Ideal Lineup...

by serq on Mar 27, 2008 12:44 AM EDT Comment 6 comments

...Before we get to that, the site looks good. Congrats! I've been waiting to post until it comes up.

Anyway, given that we now know pretty much who the position players are, what is everyone's dream lineup? I'll run some numbers on some of the various configurations and post later, but to spark some conversation here is what struck a friend and I as interesting:

Mauer

Cuddyer

Kubel

Morneau

Young

Lamb

Harris

Everett

Gomez

This of course assumes that Monroe is not in the lineup... Kubel and Young could be switched depending on what you think they'll do... I really like the idea of batting Gomez 9th and Mauer 1st, although this will never happen.

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Gomez

I really feel that Gomez's best batting order spot right now is either first or last. I would rather have him batting first. He is a really exciting player to watch. Your idea of him batting ninth though is interesting. Just move every player up a spot. I could see that too. Especially if Mauer is still raking in singles. That would put Morneau and Young in a position for a bunch of RBI.

by WITwinsfan on Mar 27, 2008 11:02 AM EDT reply actions

Nice

This is pretty much exactly what I would've posted, other than two minor switches (Kubel-Cuddyer, Gomez-Everett). The Kubel-Cuddyer swap has very little basis, just putting the guy with slightly more track record in the 3 hole, plus Cuddyer hit better in '06 when he was protected by Morneau. The Gomez-Everett swap is just to minimize Everett's plate appearances - it'd be nice to have Mauer knocking Gomez around the bases, but I'd rather get Gomez the few extra appearances a season over Everett.

Now that I think of it, if you pinch hit for Everett most of the time late in games, this isn't as much of an issue, since Everett's extra plate appearances are instead going to Monroe or Tolbert or someone. Keep him 9th.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Mar 27, 2008 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

I think they really

should consider Mauer as a leadoff guy. However, the problem with your lineup, as is the problem with most potential lineups we've seen or talked about, is that two OBP sinks like Everett and Gomez are going to cause problems. Whether they are 9-1 or 8-9, they aren't going to provide many RBI opportunities for Mauer.

Contrary to most, at least in the Twins blogosphere, I think this team is going to have similar run scoring problems to last year's team.

by Eric in Madison on Mar 27, 2008 12:54 PM EDT reply actions

Solution

but what is the solution for that, other than picking up a new player for those positions?

Whether they are 9-1 or 8-9, they aren't going to provide many RBI opportunities for Mauer.

Isn't that true of most teams, that the 8/9 hitters don't provide many RBI opps for the lead-off hitter? Unless you are the Yanks or the Tigers, the 8/9 hitters are in that spot for a reason.

Hitting Mauer 1, and following it Cuddy/Morneau/Young/Kubel/Lamb is how I would do it, to get the L/R/L/R/L/R balance. Then you have another decent bat with Harris, a sinkhole with Everett, and a potential speedy guy like Gomez in front of Mauer. Not the 27 Yankees, but a decent lineup nonetheless.

by Diggity Dino on Mar 27, 2008 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Example

For example, the Indians last year, who scored over 800 runs, most often hit a combination of F. Gutierrez, Josh Barfield, or Kelly Shoppach in the 8/9 slot. Their OBPs were .318/.270(!)/.310 respectively. I don't know that the Twins 8/9 hitters of Gomez/Everett will be better than that, but probably won't be substantially worse.

by Diggity Dino on Mar 27, 2008 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

I don't think there's a solution that isn't worse than the problem - if you split them up, then you're putting one of the "OBP sinks" higher in the order, giving him more at-bats in the long run.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Mar 27, 2008 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions