February 28, 200818 yr Citing the shortstop's comfort level, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez plans to leave Hanley Ramirez in the leadoff spot. Gonzalez didn't commit to keeping Dan Uggla in the two hole, though that's where he batted in Tuesday's exhibition. It appeared as though Hanley might be dropped to the third spot, with Cameron Maybin leading off. Now the plan appears to be for Jeremy Hermida to hit third. Maybin could take over the second spot, but it's more likely that he'll bat at the bottom of the order if he wins a job. ---RotoWorld.com
February 28, 200818 yr Unless it's something egregious I usually defer to the manager and his coaching staff in these matters. Absolutely I think Hanley could hit third or cleanup and be extraordinarily productive, so strong are his gifts, but the story indicates this is Hanley's preference and it's not unreasonable to work with the "needs" of the team's franchise player at least until a different decision needs to be made.
February 28, 200818 yr Hanley has been so incredibly sextastic at leadoff I see no need to move him. My only fear is that there may be no one to ever drive the poor guy in.
February 28, 200818 yr Please you guys still have good players in the 2-4 spots. You just made the black hole at the bottom of the lineup bigger.
February 28, 200818 yr I don't think Hermida will have any issues driving in Hanley... In fact, I'm pretty confident he may be the surprise of the league this year.
February 28, 200818 yr It's not too difficult to drive in a guy who's on 2nd (and I ain't talking about a bunt single and steal either) with 0 outs
February 28, 200818 yr The main advantage of this is adding 20-30 stolen bases to hanley's total at the end of the year. With Hanley in the 3 hole, his running game gets cut in half with less opportunities. However, Hanley hit 29 homers last year and his power is only going to improve this year. He can do some serious damage from the 3 hole if given more opportunities to drive in runs to go with his 30+ homers. And he's still going to be a 30/30 guy from the 3 hole. Maybin can more than pick up the slack from the leadoff spot and make up for the lost running game. It's looking more and more likely that he will be the starting centerfielder on opening day. IMO, he can also do some serious damage in the leadoff spot. The overall lineup is alot stronger with Hanley in the 3 hole and the bottom of the order doesn't have that gaping hole as mentioned.
February 28, 200818 yr However, Hanley hit 29 homers last year and his power is only going to improve this year. He can do some serious damage from the 3 hole if given more opportunities to drive in runs to go with his 30+ homers. Not to mention he was also a .330 hitter last year. He doesn't need to knock it out of the park to drive in runs when he's making that kind of contact. Maybin can score from first on any extra base hit.
February 29, 200818 yr Honestly, I think Hanley will eventually want to be moved to the 3 spot. It seems as if it's more of a comfort level for him. But once he takes on the role of team leader, he would realize he should be hitting third to better the teams chances to win. Although, Hermida would do a good job hitting 3rd as well. Maybe a: Hanley Maybin Hermida Hammer Jacobs Uggla Castillo Treanor Pitcher wouldn't be too bad. Treanor was hitting productively towards the end last season. If he can keep it up, we should be fine with lineup similar to that. Unless Maybin starts in AAA, Ross can hit 5th. Or at least I would think so.
March 1, 200818 yr The 3rd spot may not be ideal because he'd likely be batting with 1 or 2 outs and a rally dead or beyond starting.
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