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 More Red Sox NewsRed Sox LinksOne inning into last night's hit-a-thon, Francona's decision not to play Wily Mo Pe?a against Tampa Bay's soft-tossing lefthander, J.P. Howell, looked golden. J.D. Drew, who would have sat if Pe?a had played right field, tied a big league record with two singles in the first. Coco Crisp, who would have been a spectator if Pe?a had started in center, hit a grand slam off the Coke bottles. But the fact he was not in the lineup is a measure of how marginalized Pe?a has become in the Red Sox scheme. The Catch-22 (it's only a coincidence that's the number Pe?a wears) remains as true today as when he first came to the Sox. Pe?a needs to play in order to play better. The Sox can't afford to play him more because he's playing so poorly. |
