Heading into the big weekend series, the Yanks and Red Sox have something in common: injuries. And as surely as John Sterling makes up silly home run calls - "A thrilla by Godzilla"? - this Bean has a few things to say.
The Yankees are down a captain in Jeter and the Sox are down a World Series MVP in Lowell. I'm of the mind that these injuries are tough for both teams, but losing Jeter is a bigger bite for the Yanks, especially if he has to sit out the Sox series.
For starters, Jeter has clubbed two of the starters the Sox will trot out this weekend. He's a career .811 OPSer against Beckett and he hit .333 with two dingers against Dice K last year. Moreover, Jeter is a dynamic presence near the top of the Yanks lineup. The New Yorkers utilized an utterly bizarre line-up tonight in K.C. that reeked of Jeterlessness. Jose Molina batting sixth? Before tonight, Molina had started a game that high in a lineup exactly once. Baseball-reference.com lists the immortal John Marzano as Molina's most similar batter. I loved Marz, but a six-hole hitter he was not. He started a game in the six hole exactly twice in a 10 year career. It's not as if Jose Molina is killing the ball either - going into Thursday's game he was OPSing an Otis Nixon-like .722. If that's what Girardi wants out of his six-hole hitter - Otis Nixon without speed - I want some of what he's smoking.
The Sox, on the other hand, can move Kevin Youkilis over to third and start three-time All Star Sean Casey at first until Lowell is off the DL. No worries. Maybe we'll even get a look at shortstop prospect Jed Lowrie, recently called up from Pawtucket.
One Yank who will be called on to play a bigger role looks up to the challenge: Melky Cabrera just went deep. The Jeter-free Yanks will need him to produce out of the two-hole in Boston. Oh ... but wait just a Kansas City minute ... it's pouring rain now and the tarp is on the field. Oh well, erase that dinger from the record books.
Meanwhile, under the cloudless New England sky, the Red Sox lead the Tigers 4-3 at the stretch.
--Whittle
Comments (1)
my home run counts now, pal, as will the three I hit up there in Fenway this weekend!