Red Sox Thoughts (June 12, 2008)

Last year, when JD Drew was struggling to hit, stay healthy and live up to the 5-year/$70-million contract he signed, my brother Adam began to call him "DJ Werd" because it seemed like he was going backwards every day. There were some signs in September and October that Drew was the kind of player we hoped he could be, especially the Grand Slam he crushed in Game 6 of the ALCS. Still, did anyone think he would slide into the three-hole in place of the injured David Ortiz and play like a reincarnation of Mickey Mantle? Ortiz hurt his wrist on May 31 and since then, Drew has played like an MVP. His numbers in June might push him to the All-Star Game. He is 16-for-32 in June -- .500 -- with 5 HR and 13 RBI and a ridiculous OPS (the combined on-base percentage and slugging percentage) of 1.761. For the year, Drew is posting .320/9/35/.968, stats that make him a strong candidate to play at Yankee Stadium on July 15. Along with Drew tearing the cover off the ball, Manny Ramirez (.305/15/48/.951) and Kevin Youkilis (.295/9/39/.868) have carried the Boston offense. Maybe we should be calling Drew "DJ Werd" for turning around his season while putting the Red Sox offense on his back... Food for thought. If Ortiz returns at a time when DJ Werd is still killing the baseball, would it be a terrible thing to put Ortiz in the five-spot while he works his way back into shape. Imagine this lineup: Ellsbury - CF Pedroia - 2B Drew - RF Ramirez - LF Ortiz - DH Lowell - 3B Youkilis - 1B Varitek - C Lugo - SS I'm not saying Big Papi should permanently move down in the lineup but if Drew is still playing like Mantle, there is no reason to disrupt him and it allows Papi to work himself back without the added pressure of hitting in the three-hole... Buster Olney had an interesting "What If" on his Insider Blog on ESPN.com yesterday. Olney stated that if CC Sabathia were to become available in July, the Red Sox could make a strong bid for the 2007 Cy Young winner without including Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz or Justin Masterson. According to Olney, the Sox could start their offer with Double-A Portland pitcher Michael Bowden and add some lower level prospects. And if Sabathia's asking price was too high for Boston in the winter, they could allow him to leave via free agency and get two first round draft picks. It is strictly hypothetical but it is something to think about... Watching Doc Rivers fumble through his bench during the playoffs (and the past four years for those of you paying attention), I admire the job Terry Francona does even more... Enjoy DJ Werd today...