greatly from at least 4 or 5 days a week in the lineup (and the team would probably benefit too!) to keep his bat warm.
Meanwhile, it's no secret in Red Sox Nation, or even the baseball world at large, that Big Papi is really struggling right now, striking out in more than half his at-bats so far. Hermida, once Ells returns, and Lowell are both very good alternatives at DH. Should the Red Sox give Big Papi the rest of April to figure it out at the plate, occupying such an important spot in the lineup batting fifth? My heart says yes, but my head's not inclined to agree. My head says both Lowell and Hermida could give the team a lot more production out of the DH spot than what we're getting from Papi now. My heart says it's still too early to give up on him. I'm sure I'm not alone among my fellow Red Sox fans in feeling this way.
Now how about that Pedey? Is he on a mission to reclaim the AL MVP title from Joe Mauer or what? Baseball's pluckiest second baseman set a goal for himself to hit 20 home runs this season and now he leads the team with four. No one else on the team even has three yet. Tek occupies second place with two, both hit in the same game, and Youk, Drew, Hermida and V-Mart have one apiece. Pedey's also batting .364 with 10 RBI. Obviously, he's been a lot of fun to watch this season, but he's always fun to watch.
Lackey picked up his first W as a Red Sox today as the Sox topped the Twins 6-3 today. It was nice to see the offense give him some more run support this time. Against the Yankees a week ago today, all they could muster was a single run. Wake takes the mound in the rubber game tomorrow afternoon and tries for his first win. Keep that run support coming, boys!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
1 comment:
Good read... I enjoy your insight. As much as it saddens me to say it, I think Papi has lost his starting role. 13 K's in 26 AB's... 'nuff said. Even though, I still believe he deserves an opportunity (for now) to turn it around. Platooning with Mikey is the best formula for success in my opinion.
I agree, Hermida is on a tear and a good player. He will get his AB's, mark my word (Drew), and he'll end up being a big contributor to The Red Sox in '10.
- Vancanek
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