even if he somehow manages to hit 300+ (an admitted stretch) he's still not a good fit as the leadoff man considering the other people we have. There's no way Id take away the Hanley/Uggla combination at the top of the order. Even if Uggla struggles there are options I'd try at #2 before Sanchez. I hope he does hit something like 300/325/370 (assuming he wins the job), but I dont want him leading off. Thankfully Fredi Gonzalez agrees with me from what Ive read.

 

Agreed on both counts, and even that 300/325/370 line, which, lets be honest, is beyond a best-case scenario suits itself ideally for a spot in the 6 or 7 hole.

In my opinion, you've got to get your best hitters the most AB's. So until Hermida, Jacobs, Olivo, and CF prove themselves as being good hitters, they will be filling out the bottom four spots in the lineup, regardless of whether they're lefthanded, righthanded, or if they can hit the ball blindfolded.

The only real debate should be whether to hit Jacobs 5th and Hermida 6th, or Hermida 5th and Jacobs 6th. I think you hit Hermida 5th, because he'll have a higher OBP over the course of a "healthy" season.

Normally that's true. But on all teams there are batters that need to be protected to help their teams. On this team, not only do some batters need to be protected, some need to be developed. Placing Hermida at the end of the lineup may not help his development as much as putting him up higher.

Ideally it has no business being in a lineup. Those are not average numbers for centerfield and that doesnt even include the bottom 5 defense we're set to get. It could be a decent placeholder though (placeholding for what I dont know) and allows Amezega to resume his natural role. This assumes he doesnt flameout during spring training, which is a stretch considering he was horrible at AAA this late in his career.

Ideally it has no business being in a lineup. Those are not average numbers for centerfield and that doesnt even include the bottom 5 defense we're set to get. It could be a decent placeholder though (placeholding for what I dont know) and allows Amezega to resume his natural role. This assumes he doesnt flameout during spring training, which is a stretch considering he was horrible at AAA this late in his career.

 

Well, ideally we'd be able to look at a group that isn't a collection of three world class hitters, two very good hitters and then 3 below average to bad hitters and a pitcher.

 

I'll take 300/325/375 in the 7 hole on this team. A 700 OPS is not good, but it's about in line with Olivo's production from last season...(263/287/440).

even if he somehow manages to hit 300+ (an admitted stretch) he's still not a good fit as the leadoff man considering the other people we have. There's no way Id take away the Hanley/Uggla combination at the top of the order. Even if Uggla struggles there are options I'd try at #2 before Sanchez. I hope he does hit something like 300/325/370 (assuming he wins the job), but I dont want him leading off. Thankfully Fredi Gonzalez agrees with me from what Ive read.

I never suggested he lead off. I suggested him as a #2 hitter. Mainly because I think he can make enough contact that I'd rather have him sacrificing an AB behind Hanley than I would Uggla. I think many people besides me were cringing each time Uggla was asked to sac bunt by Girardi, especially when you remember that he actually led the team in HRs despite all those wasted ABs. I think Sanchez is a better and more natural bunter who doesn't represent a wasted power bat when he bunts. His is more expendable. And again, he stands a better chance of reaching base on a bunt than does Uggla. And I remember hearing that Fredi likes the bunt.

i never understood why people would go back and forth in Feb. over a lineup. This thing is going to change 1450 times before April, its not worth bickering about before Valentines day, im sure no managers have their lineups done for opening day yet. wait a month then come do "your lineups"

It's a mammoth leap of faith. That brief stint (a small sampling size mind you) is the only time he put up a decent OBP in his entire career. And that is before the steroid meltdown and his poor performance in the minor leagues. A more thorough analysis would indicate that traditionally he isn't the type of player to take many walks, thus a horrible option for either the 1 or 2 spots. To claim he is an OBP hitter based on that minute sampling is beyond absurd.

 

And if Fredi Gonzalez is going to be frequently bunting with our number 2 guy with the leadoff man on base, then he and I need to throw down.

How does 2 Major league seasons (04-05), over which he had an OBP of around 343, a small sampling size? Please explain this to me. He had one bad season (06), and he still has the best career OPS (granted a pathetic 702) of any CF candidate on the roster. So how exactly is your analysis thorough?

 

The guy hits for a high average. May not be an OBP dream, but he puts the ball in play (A 323 Avg if you combine his 04 & 05 seasons). Even if he doesn't get on base, he has a pretty good shot to move over the guy ahead of him.

 

Or was it the steroids that made him an effective bunter?

It's a mammoth leap of faith. That brief stint (a small sampling size mind you) is the only time he put up a decent OBP in his entire career. And that is before the steroid meltdown and his poor performance in the minor leagues. A more thorough analysis would indicate that traditionally he isn't the type of player to take many walks, thus a horrible option for either the 1 or 2 spots. To claim he is an OBP hitter based on that minute sampling is beyond absurd.

 

And if Fredi Gonzalez is going to be frequently bunting with our number 2 guy with the leadoff man on base, then he and I need to throw down.

How does 2 Major league seasons (04-05), over which he had an OBP of around 343, a small sampling size? Please explain this to me. He had one bad season (06), and he still has the best career OPS (granted a pathetic 702) of any CF candidate on the roster. So how exactly is your analysis thorough?

 

The guy hits for a high average. May not be an OBP dream, but he puts the ball in play (A 323 Avg if you combine his 04 & 05 seasons). Even if he doesn't get on base, he has a pretty good shot to move over the guy ahead of him.

 

Or was it the steroids that made him an effective bunter?

 

The fact he was the first player suspended under MLB's ban against performance enhancing drugs and what he has done since then makes many of us suspect. I'd love it if he is able to post those 04-05 numbers in 2007, but given that suspension and what he has done post-suspension, he has a lot to prove before we can assume he can hit anywhere near the level again in the bigs.

And once again when analyzing certain CF candidates you must neglect certain variables in order to more accurately display their likely usage (LHP, RHP). Just because Girardi did not use them properly and marred their overall statistics doesn't mean they aren't viable options for CF. Or much better options than Sanchez is.

 

How Girardi handled the CF situation was his biggest defect, no doubt (though I question how much of that was affected by the FO). The problem is that the first name name off Fredi Gonzalez's lips when asked about the starting centerfield candidates was Alex Sanchez. No word of a platoon. Just Sanchez, Abercrombie and Reed would get their shots at starting with Amezaga as the backup if all of them fail. It is 2006 all over again with our friend Alex Sanchez thrown into the mix.