2010 batting order

[BrewCrewForever]

I wish Macha would put Kottaras higher in the order. A .443 OBP and .551 SLG% is worth batting 7-9.

I think he might be a decent #2 hitter with that OBP. But I'm not sure I like Gomez and Escobar batting back to back in the lineup. Too similar of hitters. And although Gomez's OBP is not too great, I think he has done okay in the 2 hole. He's hitting okay, if he could be more selective the sky is the limit for him. I have really enjoyed having him on our team.

[logan82]

I don't think they are really similar hitters other than the fact both are not really good at hitting so far. Their current lines are .263/.298/.434/.732 and .244/.289/.385/.674 although Gomez only has a little over 100 PA so his stats will continue to jump all over the place for at least another month. Still to early to change my preseason opinion on either.

[Ennder]

Don't look now but Braun is batting 2nd today with Escobar batting 9th!

[derflotr]

Ken Macha is the man.

[logan82]

 

Weeks 2b
Braun lf
Fielder 1b
McGehee 3b
Hart rf
Gomez cf
Lucroy c
Wolf p
Escobar ss

Not a bad lineup. Not perfect but I like the placing of Braun at #2. Shows some progress. Has the best 5 hitters at the top and the pitcher 9th. I would flop Fielder, McGehee and Hart a bit but it seems right based on how they are currently hitting.

Batting order splits so far this year. The only really glaring spots are #2 and #6.
#1 .239/.340/.388/.728
#2 .244/.283/.389/.672
#3 .330/.403/.540/.943
#4 .262/.392/.415/.807
#5 .315/.377/.523/.900
#6 .294/.340/.604/.944
#7.234/.341/.383/.724
#8 .253/.333/.407/.740
#9 .213/.270/.328/.594

 

[davego]

I suspect lots of us are pretty happy with Ken today!

[logan82]

The best part is that Macha seems to have done a good job selling it.

 

 

"Looking at the lineup, at the beginning of the game it's like, 'Oh,

you're batting cleanup,'" McGehee said. "But it's really the same. I'm

still hitting in front of and behind the same guy. Then hopefully you

get Escobar on base and all of a sudden Rickie's basically hitting

second after the first go round. So I think it's going to be interesting

to see how it all shakes out."

I just wish they would stick with something like this for more than a handful of games. The extra at bats Fielder and Braun would get over the course of the year would add up after a while. Of course the biggest benefit is not having a crappy bat in the #2 hole getting all the extra PA.

[MilwaukeeCounsell]

Well, Macha back to his old ways.

Gomez is batting 2nd with his .298 OBP

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I was hoping they would try that Sunday lineup for another game or two. I think it has potential.

[mletto157]

Yeah, put me in as someone who was also excited to see them try this on Sunday, and then disappointed when they reverted back right away again on Monday. It must have been the lineup that caused Suppan to throw meatballs and lose the game on Sunday - better switch it back.

[Schlitz001]

 

Weeks 2b

Braun lf

Fielder 1b

McGehee 3b

Hart rf

Gomez cf

Lucroy c

Wolf p

Escobar ss

 

Not a bad lineup. Not perfect but I like the placing of Braun at #2. Shows some progress. Has the best 5 hitters at the top and the pitcher 9th. I would flop Fielder, McGehee and Hart a bit but it seems right based on how they are currently hitting.

 

Batting order splits so far this year. The only really glaring spots are #2 and #6.

#1 .239/.340/.388/.728

#2 .244/.283/.389/.672

#3 .330/.403/.540/.943

#4 .262/.392/.415/.807

#5 .315/.377/.523/.900

#6 .294/.340/.604/.944

#7.234/.341/.383/.724

#8 .253/.333/.407/.740

#9 .213/.270/.328/.594

 

Wow, I missed the game where he used this lineup. I like it. Why would he use it once and then switch it up again? I want answers Macha!

[Gobias Industries]

This is pure speculation, but I'm guessing Braun asked to be moved outta the 2 hole. These guys are brainwashed into thinking your best hitter hits 3rd, and a weak hitter/good bunter hits 2nd.

 

Remember, he asked to be switched back to the 3 spot that one year Yost flipped him and Fielder.

[JohnBriggs12]

Escobar has led off an inning 37 times. 17 of those times, he's hit safely (.486). Of those 17 hits, 1 was a double, 2 were triples, and 1 was a HR. Twice more he walked for an OBP of .514. He scored on 29.7% of the times he's led off an inning (11)

 

Weeks has led off an inning 103 times. 19 of those times, he's hit safely (.211). He's walked 10 times and has been hit by a pitch 3 times. Overall, his OBP leading off is .311. Weeks has scored on 13.4% of the times he's led off an inning (14 for 103).

 

Basically, in 66 fewer chances, Escobar has 2 fewer hits and 3 fewer runs scored than Rickie Weeks leading off an inning. That despite the fact, in most of those opportunities, Escobar has had the pitcher or the number 8 hitter batting behind him.

