Allow me 20 minutes on a calm cool Sunday to enlighten you about a lineup. Mike Matheny supposedly makes the lineups. There is no proof that John Mozeliak conferences in during the construction of it. Mo makes the roster and basically drops the kids off at the school, where Professor Matheny puts them where he wants them. Let me see if I get this Sunday lineup, with the Cards fearing a sweep and possible drop to 4 games out in the division, straight.
Matt Carpenter is leading off and is the designated hitter. A fine hitting on base percentage machine who also happens to be a decent defender at third base. He isn’t playing third base for a reason and I will get to that later.
Kolten Wong hits second and plays second base. The short yet mighty Hawaii masher can hit the long ball but he is still learning how to get on base. In his last 10 games, Wong is hitting .227, with 3 home runs, 6 runs batted in, 10 strikeouts and 0 walks. That sounds more like a 6th spot guy than a #2 guy.
Matt Holliday bats third in his usual spot. The big guy has cooled off since a good run of power. Since August 2nd, his last multi-hit game, Holliday is 4-22 with 0 HR and 0 RBI. When Oscar Taveras takes off(whenever that shall be), I would like to see Holliday move back into the #2 spot because his greatest overall strength right now is getting on base. He seems to be allergic to hitting .270, because every time he gets close to it, his bat goes cold.
Matt Adams is hitting cleanup and it’s a spot where he has settled into. Here’s the problem. Adams isn’t doing much cleaning these days. He has two RBI in his last 10 games and ZERO home runs. For a man who is put into a spot to bash a 3-run home run, Adams hasn’t homered since July 26th. What gives big guy? Is someone not feeding the beast because that would be uncivil. There are men like Holliday who work out 5 hours a day and eat lunch at a hardware store and there are guys like Adams who just want to eat a big juicy ribeye. The last time Adams drove in four runners was July 26th. There’s a power outage in the cleanup spot.
Jhonny Peralta bats fifth and has quietly put together a decent 10 game stretch. He has three multi-hit games in that time and is hitting .273. Looking at the last ten games of a hitter is a good measure to see where he is at and where he could be going. Peralta has 29 doubles on the season to go with 15 homers and 48 RBI. He is well on his way to another 20 home run season and has his season average up to .255. Peralta could be best served by dropping down in the order and will do so when Yadi Molina comes back.
Jon Jay hits sixth and the only reason I don’t like this is because it pushes Taveras down in the order. Jay hit a solo home run yesterday and has more RBI(5) in his last 10 games than Adams has in his last 12. Jay is hitting .287 and holding steady with the hits. I just think his bat could be better served higher in the order(#2) or down low. I don’t like it in the middle. You need real run producers there, but then again, this 2014 bunch doesn’t provide a ton of those.
Taveras is hitting 7th and surprisingly starting after an 0-4 day which included 2 strikeouts(with Matheny, that may have reason to bench him). Taveras needs at bats right. I believe Francis Slay would agree with that notion. He is a young man with enormous(listen to those scouts gush) potential and finds himself far too many times hitting 6th or 7th. There is a chance he may only get 3 at bats hitting so low. Hitting lower drops his at bat total. That is not good. If the Baltimore Orioles are going to mash the Cards, at least get your big time prospect at bats. Taveras should be hitting 2nd, 3rd, or 5th. He doesn’t need to be hitting 7th. Now I know what you may say. Taveras doesn’t walk a ton. He has 7 walks to 21 strikeouts. He is hitting .213 in his last ten games. He isn’t smoking the baseball. His swing has a huge follow through that sometimes knocks the helmet off the kid. If you sift around social media, one would think Lord Taveras would suit this precious commodity. While I am not blown away by him or ready to be overly critical of Taveras, I will admit this much. He deserves a better spot in the order. He has driven in 6 runners in his past 10 games and no one can overtake that total. Taveras has an ability to drive the baseball and collect RBI. He could hit 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th right now and do this team a favor. Just a thought Professor Matheny.
Tony Cruz hits 8th and I don’t have too many qualms with that. He is a light hitting catcher with no power. He has five extra base hits on the season and doesn’t drive in runners. He is a defensive catcher who may crank a few singles. A.J. Pierzynski‘s bat is more favorable but Lance Lynn has developed something with Cruz so I can respect the start.
