Is it up for grabs, or not? by Jared Carrabis
Both Red Sox manager and GM weigh in on who's starting at shortstop in '11


This past week, we’ve gotten the chance to hear from both our manager and general manager on seemingly the only concern going into spring training.

That concern – if you can even call it that, since both players are worthy – is who will be the everyday shortstop of the Boston Red Sox in 2011?

In the blue corner, weighing in at 180 pounds, from Stanford University…JED…Lowrieee! And in the red corner, hailing from San Delipe, Venezuela at a modest 185 pounds, Marcoooo SCUTARO. Now, as I started to say above, there’s no wrong answer here. Both players are fully capable of being the starting shortstop, and both have done so for this team quite successfully.

However, Lowrie has a few advantages over Scutaro that can’t be gained in a batting cage or anywhere else. Reason number one: Lowrie is the younger of the two, and has the brighter future at this point of both shortstops’ careers.

Reason number two: Lowrie is a switch-hitter. In just 55 games – with only 45 coming as starts – Lowrie punished left-handed pitching from the right side of the plate to the tune of .328/.420/.606 with five of his nine homers coming against left-handed pitching. His 1.025 OPS against lefties should be enough to have his bat in the lineup on days where there is a southpaw on the mound.

With that being said, you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. Being strictly a right-handed bat, Scutaro held his own against left-handed pitching last season. A .275/.333/.338 hitter for the season, Scutaro hit .282/.345/.398 against lefties in an even 200 plate appearances.

I mentioned the things that Lowrie had going for him that were uncontrollable for Scutaro to match, but Scutaro also has something going for him, which ultimately will mean more, and that’s the nod by Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

In a press conference held on Thursday before the BWAA dinner, Francona was quick and straight to the point. “Scutaro’s our shortstop,” Francona said. "(Lowrie) gives us something not a lot of teams can say they have. A switch hitter than can play first, second, third or short and play a lot. He can play for a week, he can play it for a day, he can play it or two weeks. That at some point is going to probably save us. How many times have you seen where everybody stays healthy?"

He brings up a good point. As much as Red Sox fans are salivating at the thought of what this team is going to look like in 2011, let’s not be oblivious to the fact that injuries are about as common in baseball as balls and strikes. They’re gonna happen, and if and when they do, the Red Sox will be in good hands.

Let’s not forget that Scutaro’s shoulder injury had him shifted over to second base towards the end of 2010, as he physically was unable to make the throw from short to first. As the saying goes, he’s not getting any younger.

This news, of course, comes less than a week after Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein hinted that Lowrie had a chance to compete for the starting job at shortstop this spring.

"We have two really talented shortstops on the roster at different phases of their career, and they’ll both end up helping this club win," Epstein said. "How it shakes out in terms of playing time will be up to Tito (Francona) — and, ultimately, the players will determine their own roles.

"If we’re a better team with one guy playing two-thirds of the time and the other guy playing one-third of the time and moving around, that’s what we’ll be. If it looks like we’ll be a better team with a more traditional arrangement or a time share, that’s what we’ll do. Players, ultimately, make those decisions for you."

As much as he did hint at a position battle in spring, he did also say that the decision would ultimately be in the hands on his manager, and the manager has spoken. It’s worth noting that yes, Francona is what most would call a "player’s manager," and that if Scutaro struggles, he won’t immediately call for Lowrie to step in as the everyday shortstop, but like Epstein said, this isn’t about keeping players happy, this is about winning, and ultimately winning a World Series.

If Scutaro is struggling, and Lowrie can replicate his performance from 2010, especially against left-handed pitching, then it’s in the best interest of the team to make the switch.

We’ve seen both sides of the story. Francona stuck with both Dustin Pedroia when he was a rookie and David Ortiz last season when he struggled mightily in April. Both players came out of the fog and went on to have stellar seasons, but there have been other cases, like the 2007 postseason when Jacoby Ellsbury came in and took the starting job away from Coco Crisp in centerfield.

On Opening Day, I’d put my money on Scutaro being penciled in at position number six, but Lowrie’s going to get his at-bats. You can count on that.

-Jared Carrabis

Published on January 21, 2011

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