Neither Manny or Big Papi hit a home run every at bat. I don't expect Theo to hit one every time, either. Still, I groan every time there's a swing at a ball in the dirt, and I groaned at Julio Lugo's signing. For not the first time this season Lugo had another horrible night just throwing the ball. There were times I had to blink and make sure he wasn't still wearing a Devil Rays jersey. Which reminds me. A lot of people are attributing the Rays new found success to the removal of satanic referrence. Well, I suppose if Lugo had horns, it would all make sense.
A lot of people cheered his signing because of his batting average, and the fact that he did have some power, (After Pokey Reese, Orlando Cabrera, and Rent-a-wreck, I guess even 16 Errors, two weeks before the All-Star break would seem like an upgrade). But Lugo hasn't had the power here. Yes, he hit a home run just last night, but it was his first home run since September 26th, 2007. That's including Post Season play. Bring back Gonzalez. His defense at least made up for his abyssmal batting average.
I know Francona is a players Manager, but when one player has almost as many errors as the rest of the entire team (16 of 46), and that player has another game with back to back air-mailed throws to first base...It's time for Mr. Lugo to sit and think about what he's done. Take your .275, 1 home run, 16 errors, and your 8 million...and just sit there. At least then you can't hurt your trade value or the team any more.
And Theo...you've done so well with all the other positions; I know Short Stop is hard at Fenway, even our beloved Nomar had his fielding issues, but really, enough is enough. Jed Lowrie would be an upgrade at this point. He could platoon with Cora, and Lugo's .275, 1 home run, could be saved for pinch-hitting in those games we already know are lost.
Keywords: Julio Lugo Bench Errors
