Why?!

[gtcway]

I'm not usually one to bash the manager, but looking at the lineup in the boxscore at espn.com, why o why is the batter with the highest batting average, by far, the second highest OBP and the second highest slugging percentage hitting 8th in the lineup?

Can someone explain that to me?

Sure, he's not historically one of the best hitters, and I'm not saying have him hit 3rd or 4th in the lineup, but come on, 8th!!!

[weso1]

I'm guessing it's because of his lack of speed/baserunning ability. Fredi was stubborn about leading off Bonifacio when he was with Florida when Bonifacio was a pretty horrible hitter.

[stpeteirish]

Simmons is a terrible leadoff hitter. Think CJ would be even worse. No walks, can't bunt, no speed, and isn't going to hit .333 all year.

With Schafer hurt we ain't got one. I'd give Reed Johnson a shot, benching that POS BJ.

[ChapelHillMatt]

How would he be worse? He's been hitting over 300 all year. People keep saying he's going to fall off and he just keeps hitting.

[zitothebrave]

Lineup should be

Jason
Justin
Freddie
Mac
Uggla
Johnson
Simmons
Pitcher
Bossman

[Dalyn]

How would he be worse? He's been hitting over 300 all year. People keep saying he's going to fall off and he just keeps hitting.

Yep. Much better option than Simmons. Of course, just about anyone is.

[Dalyn]

Lineup should be

Jason
Justin
Freddie
Mac
Uggla
Johnson
Simmons
Pitcher
Bossman



I would switch Justin and Uggla (and Mac and Justin), but that is a damn good lineup.

[zitothebrave]

I would'nt bat Johnson leadoff because he would clog up Heyward would rather have him at 2 and Heyward 1 if we're insistent on Freddi and Justin in the 3 and 4 spot.

[zitothebrave]

I would switch Justin and Uggla (and Mac and Justin), but that is a damn good lineup.

I'm not a reactionary. I want our best hitters hitting 1-4 and those are our best.

[weso1]

In 2009 Emilio Bonifacio batted either 1st or 2nd in the lineup in nearly every game he started. That year he finished the season with a .611 OPS. Guess who the manager was? Good ole Fredi.

You know why he hit him that high in the order? Because of his speed. This is why Simmons is batting 1st. Because Fredi believes that a somewhat speedy guy who doesn't K as much, can get a bunt down and has relatively little power should be batting at the top of the lineup. It doesn't matter how good of a hitter he currently is. It doesn't make any sense, but it's ingrained into the mind of Fredi.

[The Chosen One]

I still wish for the day when Heyward is hitting 3rd... as he was the groomed #3 hitter successor to Chipper.

[Bdawg2309]

I still wish for the day when Heyward is hitting 3rd... as he was the groomed #3 hitter successor to Chipper.
until freeman came along

[Frek21]

The lineup I would go with is

Heyward
Johnson
Freeman
Justin
Mac
Uggla
BJ
Simmons

[AUTiger7222]

Until Justin Upton gets his power back (if that ever happens) he needs to be the lead off hitter. Simmons has fared far better batting 2nd, 7th and 8th in his career while doing terrible in the lead off spot. Although it's small sample sizes it's all we have to go on at this point. Must be something about that spot that just causes him some mental issues. Here's what I would do right now, and no, I don't care about having lefties and righties bunched together. The Braves won the World Series in 1995 with Fred McGriff, David Justice and Ryan Klesko hitting 4th, 5th and 6th with them all being left-handed hitters.

1. Justin Upton
2. Andrelton Simmons
3. Jason Heyward
4. Freddie Freeman
5. Brian McCann
6. Chris Johnson
7. Dan Uggla
8. PITCHER
9. B.J. Upton (If he must play)

And yes I am dead serious about hitting the pitcher 8th. What harm would it cause? It might actually work. If Tony LaRussa was smart enough to do it for a while then it's got to make at least some sense. It's far from a perfect lineup but I believe it would work out better than the lineup Fredi is currently using.

[Dalyn]

Simmons shouldn't be near the top of the order. Period. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is Fredi's last year managing the Braves.

[Runnin]

Fredi is trying to force Simmons into raising his hitting enough to fit the position. It's not working.

[BlackwaterPark]

Looks good to me!


The lineup I would go with is

Heyward
Johnson
Freeman
Justin
Mac
Uggla
BJ
Simmons

[57Brave]

Does anyone know what their record is with Simmons hitting in the 1 ?

My guess is he is looking for after 1st inning flow where it goes from Johnson to PH to Simmons Heyward etc. Where speed and baserunning actually do play a role For numbers people Bill James did an in depth article in his 1988 Baseball abstract that better defines this school of thought.

Otherwise, if it aint broke, dont fix is another school of thought

[gtcway]

I know Johnson doesn't run well and doesn't walk, but he's been hitting for almost half the season. Until he shows signs of slowing down drastically he needs to get more at bats and more meaningful at bats.
Freddi didn't have a problem batting bossman 8th when he was the worst hitter so it can't be about hurting a player's feelings.
What good is speed if he's rarely on base? Only bossman has a worse OBP than Simmons.

[zitothebrave]

If I was building a more traditional lineup. It should be

Heyward
Johnson
Freddie
Justin
Mac
Uggla
Simmons
Bossman

[NinersSBChamps]

This might be the only thing we all agree on. Simmons should not be batting lead off. This is a first in message board history.

[AUTiger7222]

Does anyone know what their record is with Simmons hitting in the 1 ?

My guess is he is looking for after 1st inning flow where it goes from Johnson to PH to Simmons Heyward etc. Where speed and baserunning actually do play a role For numbers people Bill James did an in depth article in his 1988 Baseball abstract that better defines this school of thought.

Otherwise, if it aint broke, dont fix is another school of thought

Giving Simmons the most at-bats on the team is stupid. Period. Simmons sucks batting 1st. But he's done much better batting in the other spots in the lineup. I know it's small samples but it's all we have to go on and there's a pretty big difference in the other spots from the lead off spot. I think he probably puts too much pressure on himself in the lead off spot.

1st - .233/.266/.329 (.594) - 223 PA
2nd - .313/.328/.391 (.719) - 68 PA
7th - .273/.365/.436 (.801) - 63 PA
8th - .290/.338/.406 (.744) - 151 PA

I'm willing to try Simmons in the 2nd spot for an extended look. Right now Justin doesn't need to be hitting in an RBI spot because he's not hitting for power. He would be better served of getting on base in front of Heyward, Freeman and McCann who are hitting for power.