 

Why is it nobody (but me) thinks Escobar should be leading off?

[Gobias Industries]

Why is it nobody (but me) thinks Escobar should be leading off?

Probably because his overall OBP is hovering around .300. Weeks isn't an ideal leadoff hitter, but he's definitely a better option than Esco.

 

Braun's back in the 2 spot tonight, so I was clearly wrong in the post above. Hopefully we see some results tonight.

[JohnBriggs12]

Why is it nobody (but me) thinks Escobar should be leading off?

Probably because his overall OBP is hovering around .300. Weeks isn't an ideal leadoff hitter, but he's definitely a better option than Esco.

 

Braun's back in the 2 spot tonight, so I was clearly wrong in the post above. Hopefully we see some results tonight.

What difference does his overall OBP make? You want your leadoff man to get on when he's leading off. Weeks isn't doing that. Escobar is. Leading off a game his OBP is .275. That's horrendous. He's scored 7 times in the first inning in 51 games. That's terrible.

 

Based on his success getting on when leading off, if Escobar was leading off more innings, one could surmise that his overall OBP were be considerably higher than it is now. Much of the time he comes up with 2 out and the pitcher on deck. In that situation, he doesn't get much to hit.

[Schlitz001]

You have to look at overall OBP when assessing where a player should hit, specifically the leadoff hitter who you want getting on base. Just because Escobar has a high OBP in a small sample of games where he lead off, doesn't mean that if you stick him in the leadoff spot his OBP will go up. OBP is a function of the player skill which determines where the manager puts him in the lineup, not vice versa. A player might see a statistical affect based on protection or hitting in front of a pitcher, but the effect is very minimal.

[MJLiverock]

I noticed today while looking at some splits that Gomez actually has a higher OBP vs. right hand pitching than Hart does this year. I thought it was interesting given the complaints about Gomez in the two hole and the occasional mention of putting Hart in the two hole.

[logan82]

I don't know about everybody else but I suggested Hart #2 as part of a platoon with Edmonds.

[brewtank34]

Ok, so yesterday you have Counsell in the 1 and Weeks in the 2. I've been asking for Weeks in the 2 hole even before the season began...but then Macha put Edmonds in front of Hart who has been raking in the 5 spot. Why mess with Hart? Yes, Hart had a HR, but I was not happy with moving him from behind McGehee.

 

Now today, you have Edmonds leading off. Say Wha? I'm frankly getting sick and tired of Macha messing with the line-up everyday. By this time in the season, if you don't know what your line-up should be, you don't belong managing a baseball team. And it's not just the line-up....he's messing with the pitchers too much too. One day, Cappy is a starter, the next he's in the pen. One day Parra is in the Bp and the next he's a starter and then he's back in the BP. Again....Say Wha? C'mon Macha. Stop messing with your players heads!

 

I've never seen this much finagaling with the players in all my days of baseball fanhood. I can't believe we haven't heard more ruffling from the players regarding Macha's decision making....or lack of skill with decision making.

[logan82]

Ok, so yesterday you have Counsell in the 1 and Weeks in the 2. I've been asking for Weeks in the 2 hole even before the season began...but then Macha put Edmonds in front of Hart who has been raking in the 5 spot. Why mess with Hart? Yes, Hart had a HR, but I was not happy with moving him from behind McGehee.

 

He split up the lefties by moving Hart. Not really a big deal and actually a good idea.

[joepepsi]

Actually, I kinda like Macha shuffling players in the lineup and pitchers in the rotation. This team is playing terribly, he's trying to do something about it. I much prefer this to Nedly trotting out the same lineup and rotation whether it's working or not.

[brewtank34]

For the offense, it's somewhat ok. I know players really like to get comfortable in certain spots. It just perplexes me that he hasn't been able to stick to a certain line-up since our offense hasn't been the main issue. I would like him to stick with Rickie in the 2 hole though.

[1992casey]

Adam McCalvey was on the radio today, and he said that:

• the number of lineups that Macha has used falls into the middle of the pack
• the Indians have used more lineups than any other team
• back when the message boards were complaining about the number of lineups that Nedly used, he actually fell near the bottom of the pack

Anyway, it's inaccurate to say that Ken has been using more lineups than "I've ever seen," and the lesson seems to be to check facts before making claims.

 

I'm happy as long as the best six hitters are in the top six spots. The lineups I have a problem with are the ones with a weak hitter near the top of the order.

[mletto157]

Yes, but he's hurting our pitchers the way he's shuffling them around. I wasn't a huge fan of Estrada, but he was adequite as a starter, then he pitched three days of relief and it killed him. This type of shuffling of starters to relievers can't be done. You need your starters stretched out.

[logan82]

I honestly think that we can start a pitching rotation thread.