Today's Lineup Thoughts

[papabear58]

Well we're facing a left handed pitcher with a career 5.54 ERA who averages only 6.07 k/9 with a 1.58 k/bb rate. Add into that that his P/Inn. is 16.4 and it's concievable that we could do well today offensivly. I think the key is to go with a good contact lineup so that we can put the ball into play and force him to throw more pitches as it could lead to some walks.

 

We might try:

 

Soriano

Derosa

Lee

A-Ram

Barrett

Murton

Jones

Isturis (Maybe Cedeno for rest of Isturis)

Hill

 

Any thoughts out there?

[E.J.]

Everything is fine except take Jones out of the lineup. Put Theriot out in RF. Jones has shown over and over again that he can't hit lefties. I don't want him anywhere near the batter's box when we're facing a lefty. I still wish we had a little more pop off the bench from the right side, but Theriot is the best option, so I'd go with him.

[papabear58]

Everything is fine except take Jones out of the lineup. Put Theriot out in RF. Jones has shown over and over again that he can't hit lefties. I don't want him anywhere near the batter's box when we're facing a lefty. I still wish we had a little more pop off the bench from the right side, but Theriot is the best option, so I'd go with him.

 

That would leave Floyd and Jones off the bench when a right handed reliever comes in. Not bad options. Doesn't Derosa have more experience in playing RF then Theriot? I wonder if he'd "Take one for the team" and play there with Theriot playing second.

[FergieJ31]

Ugh, that lineup has three automatic outs at the end of the batting order.

 

It'll never happen but I really really wanna see Theriot over Izzy at SS today. Three errors in five batters is outrageous for anyone, especially an all glove no bat SS. Izzy should be sitting today.

 

I also would swap Derosa and Murton in the batting order. Murton should be in the two hole vs lefties, no question about it.

 

It's amazing that the Cubs have no viable platoon partner for Jones (not counting Theriot).

 

Edit to add: yeah I agree, Theriot starts in RF ... and Ronny at SS batting in the eight hole.

[papabear58]

Ugh, that lineup has three automatic outs at the end of the batting order.

 

It'll never happen but I really really wanna see Theriot over Izzy at SS today. Three errors in five batters is outrageous for anyone, especially an all glove no bat SS. Izzy should be sitting today.

 

I also would swap Derosa and Murton in the batting order. Murton should be in the two hole vs lefties, no question about it.

 

It's amazing that the Cubs have no viable platoon partner for Jones (not counting Theriot).

 

Cendeno seemed to be comming arround towards the end of spring. I'd like to see him get some AB's. As far as Murton over Derosa in the 2 hole, I think right now Derosa gives us the best chance to get deeper into the counts and to get after the pitcher early. I like Murton a lot, but he is being a little jumpy to start the season.

[jiml60]

Don't think it's going to matter what the line-up will look like...snow and cold here in Chicago today.

[papabear58]

Don't think it's going to matter what the line-up will look like...snow and cold here in Chicago today.

 

I hope you're wrong, but we shall have to see.

[Mephistopheles]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

[papabear58]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

 

Ah-ha! Mr. Optimism has arrived :D

[jersey cubs fan]

there's no reason to throw out a contact lineup. The Cubs don't need anymore groundouts. They need some bobbing and they need some patience.

 

They also need to finally learn how to hit crappy lefthanders. For all the consternation about the RH heavy lineup, the Cubs biggest problem the past few years is a lack of guys who can hit lefties. They suck against them.

[TruffleShuffle]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

 

Ah-ha! Mr. Optimism has arrived :D

 

it's not about optimism or pessimism.... juggling the lineup has little effect on the offensive output. If your team isn't scoring enough you need new players, not a new lineup.

[papabear58]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

 

Ah-ha! Mr. Optimism has arrived :D

 

it's not about optimism or pessimism.... juggling the lineup has little effect on the offensive output. If your team isn't scoring enough you need new players, not a new lineup.

 

Just a friendly jab, no harm meant. I'm not sure I share your opinion 100% however. If someone is struggling it might be worth sitting them for a game to let them clear their head.

[Soul]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

 

Ah-ha! Mr. Optimism has arrived :D

 

it's not about optimism or pessimism.... juggling the lineup has little effect on the offensive output. If your team isn't scoring enough you need new players, not a new lineup.

 

Just a friendly jab, no harm meant. I'm not sure I share your opinion 100% however. If someone is struggling it might be worth sitting them for a game to let them clear their head.

 

This entire team should sit for a little while and clear their heads.

 

Anyway, haven't you heard? It's too cold for these Cubs. They should call the game. We can't win.

[rocket]

instead of putting contact hitters, how about hitters who can hit homeruns

[radarluv1]

hopefully they've got the crucial lefty batting practice pitcher position filled this year.

i just had an idea- glendon is still under contract, right? he was throwing BP anyways.

[Mephistopheles]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

 

Ah-ha! Mr. Optimism has arrived :D

realism. the offense will be fine. changing the order is useless. its much more important getting the right people in than where they bat. protection, leading off i really dont give a darn about Edited April 11, 2007 by Mephistopheles

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

Doesn't matter, game is postponed anyway. Weather is crazy in Chicago today.

[Guest]

playing with the lineup isn't going to change anything.

