« It's a great day for the game
Main
Sox Streakers for April 21 »
April 21, 2007
Red Sox infielder Alex Cora has been playing well of late, especially in critical situations. As a result, Red Sox manager Terry Francona inserted Cora into the starting lineup today. It will also give rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia a chance to take a breather.
Pedroia has been pressing a little too hard at the plate, so he took some extra BP this morning with hitting coach Dave Magadan. Francona said Pedroia will be back in the lineup tomorrow night against lefty Chase Wright.
Francona called his lineup tweaking a chance to give guys some more at-bats in order to stay sharp, while giving other guys a much-needed day off.
“It’s human nature to press,” said the Sox manager when asked about Pedroia’s mindset at the plate. “We all do, but when it starts hurting your at-bats, you have to try to find a way to channel that into a positive and it’s hard to do.
“You start to see guys stride too far or want to swing too hard,” added Francona. “We’ve all done it and he has to get through it. He knows he has our support and he does work hard. He has a lot of things in his favor, he just having a little bit of a tough time at the plate right now.”
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 1:52 PM | Permalink
