The five players that Francona has to cycle through are Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek and David Ortiz. Varitek is the catcher; Lowell plays the hot corner over at third base; Youkilis can play first and third; and Martinez can catch and play first base. Since the Red Sox are an American League team, they have the option to have one of the players be the designated hitter. However, that’s where David Ortiz falls in the lineup. So let’s break these guys down to show what Francona is dealing with.

Jason Varitek is the team captain. He is batting .222 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI’s this season. While his offensive production may not be as high as the other members of the team, his defensive and leadership skills cannot be overlooked. Catchers go through a tough, rigorous career. Their main job is to call the games and know all of the pitchers on their team. Add some home runs and RBI’s to that and you have a quality catcher for any team.

Mike Lowell is a veteran third baseman that is a true team player. He proved that earlier this week when he was asked to sit the bench so the other players could get in the lineup. Most everyday starters that are used to starting everyday may not take to the off day very easily. What did Lowell do on his day off? He came off the bench after Youkilis was ejected from the game and hit two home runs and had three RBI’s and runs each. Lowell is a stand up guy who carries a .299 average with 14 home runs and 59 RBI’s this season.

Kevin Youkilis, weird batting stance and all, is probably Francona’s most versatile player. Originally a third baseman, Youkilis plays mostly first base right now. He is solid both defensively and offensively. Youk (pronounced yuke), as he is known to the Beantown fans, won a Gold Glove at first base last year. He is batting .311 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI’s this season. Youkilis has played first and third this year as well as DH and even left field. The Gold Glover did not look like such a defensive star in the outfield his last time out and that option may not be happening again anytime soon.

Victor Martinez was acquired from the Indians for pitcher Justin Masterson and minor league prospects. Martinez can catch and play first base. Like the others, Martinez can also act as the team’s designated hitter. That may seem like the better option considering Ortiz’s low batting average this year. Martinez is hitting .283 with 17 home runs and 75 RBI’s this season, between Cleveland and Boston.

David Ortiz has not put up numbers this year that the Red Sox “Nation” is used to. Big Papi is batting .215 with 15 home runs and 62 RBI’s this year. He has 304 career home runs. Ortiz pretty much has the DH role locked up when he is in the lineup because the other players are far better defensively than he is. Ortiz has struggled this year, perhaps making the Red Sox go after the slugging Martinez at the trade deadline. Ortiz is also the latest name to be leaked out along with former teammate Manny Ramirez as having used performance enhancing drugs. This is just a distraction that cannot help a slumping player get on track.

So there is Terry Francona’s dilemma, five great players and only four positions for them to play. If you go by their stats, any four of these players would make a lineup look dangerous. When the odd man out can come off the bench at any time in the game, the lineup becomes that much better. When the players can take their occasional days off knowing it is because everyone is producing, it can turn into a friendly competition to compete better. Pitchers often do this as they try to outperform each other, making the starting rotation or the bullpen better. If this Red Sox lineup produces like they are capable of, I predict they will be in the postseason yet again this year.