We've endured six weeks of pretty horrid offense, culminating in tonight's no-hit-'em, and I'm sure Ned is looking for some ideas. (Don't blame it on Rickie: you used that one last season, and besides, it's not like he was tearing the cover off the ball.) We all know that Ned hits this blog daily, so he's sure to take our advice to heart (or Hart).
Over the fold, I've jotted down a few ideas. What say you?
- Bench Bill Hall. I know, I don't like it either. But consider: on May 14th, he was hitting .281 with an OPS of .825. Going into tonight's game, his BA is passable at .252, but his OPS is .711. Plus he had two hits in his last 16 ABs with 7 strikeouts. Time to put TG Jr. back in the lineup.
- Bench Bill's Time Warner partner-in-crime, Geoff Jenkins. Since May 11, Jinxie's OPS has dropped nearly 200 points, and in that time, he's had exactly 2 multi-hit games. I've never been a big fan of the Giant Head, but he HAS raised his BA 20 points and his OPS 50 points over the last 2 weeks. Plus, for the season, he's hitting LHP to the tune of .313. Let Jinxie and Gross battle it out for the other side of the platoon.
- Give JJ a breather. Going into tonight's game, JJ was 5 for 35 this June, and his OPS is at its lowest since April 20. He's only had 2 extra-base hits since May 20th. But...
- Let's try to avoid having Counsell and Graffanino in the lineup at the same time, shall we? They each have played 1B, 2B, 3B, and SS in the not too distant past --- they're really both sides of the same almost-mediocre coin: one side's a little faster, the other has a little more power. Now that Ryan's had his day off, the only fathomable reason to start both of them is to give JJ a break while Rickie's hurt. To do otherwise is to be intolerably cruel.
- I don't care how much they may whine in Menchkinland, don't take Hart out of right field.