David Wright batting second...

[Guest GYC]

Are you for it or against it?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

It's not really about where Wright hits but which of the 8 asshats we send out there every night is best to hit 2nd. I have little trouble with it if that's the way we go. Wright hits better than LoDuca, Alou is more or less comparable to Wright, LoDuca improves upon Matsui/Valentin... it's not a bad option.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I'm positive he could do it and be great at it. I just don't want him to get too unselfish and change his approach.

This is the first of the Mets I've seen this year, so I'm probably worried tonight over nothing.

[Theoldmole]

66% - brought about by my vote -- would be more imoressive if there were more than three votes.

[Frayed Knot]

I'd like to see him hit 2nd - not because I think where he hits will affect how he hits but because him hitting there is better for the lineup as a whole than LoDuca hitting there.
Simply put, he runs better, hits w/better pop, and will make fewer outs.

[Guest patona314]

too many k's for the 2 hole. reyes will cover his butt if he stays healthy. but, if anything happens to mr. reyes ..............

[Guest iramets]

Shoulda been done years ago, so as to get him an extra 54 ABs per season, which ain't nothing, so I'm okay that WWSB is thinking (!?) about it in order to teach David something about not swinging for the fences all the time or some damn thing. I mean, if it was such a good idea in itself, why didn't it occur to WIllie sooner?

Answer: lineup selection doesn't really matter that much, give or take 54 ABs for one of the best hitters in the league, so it's one of those areas that wwsb can mess up all he likes and not get any blame for it.

[Frayed Knot]

patona314 wrote: too many k's for the 2 hole. reyes will cover his butt if he stays healthy. but, if anything happens to mr. reyes ..............

If something happens to Reyes the offense is going to take a hit no matter who's hitting 2nd ... or 3rd, or 4th, or 5th for that matter.
The number of Ks don't bother me. I'll take those in exchange for more hits & more Xtra base hits anytime.

[RealityChuck]

Nothing wrong with him batting 2nd from time to time. I don't necessarily think a player has to be pigeonholed into a particular lineup spot, especially since it doesn't appear to make all that much difference (if sabermetrics are to be believed, of course).

[HahnSolo]

This may have been discussed ad nauseum last year, but why not Beltran 2 and Wright 3?

[Frayed Knot]

You could, but the 3 & 4 spots are usually reserved for the better power hitters and Beltran is coming off a 40+ HR season while Wright was in the mid-20s somewhere.

And if that's not enough there's always the real reason where "honor" of the #3 slot goes to the established vet, higher paid *star* type.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I like the move. Wright has a pretty good OBP, runs pretty well, and has power to all fields. Other than the tendency to strike out 100+ times a season, Wright is very well suited for the second spot in the line up.

Wright is also well suited for the third spot also, but I prefer Beltran's power in that spot.

The combination of Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado is a first inning that no one will look forward to facing.

[Vic Sage]

oh wow what a great idea, Willie...
too bad we haven't been asking you to do it for over a year now!

what about Milledge, by the way? If he makes it into a RF platoon, or takes over the position outright, i could see him batting 2nd, with Loduca 8th. And Delgado and Wright can be flipflopped in the 4/5 slots, to keep a good L/R balance.

Reyes**
Milledge
Beltran**
Wright
Delgado*
Alou
Valentin*
Loduca

[Guest vtmet]

The way that I figure it: you want your 5 most productive hitters batting in the top 5 slots in the order...When I state "most productive", I don't mean just batting average; I mean run production and working a pitcher...Reyes/Delgado are in their most obvious positions at leadoff/cleanup...Wright/Beltran are multi-talented in regards to driving in runs; scoring runs; running the bases; OBP; pitches per at bat; etc...Alou, while older is still one of the most dangerous middle of the order bats in the NL....If Wright doesn't bat 2nd; then that means that when both Alou/Wright are playing then one of the best "meat of the order" bats is batting 6th (which IMO is a waste)...Yes, sLowDuca has some great #2 hitter traits, but he also has some weaknesses with being in that position: he doesn't drive in runs; he doesn't walk; he doesn't see a lot of pitches; and he scored more often in a bar than he does on the diamond...

When Alou plays:
1) Reyes;
2) Wright;
3) Beltran;
4) Delgado;
5) Alou;
6) RF;
7) Catcher;
8) 2B;

When Alou doesn't play:
1) Reyes;
2) Chavez;
3) Beltran;
4) Delgado;
5) Wright;
6) RF;
7) Catcher;
8) 2B;

Part of the reason that I like dropping LoDuca to 7th is that the lineup doesn't get rearranged too much when Castro subs...and Valentin/Easley 8th because if they get on base, the pitcher bunts them to 2nd and they have enough speed to score from 2nd on a single...

[nymr83]

i wouldnt be quick to bat Chavez 2nd

[metirish]

For his career batting second Endy has 405 AB's with a .272 AVG and a OBP of .323 with 38 K's....he has hit first in the order the most with 761 AB's for a lower AVG and OBP.

[Guest vtmet]

With Chavez, I'm hoping that the Endy prior to last season was a fluke and last year was the real Endy...I like the idea of a couple of fast guys batting 1st/2nd with Reyes/Endy akin to Dykstra/Backman...Was Backman a great player? No, but used as a LH platoon sandwiched between Dykstra/Keith he was ideal...