Build-A-Batting Order

by Rendezvous on Feb 14, 2009 3:52 PM CST Comment 9 comments

As Spring Training has come at least, this means the regular season is just right around the corner! The question comes to how new manger Ken Macha will line up the order, with possible input coming from bench coach Willie Randolf.

So what's it going to be on opening day? Will Rickie Weeks be back to leading off or will the job be Mike Cameron's again, as he was with Svuem. There are 7 positions all but set in stone, being C, 1B, 2B, SS, LF, CF, and RF. 3B is still up in the air. Just go with a 3B platoon at the position, unless you have ideas for separate line-ups for the likes of Hall, Lamb, or others.

Here's a sample order:

2B Weeks

SS Hardy

LF Braun

1B Fielder

RF Hart

CF Cameron

3B Platoon

C Kendall

P Gallardo

Have at it!

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Weeks
Hardy
Braun
Fielder
Cameron
Hart
Platoon
Gallardo
Kendall

If I’m feeling more frisky, I’m entertaining the notion of batting Prince second.

by HRF on Feb 14, 2009 4:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Too many lineups!

With the Brewers, you have many, many options with the lineups, depending on the platooning and whoever is the starting pitcher. Without Sheets, there are only two bad-hitting pitchers to think about. Looper’s pretty good at hitting.

I used this lineup analysis tool, because doing sabermetric thinking with a severe headache is not my strong suit. The answers are really surprising, except you should always, always bat your decent-hitting pitcher 8th. TLR is not wrong, apparently. Ned’s problem was having Soup bat 8th. This never works.

(Also, because I am a giant pessimist, I figured this with Gamel and McGehee instead of Lamb and Hall. Counsell, he is everywhere and nowhere at once, and thus does not factor into simple lineup construction.)

yr lineup vs the right-handed pitchers with good-hitting SP:
Fielder
Hardy
Weeks
Braun
Cameron
Gamel
Hart
Pitcher (Gallardo, Looper, Parra, McClung)—the tool said to put Parra and McClung in the 6 hole, but that isn’t going to fly
Kendall

yr lineup vs the right-handed pitchers with poor-hitting SP:

Weeks
Fielder
Cameron
Hardy
Braun
Hart
Kendall
Gamel
Pitcher (Bush, Suppan)

yr lineup vs the left-handed pitchers with good-hitting SP:
Fielder
Braun
Hart
Hardy
Cameron
McGehee
Weeks
Pitcher
Kendall

yr lineup vs the left-handed pitchers with poor-hitting SP:
Weeks
Fielder
Cameron
Braun
Hardy
McGehee
Kendall
Hart
Pitcher

I don’t have a clue why the tool thinks that Fielder would make a good leadoff hitter; you figure that one out. Also, the Brewers are fortunate that 2/3 of the probable 6 starting pitchers used in 2009 don’t suck at the plate as much as they could. (now if any of them could hit like Carlos Zambrano, it would be an improvement on whatever sticks at 3B. also, McClung needs to learn to take a pitch.)

by morineko on Feb 14, 2009 6:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

at least the first lineup shows the trend of descending OBP from top to bottom. slugging in the 3-6 area looks like the next priority

by marty22 on Feb 14, 2009 6:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

General stuff

First, we’re going to do a lineup projection post a little after some spring games start so we have a feel of where Macha is going with it. There we’ll give a percentage to each position— so if you think Rickie is the primary leadoff man, you put 80% 2B and 20% CF for the first spot, for example. Good to get people thinking about this stuff now, though— hopefully we’ll get some good thoughts in that thread.

I’m guessing you used last year’s stats. I would think using projections would change things a bit— for one thing, Weeks would probably be leading off more, and Hart would be hitting higher.

In the grand scheme of things, lineups matter relatively little— the difference between the best and worst over the course of the year is only about 10 runs.

Would you guys be interested in a post on general lineup construction for the reference section on the left side of the main page? We don’t have anything like that right now, just general rules and regulations and stuff in that box. I was going to type up a big, long comment about lineup construction, but if enough of you are interested, maybe I’ll put up a post on the subject.

Scored three times and detonated an indisputable in four visits to the batting box.

by Jordan M on Feb 14, 2009 9:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, please, to a post

As I said, I was just wasting my time with that while I was watching various NBA ASG junk (and being sick) and I’d really, really like to know more about lineup construction.

I did use last year’s stats, so you’re right.

by morineko on Feb 14, 2009 9:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think I will do one

I can’t promise it will go up tonight, though, I might fall asleep while writing it.

I had to read that chapter of The Book twice to fully get it. Hopefully I can make it nice and clear.

Scored three times and detonated an indisputable in four visits to the batting box.

by Jordan M on Feb 14, 2009 9:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

So I did it anyway

that got a lot longer than I thought it would. Thanks to Rendezvous for bringing up the subject, that was an interesting post for me to write, I feel like I understand it more now too.

Scored three times and detonated an indisputable in four visits to the batting box.

by Jordan M on Feb 14, 2009 11:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You are welcome.

For the better of the community. Yey!

How far will this one fly?

by Rendezvous on Feb 15, 2009 12:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Those are the best contributions

when you get thanked for someone else’s work. Very nice!

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Feb 15, 2009 1:37 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

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