Edmonds and Encarnacion Out for Opening Day?

by truemun12 on Mar 14, 2007 11:18 PM EDT

According to the Post Dispatch it is unlikely that either edmonds or encarnacion will be ready for opening day. i know this means schumaker and probably jrod will be on the opening day roster, but what does this do to our batting lineup? normally duncan would bat second but while those two are out should the cardinals move duncan down in the order batting fifth or sixth?

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/0D7AAA49684950938625729E0065CDDC ?OpenDocument

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This raises an interesting question . . .

With those two out of the line-up who is going to fill in for them and look really bad striking out?

by secretweapon on Mar 15, 2007 11:01 AM EDT reply actions

well there's always

preston wilson. When he looks bad, he looks as bad as anyone.

"God is back in the National League. Matter of fact, he is staying at my house." -Joaquin Andujar

by SleepyCA on Mar 15, 2007 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Lineup Possibility

I would think the vs-RH lineup would look like: Eckstein, Kennedy, Pujols, Rolen, Duncan, Rodriguez, Molina, Schmuaker.

As for the vs-LH lineup: Eckstein, Taguchi, Pujols, Rolen, Spiezio, Wilson, Molina, Kennedy.

Of course, that assumes that David and Adam will be healthy for Opening Day. As for the strikeouts, Preston is an absolute fiend and John isn't a lot better, but the centerfielders should be more contact oriented.

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

by Solanus on Mar 15, 2007 2:59 PM EDT reply actions

You think?

Can you justify taking Duncan from the 2 spot?

He provides protection for Pujols. He gets good pitches to hit hitting before Albert. I think it smart to keep the top of lineup in tact how it will be most of the season... let these guys get into a rythm.

by onebigdummy on Mar 15, 2007 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Conflicting viewpoints

Yeah, I did think through what I was talking about.

There are two main things to consider here. One, as you've already pointed out, Duncan seems to hit much better with Pujols lurking in the shadows. He sees more fastballs and Albert's presence gives Chris more confidence.

The other point is that the Cardinals need a more sustainable offense from top to bottom. With no Edmonds, who do you bat 5th? More importantly, who does LaRussa bat 5th? Rodriguez? Not likely, maybe 6th. Wilson, against RHs? I'm not certain a more sure-fire rally killer has been devised. Molina? Pshaw! Kennedy? Nope. Schumaker or the Gooch? Look again.

The only player who is close to being a logical fit otherwise is Spiezio. But how does he fit into a three-man outfield versus righties? That probably relegates Johnny Rocket to the bench and we don't want that. Plus, Spiezio and the other two can't play center, so you have to work with Wilson, Taguchi or Skip. Also, Scott is versatile enough, offensively and defensively, that LaRussa might be more prone to bringing him off the bench.

Let's skip that discussion and assume that Duncan bats 2nd and the rightfielder, whoever that is, hits 5th. What do you have left at the tail end of the order? Kennedy (6th/8th), Molina (7th), & probably Schumaker (8th) aren't going to get much done back there. Combine that with the pitcher's spot and the ever-scrappy, but production-deficient Eckstein and you're looking at a lot of "not much".

Moving Kennedy to the two-hole fills the LH-bat requirement and provides a decent OBP, while helping to unclog the mess in the back half of the order. Duncan can provide the protection that Rolen needs (and LaRussa will trust him there). It will also give Chris opportunity to learn how to handle breaking pitches, because he'll see a steady diet farther down the lineup. It's a bit of a sink-or-swim strategy, but it might help his development in the long run.

Obviouly, I'd rather have Edmonds ready to go Day One, making all of this moot. Regardless, the hope here is that this will only be necessary for a few weeks, until Jimmy is ready to wow us once again.

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

by Solanus on Mar 16, 2007 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

lineup

vs rh

eck ss
duncan lf
pujols 1b
rolen 3b
spez rf
wilson /schumaker cf
molina c
ak 2b

SWH

by BRINGBACKWILSON on Mar 15, 2007 9:39 PM EDT reply actions

Dunc not at the 2

Solanus - I was thinking a little bit about this the other day and I see where you are comin from. But what if you were to but C.Dunc in the 4 hole and Rolen in the 5. That adds protection for Dunc (Rolen over JRod) which cuts down on breaking balls, his power is gonna scare people too much to just outright walk "5", and the 3-4-5 you have that nice R-L-R which will be nice come late innings.

ss Eck
2b Kennedy
1b 5
lf Dunc
3b Rolen
rf JRod
c Yadi
cf Skip
<pitcher>

this of course only against righties (Dunc and JRod sit agianst South Paws)

by Stan and Slaughter on Mar 16, 2007 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

I see your point, Stan and Slaughter

Batting Duncan cleanup gives LaRussa the magic R-L-R-L order he loves. It provides Duncan protection to let him see more fastballs. And I would agree that this is probably the optimal usage for the lineup.

But I'm not sure LaRussa has enough trust in Chris to do the job. We don't know if he is going to live up to the half-season hype. And there is the matter of Rolen possibly perceiving such a move as a slight against him, especially considering the rift (real or perceived) between him and TLR.

Good call on that. I hadn't run that idea through its paces.

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

by Solanus on Mar 16, 2007 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Lineup

In a piece today about Adam Kennedy:

[Adam Kennedy] will be promoted, sort of, to eighth in the Cardinals' lineup this season, because La Russa feels slow-running catcher Yadier Molina, who is difficult to bunt over, needs to hit seventh. La Russa also feels Kennedy has the discipline to hit ahead of the pitcher.

I liked the lineup with batting Molina 7th early on last season, here's hoping he starts out hitting well enough to stick there. The opening day lineup could look something like this, with the possible batters in parenthesis:

Eckstein
(Duncan LF)
Pujols
(Rolen)
(Spiezio/Wilson RF)
(Wilson/Taguchi/Schumaker CF)
Molina
Kennedy
Pitcher

I'd prefer Dunc in right with Encarnacion out, since he's got a stronger arm than he gets credit for, but La Russa has said that he wants to keep him in left to improve his defensive consistency.