Sixth nonsense
Farrell moves Bogaerts down in order
FORT MYERS — Chances are, Xander Bogaerts won’t end the season as the Red Sox’ No. 6 hitter.
A lot could change by then. The Sox used 118 different batting orders during 162 regular-season games last year.
Obviously, this isn’t permanent.
But by moving Bogaerts down in the order from second (where he spent 50 games in 2016) and third (105 games), manager John Farrell could be taking some pressure off the 24-year-old while adding some motivation. It’s as if he’s saying, “We know you can hit the way you did in the first half last year. Let’s see you do it.”
In actuality, Farrell said he has yet to discuss the lineup change with Bogaerts, but when the franchise shortstop arrived to camp yesterday following a three-week stint with Team Netherlands for the World Baseball Classic, Farrell slotted him into the six-hole.
“Maybe a first look at our lineup,” Farrell said. “I’m not saying this is Opening Day, but this is potential for one on Opening Day.”
It’s a what-have-youdonekind of game, isn’t it?
Nine months ago Bogaerts was one of the best hitters in baseball.
On June 11, he was hitting .358, best in the American League. In the last 50 years, only two shortstops have completed a season with an average that high: Nomar Garciaparra (.372 in 2000) and Alex Rodriguez (.358 in 1996).
Hitting coach Chili Davis said there was no ceiling on how good Bogaerts could be.
“Ted Williams hit .400,” Davis said at the time. “Why not Bogaerts?”
And then Bogaerts cooled off. Over the next 97 games he hit .253 with a .717 OPS. He had gone from being the second-best hitter in the majors to the 102nd best.
The average six-hole hitter last year hit .253.
Now Farrell is going with a new lineup construction, placing his trust in rookie Andrew Benintendi to take over the No. 2 spot behind leadoff man Dustin Pedroia. Mookie Betts is hitting third, Hanley Ramirez fourth, Mitch Moreland fifth, Bogaerts sixth, Jackie Bradley Jr. seventh, Pablo Sandoval eighth and the catcher ninth.
The idea of hitting Benintendi third is “still a thought,” Farrell said.
“This was the dilemma with David (Ortiz) hitting three or four, a year ago or previous years,” Farrell said. “You’re looking for your most complete hitter, or your most productive hitter, to come up in that first inning. And that case right now, that would be Mookie. There’s some balance to all that. The fact is that this is a pretty good problem to have with the different alignments and who might not come in the first, and worst-case scenario. More than anything, you’re looking at five or six guys capable of being in those top three slots.”
Moreland hit just .233 last year, but Farrell clearly wants to break up the righthanders in the middle part of the order. If he hits .233 again, he won’t last long in the five-hole, no matter how many right-handers are stacked together.
Losing Ortiz hurts in more ways than one.
If Benintendi can’t handle the responsibility of hitting second, Bogaerts could always slide back there.
Bogaerts, who was 5-for22 in seven games with Team Netherlands during the WBC, hadn’t seen the lineup when reporters asked him about it yesterday morning. Told he was hitting sixth, he didn’t seem thrilled.
“It is what it is,” Bogaerts said. “As long as I’m in the lineup I guess. That’s way better than being on the bench. You can help your teammates like that, being around your teammates, wishing everyone good.”
Bogaerts probably fits as more of a two-hole hitter, since he’s one of the more difficult players in the league to strike out. He can get the bat on the ball in hit-and-run situations.
Over the last two years, no player has more twostrike hits than Bogaerts with 171. And it’s not even close. Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for second with 151.
After spending a few weeks with Team Netherlands, he’s eyeing an even better year in 2017.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I think I’m a bit more ahead than where I normally am, probably because those games we had to go all out. We had to be on point with them. I felt really good out there. Just going back to shortstop now is much better though.”
Bogaerts said he took grounders at shortstop every day, but played only third base in the WBC.
“I mean I think I played pretty well,” he said. “I made the routine plays. That was most important. Just trying to get the outs. Now I’m over that, let’s go back to short.”
He looked solid at short yesterday, making a slick jump-throw play all the way near third base to gun down a runner at first. There are few questions about his defense — Bogaerts has the highest fielding percentage (.980) of any shortstop in team history (minimum 400 games).
In every way, he’s better than the average six-hitter. And the Red Sox are going to make him prove it.
‘As long as I’m in the lineup . . . That’s way better than being on the bench.’ — XANDER BOGAERTS On hitting sixth in the Red Sox batting order