Lineups

by rapdawg on Jul 5, 2009 7:01 PM EDT

I keep looking at the lineups we put out and I hate them. They don't make sense to me, and I feel that a consistent and regular lineup would benefit this team a lot. How many quality teams throw out a different lineup daily, the answer is none. So here is my proposal;

1. Chris Young, CF

2. Stephen Drew, SS

3. Justin Upton, RF

4. Mark Reynolds, 3B

5. Chad Tracy, 1B

6. Miguel Montero, C

7. Felipe Lopez, 2B

8. Gerardo Parra, LF

9. Pitcher

Ok, so most of the discrepancy will come right away, with Chris Young leading off. Well, here is my thought, his issue is plate discipline. This will force him to take pitches and possibly start taking more walks. If he is leading off and can stay away from curveballs, he will get fastballs so that there is nobody on base for the middle, which is fairly dangerous. CY can hit fastballs, this would be a way for him to see a few more. Also, he can steal bases from the top of the order which puts immediate pressure on the pitcher. Lopez is not a leadoff hitter, he will not steal bases and is not a good table setter. His .300 average is better used low in the order to clean the bases of the middle guys. I believe in CY, I think he needs to be given a better opportunity to succeed. He is fast, let him use his wheels from the top of the order and let his power be a bonus. Stephen Drew is a great 2 hitter with a little bit of everything on the offensive side, and if CY does not get on, Stephen is the second leadoff man. He can hit for contact, power, and even steal some bags. I envision some double steals from the top 2. The 3 and 4 hitters are pretty predictable. Chad Tracy is a veteran in the 5 spot, who is a professional hitter. This is advantageous to the DBacks in a few ways. First, he can hit for some power and although he is not great with RISP, i trust him more than Montero at this point. In addition, Tracy in the 5 hole allows him to put up good numbers with solid protection and makes him more attractive for a trade. Maybe if we up his stock, teams will have more to offer. Montero makes sense at 6 for me, because he has some pop and is really the only one who fits there of the remaining players. Like I said before, Lopez is a good 7 hitter to clean up the bases from the middle if Tracy and Montero can't do the job. If not he is a .300 hitter who can be used to manufacture a run with Parra and the pitcher after him. Playing some small ball will make him very valuable in the 7 hole. Parra is coming back to earth hard after a good start, so the 8 hole where he fits. He makes sense there more than anyone else, plus the lefties need to be broken up, so Lopez is in front of him. There's my opinion, feel free to post yours.

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Comments

Interesting and thoughtful post

Rec’d, and appreciate the effort. I must admit, it seems we’ve had a more consistent line-up under Hinch – the one that starts Lopez, Drew, Upton, Reynolds – but outside of that, we’re still as unsettled as ever. In 82 games, we have used 78 different line-ups (and that’s not counting whoever is in the pitcher’s spot). Fourteen different players have hit in the seven-hole.

Anyway. Young at lead-off. Firstly, probably not a good idea right now, simply because he has not fully recovered from the groin strain. He clearly can’t run at full speed, so expecting him to steal bases at this point would be a bad idea. However, you mention the walks, and he had already shown massively improved plate discipline, walking more than he has K’d of late. Can he transfer that to the leadoff spot?

My major qualm would be the lefty-heavy bottom of the order, with Tracy, Montero and Parra all left-handed batters – even with the switch-hitting Lopez in the middle, that makes it a lot easier for the opposing manager to manage his pitchers, with so many left-handers in a row. That’s the obvious spot to send in their equiivalent of Scott Schoeneweis, when he can face multiple LHB in a row.

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Jul 6, 2009 10:24 PM EDT reply actions

valid

All your points are very valid and make sense to me. However, I really believe in CY in the leadoff spot, because let’s be honest how much worse can he get. This is a positive change for him and one that might spark up his confidence a little. It is a move best made after he puts together a few decent games and shows his speed is back. As for the lefties, this is an issue more because of who is catching for us right now. If Chris Snyder were back and healthy he makes the bottom half seem a lot more conceivable. Although, it must be pointed out that in his career, and of course besides this year to make my point seem weaker, Miguel Montero is a better hitter against lefties than righties. Small sample size maybe, but even so if we are that worried, there are 3 switch hitting bats off the bench that can fill in. I will also say that I think matchups are overrated based on your point of Scott Schoeneweis. He can hardly get any lefties out, and really how many dominant lefty specialist are there out there. Most are underwhelming soft tossers with a little deception. Just a thought, I don’t know if I am too old school with my philosophy on lineups, where you want the best hitters in the best position to succeed and the rest are complimentary.

by rapdawg on Jul 6, 2009 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

I like CY

However, I agree with Jim that CY should not be leading off. I still like him batting 8th in our lineup. It allows him to read more pitches because most opposing pitchers would rather pitch around to the pitcher, especially with runners on. I actually like Parra leading off even though he seems more of a contact hitter better suited for the 2nd slot. Here is my lineup.

1. Parra
2. Lopez
3. Upton
4. Reynolds
5. Drew
6. Tracy/Whitesell
7. Monterro/Snyder
8. Young
9. Pitcher

Badgers! Badgers! We don't need no stinkin badgers!

by haas on Jul 8, 2009 3:35 AM EDT reply actions

Montero's

been hot since Snyder’s been out. I’ve got to have him in an RBI slot.
Here’s what I’m thinking. (Great posts, btw guys!)

1. Lopez (He’s just not an RBI guy and you almost can’t drop him because of that)
2. Drew
3. Uptin (Just leave him in the three-hole until he’s old)
4. Reynolds (He’s developed into a legit cleanup hitter)
5. Montero (I think this is a good slot for him unless he’s slumping)
6. Parra (Hasn’t been as consistent as Lopez has)
7. Tracy
8. Young (If we have to start a guy around .200 we have to bat him 8th imo)
9. The pitcher’s slot

Go Diamondbacks!

by sayheyupton on Jul 8, 2009 2:14 PM EDT reply actions