Lineup

[carolinacubbie]

Sorry I haven't kept up much with ST, have been busy with work and school, what is our projected lineup looking to be?

 

Random Guess

 

1. Fukudome

2. Castro

3. Byrd

4. Ramirez

5. Pena

6. Soto

7. Soriano

8. Baker

[CubColtPacer]

Some lineup talk today from Quade:

 

Castro/Byrd/Ramirez will be 2-3-4

 

Second base is still undecided

 

On Fukudome:

 

Expect Kosuke Fukudome to be leading off against most right-handers this year. Quade wasn't fretting over the outfielder's .173 average this spring.

 

"He's somebody I don't worry about," Quade said. "I love his at-bats. I love that he sees a lot of pitches. He'll hit better than he did down here. He's always had a pretty good on-base percentage and that's what you're looking for in the top spot."

 

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110330&content_id=17202998&notebook_id=17203160&vkey=notebook_chc&c_id=chc

[Sammy Sofa]

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhh, why is Byrd batting 3rd??!

[javy knows my name]

Quade keeps saying wonderful things. Now he just needs to do all those things.

[javy knows my name]

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhh, why is Byrd batting 3rd??!

 

Eww, missed that. Pena 3, Soto 5. Not hard

[bukie]

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhh, why is Byrd batting 3rd??!

Sadly, Byrd was probably the Cubs' second best hitter last year after Soto.

 

The real question is why isn't Soto near the top of the order.

[Guest]

If Byrd's struggles down the stretch really were due to playing hurt, I'm willing to give him a clean slate again because he did really well for a substantial part of the season early.

[CubColtPacer]

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhh, why is Byrd batting 3rd??!

Sadly, Byrd was probably the Cubs' second best hitter last year after Soto.

 

The real question is why isn't Soto near the top of the order.

 

I don't think Soto is in a terrible spot. He looks to be 5th against left-handers and 6th against right-handers if nobody is getting a day off and Quade has been moving him up to 4th or 5th when people do have days off. Byrd is the only one I'd seriously question that is in front of him in either version of the lineup.

[Sammy Sofa]

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhh, why is Byrd batting 3rd??!

Sadly, Byrd was probably the Cubs' second best hitter last year after Soto.

 

That doesn't mean he merits hitting in the middle of the lineup this year.

 

The real question is why isn't Soto near the top of the order.

 

You mean 1-2? I'd rather have Fukudome and Castro getting that most days. Soto should be hitting 5th.

[bukie]

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhh, why is Byrd batting 3rd??!

Sadly, Byrd was probably the Cubs' second best hitter last year after Soto.

 

That doesn't mean he merits hitting in the middle of the lineup this year.

 

The real question is why isn't Soto near the top of the order.

 

You mean 1-2? I'd rather have Fukudome and Castro getting that most days. Soto should be hitting 5th.

I mean 3rd. He was the Cubs' best hitter last year, and projects to be the same this year, even with anticipated improvement from Pena and Ramirez.

[Sammy Sofa]

Those projections must be hinged on last year, right? I don't see how he could project to be a better hitter than Aramis otherwise.

[bukie]

ZiPS loves Pena the best, actually, but every projection has Soto better than Ramirez, anywhere from slightly to significantly. Projected higher OBP, similar SLG.

 

Combination of last year's performance, previous years' performance, and age regression/progression.

 

If I had my way, I'd like to see a lineup of Kosuke-Starlin-Soto-Pena-Ramirez-Soriano-Byrd-Baker, but I also think Pena is due for a nice bounceback year. And if Colvin is going to spell anyone, I'd prefer he spell Soriano on a regular basis since he's got a history of leg problems and can't move well anymore anyway.

[UMFan83]

byrd should not be batting 3rd, it should be Ramirez/Pena/Soto 3/4/5. Byrd 6th, let Soriano flail away at the 7 spot, and then the 2 pitchers at 8/9

[Sammy Sofa]

ZiPS loves Pena the best, actually, but every projection has Soto better than Ramirez, anywhere from slightly to significantly. Projected higher OBP, similar SLG.

 

Combination of last year's performance, previous years' performance, and age regression/progression.

 

Huh. Well, I hope he lives up to that.

[mookie]

byrd should not be batting 3rd, it should be Ramirez/Pena/Soto 3/4/5. Byrd 6th, let Soriano flail away at the 7 spot, and then the 2 pitchers at 8/9

 

i heartily endorse this lineup

[Guest]

Soto ahead of both Ramirez and Pena.

[apete6]

byrd should not be batting 3rd, it should be Ramirez/Pena/Soto 3/4/5. Byrd 6th, let Soriano flail away at the 7 spot, and then the 2 pitchers at 8/9

 

i heartily endorse this lineup

 

So do I! Why is it so hard, even for a seemingly good manager like Quade to figure this out?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Why does everyone love Castro batting second so much?

[Sammy Sofa]

Why would you want him getting fewer PA?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Why would you want him getting fewer PA?

 

I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting him to be one of the better hitters in the lineup. He stands a pretty decent chance of being our 6th or 7th best hitter.

[Sammy Sofa]

So you see him projecting to be a 6-7 hitter for his career?

[Radar3454]

Why would you want him getting fewer PA?

 

I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting him to be one of the better hitters in the lineup. He stands a pretty decent chance of being our 6th or 7th best hitter.

 

Seriously??

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So you see him projecting to be a 6-7 hitter for his career?

 

I have no idea. It's certainly possible he stays in that range.

[Sammy Sofa]

Why would you want him getting fewer PA?

 

I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting him to be one of the better hitters in the lineup. He stands a pretty decent chance of being our 6th or 7th best hitter.

 

Seriously??

 

He's a very young, relatively inexperienced player entering his second season. There's a very good chance that he has a shaky year.

 

That said, I see him ideally projecting to be a #2-ish hitter later on, and I'd rather the Cubs take advantage of having an "in between" team to let him get more PA by batting near the top of the order instead of burying him.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Sammy Sofa

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Why would you want him getting fewer PA?

 

I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting him to be one of the better hitters in the lineup. He stands a pretty decent chance of being our 6th or 7th best hitter.

 

Seriously??

 

Last year, he was definitely worse than Soto, Fukudome and Soriano. He was pretty much even with Byrd. Throw in bounceback years from Pena and Ramirez, and he'd be the 7th best hitter in the lineup.

 

Obviously there can be a lot of variance in the upcoming year, but I don't think that's unreasonable to guess.