A combination of unexpected developments has coalesced to form today’s surprising lineup for today’s Red Sox game against the American League West leading Houston Astros. The recent Red Sox fan will see something today he or she may have never seen. David Ortiz is starting today’s game at first base at Fenway Park.
This combination mentioned above has many parts. The first is Hanley Ramirez‘ struggles in left field. You don’t need to see his UZR (uniform zone rating) or defensive runs saved (negative) to tell you what your eyes can, that the team has been worse defensively with him on the field going after balls like a kid dipping his toes in a cold pool.