Comments on: One lineup question answered

By: Sky

Sky — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:21:23 +0000

When your worst hitter is WAY worse than your second-worst, it make sense to bat him 8th, so his total lack of skill doesn’t hurt the top of the lineup. But in the AL, that rarely happens, and the trade-off between “having a second lead-off hitter” and “giving the fewest PAs to your worst hitter” favors the second strategy (putting him ninth).

By: TigerBlog » Blog Archive » Dontrelle Willis on the Mound and Todd Jones Gets the Start

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:04:12 +0000

[...] against Florida Southern and Ivan Rodriguez is going to hit eight this year. Be sure to check out Billfer’s analysis of how the Tigers lineup should shake out heading into opening day. Permalink | Posted in 2008 [...]

By: BobS.

BobS. — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:51:48 +0000

Winning is the single thing that will keep most of the clubhouse happy.
Of course Cabrera’s satisfaction is not Leyland’s only concern,but it’s disingenous to bring up the subject of “human” issues and then pretend that it’s not ultimately more important for Cabrera to see that the Tigers see him as The Man than to placate Rodriguez’ eggshell ego or that of roving malcontent Sheffield.
Batting Cabrera third makes sense on both counts.And,of course,batting Granderson ninth or platooning him against LHP.

By: billfer

billfer — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:48:55 +0000

Leyland’s job isn’t to just keep Cabrera happy, but to keep everyone happy. As for what will keep everyone happy, I have no idea and any of us who aren’t in the clubhouse would actually have any clue.

By: Mark L

Mark L — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:58:01 +0000

Several points:
–do you really think Sheffield will “stay happy” for very long in any one place, even with his favorite linup position, etc.?
–if we are concerned about keeping someone happy, it should probably be Cabrera, seeing as he is yet to sign a long-term deal, and could be a franchise cornerstone for a decade (along with Granderson and Verlander)
–However, Sheffield seems better at taking a walk than Cabrera, therefore putting him on base more often in front of Ordonez
–I’ve often thought batting Renteria leadoff against lefties. Production-wise, dropping Granderson to #9 makes sense, but we don’t want to shake his confidence. Hitting lefties better has to be his number one goal. Would letting him play, but not at leadoff, help? I hope so.
–I don’t know about LaRussa’s theory, but consider this: We have a rather unique leadoff hitter in Granderson. That is, he hits a lot of homeruns. Therefore, having a #9 hitter with a good OBP (Renteria, NOT Rodriguez) actually makes sense, as someone is more likely to be on base when Granderson hits a homer (or a triple, for that matter).
Therefore, against righties:
1. Granderson
2. Polanco
3. Cabrera
4. Ordonez
5. Sheffield
6. Guillen
7. Jones
8. Rodriguez
9. Renteria

Against lefties:
1. Renteria
2. Polanco
3. Cabrera
4. Ordonez
5. Sheffield
6. Guillen
7. Thames
8. Rodriguez
9. Granderson

The inevitable injuries (most likely to Sheffield) will shift Cabrera to DH and Inge to 3rd, necessitating some shifts in the lineup. Please, Leyland, whatever you do, do not bat Inge 3rd or 5th.

By: BobS.

BobS. — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:35:35 +0000

In terms of keeping things happy and shiny,an argument could be made that now is the time to reinforce the notion to Cabrera that he is the lynchpin of the batting order and the team,now and in the future.
Also,as we all know,against left handed pitching Granderson deserves to be in the ninth spot in the batting order.

By: Vince in MN

Vince in MN — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:39:13 +0000

Speaking of the ‘LaRussa lineup theory”, maybe on days when Willis pitches would be a good time to give Sheff a day off. In that case Leyland could use this lineup:

1.Granderson
2.Polanco
3.Cabrera
4.Ordonez
5.Guillen
6.Renteria
7.Jones/Thames
8.Willis
9.Rodriguez

This gets Cabrera into the 3-slot, keeping those folks that want him to hit there happy and at the same time gets IRod in the 9-spot, keeping those people happy, while those who would like to see Willis hit would be happy too!

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:35:38 +0000

I like the lineup with Jones 7th and Renteria 9th. It sets up well for Leyland to keep basically keep the order the same for lefty pitchers. Put Thames in at 7th and switch Granderson and Renteria at 1 and 9. Everyone keeps their same spot and there are back to back leadoff hitters at the top and bottom.

By: Vince in MN

Vince in MN — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:10:14 +0000

As far as RBI situations go, another way to look at it is what 4 batters would you rather have hitting in front of Cabrera:

Rodriguez, Jones/Thames, Granderson, Polanco
Or
Granderson, Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez

I like the second option better myself. This presupposes , of course, that Sheffield is back to normal. As far as shuffling the lineup goes, I imagine Leyland is going to do this some anyway, with injuries, days off, some platooning, etc. How many different lineups did he use last year? I seem to recall that he used many different ones. I assume that will happen less this year, but still, since he likes to keep his players ‘fresh’, this is going to happen some.

By: Eric Cioe

Eric Cioe — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:51:57 +0000

Brian P,

La Russa was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read about this. I’m not sure how the strategy works, though I seem to remember seeing an article on the Hardball Times about it. Maybe I’ll read it when I get a chance and see whether they think it’s a good or bad idea.