November 2008 Survey Question #2
Posted by Steve L. on November 14th, 2008 · Comments (8)
Please consider taking the following poll:
Assuming that Alex Rodriguez is your clean-up hitter, right now, who (in your opinion) should bat third for the Yankees in 2009?
Thanks in advance. And, please feel free to add comments on your opinion in the comments section below.
Until he signs elswhere, I will steadfastly hold onto the belief that Bobby Abreu should bat 3rd for the Yanks.
Abreu is still a relatively productive hitter and I have more faith in him maintaining current levels of performance than I do in Xavier Nady coming close to repeating his 2008 season.
sign Teixeira, bat ARod 3rd and Tex cleanup. thats my story, and i’m sticking to it until Tex re-ups with Anaheim.
i dont want Abreu back. he might be a good 3 hole hitter, but i cant stand watching him in RF anymore.
i would think eventually Cano could fit there, but he doesnt walk enough/have a high enough OBP for the 3-hole at this point.
i absolutely want to sign teixeira/dunn so that a-rod can bat third. it’s a more dynamic spot and he can do so many things with the bat i think it’s just a better fit there (i know this isn’t anything concrete, i just like him better at 3). plus, how does this lineup look?
1. damon
2. jeter
3. a-rod
4. tex/dunn
5. matsui
6. posada
7. swisher
8. nady
9. cano
i realize swisher plays cf in this scenario, but i’d be willing to do that for one year (with the other three off the books after the season) to have this lineup. this is back to having the best lineup in baseball. add cc and mussina/lowe/burnett, and this team is back to being the best in baseball on paper, which is what we should be.
I don’t see how that is the “best lineup in baseball” when Posada and Matsui are coming off lost seasons and another year older, no one knows what Cano brings, Nady is one big mediocrity, Swisher only a little better. And are you really thinking Mussina will be as successful again? That Burnett would stay healthy and not be another Kenny Rogers mental case in NY, or that Lowe will enjoy pitching in front of a porous infield (especially on the left side)?
Its unlikely to be the best on paper or on the field.
Rogers had one year in line with his career, and a second year that wasn’t where he was coming off surgery.
The “head case” angle is overblown.
Actually Raf I couldn’t for the life of me come up with the name “Ed Whitson” as the comparable, who was definitely a head case about throwing in New York, so I threw out Rogers name as a “failure”.
Looking at his numbers, Whitson’s case was overblown. There’s a clear pattern of him alternating good and bad years. The 83 ERA+ he posted in ’85 looks an awful lot like the 82 ERA+ he posted as a Padre in ’83.
I think what people failed to realize is that Whitson really wasn’t all that good before he signed with the Yanks.
Yeah but he still developed tummy aches before pitching at the Stadium.