Hanigan hitting second?

[[deleted]]

Much has been said about the lack of a cleanup hitter to protect Votto, but truthfully to me it seems our lineup construction in general is a bit of a issue. Phillips responded well to leading off toward the tail end of 2011 and seems comfortable hitting there, and it looks like Rolen will continue to hit fourth unless Bruce steps in against some righties... but who hits second? There don't seem to be many good options here. I'll guess it's going to be Cozart, simply because Dusty seems to have some sort of fetish for slotting shortstops there...

But what about Ryan "career .371 OBP" Hanigan? He got on-base at a higher clip last year than anyone on this team not named Joseph or Brandon, and projections favor him to keep it up. He's an incredibly solid contact hitter who rarely strikes out (I just wrote that... about a Cincinnati Red!), so when he starts, why not put him near the top of the lineup? In fact...

What about giving him a shot at lead-off, and pushing Phillips down to clean-up? It still leaves the two-hole open, but... Rolen maybe? Unorthodox, but the numbers are there. Dusty would obviously never go for it, because SPEEDY = LEAD-OFF, but what say you? I think Jaso led-off for Tampa a few years ago a couple times.

When Mes starts... I dunno.

[bah1286]

Much has been said about the lack of a cleanup hitter to protect Votto, but truthfully to me it seems our lineup construction in general is a bit of a issue. Phillips responded well to leading off toward the tail end of 2011 and seems comfortable hitting there, and it looks like Rolen will continue to hit fourth unless Bruce steps in against some righties... but who hits second? There don't seem to be many good options here. I'll guess it's going to be Cozart, simply because Dusty seems to have some sort of fetish for slotting shortstops there...

But what about Ryan "career .371 OBP" Hanigan? He got on-base at a higher clip last year than anyone on this team not named Joseph or Brandon, and projections favor him to keep it up. He's an incredibly solid contact hitter who rarely strikes out (I just wrote that... about a Cincinnati Red!), so when he starts, why not put him near the top of the lineup? In fact...

What about giving him a shot at lead-off, and pushing Phillips down to clean-up? It still leaves the two-hole open, but... Rolen maybe? Unorthodox, but the numbers are there. Dusty would obviously never go for it, because SPEEDY = LEAD-OFF, but what say you? I think Jaso led-off for Tampa a few years ago a couple times.

When Mes starts... I dunno.

I think he would be fine hitting fourth. Rolen will be there fornow but i dont see that lasting. As for the two hole, I think it is all Cozart until he shows he cannot do it.

[[deleted]]

yeah I hadn't thought of it that way

*your edit makes my post worthless. WORTHLESS!

[5ToolPlaya]

As excited as I am about the Reds heading into next season, the topic of line-up construction is laughable with the position players on the team. Votto is a true #3 hitter, the rest of the offense is comprised of 5,6,7,8 hitters. I think the true question might be with the skills these guys possess should Votto actually hit 4th, putting 3 bats in front of him instead of the pitcher and 2 bats as the batting cycle continues through the game.

Stubbs-Cozart-Phillips-Votto-Bruce-Rolen-Heisey-Mes-Pitcher(Example1)
Phillips-Cozart-Votto-Rolen-Bruce-Stubbs-Heisey-Mes-Pitcher(Example2)

Is there an advantage to the first example I have shown in that the best hitter in the lineup has more guys with the possibility of getting on base before he comes to the plate?
I understand that you want to get Votto an at bat in the first inning.
I understand that you will have pinch-hitters hitting in the nine hole from probably the seventh inning on.
I understand that this might cut Votto's AB's by 10 to 20 over the course of the season, but if he has more guys on base in front of him and/or with fewer outs caused by the pitcher is there some advantage?

[alett12]

Personally I see the Reds batting Cozart 2nd if that fails it goes to heisey, or I'd like to see stubbs put there or phillips goes back there

[drowg14]

Personally I see the Reds batting Cozart 2nd if that fails it goes to heisey, or I'd like to see stubbs put there or phillips goes back there

Stubbs and Heisey strike out too much. You want someone who can get on base, and with good contact ability. I agree that Phillips belongs at the 2 spot, but then who bats leadoff? We have no one better right now. Cozart will probably get it, although I would like to see him bat lower in the lineup at first to see what all he's got. But batting in front of Votto should get him some pitches to hit. And again, there's really no one else.

Hanigan isn't a bad choice, but I'd rather see more of Mes than Hanigan.

[alett12]

Stubbs and Heisey strike out too much. You want someone who can get on base, and with good contact ability. I agree that Phillips belongs at the 2 spot, but then who bats leadoff? We have no one better right now. Cozart will probably get it, although I would like to see him bat lower in the lineup at first to see what all he's got. But batting in front of Votto should get him some pitches to hit. And again, there's really no one else.

Hanigan isn't a bad choice, but I'd rather see more of Mes than Hanigan.

You put Stubbs or Heisey between Phillips and Votto so that they can get better pitches and thus strike out less. If you were to bat phillips 2nd then the reds would be forced to either let Cozart bat lead off or Stubbs or Heisey