Let's be manager for a minute. We've talked about adding speed to the lineup ... and then put the blazing wheels of Maybin in the eighth spot, where he will rarely be called upon to steal a bag because he's on base first with the pitcher at the plate.

 

If you are going to lead off with EB, you have to go with Maybin second. Maybin will see more fastballs when Bonifacio is on base and he won't negate Hanley's speed by clogging the bases in front of him (Baker is slow).

 

This is the only thing I'm seeing that really bothers me.

Interesting points.

i believe putting baker second is the better option if you have emilio batting first. Baker has a good eye of the strike zone and can hit with two strikes and i believe will hit for a better average then cameron.

Fredi taking a page from the Bobby Cox handbook (e.g. Jordan Schafer) is easing Maybin into the line-up, getting used to pitching and working on his pitch selection. I seriously don't see him hitting there in May, he'll be at the 1 or 2 hole and Bakes will be hitting 7th or 8th.

Well against LHP, Maybin will be batting 2nd. I guess Fredi will determine is he's ready for a more permanent move to the top of the lineup based on his performance on these occasions.

Fredi taking a page from the Bobby Cox handbook (e.g. Jordan Schafer) is easing Maybin into the line-up, getting used to pitching and working on his pitch selection. I seriously don't see him hitting there in May, he'll be at the 1 or 2 hole and Bakes will be hitting 7th or 8th.

 

 

Baker will be in the number 2 hole most of the year i believe. you always want someone who can consisdently get on base like Baker does. i dont know if emilio can consisdently do it or cameron.

I think the goal is to make sure whoever is in the 2 hole will work the count to see more pitches so EB can work his magic on the bases. You don't need to have a 1-2 speed connection. That's more a global issue of wanting the speed up front, but speed in the 8 hole isn't bad either. For example, maby Maybin can still a base and let the pitcher/ph/lead off drive him in from second or move him to third.

Bakers great in the 2 hole. Works the count can hit with 2 strikes. Plus he's a lefty who can pull the ball in the hole when Boni gets on.

Until Bonifacio doesn for 4-5 with 3 SB, Maybin isn't going anywhere.

interesting thought would be to take a page out of LaRussa's book and bat maybin 9th... he will see better pitchers and it allows for some interesting coaching moves if he is on base with the top of the order coming up...

If Maybin isn't moved to the two spot, I'd certainly favor the concept of batting the pitcher 8th and moving Maybin to nine.

I think its fine. Don't need to put a lot of pressure on the kid right now.

Baker has a lot more patience at the plate than Maybin. This will give EB a better chance at steals as Maybin is strikeout prone. This will open up a few new options for Fredi, and we will probably see the hit and run done a lot this season vs RHP. Maybin is also still a rookie, remember we don't want to rush any of our players.

Baker has a lot more patience at the plate than Maybin. This will give EB a better chance at steals as Maybin is strikeout prone. This will open up a few new options for Fredi, and we will probably see the hit and run done a lot this season vs RHP. Maybin is also still a rookie, remember we don't want to rush any of our players.

 

This is right, although I'm not sure I'd say a lot more patience, maybe just "more patience", but the point is the same. It might be interesting to put SpiderCam at 9th, though, if we're going to bat EB leadoff for sure. The only thing is, I really don't want to take ABs away from him. I mean, the best way for him to develop is via experience.

9th would be a good idea. One problem I have with 8th is that Maybin isn't getting anything to hit. 9th would be great, especially since you could just swap Boni and Maybin around in the future and it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

9th would be a good idea. One problem I have with 8th is that Maybin isn't getting anything to hit. 9th would be great, especially since you could just swap Boni and Maybin around in the future and it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

 

That's an interesting point about Maybin not getting anything to hit. As weird as it sounds, if Cam hits 9th, I might want Hanley to bat 2nd, in order to force for Maybin and EB to get pitches to hit.

