The artist formerly known as...

Last Friday I went to the Sox-Rays game. I had phenomenal seats and was lucky enough to get to watch the artist formerly known as David Ortiz up close. My god he looks terrible. He fails the "eye-ball" test. He looks like a shell of himself.

In certain worlds, mainly the arts, people love seeing their old favorites on tour. The Police, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Buffet, Aerosmith. You go with the understanding that they are not going to have their fastball anymore, it's understood. Even though the price of the tickets do not reflect a deteriorating act. Some people find this sad, some find it cathartic, and for some it is the only time they could ever see the band.

Sports, on the other hand is different. There is only one game in town, not numerous. Bands do not win or lose, they just play. One poor player can ruin an inning, a rally, a game, a week, or more... David Ortiz has not done that yet, but you have to start to wonder when will his failure get really old. I put the deadline at Memorial Day weekend when Ortiz would slide out of the 3 spot in the order...
Here is my lineup if I were Francona... I am only giving you numbers, take a look. Then I will fill in names...

#1 (BA .294, OBP .328, SB 15)
#2 (BA .325, OBP .415, H 41, R 29)
#3(BA .317, OBP .467, SLG .654, HR 9,RBI 33)
#4(BA .393, OBP .505, HR 6, RBI 20, 2B 11)
#5 (BA .314, OBP .346, HR 6, TB 69, RBI 28, 2B 11)
#6 (BA .250, OBP .373, HR 4, RBI 16, 2B 8)
#7 (BA. .221, OBP .333, HR 0, RBI 14, 2B 9)
#8 (BA .226, OBP .327, HR 4, RBI 11)
#9 (BA . 357, OBP .400.)

If you look at those first 6 batters, that is a pretty fearsome group. They get on base and drive in runs... Here are the players who match up with those guys...

#1 Ellsbury
#2 Pedroia
#3 Jason Bay
#4 Youkilis
#5 Mike Lowell
#6 J.D. Drew
#7 Ortiz
#8 Varitek
#9Lugo (only played nine games)

Now this lineup makes sense. If you look at Ortiz's numbers, they suck. He is not getting on base, he is not hitting homers. He is hitting doubles, but he can do that in the 8 slot. Lugo is below him because he is hitting the ball well enough to get on base for the top of the order. Varitek and Ortiz are not doing that.

This whole loyalty thing that Francona is known for is driving me crazy. I know I know, it usually works. But in the case of Ortiz he needs to move down. People are saying it might happen once the team goes back out west Tuesday. That would be a good quiet way to do it, no one really watches those games and pays much attention to them. And most importantly it is not going to happen at Fenway Park.

Here is another question. Is it really THAT much of a slap in the face to move Papi down? He is still playing. Seeing Allen Iverson act like a baby when he was benched feels different than being moved in the order. I understand it is an anouncement that the team does not feel he should be getting at-bats in the 3 slot. His numbers have been screaming that for nearly 6 weeks now. No home runs. I wish I had a researcher to see if there is another hitter in the league who has 100+ At-Bats without a homerun in the 3 spot. I would bet there isnt another player in the league with that stat.

It is painfully obvious he cannot hit pitches he used to hit. This is not a case of having no protection, he is seeing good pitches. He has spent time hitting in front of Youkilis and Bay so far. Those two guys are killing the ball. It isnt like Ortiz has a blind guy hitting behind him, he simply cannot hit the ball like he used to.

Oritz has not hurt the team yet in the 3 slot. But when will it start? He is being bailed out by everyone in the order right now. People are starting to notice, when will Francona act? I still think Memorial Day, while I hope for it to be earlier...but thats just me...