Daniel Descalso is starting. Â Wait, I did see that right. Descalso is starting for the second game in a row because he recorded three hits yesterday. Three soft cans of corn in a blowout loss. Descalso gives you little defensively. Yes, his arm is average. He can field a baseball. Let me inform you that a team struggling to find offensive mobility doesn’t need to harbor 2012 heroes. Descalso was alright in 2012. He was merely invisible in 2013 and is useless in 2014. His last three hit game came on August 2nd, 2013. Descalso made an error yesterday at shortstop and plays third today. He simply doesn’t belong on this team. Pete Kozma could give the bat of Descalso and maybe more. He would give a lot better defense at third, short and second base. Greg Garcia could serve more purpose on this team.
Once the team gave Mark Ellis 5 million dollars to gather dust behind Kolten Wong, I figured Descalso was done. Here we are, on August 10th and Descalso is starting two games in a row. If that doesn’t tell you how desperate and misbegotten this lineup has become, I don’t know what is.
Let’s hope this band of misfit toys can escape Baltimore with a win because right now the Orioles have hit more home runs(9) than the Cards have scored runs in this series(5).
Thanks for reading,
Dan Buffa
16 comments
Have to agree with you about Descalso. No reason on Earth he’s with the parent club. He’s occupying a roster spot that could be used by a baseball player.
He’s not deserving of hitting 2nd or 3rd – Wong is doing better and Holliday isn’t moving. Hitting him 6th most of the times, still an RBI slot is perfect. If he’s not hitting and Jay is, then moving him down a slot is fine.
He’s here and he will stay, but until he gets HOT, he needs to hit where he’s penciled into the lineup – enough of the Oscar HAS to BE UP/playing BS – Oscar needs to produce, simple as that. When he does, he will deservedly move up and until he does, he’s in the appropriate slot.
right now playing Oscar is the right thing to do hope he gets hot & sure he will be better next season i just feel good about this prospect
Descalso is a very valuable utility player, seeing that he can play every infield position, and as for his arm strength, I have to disagree, because he has as strong of an arm as any of the other infielders, especially Carpenter or Peralta.
MM making you look the fool on his move of Jay 6th and Oscar 7th. Oscar looks lost at the plate and JJ is raking. MM is full of bad decisions, but today – he’s made the proper decision.
That’s why MM is coaching and this guy is writing.
A fool? Jay had two hits and an RBI. Oscar had a hit. Jay can rake anywhere in the lineup. Taveras has just as many RBI as Jay has in their last 10 games(6). Taveras needs AT BATS which is why he needs to be higher.
he’s getting ab’s, at least 3 a game, that’s plenty. He shouldn’t be hitting 2nd until he proves he can hit 6th or 7th or 8th. We can’t ascend him to the top until he earns it. He’s no Mike Trout, not yet anyway.
You also have to factor in chemistry, if a kid is given too much too soon, before earning it – you’ll have issues in the clubhouse
another thought about DD being on the roster – its’ up to the GM to put the 25 guys in the dugout and it’s up to the manager to use ALL 25 guys – if DD is there, then he must play on occasion, as must Mark Ellis – otherwise, they will never be able to help when you need them. DD has delivered some very important hits late in seasons and in the post-season. We don’t win in 2011 without his hit vs. Nats. We’re home and toast after Waino got rocked.
I love when I get 2012 references with a player. Two games doesn’t make DD worthy of a roster spot but you can’t be talked down off the ledge Brett. When the team signed Ellis, DD was deemed useless. He has until these past 2 days. Now that interleague play is over, back to the bench he goes.
So you ignore the entire point of what I’m saying, the 2012 was just an add on. The main content was about the GM choosing the players and the manager getting the best out of his team. I generally agree that DD has stayed longer on the team than he perhaps should have….but if I had to choose between DD and Ellis, I’d choose DD because he can play 3 positions vs. Ellis’ one.
Quick delete this article, everything you bitch about is the reverse in this particular game. JJ, DD are both huge factors and Oscar isn’t. t
Cause writers don’t know anything
Thanks for reading. If writers deleted articles that were trying to tell the future, man the recycled bins on computers would be full. I give my take and that is called commentary. I am glad I have got your attention.
And with that lineup cards cards win and score runs. Just shows why writers write and don’t coach or play.
Two days in a row that JJ has hammered dingers in the 6th or 7th hole – perhaps if Oscar could hit a ball in the AIR on occasion, he would be hitting 6th or higher, instead of 8th.
You can’t force him into a certain spot just because “he needs at bats” – He’ll get 3-4 every game, that’s plenty – now Oscar must start to hit for power. Each of his hits over this stretch, except for the HR in SD has been a ground ball single or a duck snort over the infield. He needs to hit the ball in the air with power.
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