And I thought that Christmas had already come early with the Gonzales signing.

 

I'll admit, I'm pretty surprised that the Sox were willing to dole out this type of money for a player who doesn't hit a ton of home runs.  I'll also go out on a limb and say that they could be the next JD Drew deal - a deal where we get a great player, but not as great as the contract.  We'll have to see where the chips fall, but rumored for 7 years at over 20 million a year, I know Sox tickets won't be getting cheaper for a while!  Simply a monster contract.

 

But now, as the team is clearly done with the big pieces, we get to project line-ups.  This is trickier than it might seem, and we'll see why in a moment.

 

1. Ellsbury, CF, LH

Ellsbury gets the nod.  As a young player who can hit lefties and righties, and has seen his OBP rise steadily (let's not talk about last year people.  It's in the past....) to .350 - a critical threshold for a lead off hitter by the Sox standards, who view getting on base as a key element to their lead off hitters (and hitters in general).  Remember Scutaro, he of the .720 OPS, (but .330 OBP) batted lead off most of last year.

 

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, RH

A great role for Pedy, who's just too good to bat any lower.  And we know Francona really likes his order to go R/L/R/L, for those of you paying attention, to make bullpens suffer down the stretch.

 

3. Adrian Gonzales, 1B, LH

I think's he's really the clean-up hitter on this team, and it will be tough to keep him in the three hole if he hits the number of home runs I think he will, but R/L/R/L kinda dictates this lineup.

 

4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B, RH

I don't really think people in Boston REALLY understand how good Youk is.  But the last three years he's been an MVP candidate.  He does it all.  Average, on-base, power.  Maybe he's not as exciting to watch as Manny or Ortiz.  I'm not sure why though.  He's just as good.

 

5. Carl Crawford, LF, LH

I'm sure you thought I had David Ortiz penciled here.  Nope.  I'd like his power here, but we know David can slump, and a his lower average and slumps can be better protected lower in the line-up.  Why isn't Crawford batting lead off?  Well, his career at the top of the order suggests that he can't bat lead-off for this team.  His OBP is too low, and I'm not sure he want to be up there. His power numbers are all better the lower in the lineup he hits. With Ellsbury on the team, he shouldn't have to do lead off, except for injury replacement.  You could, COULD mind you, swap Crawford and Gonzales.  But I believe your best hitter should be in the 3 hole, and Gonzales is that guy.

 

6. David Ortiz, DH, LH

Nice protection for Crawford.

 

7. Salty/Varitek, C, S (both).

There's enough pop and patience for #7 hitters here.  It's worth noting that even with the decline in JD's numbers, he's still better than either catcher, you could swap this position with JD.  But then you'd be left for 5,6, and 7, and I think Francona will avoid that.

 

 

8. JD Drew, RF, LH

8. Mike Cameron, RF, RH

I think we'll see more platooning here, with Mike Cameron when they face lefties (and that applies for David as well.).  JD's numbers last year against lefties were ATROCIOUS, and can't continue. (.208 average and .611 OPS).  Either he hits better, or he won't see lefties. Ellsbury hits both well, and I assume Crawford must too (he'd better at that price).  So we can swap out down here in the order.

 

 

9. Marco Scutaro, 2B, RH

He's definitely a weaker hitter in this group of mashers, and he shouldn't feel badly about anyone saying that with the line-up that's here.  His OBP makes pitching around anyone difficult, and a few less at bats should keep him steady at short.  Last year, I was unimpressed with this signing.  But he proved himself to be a heck of a player, defensively and offensively, and I look forward to his return.

 

Those are my thoughts people, so go make your own.  As an editor's note, we really have TOO MANY lefties.  But I don't see them trading Ellsbury, but he is clearly trade bait now (as if he wasn't before).  It's also interesting to note that the next level of players (McDonald, Lowrie and Nava) are all righties or switchers (with the super impressive Kalish being the exception).  So if there is an injury, the lineup will be more balanced, if weaker.

 

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Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of Heisler & Mattson Properties. He has been selling residential real-estate for over 10 years. He has given several talks on real estate, including presentations on first-time buyer tips & tricks, and profiting in real estate investing in Massachusetts. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.