What has been happening has not produced success. Any fool can see that, which is to say even the Indians' manager has to have noticed.
Nonetheless, particularly since Eric Wedge today divulged that the upcoming road trip through Chicago, Minnesota and Det---three of the divisional teams Cleveland now trails---will decide conclusively whether the ballclub is a buyer or a seller during the run-up to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, it is felt nothing can be left to chance where the club's prospects are concerned.
Therefore, this will once again be attempted. Sense will again be offered to the man making out the lineup and the batting order. Though critics complain he tinkers with them too much, he's yet to exercise profound adjustments, the likes of which both statistics and the season's stage beg for.
For example, today leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore moved into the AL lead with 19 homers. Regrettably, this one was his 14th with the bases empty. Though moving him down in the order does not necessarily mean more runners will appear on base when he homers, it cannot be denied he's been following some of MLB's absolute worst table-setters, much as did catcher Victor Martinez when he was hitting in the .320s.
Wedge seems to prefer staggering his hot bats rather than bunching them. He also seems to choose meat-of-the-order guys moreso by physique than by production. Maddening and demonstrably ineffective. It is not an accident the club struggles to score or that it is being described as baseball's worst offense.
What is the point of logging OBP if it is going to be ignored? Why compute BA w/RISP if it is similarly dismissed when the lineup is being made?
And while I'm asking questions: "Why, whenever I hear of an opposing player enduring a terrible period of slump, do I imagine GM Mark Shapiro will be acquiring the guy by game's end and that Wedge will be featuring him in the middle of the order, if only to further compromise Casey Blake's rbi figures, probably only to make him easier to re-sign in the off-season?"
Back to my purpose in writing.
Eric, please consider this batting order:
Shin-Soo Choo in RF, batting .268 with a .379 OBP. Two homers, 14 rbi.
Jamey Carroll at 2b, hitting .297 with a .381 OBP. No homers, 15 rbi.
Ben Francisco in LF, with a .286 BA and .343 OBP. Six dingers, 28 rbi, though the umps took 2 rbi and a HR.
Grady Sizemore in CF, hitting .268 with a .372 OBP. Nineteen roundtrippers, with 45 rbi.
Casey Blake at 3b, batting .281 with a .355 OBP. Seven homers, club-leading 46 rbi, over .420 w/ RISP.
David Dellucci at DH, though he's down to .217 and .300. Has 7 homers and 25 rbi. Lineup needs a lefty here.
Ryan Garko at 1b. Average is .242 and OBP .328. Six homers and 39 rbi. Aubrey up for Marte to platoon?
Jhonny Peralta at SS by default. BA is .244. OBP a dreadful .294. Eleven homers, but only 32 rbi.
Kelly Shoppach at C, with a .248 BA and ..315 OBP. Garko as job-share partner soon?
With all due respect, Mr. AL Manager of the Year, your way isn't working, hasn't worked and is not likely to begin working soon. Since these upcoming games are so important, I thought I'd try one last time to help you rescue the season just as the stretch is about to commence.
In essence, sir, the objective is to place those with a gift for OBP in front of those with the skills to drive them in. Those who can do neither and are slow, guys you typically feature at run-producing spot, belong in the bottom third, if only to keep their pulling-a-beer-truck running style from clogging the bases when they do get on.
Whenever possible, bunching your better hitters is likely to generate more consistent offense than is spacing them indiscriminantly throughout the order. The latter method allows rally-killers to dominate, generally negating strong starting-pitching performances.
Or hadn't you noticed?
Read the complete post at http://www.xanga.com/MALeonard/663892531/trying-again-to-help-wedge.html