April 21, 200521 yr For one game, move Cabs to 3rd, Enc to left, 9er to right? Everyone talks about Cabrera's 3rd base abilities, Enc likes left field, and its a way to get Jeff into the mix.
April 21, 200521 yr He had a night off yesterday and Easley started at 3rd. It is unlikely Cabs will play 3B this year unless Lowell gets injured. Expect to primarily see Easley and perhaps Lenny Harris every once in awhile.
April 21, 200521 yr absolutly not, move him back too 5, if not 4.. hes got it, he's obviously comming out of it. its visable with the contact he's getting. I needs to see more action. Batting 6th, the exiting situations are over.. he should be 3, 4, or 5. I say move him back.
April 21, 200521 yr absolutly not, move him back too 5, if not 4.. hes got it, he's obviously comming out of it. its visable with the contact he's getting. I needs to see more action. Batting 6th, the exiting situations are over.. he should be 3, 4, or 5. I say move him back. 749877[/snapback] No way should Enc be moved from the 5 spot as long as he is hitting as well as he is with RISP. Enc is an RBI machine right now, and all Lowell generally manages is a pop-up to the right side in critical situations. Lowell needs to do more than show signs of coming out of it before he is moved back up. If anything he should be dropped to 7th behind LoDuca.
April 21, 200521 yr This is a great time for Lowell to be slumping(if there is such a thing) The offense is really clicking right now without him, so later on when it needs a boost, hopefully Mike is out of this funk by then
April 21, 200521 yr I don't think we should sit him for an extended period, if that's what you're suggesting. And we just sat him yesterday. He got a hit and an RBI today. The only way you get out of slumps is to keep playing.
April 21, 200521 yr I'm inclined to agree with TimeWrecker on this, we need to go with the opening day lineup, simply because Lowell will not get out of this slump if his protection is Alex Gonzalez. He's going to have to start batting in his regular 5 spot, and with the way Cabs and Delgado are hitting the ball, he'll be the one guy they pitch to, hopefully giving him the chance to at least see pitches that are more hittable than the constant breaking stuff it seems he's seeing now, and as long as Alex and the pitcher are batting behind him, teams won't pitch to him with the same kind of urgency were he hitting 5th.
April 21, 200521 yr I'm inclined to agree with TimeWrecker on this, we need to go with the opening day lineup, simply because Lowell will not get out of this slump if his protection is Alex Gonzalez. He's going to have to start batting in his regular 5 spot, and with the way Cabs and Delgado are hitting the ball, he'll be the one guy they pitch to, hopefully giving him the chance to at least see pitches that are more hittable than the constant breaking stuff it seems he's seeing now, and as long as Alex and the pitcher are batting behind him, teams won't pitch to him with the same kind of urgency were he hitting 5th. 749897[/snapback] But wasn't that the situation for two weeks before Jack made the lineup change? Teams were pitching to Lowell and he was popping up juicy fastballs right down the middle of the plate. Perhaps an opthamologist would help get him out of his slump faster.
April 21, 200521 yr I'm inclined to agree with TimeWrecker on this, we need to go with the opening day lineup, simply because Lowell will not get out of this slump if his protection is Alex Gonzalez.? He's going to have to start batting in his regular 5 spot, and with the way Cabs and Delgado are hitting the ball, he'll be the one guy they pitch to, hopefully giving him the chance to at least see pitches that are more hittable than the constant breaking stuff it seems he's seeing now, and as long as Alex and the pitcher are batting behind him, teams won't pitch to him with the same kind of urgency were he hitting 5th. 749897[/snapback] But wasn't that the situation for two weeks before Jack made the lineup change? Teams were pitching to Lowell and he was popping up juicy fastballs right down the middle of the plate. Perhaps an opthamologist would help get him out of his slump faster. 749909[/snapback] That may be true, but if Lowell is the "captain" of this team, at some point he either needs to come around or simply be benched. This lineup right now is a gimmick lineup, Lowell and Delgado are under-achieving (I say this because right now, Delgado seems like "only" a 30-100 guy for the season), and Encarnacion is over-achieving. With that in mind, we can't carry a 3-4-5 of Delgado/Cabrera/Encarnacion for much longer if for no other reason than Delgado's effectiveness as a "sandwich" bat is non-existant batting third, with him fourth, Cabrera and Lowell both see more pitches to hit, and it's not as if Delgado's tearing the cover off the ball batting third, he's been a consistent average threat in either part of the lineup (and with the absurd shift that teams have been playing, he won't get an RBI when a runner's on first unless he hits a HR, there's no way he hits a double unless he goes the other way on a pitch which is something he doesn't appear willing to do). Going back to the original 3-4-5 gives Lowell and Cabrera more hittable pitches to see, and it gives Delgado (at least it should) more RBI opportunities...
April 21, 200521 yr I'm just guessing but I have to believe Jack won't mess with success and he won't fiddle with the lineup as long as the winning streak continues.
April 21, 200521 yr I'm just guessing but I have to believe Jack won't mess with success and he won't fiddle with the lineup as long as the winning streak continues. 749923[/snapback] I agree. I also think the clean-up spot suits Miguel much better. He seems to be more comfortable batting there. And, let's not kid ourselves, Delgado is a proven homerun hitter and run producer, but Miguel is clearly our best hitter. I think opposing teams believe that, too. That gives Carlos better pitches to hit.
April 21, 200521 yr leave things the way they are, he showed signs today, in the rout of the mets 9-2, it's waking up, he does great in the opening months anyway, he is a first half king! OFF-TOPIC, I notice Jack is resting Lo Duca alot, is it cause we don't want him tired in the 2nd half why we are doing this?
April 21, 200521 yr Treanor's only played 3 games in ~15 games. That's not a lot. Many times you'll see the backup catcher play once every fourth game.
April 21, 200521 yr I think if you give him time to play it out, Mikey will be back to swining the bat like we expect him to and the lineup will be that much better because of it.
April 21, 200521 yr Mike is usually a guy who has great first halfs and then falls behind in the second half. Maybe this poor start is a blessing in disguise and he'll have a great all-around year?
April 21, 200521 yr Giving Mikey a break was a good idea. But, don't forget he is brilliant defensively and always contributes. That said, it would have been FUN to see Cab's at 3rd. With Niner or Aguila in left. And, "that said," I look forward to seeing Niner at 1st soon to give Delgado a "break." And get Conine some playing time. We're going to need him.
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