The Red Sox Opening Day lineup in Arlington tomorrow at 4:05 ET will look as follows.
1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B
3. Carl Crawford LF
4. Kevin Youkilis 3B
5. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
6. David Ortiz DH
7. Mike Cameron RF
9. Marco Scutaro SS
Obviously, the major surprise in this lineup card is the fact that Mike Cameron is getting the start in RF. Terry Francona made this decision because the Red Sox will be going up against Rangers' lefty C.J. Wilson. J.D. Drew, the Red Sox primary right fielder struggles against lefties. He is a career .255 hitter off southpaws, and was considerably worse last year, hitting at a .208 clip. Specifically against C.J. Wilson, Drew is a career .250 hitter, getting just two hits in eight at bats.
I am not sure about this decision. I know that Tito is all about match ups and he knows Drew struggles against lefties, but he also made it quite clear that right field will not be a platoon situation. If it's not a platoon, then why bother starting off the year with the backup in right? Even for vetrans, Opening Day is a special day and not seeing his name on the lineup card couldn't have instilled confidence in Drew. To his credit, Drew said that he has no problem with the decision and that he realizes three or four games from now no one will remember this. In that sense, he is right. I just don't understand why you don't start your best players Opening Day is there is supposedly no platoon going on.
As for the rest of the lineup, there are no major surprises. Tito predictably went lefty-righty-lefty at the top of the lineup, in order to create matchup problems for opposing managers trying to manage their bullpen. First pitch will be at 4:05 ET, and you can follow me on Twitter @Red_SoxThoughts to get your live game updates.
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