When this World Series shifted to St. Louis for 3 games (with no DH in the lineup), I assumed that David Ortiz would start at first base twice, and Mike Napoli once. A week ago it was somewhat debatable whether or not the upgrade in Ortiz's bat was enough to justify the downgrade in his glove. But now that's a moot point. As a team the Red Sox have just 24 hits in the series, eight of which belong to Ortiz. He's blasted two of their three home runs as well. Through four games Boston has a total of 18 runs, and Papi has either scored or driven in 8 of them. In 16 plate appearances he's 8-11 with 4 walks and a sacrifice fly (and that sac fly was over the wall, Carlos Beltran robbed him of a grand slam). Ortiz's .727 series batting average is higher than Boston's next 3 top hitters combined (Dustin Pedroia .267 + Xander Bogaerts .231 + Daniel Nava .200 = .698 total).
As important as Mike Napoli has been to this ball club, I'm pretty sure even the cows know he shouldn't be in the lineup tonight.
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Today's conundrum -- is the question "Did Big Papi discover the Fountain of Youth?" rhetorical (i.e. a compliment) or serious (i.e. an accusation)?
ReplyDeleteYou know, Mark, this might well be my favorite of all your postings -- hilarious video, cool numbers and a chance for me to be a wise guy!!
I have to admit there's a definite possibility he's on something... And thanks, glad you enjoyed it, the compliment means a lot to me!
ReplyDeleteIn my attempt to be succinct in my wording, I omitted one of the things I enjoy most, which is your eye and ear for language usage. I knew somethin; was up when moot was bold.
ReplyDeleteJust don't ramp up your intensity to become a dominate blogger. (Sadly that induced no red ink!)
again, thanks for the great compliment! much appreciated!!
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