 

Ah-ha! Mr. Optimism has arrived :D

realism. the offense will be fine. changing the order is useless. its much more important getting the right people in than where they bat. protection, leading off i really dont give a darn about

 

actually, it does matter. Personally I would do my best to have people on base when Lee and Ramirez bat. Soriano and Jones 1-2 is not a great way to do that. Soriano leading off is just stupid.

[soccer10k]

I predict today's lineup will score exactly 0 runs.

[tfarks]

Its hard to argue against Soriano in the leadoff spot, obviously his best production has been there and the Cubs have had him penciled in there as soon as they signed him. Unfortunately he has not gotten hot yet so we have to deal with essentially a crappy lead-off hitter for the moment. This is what makes the 2 spot so essential to have a high OBP guy in there, definitely not Jacque. Either Murton needs to be put there and allowed to stay there multiple games to find his stroke and see if he can get his patience back or Theriot. Even though Theriot doesn't seem to have a great swing right now, in a small sample time, he can take a walk, not to mention get Izturis out of the lineup so he can recollect himself.

 

If that doesn't work then we just have to hope whoever is batting 5-6 gets hot, i.e. Barrett. Essentially Aram and Lee are our table setters at the moment.

[Guest]

I find it very easy to argue against Soriano in the leadoff spot. His offensive skills are far better suited to batting lower in the order. His power and speed plays far better after Lee and Ramirez than before them as does his modest OBP. Since very few players have ever shown changes in production based on lineup spot over a meaningful sample size, there is absolutely no justification to batting Soriano leadoff. He would be far better batting 5th with Jones 6th for similar reasons.

[Drew Doughty]

I find it very easy to argue against Soriano in the leadoff spot. His offensive skills are far better suited to batting lower in the order. His power and speed plays far better after Lee and Ramirez than before them as does his modest OBP. Since very few players have ever shown changes in production based on lineup spot over a meaningful sample size, there is absolutely no justification to batting Soriano leadoff. He would be far better batting 5th with Jones 6th for similar reasons.

 

i agree w/ this, except that soriano HAS shown changes in production when he's moved up and down the order.

 

I would normally say bat him 5th, but his production is vastly superior from the leadoff spot than it is from other places with roughly a season's worth of PAs.

[cheapseats]

I find it very easy to argue against Soriano in the leadoff spot. His offensive skills are far better suited to batting lower in the order. His power and speed plays far better after Lee and Ramirez than before them as does his modest OBP. Since very few players have ever shown changes in production based on lineup spot over a meaningful sample size, there is absolutely no justification to batting Soriano leadoff. He would be far better batting 5th with Jones 6th for similar reasons.

 

i agree w/ this, except that soriano HAS shown changes in production when he's moved up and down the order.

 

I would normally say bat him 5th, but his production is vastly superior from the leadoff spot than it is from other places with roughly a season's worth of PAs.

 

Correlation does not equal causation.

 

If there's a reason or number of reasons why Soriano had success hitting first, then by all means, he should hit first. I'm just not sure what those reasons would be.

[jersey cubs fan]

I find it very easy to argue against Soriano in the leadoff spot. His offensive skills are far better suited to batting lower in the order. His power and speed plays far better after Lee and Ramirez than before them as does his modest OBP. Since very few players have ever shown changes in production based on lineup spot over a meaningful sample size, there is absolutely no justification to batting Soriano leadoff. He would be far better batting 5th with Jones 6th for similar reasons.

 

i agree w/ this, except that soriano HAS shown changes in production when he's moved up and down the order.

 

I would normally say bat him 5th, but his production is vastly superior from the leadoff spot than it is from other places with roughly a season's worth of PAs.

 

There were extenuating circumstances with those changes.

 

His small amount of time in the 5th spot was 2005, and he was actually better in the 5th spot than leadoff that year. Likewise, 2004 was his only time hitting 3rd, and his line there was right in line with his career averages.

 

Soriano basically fell apart during the 2003 playoffs batting leadoff, when he went on a pretty amazing bad streak. He was exposed as a very easy out, and he was forced to change his approach. He was always a low OBP guy, but his .267 playoff OBP in 2003 basically lost him his job as the Yankees leadoff man. He went to Texas and struggled to regain his best success. Was that because of the move to #3 or because the league knew how to get him out and he failed to adjust?

 

I'd argue it was a lot more about the league and his lack of adjustments than it was some mental block about spot in the order.

[Derwood]

I find it very easy to argue against Soriano in the leadoff spot. His offensive skills are far better suited to batting lower in the order. His power and speed plays far better after Lee and Ramirez than before them as does his modest OBP. Since very few players have ever shown changes in production based on lineup spot over a meaningful sample size, there is absolutely no justification to batting Soriano leadoff. He would be far better batting 5th with Jones 6th for similar reasons.

 

i agree w/ this, except that soriano HAS shown changes in production when he's moved up and down the order.

 

I would normally say bat him 5th, but his production is vastly superior from the leadoff spot than it is from other places with roughly a season's worth of PAs.

 

Correlation does not equal causation.

 

If there's a reason or number of reasons why Soriano had success hitting first, then by all means, he should hit first. I'm just not sure what those reasons would be.

 

it's entirely mental. He sees himself as a leadoff guy, he likes being a leadoff guy, and he seemingly doesn't try as hard when he's dropped in the order.