 

EB, Hanley, Cantu, Uggla, Hermida, Ross, Baker, Pitcher, Maybin

Although I kind of prefer Ross's power in front of the pitcher, but this setup gives you RLRL from Uggla to Baker, which is nice. It does kind of waste Baker's OBP to a degree, though. Maybe instead:

 

EB, Hanley, Cantu, Uggla, Hermida, Baker, Ross, Pitcher, Maybin

 

And we just deal with the RLLR thing, which isn't too terrible. Plus if a team brings in a lefty reliver late, you can always swap in Paulino, who mashes LHPs. This lineup gets the benefits Rab mentioned; plus it maximizes Hanley ABs; plus you get Cody's power batting in front of the pitcher; plus the rollover effect 9-1-2.

And then against LHP, assuming EB continues to start, you flip-flop Cody and Jeremy, and put Paulino right into Baker's spot (6th).

Well, the whole point on my end to put Maybin 9th with EB 1st is so that we don't have to move Baker to the back of the lineup when he's such a great OBP guy. Moving Hanley to 2nd would make that moot, you might as well just go Maybin/Boni 1 and 2.

Well, the whole point on my end to put Maybin 9th with EB 1st is so that we don't have to move Baker to the back of the lineup when he's such a great OBP guy. Moving Hanley to 2nd would make that moot, you might as well just go Maybin/Boni 1 and 2.

 

I think that Uggla will have a similar OBP to Baker this year, so for me the odd thing is actually having Cantu as high as he bats. He wasn't as consistent as everyone thought last year. I doubt Fredi will move him down, but I'd really like to see him hit 5th or 6th. Maybe:

EB, Baker, Hanley, Uggla, Hermida, Cantu, Ross, Pitcher, Maybin

But again, I expect it to stay the same, but even just switching Maybin with the pitcher's spot should make the lineup better, IMO.

Baker's OBP should be up top. As long as Bonifacio is leading off, there is no spot at the top for Maybin, and yes he would be better off 9th than 8th. Also, Uggla should be ahead of Cantu because he is just plain better, especially in the OBP department. There is no earthly reason that Cantu should be 4th and Ross 7th, they should be fundamentally the same statistically.

Eh, 5th isn't too far back for a guy like Uggla but I'd put him 4th and Cantu 5th.

Eh, 5th isn't too far back for a guy like Uggla but I'd put him 4th and Cantu 5th.

 

Lineups have little impact anyway, but since we are min-maxing....

Keep in mind the mental state of a rookie, where the mindset is often the higher in the lineup means the better you are, and now you're not just hitting 9th but also behind the pitcher.

 

I've never met Maybin nor can I speak of how he would react to it. When told the reasoning behind it, it might not bother him and in fact could help give confidence (I'd imagine "We want you hitting 9th so you're on base for Hanley to drive in" would be a compliment). But still something to recognize.

Maybin is hitting #2 tonight

This is from Frisaro's MLB Blog. He doesn't mention Freddi in here, though, so I don't know if anyone on the team is actually considering it. I'd guess they aren't, but I hope they are.

 

 

Experimenting with lineup

Tony La Russa does it, and it just might make sense for the Marlins to do it too.

 

To fully maximize the speed in their lineup, Florida could consider batting the pitcher eighth and Cameron Maybin ninth.

 

La Russa frequently has the Cardinals pitcher batting eighth.

 

By doing that, Maybin would have a better chance to develop his offense because he won't have the pitcher behind him. Instead, he would have Emilio Bonifacio.

 

The problem, typically, for eighth hitters is they see mostly off-speed pitches because the pitcher is on deck.

 

The hitter most impacted would be Cody Ross, who has been batting seventh. He then would have the pitcher behind him, unless left-handed hitting Jeremy Hermida flip-flopped with Ross. Hermida has been hitting sixth.

 

If Maybin hits ninth, then the speed would fall in line for Florida. You'd have Bonifacio following, then John Baker and Hanley Ramirez.

 

It's something to certainly think about.

 

In 2005, when Dontrelle Willis was a force at the plate, former manager Jack McKeon once had the D-Train hit as high as seventh.

 

-- Joe Frisaro

 

http://joefrisaro.mlblogs.com/

I'd love to have this lineup:

 

1. Bonifacio

2. Baker

3. Ramirez

4. Cantu

5. Uggla

6. Ross

7. Hermida

8. Pitcher

9. Maybin

 

Maximize Maybin, let him get some better pitches to hit. Bat Hermida 7th because he has much better discipline than Ross. Beautiful thing.