The 2 spot

by joedobr on Apr 17, 2007 12:31 AM EDT Comment 10 comments

Fans,

This is become a spot of contention for me. I understand the theory of what you want as a prototypical 2 spot hitter in your lineup. You want contact and an ability to move runners up into scoring position if there are less than 2 out.

Bless Ben Zobrist's heart out. I love his attitude, he brings his glove to the party and does his best on the field. However what he is not is a premier, let alone prototypical top of the lineup hitter. And neither is Brendan Harris for that matter. Quite frankly, even though the thought of Zobrist hitting in front of Crawford could be sound, he is not in my mind a hitter that can be a top of the order guy.

I would hope in short order that Maddon does the right thing (in my mind) and flip Upton (or Iwamura) with Zobrist and put Upton (Iwamura) in the 2 spot and let Zobrist bat at the bottom of the order. Let the top of the order be as dynamic as can be.

Also in the 7th inning tonight, Perlozzo brought in a matchup left hander (John Parrish) to turn and flip Zobrist to the right side of the box and got the key out of the game in my mind. I know there is discussion about LOOGY's here, but the statistical analysis sure won out tonight.

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I agree

Zobrist is too much of a liability as a hitter to be batting that high in the order. He isn't a hitter that would fit that slot, and while his on base skills, defensive skills, speed, and position are all prototypical traits that you would want from your No. 2 guy, he just doesn't hit enough to warrant being placed in that role. Maybe when he shows anything at all with the bat, you look at moving him back up to No. 2, but he didn't do anything to merit that role in the first place, and it has predictably gone astray.

I would personally like to see Upton, Iwamura, or Dukes in that spot. Dukes and Iwamura are slower than Zobrist, but they provide on base skills, better ones at that, and can back them up with the ability to hit. If Upton and Dukes can hit in the No. 9 hole, there is no reason Zobrist can't. When the primary function of your No. 2 hitter is seemingly to bunt, you have an issue.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Apr 17, 2007 12:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

In the AL, you can't do that. This isn't 2004 Boston with Mark Bellhorn swinging and missing. We need speed and a favorable OBP man if Crawford is going to continue to hit 3rd. You can't just bunt and move guys over. I think we are cheating our own offense not having a more dynamic presence at the top of the order.

Zobrist is going to play his 140 games this year, and he will somewhat righten his ship, but is just not the right guy. Also that AB in the 7th inning bothered me as that killed the rally and took the steam right out of the game.

Joe

by joedobr on Apr 17, 2007 12:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You don't have to convince me

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Apr 17, 2007 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: You don't have to convince me

i personally liked zobrist hitting 2nd initially. I thought aki would strikeout much more than him, and would be better used later in the lineup.

by god allah star on Apr 17, 2007 3:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

Ever since i saw Iwamura live i thought he would fit perfectly in the 2 hole. Upon checking i was surprised that he has 8 K's already this year, but his bat control through the strike zone is crazy good. The bat seems to spend a whole bunch of time in the zone allowing him to make a good deal amount of contact with some surprising pop.

There should be a different mindset to the guy dropped in this slot and i'm not sure if he ever hit there in japan or for that matter the philosophy of a 2nd hitter in japan but i think out of all of the options he is the best.

In my opinion the Z-man and a very nice surprise we found in harris are just place holders for Reid. Whom ever is playing SS should be much lower in the order.

by bpoe13 on Apr 18, 2007 10:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

The problem I see with putting Aki at 2 is that your 2 best lefties would be back to back, so you'll get LOOGied to death (there's a horrific vision).

I'd rather see BJ at 1 or 2 (Rocco the other in the pair), or Aki leading off to split him from CC. Having Aki down in the order has been effective, but his OBP suggests he could bring something to the table in this role as well. I'd prefer BJ at leadoff - he K's too much for the 2 hole in my view.

Bobr has expressed his happiness at BJ at 9 leading into the top of the order, but that takes an AB away from him each game and gives it to Zob. Not the right choice right now. BJ would lead in to the heart of the lineup 1 more time almost every game at the top. Zob can clearly serve the role of the pitcher in an NL oriented approach by sac'ing, and maybe the reduced pressure would allow him to settle down at the bottom of the lineup.

by nyyfaninlaaland on Apr 18, 2007 4:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

Listening to Joe Maddon locally on the radio, I am preaching to the choir. I am for pedal to the medal and pushing the order. Ok, Harris has hit well, but is he for real or an overachiever?

BenZo will never be more than what he is. I don't care if he is unlucky or not. Upton is the better hitter there ultimately no matter what Joe Maddon says or believes, with all due respect to him. But hey, that's what makes us fans. I have my own idea what a top of the order is about and the New Yorker in LA is right. You want that lineup to turnover so you get that extra AB later in the game.

Joe

by joedobr on Apr 18, 2007 11:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

I thought from the beginning it was crazy to have Zobrist anywhere above 8th in the batting order. He hits as good as Aubrey Huff fielded the ball(dam I am hating on Aubrey this week).

I think you need Upton to lead off followed by Crawford in the 2 spot then Baldelli, Wiggy, and Delmon. Crawford wants to hit third for better stats but he would be better as a lead off spot but we want to keep CC happy.

by Elgrandeplatano on Apr 19, 2007 1:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

This is just not making sense. Why is Zobrist hitting second. We all know Zobrist can't hit well enough to fill that slot. Joe has to know this too. I just don't understand.

by JWallace on Apr 19, 2007 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: The 2 spot

I wouldn't be surprised to see a change in the near term. Folks here have called many of the order changes up to now. Maddon is likely trying to maintain Zob's confidence, being Mr. Positive and all. But reality has likely set in - having a pitcher batting second doesn't play in either league, but especially in the AL East.

Seems he's already signaled a more frequent switch to Harris - likely this will provide cover for finding a new struture at the top of the lineup, moving BZ down when he does play.

by nyyfaninlaaland on Apr 19, 2007 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs