Sox manager Terry Francona thinks it’s merely the kind of coincidental happenstance that almost becomes ordinary in baseball, but – with Boston’s offense struggling to score runs -- it might be time to shake up the batting order once again and place both Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia back into in their rightful places.

Pedroia was inserted into the leadoff spot and Ellsbury dropped down back on May 31, and it was sold at the time as a move that was temporary in nature for a scuffling Sox offense. Pedroia has been hitting just .178 with seven walks in 72 at bats in the No. 1 spot ever since the lineup shakeup.

During his career Pedroia is a .250 hitter in 250 career at bats and really doesn’t seem as comfortable as a reigning American League MVP should. The Boston offense has also gone into semi-hibernation over the last stretch of games as they have scored three runs and managed only four hits in their last three games.  

By contrast, the Sox second baseman is hitting .328 with a .419 on base percentage out of his customary No. 2 hole in Boston’s batting order. Over the course of his career, Pedroia is a .323 hitter with a .382 on base percentage in a comfortable spot where he’s accumulated the overwhelming majority of 1,521 big league at bats.

Ellsbury was hitting .299 with a could-be-improved .332 on base percentage in 211 at bats in Boston’s top lineup spot this season, and has the kind of top end speed that makes him a distraction to opposing pitchers when Pedroia and Co. come up to the plate.

The Sox skipper had become aware of the statistics before Saturday’s game, but felt that the statistics were more accidental than indicative of a trend.

“I actually looked at that today. I can’t put my finger on it and he doesn’t care where he hits,” said Francona. “I think it’s coincidental. I don’t think he ever changes his approach nor do we want him to.

“It’s like the other day when somebody asked me the other day about Ellsbury changing his approach when we put him lower in the lineup.. No, we don’t want Ellsbury to change his approach. He had just come off a 20-game hitting streak, and we just thought the way he was playing that it might make our lineup a little better. When Pedey went up to first we didn’t tell him anything. But I did see those numbers and I was surprised. It wasn’t like he was all of the sudden thrust into an important role in our lineup. He was the No. 2 hitter in our lineup. This guy is the MVP.”

Perhaps after another 0-fer on Saturday night for the reigning AL Most Valuable Player, Francona will change his mind.

 

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