Thread: Who will bat #2?

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Naturally, Florimon's a switch hitter and will need to bunt a lot. That's what the 2 hole guy does, he bunts. You don't want to be asking someone who can actually hit the ball, to bunt. That's what your 3 hole is for.

Can't tell if serious.

Whoever is batting second is probably no currently on the team. Looking at the team is it is currently constructed, Carroll is the logical choice (being as Gardy won't move Mauer out of the 3 hole).

The Twins need to bunt less. The value of lots of OBP guys is to lengthen innings, not shorten them. Once the table is set--keep the ball rollin'--don't give up an out to make it more likely to score one run, but less likely to score three or more. The Twins don't posses a shut-down pitching staff, they can't limit themselves to one run in an inning when they don't have the staff to make it stand up.

Twins OBP from last year (people I assume will be in the lineup):

Mauer - .416
Willingham - .366
Carroll - .343
Morneau and Revere - .333
Doumit - .320
Plouffe - .301
Parmelee - .290
Florimon or Dozier - blech


I'm betting on Carroll. Not because I think it's the right move, but it's how the Twins do it. MI with a decent OBP means #2 hitter. But if he can keep his OBP above .330, I don't think it'll be horrible using Carroll there. He got off to a terrible start last year (as did almost everyone else), but was actually a pretty good hitter by the end.

Using Carroll there also leads to:

Revere - L
Carroll - R
Mauer - L
Willingham - R
Morneau - L
Doumit - S
Plouffe - R
Parmelee - L
Dozier/Florimon - R

If it was my call... Mauer would bat 2nd and I would never worry about it again.

Originally Posted by Riverbrian

If it was my call... Mauer would bat 2nd and I would never worry about it again.

I've got as much confidence in Mauer's hitting abilities as anyone, but even I know that he's likely to decline in his late-50's or so. Never's a pretty long time. Haha.

I do agree, though: Mauer would be my choice.

LOL... C'mon CDog... With that Swing... He will be stroking it until he's 60 and his contract does last until 2044.

Originally Posted by Riverbrian

LOL... C'mon CDog... With that Swing... He will be stroking it until he's 60 and his contract does last until 2044.

I wonder how long of an extension the Twins would have to give Mauer for other teams to finally stop asking about him? 32 years doesn't seem to do.....

Mauer has always been a perfect candidate for the second spot in the lineup. Hopefully, Gardenhire will move him back to that position.

CF Revere
C Mauer
LF Willingham
1B Morneau
3B Youkillis
DH Doumit
RF Parmalee
2B Carroll
SS Florimon

Bench:
Plouffe
Mastrionni
Escobar
Butera (until mid-season when he's waived and Hermann gets the call)

A lot of what the lineup might look like will depend on Morneau and how he's swinging the bat. If he's rekindled his stroke than I see him batting 4th if not, then they might think about moving him to #5, Mauer to #3, and Willingham to #4, with Carroll sliding to #2.

I also slotted Youkillis as our 3B. What's TR talking about that the Twins are looking for a 3B? Is this his way of lighting a fire under Plouffe this off-season or are we seriously in the market for an upgrade?