Quote Originally Posted by camisadelgolf View Post
A lot of people--myself included--were critical of having Lewis as a leadoff hitter, but this was back in the day when you 'needed' a speedy player at the top of your order (remember the Dave-Wells-for-Curtis-Goodwin trade? ).

Barry Larkin was vocal about not wanting to bat first, and both Reggie Sanders and Ron Gant were middle-of-the-order hitters. Thomas Howard and Jerome Walton weren't slow, but they weren't 30+ SB threats like Lewis.

It may not have made much sense to keep putting Lewis out there, but it would've been fairly unconventional to use someone else on the roster.
like taking your cleanup hitter from the last two years and batting him 1st or 2nd the next year.

I will give Dusty credit for be willing to change things up lineup wise, when Stubbs wasn't getting it done at leadoff.