clarknova
07-15-2012, 08:33 PM
I know you've all seen me whining about the lineups in the chatbox, so I thought I'd post a thread to discuss them. Honestly, I'd appreciate some feedback that might help to calm me down about it, because I really would like some levity on the subject. Today, for instance- This is why I was irritated:
-Brendan Ryan hit lead off. I know he had a double, but I believe in process. Basically, it is my opinion that Brendan Ryan doesn't give the team the best chance to win in the lead off spot based on his plate approach, and the fact that he hit a double doesn't change that for me at all. He could have hit 4 home runs, and I would still not want him hitting first... Well, ok, in that case... I'd look pretty stupid and stubborn to want to put him back at 9, but I hope that makes sense. I guess I understand moving guys around to see if magic happens, but he's one of the worst hitters on the team (and that is saying something) and you're putting him in a position to get more at bats then your better hitters. THAT is what bothers me about it. His .183 batting average.
-Saunders in the 8 hole. Saunders is a young hitter that is playing well and needs AB's against tough pitchers. He should be playing almost every day. My opinion. He should not hit in the bottom third of the order. He has the third highest batting average on the team. He should not be losing AB's by sitting, or hitting low in the order.
-Ackley sits. Ok, I understand he isn't beating the world at the plate still. I don't see how sitting him helps. He has done SO much better with his stride, even though he's still opening up early (I'm starting to get it), he's gotten much better and has been hitting the ball much better and not looking so ridiculous at the plate. He needs to learn to hit everyone, every day. He's an every day player. He should almost never sit unless he's just bombing and not taking coaching, but just as he starts to improve, sitting him? I'm not a fan. I don't think if he'd gone 0-4 it would have set him back to the "start over" point. My opinion only.
Olivo? Whatever. Jaso can't hit lefties. The last three seasons he's hit .179 against them in limited chances, because he's been very strictly platooned. Go with Olivo, who's hitting .222 against lefties this year, what the hell else are we going to do?
Figgins? Yeah, if you're going to sit Ackley, that's what happens. Chone freaking Figgins.
So, that's one line up. Maybe I'm overreacting by being irritated by it. It certainly isn't the first time, but apparently there's some method to it that I'm not understanding. I don't believe that just because you're on a big league roster as a bench player that you still should get at bats if you suck, and you're not part of the future. I do not agree with that. You could platoon, pinch hit, fill in during injury, or the RARE off day. That's it.
I get that Harrison destroys lefties, so I felt a bit better about the line up. I still feel that these guys are going to have to learn to hit good pitchers that throw from the side they're not good at hitting. And, I think a bigger problem for me is that they're being platooned with garbage hitters because we have nothing else. So it's like, yeah, play Olivo- he has a 10% better statistical chance of getting a hit. What does it matter that he'll allow a pass ball, it's not like we're going to score any runs to compensate. That's what it feels like it's down to, and it's frustrating.
-Brendan Ryan hit lead off. I know he had a double, but I believe in process. Basically, it is my opinion that Brendan Ryan doesn't give the team the best chance to win in the lead off spot based on his plate approach, and the fact that he hit a double doesn't change that for me at all. He could have hit 4 home runs, and I would still not want him hitting first... Well, ok, in that case... I'd look pretty stupid and stubborn to want to put him back at 9, but I hope that makes sense. I guess I understand moving guys around to see if magic happens, but he's one of the worst hitters on the team (and that is saying something) and you're putting him in a position to get more at bats then your better hitters. THAT is what bothers me about it. His .183 batting average.
-Saunders in the 8 hole. Saunders is a young hitter that is playing well and needs AB's against tough pitchers. He should be playing almost every day. My opinion. He should not hit in the bottom third of the order. He has the third highest batting average on the team. He should not be losing AB's by sitting, or hitting low in the order.
-Ackley sits. Ok, I understand he isn't beating the world at the plate still. I don't see how sitting him helps. He has done SO much better with his stride, even though he's still opening up early (I'm starting to get it), he's gotten much better and has been hitting the ball much better and not looking so ridiculous at the plate. He needs to learn to hit everyone, every day. He's an every day player. He should almost never sit unless he's just bombing and not taking coaching, but just as he starts to improve, sitting him? I'm not a fan. I don't think if he'd gone 0-4 it would have set him back to the "start over" point. My opinion only.
Olivo? Whatever. Jaso can't hit lefties. The last three seasons he's hit .179 against them in limited chances, because he's been very strictly platooned. Go with Olivo, who's hitting .222 against lefties this year, what the hell else are we going to do?
Figgins? Yeah, if you're going to sit Ackley, that's what happens. Chone freaking Figgins.
So, that's one line up. Maybe I'm overreacting by being irritated by it. It certainly isn't the first time, but apparently there's some method to it that I'm not understanding. I don't believe that just because you're on a big league roster as a bench player that you still should get at bats if you suck, and you're not part of the future. I do not agree with that. You could platoon, pinch hit, fill in during injury, or the RARE off day. That's it.
I get that Harrison destroys lefties, so I felt a bit better about the line up. I still feel that these guys are going to have to learn to hit good pitchers that throw from the side they're not good at hitting. And, I think a bigger problem for me is that they're being platooned with garbage hitters because we have nothing else. So it's like, yeah, play Olivo- he has a 10% better statistical chance of getting a hit. What does it matter that he'll allow a pass ball, it's not like we're going to score any runs to compensate. That's what it feels like it's down to, and it's frustrating.