BOSTON — There are nine games in National League parks on the upcoming schedule for the Red Sox. Without a designated hitter in any of them, Terry Francona faces a conundrum — how to keep his two biggest bats, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz, in the lineup as much as possible without doing anything too crazy.
One scenario which has emerged in recent discussions is putting Gonzalez in right field and letting Ortiz play first base. There will not be any decisions made for a few days, but the scenario is getting some serious consideration.
"We've actually talked to him about that a little bit," Francona said Monday at Fenway Park. "I guess the best answer I can give you is we’ll see. I’m glad he's willing to do it. I think its admirable. I don’t want David to sit nine straight games. That bothers me."
Gonzalez has played one game in his major league career in the outfield, and it came in Texas in 2005. He has played the position a bit in winter ball.
Still, the slick-fielding first baseman makes no bones about his relative inexperience out there.
"I’m not an outfielder and wasn't an outfielder," he said. "But if it meant to get Papi into games and get him a few more games, it’s something I would do."
Gonzalez said he has no reservations about putting himself at risk of injury by playing a foreign position. He stressed that by reinforcing the company line.
"I'll do whatever is needed for the team," he said.
It is up to Francona to take that risk. Certainly, it will not occur in all nine games. But the thought of having Ortiz, who leads the team in home runs and ranks second to Gonzalez in batting and RBIs, on the bench just gnaws at the skipper.
"Maybe we'll do it a couple of times so we can get David [in there], just so he doesn’t go 10 days because that worries me," Francona said.
Francona stressed that the right fields on the nine-game trip to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Houston are not big, which could help him pull the trigger on sticking Gonzalez out there.
