Notes: Sox offense quiet despite lineup changes

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By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com Red Sox InsiderFollow @sean_mcadam
PHILADELPHIA --- After all the debate over putting Adrian Gonzalez in right field and David Ortiz at first base, the move had little in the way of consequences for the Red Sox in their 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Gonzalez didn't have a chance in right field until he cleanly fielded Jimmy Rollins's leadoff single in the eighth.

Two batters later, Gonzalez tried to time his leap and snare a ball hit by Chase Utley, but the ball bounced on the top of the right field fence and dropped down for a triple.

As for Ortiz, he recorded 11 putouts at first base, all without incident.

"To tell you the truth, I was just thinking about defending myself out there,'' joked Ortiz. "You've got tons of lefties coming to hit and you don't want to have a rocket hit right at you. I came out all right. That's a good thing.

"I had a little chat with (Ryan Howard) before the game. I told him -- I've got a family waiting for me at home.''

Of Gonzalez's Red Sox debut in right field, Ortiz said: "I kept waiting for someone to hit a fly ball, just to see the Gold Glover out there. He looked pretty good to me out there.''

Epstein seemed to dismiss recent reports that the Red Sox will not be able to add to their payroll -- currently at about 165 million -- at the trading deadline.

"We never address payroll matters at all,'' said Epstein, "but the track record of the ownership group speaks for itself, whether its during the offseason phase when were building the club or during July when were tweaking it.

"Collectively we find a way to do what it takes to put a winning club on the field. Im not going to get into the specifics of the finances, but I think well be aggressive and find ways to make improvements when needed.

The non-waiver trade deadline is four weeks from Sunday and talks are already underway across the game.

"We will definitely be actively involved in trade discussions,'' vowed Epstein, "and we'll see. We may be very active in trades, we may be less active, we may do some smaller things. We're certainly not a perfect club, that's for sure. There are needs that we have, areas that we're going to attempt to upgrade.

"Those upgrades might come from guys we have on the 25-man roster playing better
get locked in. We've already seen that dynamic over the course of the season in certain areas. The improvements might come from guys off the DL or guys from the minor leagues. I'm sure some form or another we'll find an external solution to some of our needs. But I can't sit here and say we're definitely going to go out and make a blockbuster trade.

"For one thing, there's just not a huge market of sellers right now, not a lot of guys on the market who can make an impact, and it's a long way from July 31. Not only will the market dynamics change a lot between now and then, but our own situation will evolve quite a bit too.''

Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam

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