J.D. Drew’s Dilemma, the return of Darnell McDonald

Do you think J.D. Drew can feel Darnell McDonald  breathing down his neck?  Drew in his final year of his contract has been struggling mightily this year.  When the Sox were knocking down the fences the past few weeks it was easy to overlook Drew’s feeble at bats.  Now with Darnell McDonald back in the fold, how long before Terry Francona sits the veteran right fielder. Drew has never been a fan favorite, even when things have gone good.  Now that they are’nt going good, how many of us are calling for his head?

McDonald wasn’t lighting the world on fire either prior to landing on the DL back on May 26.  He was batting a measly .143 with 3 hits in 21 at bats.  Darnell was one of the biggest surprises last year when the Sox became a walking M.A.S.H unit.  When spring training rolled around McDonald won a spot on the 25 man roster over other the likes of Ryan Kalish and Josh Reddick.   Darnell said after being called up form Pawtucket, “I hit my way off the island,” and was activated last night.  During his stint in Triple A Pawtucket he hit a resounding .353 with 11 RBI’s.  Will his return diminish J.D’s playing time?  In all reality it should.  Mike Cameron is still rumored to be the first outfielder off the bench, but McDonald is the better otion considering the speed he can add to this already dynamic lineup.  With the speed of Ellsbury leading off and the speed Crawford adds in the middle, imagine adding McDonalds speed at the bottom of the order.

The time just might be right for McDonald to finally make his presence known in 2011.  This team is loaded with left handed hitters and could use a right handed bat.  Especially if this right handed batter can start putting up numbers comparable to the ones he put up in 2010.  Ryan Kalish is still being annointed as Drew’s full time replacement in 2012.  Until Kalish assumes the starting role permanently, why not give McDonald a shot.  If you had a choice of Drew, Cameron or McDonald as your right fielder right now, who would you choose?  I choose Darnell.

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