Hey Tito...

Dear Tito,

WIth the rainout, I would like to strongly suggest you skip Tavarez in the rotation. Give your team a better chance to win tomorrow with Schilling and avoid a two-game slide to a team you might play in the post-season. Besides, it looks like you are going to need to skip Beckett, and you can start Tavarez on Friday agains tthe Braves... remember how great he was in the NL?

The Sox Fan in Buffalo

Lugo - Highest Paid #9 hitter?

I think it is time. Youkilis has proven himself over enough time to be the Red Sox lead off hitter. What he lacks in speed (he still has quite a bit of hustle and makes ground ball outs close), HE MORE THAN MAKES UP FOR with OBP, something Lugo lacks, and always has (career stats). My dad, who has always said, "speed at the top is always trumped by getting on base," has it right. Not to mention the Red Sox's supposed money ball mentality. I am sure Lugo has some ability and I am not fully questioning the wisdom of signing him, but Tito needs to do what's best for the team. It is easy now, when they are scoring more than 6 a game to let things roll and get zero production from the lead off hitter, but enough is enough. If he is a team player, they should be able make him see it would be best for the team. Perhaps it's the "Nomah" curse - the Red Sox can never get Offense from supposed offensive shortstops, or any shortstop (Renteria, Gonzales, and now, Lugo) - only Tejada, Young or, dare I say, A-Rod could properly test this new curse. Maybe we need Cora to fill in at short for a while, instead of stunting the growth of the rookie, Pedroia.

I think the best line up for the Sox right now (to give Lugo some time to watch some film and stop pressing...

Youk 1B
Cora SS
Papi DH
Manny LF
Drew RF
Lowell 3B
Tek C
Coco CF
Pedroia 2B

After Lugo gets his swing worked out a little better, throw him to #9 or maybe #8 and put Coco in the two hole. He is far more likely to be productive over time than Lugo at the top. If you're gonna give up an out in the first inning anyway, with Lugo in the one whole, let's at least get a productive out after Youk gets on with my new line up. Oh, by the way, can we find out who worked with Coco in Cleveland and bring him on board as a conslutant?

Flip-Flop vs. Steadfastly wrong

I am watching ABC New's This Week and am growing tired of George S. making John Edwards out to be a flip-flopper like the Republicans did to Kerry in 2004. What is the alternative to admitting a previous decision, which may not have been based on all the information in existence, because all such information was not available, was not the right one? I guess the alternative is to be "the Decider" and to never admit you have made a mistake and to pig-headedly continue in the direction to which the mistake lead.