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Say it ain’t Lugo

Aug 8th, 2007 by Bill Burt

If Julio Lugo makes that simple major league play, at least for a decent shortstop, in the fifth inning last night, do the Red Sox win the game? My guess is, yes.

Tim Wakefield probably gets out of the inning with a 4-3 lead or at worst, 4-4. And the game is handed off to the bullpen. Instead, the floodgates opened and the blowout ensued.

The point is Lugo can’t lose games, especially in August, with his glove. His bat? He’s been OK lately, which is acceptable, especially batting ninth. But his fielding has to be near-perfect and frankly, it hasn’t been all season.

There is no remedy here. There is no trade possibilities. This is just statement of fact. Lugo continues to be a disappointment, especially on the defensive side, and it’s not just the errors. He just doesn’t have a commanding presence there.

Red Sox pitching, again, will have to save the day. The Sox are near reeling-mode and Jon Lester will be expected to go seven inning and allow three or fewer runs. Is that too much pressure to heap on Lester? Probably. But welcome to Boston.

Your thoughts, concerns and opinions are welcome here.

Posted in Red Sox | Comments

  • Colin
    The Sox are 12-8 in their last 20 games and have won five of their last six series. I really don't think that's "near reeling mode." The Yankees are just playing exceptionally well right now, but that doesn't mean the Sox are playing poorly.
  • Andy
    Seems to me that the AL East is going to come down to head-to-head games remaining between NYY and BOS. NYY needs to essentially win out, in which case they might win the division by 1 or 2 games. If they don't, BOS will win by anywhere from 2 to 10 games.
  • Colin
    The point is bad baseball is contageous, that's all I'm saying. As you probably noticed, I didn't even mention the Yankees. The Red Sox need to play good baseball, which means, pitch really well, play good defense and get timely hitting with Ortiz and Manny shouldering the bigger load. If they do that, they will be in the playoffs and win the division. If they don't, this will get interesting, which is not a good thing with holes in the lineup.
  • Alex
    Unfortunately, it seems like the errors Lugo makes are often at critical timesIt feels like there've been a few times when a shaky inning has turned into the losing inning because a Lugo error lengthened it. (I can't back that up at all.)

    He has 12 errors so far this season, which is too many. Only Lowell has more. (And Lowell gets a pass because it's so abnormal for him, and also it seems to have stopped.) I agree, it's troubling, and I hope his glove settles down.
  • Colin
    Bad baseball is contagious, but the Red Sox aren't playing bad baseball. Are players making bad plays at times? Of course -- but nothing consistently bad enough to make me thing a plague of bad baseball is going to sweep through the team.
  • Nashua
    Mr. Burt,
    You are so RIGHT! "If Julio Lugo makes that simple major league play..." DIDN'T you all hear it late last night through out New England, like the center of town churches and town halls ringing the bells for a holiday, these words ringing in your ears, "Alex Gonzalez would have made that play!" How many times have you said that to yourself this year? Come on, be truthful, more than you'd ever imagine. How about that Orlando Cabrera for the LA Angels, why can't the Red Sox get players like him? Oh, they used to have him, on a Championship team, whoops. Way to go Theo! You're so on Bill, so very 'shortstop' ON. Keep up the Good Blog!
  • The iTod
    Julio Lugo is a big, stinking pile of dogsh#t! He stinks in the leadoff, he makes huge gaffes in the field and his baserunning has been horrible. How many bad pickoffs has he had this season? How many times should he have gone for the stolen base and did not?

    Jacoby Ellsbury should take that leadoff spot from him starting late this year or early next year followed by pedroia and the Red Sox should not mess with that for the next 8-10 years.

    He is TERRIBLE... OCab, AGonz were both better... When will we learn? We had the guys and we let them go...
  • Dave
    That is what bothers me the most about Lugo. He has got picked off on numerous occasions. While alot of base stealers get picked off every once in a while, he seems to get picked off once a week. Like Itod says, how many times has he started to steal, stopped, and got picked off? He is a below average shortstop and abelow average hitter. He is fast but has no baserunning instincts whatsoever. He also looks like he has absolutely no confidence when he is at bat, on the bases, or in the field. However, like Bil said, we are stuck with him. We can't move him and we have no other option at shortstop. I think he will be a better hitter in the coming years, but will never be anything more than an average hitter and a below average defensive shortstop.
  • Theo's stock is dropping rapidly.

    www.sportsguyredux.blogspot.com
  • George
    I disagree. I realize public perception is not high, because of Lugo and Drew, which baffle me sometimes. But he has to be graded on the finished product. If the Sox win a World Series this year, and right now their chances are as good as any, then that's how he'll be graded.
    Remember, the farm system is his baby, too. and frankly, I don't know if there is a better one right now. The Sox seem to be developing players by the bunches.
    Personally, I'd like to see more Pedroia's staying here and growing together, instead of trading.
    Overall, I believe Theo Epstein has done a very good job. If the Sox blow this, and don't make the playoffs because of weak hitting, then I might change my grading system. But he has built a great pitching staff, rotation and bullpen. Please don't forget that part, too.
  • The iTod
    Theo has done a good job. He helped get us a WS win in 2004 and the minors are producing a large amount of quality players and some real impact players, especially pitchers. I think that the Red Sox have the best minor league pitching coming along with both quality depth and really high-upside pitchers. Position players have been tougher with some solid players like pedroia, ellsbury, lowrie and youkilis but no superstars yet. Free agency is necessary to get the big bats and so far the jury is out on him there. SS has been a disaster for Theo though!
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