Time to change the top of the order

[Lemon_44]

Pierre's not hitting and Beckham, i think, is thinking too much in the #2 hole instead of just raking. When your top 2 hitters in the BO are struggling to get to .225 there's going to be problems scoring runs. My idea for a new batting order would be:

1-Rios- he has the speed Ozzie likes and he's hitting well.

2-Alexei- he'll see more fastballs which can only help. I know he's struggling but a move here may help him.

3-Jones-when he plays and i'd be fine just putting him in the lineup everyday for now. #3 hitter is the big hole in the lineup.

4-Quentin-you could Konerko here but Quentin, even though he's off to a slow start, is more of an overall threat.

5-Konerko- you can put him anywhere and you'll likely get his consistent production.

6-Teahen- good spot for him

7-Beckham- this takes all the pressure off him and allows him to get back on track.

8-AJ-Like Konerko, he's going to give you the same no matter where he hits. Until he starts hitting, #8 is a good spot for him.

9-Pierre- use him as the "2nd" leadoff man and put him where his .200 batting average should be.

 

I know the lineup is heavy RH in the upper half but something needs to be changed. I don't think you can just base your lineup on righty/lefty. Go with something that changes things up, yet still makes sense.

[BigSqwert]

I'd put Teahen 2nd since he sees a lot of pitches and can take a walk or two. Alexei needs to stay near the bottom of the order.

Edited April 29, 2010 by BigSqwert

[LittleHurt05]

I know the lineup is heavy RH in the upper half but something needs to be changed. I don't think you can just base your lineup on righty/lefty. Go with something that changes things up, yet still makes sense.

 

I agree, but good luck trying to convince Ozzie of that.

[Balta1701]

2-Alexei- he'll see more fastballs which can only help. I know he's struggling but a move here may help him.

Someone posted the data a few weeks ago. White Sox #2 hitters saw the fewest number of fastballs in the big leagues last year. This was despite having a supposed stolen base threat (Podsednik) in that spot for most of the year. Why? Because no one in their right mind was throwing a fastball to Alexei. Pitchers just don't care about guys stealing as much in their pitch selection as we'd like to think.

[hogan873]

Pierre's not hitting and Beckham, i think, is thinking too much in the #2 hole instead of just raking. When your top 2 hitters in the BO are struggling to get to .225 there's going to be problems scoring runs. My idea for a new batting order would be:

1-Rios- he has the speed Ozzie likes and he's hitting well.

2-Alexei- he'll see more fastballs which can only help. I know he's struggling but a move here may help him.

3-Jones-when he plays and i'd be fine just putting him in the lineup everyday for now. #3 hitter is the big hole in the lineup.

4-Quentin-you could Konerko here but Quentin, even though he's off to a slow start, is more of an overall threat.

5-Konerko- you can put him anywhere and you'll likely get his consistent production.

6-Teahen- good spot for him

7-Beckham- this takes all the pressure off him and allows him to get back on track.

8-AJ-Like Konerko, he's going to give you the same no matter where he hits. Until he starts hitting, #8 is a good spot for him.

9-Pierre- use him as the "2nd" leadoff man and put him where his .200 batting average should be.

 

I know the lineup is heavy RH in the upper half but something needs to be changed. I don't think you can just base your lineup on righty/lefty. Go with something that changes things up, yet still makes sense.

I like it but agree with Sqwert...put Teahen batting second.

 

Rios

Teahen

Jones

Quentin

Konerko

Beckham

AJ

Alexei

Pierre

 

Or swap Beckham and AJ to break up the 4 righties in a row.

[MexSoxFan#1]

I would just sit Pierre, he is just brutal and he is killing us.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

I would just sit Pierre, he is just brutal and he is killing us.

 

Then who do you play instead? Kotsay? He's worse than Pierre right now.

[Dick Allen]

Pierre mercifully being removed from leading off is the good news. The bad is Ozzie is considering Teahen, a guy whose biggest offensive weapon is a walk and a guy who strikes out a ton and is a brutal 3rd baseman, as the leadoff hitter.

[southsider2k5]

Pierre mercifully being removed from leading off is the good news. The bad is Ozzie is considering Teahen, a guy whose biggest offensive weapon is a walk and a guy who strikes out a ton and is a brutal 3rd baseman, as the leadoff hitter.

 

Teahen is also a guy who has driven in 5 guys in a month.

[goodgrief34]

Yea unfortunately it looks like Ozzie is leaning towards Teahen to take over for a little bit at lead-off spot, which could be worse. Yet, with the consistent AB's and his ability to steal bases it just seems like Rios would the most logical fit at the top. Then again logic isn't always part of the game plan for ozzie.

 

And I don't mind eventually moving CQ to the 4 spot and dropping Konerko to the 5 hole, but with the way Konerko has been driving the ball lately we should just leave him to clean-up, and let CQ keep building off of what he did last night once he gets back in the lineup in the 5 hole.

[chw42]

Pierre mercifully being removed from leading off is the good news. The bad is Ozzie is considering Teahen, a guy whose biggest offensive weapon is a walk and a guy who strikes out a ton and is a brutal 3rd baseman, as the leadoff hitter.

 

That's good for a leadoff hitter.

[witesoxfan]

That's good for a leadoff hitter.

 

I just posted this not that long ago, but for all the flak that Swisher got while he was here and leading off, he still put up a .354 OBP in the 1-hole. It came with a .324 slugging, but you can't fault him for not getting on base. Teahen is as good of an option as anyone on the roster for the leadoff spot right now, so why not? Maybe it'll work. Anything to try and jumpstart the offense.

