Lloyd McClendon Sheds Some Lineup Insight
As I’m writing this in sunny Bellingham, WA, the Seattle Mariners are practicing baseball indoors in soggy Peoria, AZ. Shortly before I started writing this, manager Lloyd McClendon chatted with some of the team’s beat reporters. The subject: lineup construction.
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McClendon isn’t the type to use the same lineup 150 times a year, but that’s not to say he doesn’t know where he likes certain guys to hit. You’re not going to see Robinson Cano in the leadoff spot at any point this year, for instance, and you can just as safely bet on Austin Jackson never hitting in the three hole. The two most prominent lineup questions, as best I can gather, have been a) who hits second, and b) where does the shortstop hit? Here’s Greg Johns with the answer to both!
There’s going to be a competition in camp to see who wins the shortstop job, but whether it’s Brad Miller or Chris Taylor, he’s likely ticketed for a regular spot at the bottom of the lineup. This isn’t all too surprising, given that that’s where those guys most regularly slotted last season. It’s a fairly typical spot for a shortstop, all things considered.
Here’s what we know about the shortstop battle thus far: the team likes both guys, though they’re higher on Miller offensively and higher on Taylor defensively. No surprises there, as Miller’s got the pop and Taylor’s got the range. Maybe it’s a little surprising, given that Taylor out-hit Miller last season. Which is probably why Taylor’s the ever-so-slight favorite to win the job in most people’s eyes.
Whether the shortstop is Taylor or Miller, they’re probably going to be expected to produce above-average offense for the position. Which, in turn, means above-average production for a number nine hitter. The plan, it would appear, involves getting offense contributions from all across the lineup. Solid plan.
There’s not going to be a set number two hitter, though the plan seems to be for the spot to feature one of three guys on any given day. The outfield’s going to be full of platoon types, and those guys are all bat-first players. Unsurprisingly, the guy hitting between Jackson and Cano is going to be a corner outfielder.
Seth Smith and Justin Ruggiano are going to share right field, and they’ll also get plenty of at-bats out of the two hole. Rickie Weeks will see some time there, too, though he’s had a much rougher recent offensive go of things and has a less defined role on the team. Word is he’s going to be part of something platoon-ish with Dustin Ackley in left field, though the team likes Ackley a little lower in the lineup.
Weeks hit well last season, though he was much worse the two years before that. Despite his patchy recent past, he’s still got a .347 career OBP, which is the same as Smith and 38 points higher than Ackley. The team likes him, and so he’ll play, until there’s a reason for him not to play anymore. Why not give him some time in the second spot? He doesn’t seem likely to get as much time there as Smith or Ruggiano, which seems like the best course of action for all involved parties.
The lineup, tentatively:
1. Austin Jackson
2. Seth Smith/Justin Ruggiano/Rickie Weeks
3. Robinson Cano
4. Nelson Cruz
5. Kyle Seager
6. Logan Morrison
7. Mike Zunino
8. Dustin Ackley
9. Brad Miller/Chris Taylor
The order of Morrison/Ackley/Zunino seems to be the only truly unsettled piece of the lineup right now, and remember, Lloyd isn’t afraid of changing up his lineup based on who’s hot and who’s not. There’s wiggle room in that group, and remember, it’s February. Things will change. Things will become more solid, unless they become more fluid. That’s the nature of these things.
For now, we have word that Lloyd McClendon likes his platoon outfielders batting second and his shortstop, whoever it is, batting ninth. Makes sense, just like a lot of things McClendon says and does. I like Lloyd McClendon. I like the Mariners. The Mariners are probably going to be a good team, and that still weirds me out in the best way.