OK, I feel that I am a patient fan. And I realize the value of defense.
However, the Sox HAVE to bench Coco soon, I'm sorry. And they HAVE to play Pena.
First of all, Coco's defense will not be met by anyone the Sox could get, maybe besides Hunter, and the Twins won't give him up for anything but the tops in talent. Maybe not even that. I understand. I also understand Wily is a horrid, horrid fielder. CF is his strongest position, but no matter where he plays, it will be below average.
But how much horrid offense can we possibly stand to take from Coco before the administration just says "**** it" and lets Wily Mo start on a regular basis? Another month? Another two months? It's hard to believe that the difference between Coco's .570 OPS and WMP's likely .750-.800 OPS is dwarfed by the fielding.
The offense is stuttering, the pitching can only hold up for so long, and this black hole of hitting (two players on non-Wakefield days, three on Wakefield days) is just killing this team who was running away with the division. They need a boost, and now is a great time to bench Crisp and play Pena DAILY. If he doesn't produce in the 90 games or whatever remaining, then we know he's not going to work, but give him a shot! FREE WILY MO! He could be our Jesse Barfield (his closest comp and eerily so). He got his first full season of play at 25 after three years of partial play, and it 27 HRs and a .905 OPS. He hit 40 the next year, but then tailed off. The Sox need that power boost now.