[Dick Allen]

That's good for a leadoff hitter.

Great. He's walked 50 times one season in his career. If Mark Teahen gets the most ABs on your team, the playoffs are not something you realistically think about.

[southsider2k5]

I just posted this not that long ago, but for all the flak that Swisher got while he was here and leading off, he still put up a .354 OBP in the 1-hole. It came with a .324 slugging, but you can't fault him for not getting on base. Teahen is as good of an option as anyone on the roster for the leadoff spot right now, so why not? Maybe it'll work. Anything to try and jumpstart the offense.

 

That and I doubt Teahen will turn into a sulking b**** because Ozzie tried him in the lead off spot.

[Dick Allen]

I just posted this not that long ago, but for all the flak that Swisher got while he was here and leading off, he still put up a .354 OBP in the 1-hole. It came with a .324 slugging, but you can't fault him for not getting on base. Teahen is as good of an option as anyone on the roster for the leadoff spot right now, so why not? Maybe it'll work. Anything to try and jumpstart the offense.

History shows that Teahen's walk pace is going to drop off a bit, and his current batting average is about what can be expected. He shouldn't leadoff. I don't look forward to Mark Teahen batting. I really don't know anyone who does except for maybe his relatives and fantasy owners of pitchers he's facing. Mark Teahen is not a leadoff hitter for a good team.

[southsider2k5]

History shows that Teahen's walk pace is going to drop off a bit, and his current batting average is about what can be expected. He shouldn't leadoff. I don't look forward to Mark Teahen batting. I really don't know anyone who does except for maybe his relatives and fantasy owners of pitchers he's facing. Mark Teahen is not a leadoff hitter for a good team.

 

Seeing as we don't have any kind of a leadoff hitter on this roster, there is going to be a downside no matter who is in the spot. If it is Rios, you lose his bat in the middle of the order. It if is Teahen, you have to worry about regression to the mean.

[Dick Allen]

Seeing as we don't have any kind of a leadoff hitter on this roster, there is going to be a downside no matter who is in the spot. If it is Rios, you lose his bat in the middle of the order. It if is Teahen, you have to worry about regression to the mean.

Beckham should leadoff. Emphasize you aren't looking for a protypical leadoff man, just go up to the plate and hit.

[southsider2k5]

Beckham should leadoff. Emphasize you aren't looking for a protypical leadoff man, just go up to the plate and hit.

 

If he is already suffering from a mental problem, the last thing you want to do is heap more on him.

[Dick Allen]

If he is already suffering from a mental problem, the last thing you want to do is heap more on him.

What's his mental problem? He just scuffled. He did when he was called up last year as well, then was on fire. I expect him to be on fire soon. He's working on some things. Teahen just struck out 3 times? He's the best alternative to leadoff? If he is, KW had an even worse offseason than a lot of people thought. The other problem with Teahen is he has to play 3B. He is horrible defensively.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Dick Allen

[southsider2k5]

What's his mental problem? He just scuffled. He did when he was called up last year as well, then was on fire. I expect him to be on fire soon. He's working on some things. Teahen just struck out 3 times? He's the best alternative to leadoff? If he is, KW had an even worse offseason than a lot of people thought. The other problem with Teahen is he has to play 3B. He is horrible defensively.

 

So we are going to bench Pierre based on short term stats, even though he has a history of hitting around .300, but we aren't supposed to look at the leadoff hitter based on those same short term trends? The last line is a strawman as Teahen is our 3B no matter where he hits.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Beckham should leadoff. Emphasize you aren't looking for a protypical leadoff man, just go up to the plate and hit.

 

No he should not.

 

He's not hitting right now and the last thing we need is to f*** around with him and more and put him in an unfamiliar role. Additionally, he's one of our better run producing threats and placing him in the leadoff role would minimize that part of his game.

 

Honestly I think our best option is Rios but i have no problem with Teahen the way he's playing right now.

[hogan873]

I was listening to the post-game show with Rongey yesterday, and a caller suggested Rios to lead-off and said many of the same things we discuss here. I was wondering if it was a SoxTalk poster.

[jeffro2525]

If Rios were to lead off I just think that the middle of the order would be gutted a bit too much. Potential order with Rios leading off.

 

1. Rios

2. Becks

3. Jones

4. Paulie

5. Quentin

6. AJ??

7. Alexei??

8. Teahan

9. Pierre

 

The mid-bottom of that order isn't going to cut it. You have your 6,7 and 9 hitters all having to hit their way on-base since they NEVER walk. It would be hard to sustain rally's...I mean, I understand it's hard now, but we need Rios in that 5-6-7 range.

[bigruss]

If Rios were to lead off I just think that the middle of the order would be gutted a bit too much. Potential order with Rios leading off.

 

1. Rios

2. Becks

3. Jones

4. Paulie

5. Quentin

6. AJ??

7. Alexei??

8. Teahan

9. Pierre

 

The mid-bottom of that order isn't going to cut it. You have your 6,7 and 9 hitters all having to hit their way on-base since they NEVER walk. It would be hard to sustain rally's...I mean, I understand it's hard now, but we need Rios in that 5-6-7 range.

Teahen 8th!??!?!?!?

 

You put him 6th, put AJ 8th and that lineup is looking much better especially when people start to turn it around (maybe we become average, maybe).

[chw42]

Great. He's walked 50 times one season in his career. If Mark Teahen gets the most ABs on your team, the playoffs are not something you realistically think about.

 

Of course he's not going to walk 16% of the time for the rest of the year, but the fact that he's shown patience and has been able to hit so far should qualify him for the leadoff role.