Why Adam Jones Should Lead Off Again For The Orioles In 2017

[crissfan172]

I think I would let Machado hit leadoff, but I'm sure that's not a very popular opinion. 

[ELMERO]

2 hours ago, OrioleDog said:

Castillo vs. LHP to me is the best fit.  Unlike many other Orioles, he is a pretty wide platoon split guy, and that gives him the best chance at three looks against the starter.  

Now that would, at least, be interesting.  A refreshing, "outside the box" idea.  Buck would have to stop and think about that one.  He might be inclined to agree with you.

[mrbig1]

1. Rickard or Kim

2.Manny

3. Jones

4. Trumbo

5. Davis.

6. Wieters I hope.

 

Now that's a great line up.

[webbrick2010]

Alternate titles to this thread

1. Why the O's won't compete in 2017

2. DD fails to provide speed, leadoff hitter, OF defense.... again

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

Alternate titles to this thread

1. Why the O's won't compete in 2017

2. DD fails to provide speed, leadoff hitter, OF defense.... again

I'll go with:

1. Lineup order is largely a marginal issue so don't sweat it.

[Roll Tide]

4 hours ago, webbrick2010 said:

Alternate titles to this thread

1. Why the O's won't compete in 2017

2. DD fails to provide speed, leadoff hitter, OF defense.... again

This was probably not the was to phrase this post.

 

But ultimately I agree with you that resources should have been used to find a leadoff hitter.

 

perhaps Rickard is that guy, but only time will tell.

[esmd]

I'd bat Kim and Smith 1-2 vs RHP.  Only problem with that is that it leaves them vulnerable to LHP out of the 'pen, but at that point, you probably consider pinch hitting with a RH defensive replacement (Rickard) or a RH PH (Mancini) that you can then replace with a LH OFer (Tavarez?).  Although I'm not sure all three of them make the team.

Point is, I think batting Smith and Kim 1-2 against RHP solves more issues that it creates, and it (should) consistently get guys on base in front of our mashers.  Even Machado at 3rd in the order typically has a nice OBP, so guys like Davis, Trumbo, and Jones should have a lot of RBI opportunities.

[pastorfan]

17 hours ago, MDtransplant757 said:

And have Joey 2nd. I like your thinking. 

I need some help here. Joey had a great spring and beginning to the year, but I saw a AAAA guy. The fact that Adam may be the best option at lead off tells us all we need to know about our GM

[Aristotelian]

23 hours ago, Frobby said:

Depends what you mean by tough at bats.    Rickard averaged 4.33 pitches, Kim 4.01.   If that's the measure, Rickard's at bats were tougher.    But they didn't result in getting on base as often.

Pitch count isn't everything. A lot of Rickard's extra pitches were called strike threes.

[25 Nuggets]

50 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

This subject has already been beaten to death.  The Orioles don't have any one player who is a great candidate for the everyday leadoff role.  Get over it.

What do you mean get over it?  Isn't this the time of year to talk about lineups?

1 Kim/Rickard

2 Machado

3 Jones

4 Davis

5 Trumbo

6 Smith/Mancini

7 Schoop/Hardy

8 Castillo

9 Hardy/Schoop

Mine is very close to yours.  Moving Jones to the 3 spot, and swapping Hardy and Castillo.  Also Schoop 9th vs LHP.  This is also assuming Mancini makes the team.

[Three Run Homer]

Against RHP, I'd go Kim, Smith, Machado, Davis, Jones, Trumbo, Schoop, Castillo, Hardy.

Against LHP I'd go Rickard, Machado, Jones, Trumbo, Davis, Mancini, Schoop, Castillo, Hardy

[InsideCoroner]

It's not often that everyone here disagrees with such an article, but I have yet to hear from anyone who thinks this is a good idea. Dubroff, the unifier!

[joeyc]

On 2/6/2017 at 4:00 PM, big_sparxx said:

if we're not going to run, it makes little difference who hits leadoff. Personally I'd rather AJ hit lower, thus removing any temptation he might have for going crazy.

I'd bat him 6th or 7th. No way he leads off again. He strikes out way too much. He's not a table setter by any means.

[FlipTheBird]

4 hours ago, joeyc said:

I'd bat him 6th or 7th. No way he leads off again. He strikes out way too much. He's not a table setter by any means.

As others have noted, after the very first inning, there's no real "table setting" required by the leadoff hitter. Because there's a reasonable chance he doesn't lead off an inning again until the next game.

Jones at the top of the lineup, though, did get one of our better bats a few extra plate appearances. It's a trade off.