Predict the Opening Day Lineup!

[joedogg9999]

Markakis

Schoop - 2b

AJ

Davis

Cruz - LF

Wieters

Young - DH

Hardy

Lombardozzi - 3b

I'm really torn on who to put at 2nd and 3rd actually. Lombardozzi has a lot more experience there than Shcoop, and MI defense is important to our team philosophy. I could just as easily see Schoop and Lombo flip flopped.

Honestly, lombardozzi is a pretty awful hitter and has no business being the #2 hitter. Youre much better off putting an unproven guy there like schoop, rather than putting someone there you KNOW will be bad

[Babypowder]

I don't think we see Flaherty in the lineup. It will be Lombardozzi and whoever makes the team out of Schoop and Weeks. I'm also holding out hope for Pearce getting more PAs than Young but don't expect it to happen.

[Tx Oriole]

only 4 more days and counting!

Here's how I see it shaking out. Note, this is not how i WANT it to look necessarily, this is simply how I predict Buck will do it.

Nick Markakis - RF

J.J. Hardy - SS

Adam Jones - CF

Chris Davis - 1B

Nelson Cruz - LF

Matt Wieters C

Delmon Young - DH

Ryan Flaherty - 3B

Steve Lombardozzi - 2B

vs. Jon Lester, LHP

So.......tell me where I'm wrong. Also, what would you do differently?

I think if I was king I would start the season with Schoop.

I believe Lough is in LF and Cruz the DH. I agree with you on the rest of the

lineup.

[ADZ23]

Roberts - 2b

Mora - 3b

Markakis - rf

Tejada - ss

Huff - 1b

Gibbons - lf

Millar - dh

Patterson - cf

Bako - c

[Sanfran327]

If by history you mean batting Manny #2, then Buck also has as much history batting Hardy there, and also has a history of going with matchups as well. I don't think you know what you mean

He's put Manny there, and Jones hit there as a younger player. It's not a new strategy for Buck.

[epic]

I don't think we see Flaherty in the lineup. It will be Lombardozzi and whoever makes the team out of Schoop and Weeks. I'm also holding out hope for Pearce getting more PAs than Young but don't expect it to happen.

I'm not questioning you but the idea in general: Why is Lombardozzi now definitely in the lineup over Flaherty?

I think Flaherty is at third 100%. The question to me is whether second is going to be Lombardozzi or Schoop.

[El Gordo]

If we went strictly by match ups v Lester it might look like this:

Jones

Hardy

Wieters

Cruz

Davis

Markakis

Young

Scoop/Lombo

Flaherty

Cruz and Wieters have hit him the best, Hardy and Jones pretty good, Davis Markakis Young not so much, And Flaherty Lombo and Schoop never faced him.

[OFFNY]

.

Wieters is 6-out-of-7 in his career for stolen bases.

I have him leading off.

Matt Wieters - C

Nick Markakis - RF

Adam Jones - CF

Chris Davis - 1B

Nelson Cruz - LF

Delmon Young - DH

J.J. Hardy - SS

Ryan Flaherty - 3B

Jonathan Schoop - 2B

Chris Tillman - RHP (16-7, 3.71 ERA)

[ADZ23]

Schoop should bat cleanup he has a better hr/ab ratio in his pro career than Davis

[El Gordo]

He's put Manny there, and Jones hit there as a younger player. It's not a new strategy for Buck.

So he will allow this "History" to trump matchups? :rolleyestf:Actually Jones should bat #2 v Lester, because he has a "history" of .393 OBP against him. You have yet to tell me why you think a specious notion of some "history" involving only two young players, that you pulled out of your butt, would be preferred over matchups? Why if you have one player who has a "history" of .393 OBP or .840 OPS v a certain pitcher, would you choose to bat a rookie there, who has never face the guy, simply because of some" history" that is demonstrated by two examples?

[Sanfran327]

So he will allow this "History" to trump matchups? :rolleyestf:Actually Jones should bat #2 v Lester, because he has a "history" of .393 OBP against him. You have yet to tell me why you think a specious notion of some "history" involving only two young players, that you pulled out of your butt, would be preferred over matchups? Why if you have one player who has a "history" of .393 OBP or .840 OPS v a certain pitcher, would you choose to bat a rookie there, who has never face the guy, simply because of some" history" that is demonstrated by two examples?

I'd be just fine batting a rookie with a hot hand that mashes LHP in front of Jones and Davis - regardless of matchup history - over Hardy, who has zero OBP skills. Batting Jones there is a waste and you know it, you're just trying to be a ball breaker, which is fine, you just suck at it. You can use your little quotation marks all you want to try and condescend my point, but if you've paid any attention to Buck's style and lineups since his arrival, you'd see my point. Frankly, some of the crap you say makes me wonder if you've ever watched a game in your life. Do you get MASN in the north pole?

[epic]

So he will allow this "History" to trump matchups? :rolleyestf:Actually Jones should bat #2 v Lester, because he has a "history" of .393 OBP against him. You have yet to tell me why you think a specious notion of some "history" involving only two young players, that you pulled out of your butt, would be preferred over matchups? Why if you have one player who has a "history" of .393 OBP or .840 OPS v a certain pitcher, would you choose to bat a rookie there, who has never face the guy, simply because of some" history" that is demonstrated by two examples?

What is the obsession with matchups versus Lester? I realize he's pitched well for a majority of his starts against us but why is matchup with a single pitcher the be-all end-all to what the lineup should be? On top of that, you want to take guys out of the positions they've been hitting in the lineup for the last year or two to make that happen (Jones hitting first, Wieters 3rd, etc.)

I can tell you why it shouldn't be the only thing to consider while constructing a lineup: SSS.

[oriolesacox]

I believe Lough is in LF and Cruz the DH. I agree with you on the rest of the

lineup.

I hope that is true my man. I can't get enough YOLOugh in my life!!

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[Sanfran327]

I hope that is true my man. I can't get enough YOLOugh in my life!!

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Awesome.

[El Gordo]

I'd be just fine batting a rookie with a hot hand that mashes LHP in front of Jones and Davis - regardless of matchup history - over Hardy, who has zero OBP skills. Batting Jones there is a waste and you know it, you're just trying to be a ball breaker, which is fine, you just suck at it. You can use your little quotation marks all you want to try and condescend my point, but if you've paid any attention to Buck's style and lineups since his arrival, you'd see my point. Frankly, some of the crap you say makes me wonder if you've ever watched a game in your life. Do you get MASN in the north pole?

Why would you be fine with inexperience over proven success? Is it that your man crush for the rookie flavor of the month is clouding your judgement? Why don't you trust matchups? You have yet to give me a reason. If you want to really argue that Buck likes to bat rookies in the two hole then give me more than two examples. Matusz has a "history" of owning Big Poppi, would you decide to let a rookie LOOGY to face him instead because Buck has a "history" of liking to throw the new guys in the pen in the fire right away? You don't make sense.