Phillips smiles more, you have to take that into consideration.
Phillips smiles more, you have to take that into consideration.
Big fan of this one. I think it puts the most pressure on the pitcher to start the game. Two best OBP guys back-to-back? Love it.Originally Posted by Redhook
"I can make all the stadiums rock."
-Air Supply
I was getting all serious reading this thread then you come along and make me laugh.
Knock it off!!!!!
Of course for most of Heisey's career he has been a spot starter, meaning his starts and pinch hit appearances have been somewhat cherry picked for him to maximize his success. You are not giving Dusty enough credit if you think he blindly picks his starting lineup out of hat.
Accounting for the difference in PHing abilities (where Heisey is clearly a superior player), the difference between the numbers for Stubbs and Heisey as starters is rather small -- roughly .30 OPS points (.697 for Stubbs, .729 for Heisey).
That difference is, likely, completely balanced by Stubbs' superior OF defense.
They've been roughly the same guys over the course of their respective careers -- Heisey has just had more success as a bench bat while Stubbs has had a little more defensive prowess.
Heisey's play decreases noticeably the more frequently he starts -- it's been observed by many in all of his previous stints, and it's probably why he's been passed over several times (in favor of outside players) for starting gigs on this team. I expect his numbers to fall off considerably if he's asked to contribute a full season of ABs.Heisey's career numbers are almost identical to Brandon Phillips. And, while I'd love to see Phillips hitting seventh or eighth in the Reds' lineup, I haven't seen any posts from you or anyone else to suggest he doesn't belong at the top of the order.
Last edited by Caveat Emperor; 04-03-2013 at 11:03 AM.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
LoganBuck (04-03-2013)
What a tremendous waste of Joey Votto. You want a guy with a career .350 BA w/RISP hitting second, when the two guys behind him only combine for a .266 BA w/RISP?
What is this BA you speak of?
Considering the only other guy on the team who get on base at a good rate is Choo, 2nd seems like a good place for Votto. You take advantage of both is slugging and obp skills, plus you might get him an extra at bat a game. That is a good thing for your best hitter.
...the 2-2 to Woodsen and here it comes...and it is swung on and missed! And Tom Browning has pitched a perfect game! Twenty-seven outs in a row, and he is being mobbed by his teammates, just to the thirdbase side of the mound.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Frazier batting second with Phillips in the cleanup spot. I think that's the way I would lean at this point. I like the idea of getting Frazier more fastballs.
Votto and Bruce are going to be 3 and 5. That's just the way it is going to be. Some agree, dome don't, but it isn't going to change. So with that understood, and knowing Choo is leading off and Hanigan is batting eighth, we're dealing with four guys (Phillips, Frazier, Heisey, Cozart) for four spots (2, 4, 6, 7).
If we're interested in getting more at bats for our better hitters, I think it's pretty obvious that the two best hitters out of that group are Phillips and Frazier. For me, the best use of those two in the 2/4 spots is with Frazier batting second and Phillips fourth.
I think Votto's .967 OPS vs Phillip's .754 OPS is a better indication. Phillips is an excellent hitter, but he isn't going to drive in runs like Votto is going to. Votto is a doubles machine, Phillips is going to give you a bunch of singles and the occasional display of power.
He's also not going to be on base like Votto is.
...the 2-2 to Woodsen and here it comes...and it is swung on and missed! And Tom Browning has pitched a perfect game! Twenty-seven outs in a row, and he is being mobbed by his teammates, just to the thirdbase side of the mound.
Yeah, just once I'd like to see Dusty put our high OBP guys near the top of the lineup and watch our offense take off.
I see most people here are mentioning plugging Heisey in at LF, but wouldn't it make more sense to move Choo there and put Heisey/Paul in center? Outfield defense, arguably the biggest hole coming in to the season, is greatly improved. My (Dusty-influenced) lineup would be:
Choo LF
Phillips 2B
Votto 1B
Frazier 3B
Bruce RF
Heisey CF
Cozart SS
Hanigan C
P
Flip Frazier and Phillips if you so desire.
"I never argue with people who say baseball is boring, because baseball is boring. And then, suddenly, it isn't. And that's what makes it great." - Joe Posnanski
IF Bruce isn't going to hit second or cleanup and IF Phillips is going to hit cleanup, then yes, Frazier would be my choice to hit second.
According to Jamie Ramsey, BP is batting cleanup. Heisey is in left, batting second. Not sure why he and Choo aren't switching defensive spots.
"I never argue with people who say baseball is boring, because baseball is boring. And then, suddenly, it isn't. And that's what makes it great." - Joe Posnanski
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote