The Cubs still state that the team is a year or two ahead of schedule. That could mean that the team has promoted prospects quicker than expected, or, that the prospects major league performance has exceeded expectations.
In any event, the Cubs are dangling around the second wild card. That means playoffs. That means fan excitement (even though Cubs attendance has not been sell outs since the bleachers were completed; there has been a consistent 4-5k missing gate).
One of Joe Maddon's pet projects was to bat Addison Russell 9th. Maddon said it was done to protect Russell from batting 8th ahead of the pitcher. In theory, Russell will get better pitches to hit batting 9th with the lead off hitter (Fowler) behind him.
But the theory is not panning out. In his first 250 ABs, Russell is hitting only .228, 5 HR, 22 RBI, .296 OBP and 1.2 WAR (of which 1.1 WAR is for defense).
This becomes a problem if the Cubs really want to compete this year. Russell has not adapted well to major league pitching. One can debate whether sending him down to AAA will help his swing, mechanics or confidence. There is no one pushing him out of the lineup since both Tommy LaStella and Javy Baez have been hurt. The Cubs are stuck with Russell at second with no better offensive player on the horizon.
This does become a domino problem. Fowler leads the league in called third strike outs. The team is trending negative with more strikeouts (middle of the order guys, Soler, Bryant and Castro). The only batter that gives a hitter order protection is Rizzo, who has been flipping with Bryant between second and third in the lineup.
As most people focus on adding pitching for a playoff run, the Cubs probably should look at second base for the second half of this year. This is not to say Russell will pan out and have a good career. It may be that Russell's development (and struggles) take precedent over the Cubs getting into this year's playoffs (something fans don't want to hear).
Showing posts with label second base. Show all posts
Showing posts with label second base. Show all posts
July 21, 2015
March 19, 2015
WHO'S IN SECOND?
The curious part of Joe Maddon's spring training routine has been his batting orders. They are all over the place. But one oddity keeps cropping up: batting Anthony Rizzo in the #2 spot.
Traditionally, No. 2 hitters have great bat control, patience to coax a walk and can bunt, move runners over and get on base with their speed.
However, Sabermetric diehards favor putting the best batters in that position because No. 2 hitters typically get 18 more at-bats per season than the player batting third.
The purpose of constructing a batting order to put players in the best position to create run scoring opportunities. One puts good hitting, on base hitters ahead of power hitters. It adds to the chance of scoring multiple runs with one swing of the bat. “The whole point is to feed the guys that drive in points,” Maddon said. “That’s what the whole thing is — who feeds that, and who’s the guy that, if you have a productive bottom part of the batting order, who takes advantage of that?”
So far, Maddon has placed Rizzo, believed to be the best consistent hitter in the regular line up, five times in the second slot. Reserve outfielder Chris Denorfia has batted second four times and utilityman Arismendy Alcantara twice. Last season, Alcantara batted second 14 times while playing CF, a position he lost to current leadoff man Dexter Fowler.
Javy Baez led the Cubs last season with 52 starts there, but his high strike out profile forces Maddon to put him down the lineup.
By putting Rizzo in the second slot, Maddon has been penciling in Starlin Castro in the third spot. Castro does not do very well batting third. Some say that Castro's best spot is leadoff, like his mentor Alfonso Soriano, because he would see more fast balls. Castro has spent most of his career batting second, so why fix something that is not broken?
The one thing that needs to happen soon (with less than three weeks to Opening Night) is for Maddon to settle on a set line up card. Players prefer to have a set order so they can prepare their roles in advance of game day. A player is a creature of habit.
It would seem the final lineup card could look like this:
1. Fowler cf
2. Castro ss
3. Rizzo 1b
4. Soler rf
5. Montero c
6. Coghlan lf
7. Olt 3b
8. LaStella/Alcantara 2b
9. Pitcher
This line up presupposes that Baez goes down to Iowa to work on his strike out issues. If not, he flips the order with Coghlan at #6. When Bryant is called up, he goes to clean up and the rest of the order moves down a slot.
Traditionally, No. 2 hitters have great bat control, patience to coax a walk and can bunt, move runners over and get on base with their speed.
However, Sabermetric diehards favor putting the best batters in that position because No. 2 hitters typically get 18 more at-bats per season than the player batting third.
The purpose of constructing a batting order to put players in the best position to create run scoring opportunities. One puts good hitting, on base hitters ahead of power hitters. It adds to the chance of scoring multiple runs with one swing of the bat. “The whole point is to feed the guys that drive in points,” Maddon said. “That’s what the whole thing is — who feeds that, and who’s the guy that, if you have a productive bottom part of the batting order, who takes advantage of that?”
So far, Maddon has placed Rizzo, believed to be the best consistent hitter in the regular line up, five times in the second slot. Reserve outfielder Chris Denorfia has batted second four times and utilityman Arismendy Alcantara twice. Last season, Alcantara batted second 14 times while playing CF, a position he lost to current leadoff man Dexter Fowler.
Javy Baez led the Cubs last season with 52 starts there, but his high strike out profile forces Maddon to put him down the lineup.
By putting Rizzo in the second slot, Maddon has been penciling in Starlin Castro in the third spot. Castro does not do very well batting third. Some say that Castro's best spot is leadoff, like his mentor Alfonso Soriano, because he would see more fast balls. Castro has spent most of his career batting second, so why fix something that is not broken?
The one thing that needs to happen soon (with less than three weeks to Opening Night) is for Maddon to settle on a set line up card. Players prefer to have a set order so they can prepare their roles in advance of game day. A player is a creature of habit.
It would seem the final lineup card could look like this:
1. Fowler cf
2. Castro ss
3. Rizzo 1b
4. Soler rf
5. Montero c
6. Coghlan lf
7. Olt 3b
8. LaStella/Alcantara 2b
9. Pitcher
This line up presupposes that Baez goes down to Iowa to work on his strike out issues. If not, he flips the order with Coghlan at #6. When Bryant is called up, he goes to clean up and the rest of the order moves down a slot.
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