I mean seriously... He is hitting .188 and I know it is early but Willingham has much much better at bats than Jacobs

 

maybe Im not giving Jake a fair shake(hey, that rhymes)... but I think Hammer needs to be hitting 4th every game

I agree. I would like to see Hammer batting 4th and Jake batting 5th.

concur

gotta agree.

Yep definetly outweighs the benefits of the R-L-R order which I assume is the reason for it in the first place.

Willy is way too good with the bat to be behind Jacobs in the order. Jacobs will rake and hit some out, but he doesn't make consistent enough contact. Willy is gonna slug, but he is capable of doing more than swing for the fences- he can advance runners and such. I've been very impressed by him so far.

Sure. Willingham is proving he's an RBI machine.

Agreed. Ramirez - Hermida - Cabrera - WIllingham will be even more solid.

agreed on all accounts

I'm with you, Ramp.

 

 

 

 

 

Then again.... what else is new? :wub:

Absolutely. Plus the move will definately take pressure off of him and hopefully he'll start to produce a bit more. I think Joe may want to give him a few more games to see if he works his way out of it, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the change maybe by sometime next week.

Not to be the lone dissent, but I say stick with Jacobs in the cleanup spot for now. Having Willy behind Jacobs might let Jacobs see better pitches, which I think is better for Jacobs swing for fences, all or nothing hitting technique...ala Jeremy Burnitz. With that being said, it doesn't matter who is behind Cabs, Cabs is going to get pitched around. So, we're probably better with the righty-lefty-righty matchup. I'm fine with him 4th unless his batting avg. stays this low for a few weeks more. Also, if Uggla stays in the 2nd spot when Hermi gets back, then you have your lone 2 lefties hitting back to back in the lineup (Jacobs 5th, Hermi 6th), which is not a good idea.

If Jacobs gets his swing going he can always move back into the clean-up role.

Yep, the first game I saw the lineup in that order I already didn't like it. Hammer's just a much more complete hitter. Even hitting homers at this rate, Jacobs isn't going to make pitchers challenge Miguel. Willingham however might make them think twice.

uggla will move back to 6th when hermi returns for those worried.

No argument here. Totally agree.

 

Sure. Willingham is proving he's an RBI machine.

I sorta like uggla in the 2 hole, with hermida in the 4 hole, perhaps I am a little crazy though

I wouldn't mind keeping Uggla in the 2 spot, moving willingham up to bat clean-up, hermida as 5th batter, and jacobs as 6th.

 

Though I try to remain optimistic when possible, the fact is that whoever we have in the 7th and 8th spots right now is not going to be producing much for us this season. With Jacobs tendency to belt one out of the park or get into an out, I think he'd be best used in the 6th spot. In that spot, he'll have men on base, and if he hits one out, Great. If not, it's not like we're putting good batters in a worse position. With men on and 1 out, having Jacobs in the clean-up spot will only, on average, make things harder for Willingham. And doing that, in the long run will hurt our chances more than having Jacobs' at-bats affecting the pitches Olivo or Aguila will be seeing.

regardless of his "slump" there isn't much out there until at least Hermida gets back. im sure that its not going to be more than a couple of days. to Jacobs benefit, he has been productive regardless of his avg, also Willingham has been nothing but stellar in the 5th spot. problem is that there isnt much after him and I dont see anything positive from throwing anyone that hasnt gotten a rhythm into the latter parts of the lineup. which is where I see the bigger problem ... I say let him ride it out there until Hermida gets back and then maybe shift a few things around

To whomever mentioned this: If Cabrera gets pitched around all season then I want the best hitter behind him and thus far Willingham>Jacobs. All things being equal I'd rather the lefty be behind Cabrera, but things aren't equal.

Matchups are generally overated, only late in tight games does anyone really care about matchups, and how many teams have a genuine lefty out of the pen? (I don't know btw, if anyone does please tell me) I would have Willy in the cleanup spot, Cabrera needs better protection. Not sure what will happen when Hermy gets back, but I think I would slide him into 5 and let Jakey hit 6.

Anyone want to wait more than like 40 PAs?

Anyone want to wait more than like 40 PAs?

 

I won't speak for others but I would've put Willy behind Cabs from the start so the fact it hasn't been too many games doesn't mean much from my perspective.

i don't know why its taken girardi so long to make this change....willingham has been great so far :thumbup

His swing is "loopy" right now. Too much upper cut so he keeps fouling off to the left side. Like Hee Sop. If it gets low he can pound it but right now it is not, as it appears to me, level enough to get those solid line drive hits. So far, its been all or nothing. Hammer, on the other hand, just is showing quality at bats. BUT IT IS STILL EARLY. I give Jacobs a little more time.

And how overmatched is Reed-backing out while swinging, weak. Doubt that Girardi can put up with it much longer. I was at the game but recorded and watched key parts of game when I got home (I am a pathetic soul) and loved Girardi's face when Reed ran into that out at third on that excuse for a steal.