All Things Bubba

Would you believe...Nick Green?

The Red Sox put Nick Green on the mound tonight. Yes, that's Nick Green, the backup infielder, who used to be a Yankee. Green had been playing shortstop, but lost the job when the Sox traded for Alex Gonzalez.

I'm not sure why they put Green in. It was 9-2 in the beginning of the 8th - not the kind of blowout that usually results in an infielder taking the mound. And Green actually pitched pretty well. The Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th, but Green was sent out again to pitch the ninth. He ended up pitching two innings, giving up no hits, no runs, three walks and no strikeouts. That's a lot better than Paul Janish did. (Janish, BTW, is the starting SS in Cincinnati now that Gonzalez is a Red Sock, and he's doing pretty well. Flashing the leather, and starting to hit. He was 2 for 4 with two doubles, a walk, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored tonight.)

The Sox scored another run in the bottom of the 9th, and ended up losing 9-5. Using Green as a pitcher didn't hurt them - quite the opposite. Still, it seems rather odd, to use a position player on the mound when the game is not out of reach.