The Sox may not be officially in the division race yet, but with more than two months gone, they are pretty close. On Friday morning, their 37-24 record was second only to Texas in the AL, and they still led the tough Eastern Division by 1 1/2. Though the East is still up for grabs, at least a wild card is a strong possibility. For this reason, John Farrell has to be careful regulating his roster.
The biggest surprise of the season has been Jose Iglesias, who is hitting an incredible .435 and fielding brilliantly both at short and third. He originally filled in for the injured Stephen Drew, then, after a stint in Pawtucket, replaced Will Middlebrooks when he went on the DL. At present, Iglesias is a utility infielder, filling in where needed. This is important, since besides Drew and Middlebrooks, hot-hitting Dustin Pedroia has been playing hurt all season and may have to miss time at some point. But should a player with Iglesias' stats be simply a reserve?
John Farrell has said that Middlebrooks' rehab assignment at Pawtucket may be longer than the normal one. A Scott Lauber piece in the Herald Thursday stated that the Sox need Will's righthanded bat as a power threat to join Mike Napoli in the lineup. But after a fine rookie year, Middlebrooks has disappointed at the plate. At the time of his back injury, he was 0-for-11, hitting .201, and had an OBP of .234. He has 8 homers, but three of them wre in one game early in the year. It is often said that players shouldn't lose jobs because of injury, but Middlebrooks is a young player with limited experience, and that rule may not apply here.
It is pretty obvious that despite a slow start, the high-priced Drew will not be replaced at short by Iglesias. But it is difficult to justify sitting down a player like the 2013 Iglesias for a still unproven commodity. If Iglesias slows down at the plate as he probably will, the team could consider bringing Middlebrooks back, but only if he hits at Pawtucket.
The Bosox appear to have a lot of good young players with a strong blend of veterans.How they use them will be important if they are to continue to win.
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