Baseball - make your lineup and defend it

[Irondawg]

vs. righty and lefties if you want but I'm just saying let's go with this most nights and if you want to mix in Robinson and Vickerson some that's fine. And collins will obviously need to not catch every game.

1)Robson (CF) - If you want to play small ball and have speed change the game - he's at the top and he runs a lot
2)Brown (LF) - good batting eye, has some decent speed and
3)Collins (C) - he's our best overall hitter
4)Humphreys (1B) - Our best HR threat and the move to 1B shouldn't be that bad since he's an INF by trait
5)Rooker (DH) - time to see if he can provide a power threat with more AB. He can't be worse than Wes
6)Holland (2B)- seems to be coming around
7)gridley (SS) - struggled lately, but I'll keep him at SS for the experience
8)Swinarski (RF) - he's either good or he's not - let's find out
9)Heck (3B) - I could make a case for just benching him as well, but let's keep the glove in there at 3B

We can't be worse and at this point I don't mind benching Rea b/c I think Hump can adequately replace his glove. Maybe i'm wrong there. the only other guys who should get AB's are vickerson, Robinson, Rea.

But it's time to see if a few of these young guys have anything in the tank or not.

[msstate7]

Brown
Gridley (ss)
Collins
Hump (dh)
Holland
Rea
Heck (3b)
Smith/Vick
Robson

If we're gonna bunt with the 2-hole every time, might as well put one of our weaker hitters there.

[RossDawg82]

The youngest players on our team or anyone that is hungry enough to want to play hard and win is the line up I go with.

[Bothrops]

Rea needs to be in the lineup and on 1B period.

[Irondawg]

Rea needs to be in the lineup and on 1B period.

Why? He hit .209 in conference last year and is well below that this year. When you are winning 3-2 you can make the argument that the defense is worth it. When you are losing, that argument doesn't hold much merit. I love the guy but we've got to find a way to score more runs right now.

[bulldogcountry1]

1. Robson CF
2. Brown RF
3. Collins C
4. Humphreys 1B
5. Walker DH
6. Holland 2B
7. Vickerson LF
8. Gridley SS
9. Heck 3B


I don't know where Humphreys is projected to play in the future, but he needs to be there. Rooker hasn't done anything since February, and I would like to give Cody Walker some ABs in the DH spot. He's stocky and has a better chance to run into one than any of the other random JUCOs.

I don't think it matters, really. We are at the point where we need a spectacular pitching performance to even have a chance.

[JohnnyQuid]

robson
Vick
collins
hump(dh)
brown
rea
Holland
gridley
heck

[confucius say]

Robson - gets on base
Brown - handles bat well and high average. Hit and run more instead of bunting or just straight steal with robson.
Collins
Hump
Rea - saves at least an error a game bc he is best defensive first baseman in league by far
Gridley (ss)
Holland
Heck
Vickerson/smith - both can run and you get a double lead-off

Pinch hit with rooker if you need a bomb, Reynolds if you need base runners (walks a ton).

Oh, and did swinarski quit or smn?

[Bothrops]

Why? He hit .209 in conference last year and is well below that this year. When you are winning 3-2 you can make the argument that the defense is worth it. When you are losing, that argument doesn't hold much merit. I love the guy but we've got to find a way to score more runs right now.

He's one of our better clutch hitters and has the power to reach deep into the outfield. On a hot day, he can hr at DNF. He's also our best first baseman. Wasn't he the reason we beat Auburn on Sunday? At least part of the reason.

[msstate7]

He's one of our better clutch hitters and has the power to reach deep into the outfield. On a hot day, he can hr at DNF. He's also our best first baseman. Wasn't he the reason we beat Auburn on Sunday? At least part of the reason.

One of the reasons. I'd say Tatum and fitts played a bigger part

[Bothrops]

I thought he hit a stand up rbi double in that game. Guess I'm thinking of another game.

[msstate7]

I thought he hit a stand up rbi double in that game. Guess I'm thinking of another game.

He did. We scored 3 runs total though so I think pitching was what won it

[Bothrops]

Wes made his contribution for the win, and I'm making mine against Irondawg's argument that he should be benched.

[msstate7]

Wes made his contribution for the win, and I'm making mine against Irondawg's argument that he should be benched.

Yeah he did. I'd play Wes too. If we continue to lose though, I'd be tempted to play hump at 1st if that's where we want him next season

[Bothrops]

Hump is another obligatory guy in our hitting lineup. He's a slugger.

[tcdog70]

Wes made his contribution for the win, and I'm making mine against Irondawg's argument that he should be benched.

Anybody that would bench Wes really doesn't understand baseball. He leads the SEC in walks, His on base% is high. He is the best fielding 1st baseman in the league.Most of our wins are because Rea played a part in the scoring. And just who are you going to play in His spot? How much better could they be? Third base is where we need somebody and second base isn't much better.

[msstate7]

Anybody that would bench Wes really doesn't understand baseball. He leads the SEC in walks, His on base% is high. He is the best fielding 1st baseman in the league.Most of our wins are because Rea played a part in the scoring. And just who are you going to play in His spot? How much better could they be? Third base is where we need somebody and second base isn't much better.

I think the guys wanting to bench rea are saying play for next season. I guess...

[Irondawg]

Anybody that would bench Wes really doesn't understand baseball. He leads the SEC in walks, His on base% is high. He is the best fielding 1st baseman in the league.Most of our wins are because Rea played a part in the scoring. And just who are you going to play in His spot? How much better could they be? Third base is where we need somebody and second base isn't much better.

I'm simply having the debate. It's really Rooker vs. Rea and to me Rooker doesn't have the sample size to determine him as a hitter vs. Rea. Sure Rea has a high OB% and that's nice, but he simply can't hit SEC pitching consistently. Having our 1B drawing some walks isn't really helping the offensive output a ton.

He is the best defensive first baseman in the SEC, that is without question and i as said if you are playing a lot of tight games the defense is magnified, but we're not. i think it's hard to evaluate the defensive impact. We have to find a way to either reduce runs substantially or score more runs. I'm admitting i don't know what we have in Rooker, but I feel Hump being a SS/3B by trait would also be an above average defensive 1B and Rooker at least has some potential to be a better run producer in the lineup.

I can't say for sure either way is right, but I fail to see how it at least can't be an argument worth having.

Same thing for playing Swin. some too. What do we have in these guys, so yeah part of it is play for next season, especially if we don't find a way to right the ship this weekend.

[BankerDog]

1) Robson-CF
2) Brown-RF
3) Collins-C
4) Hump- 1B
5) Gordon- DH
6) Rooker- LF
7) Holland- 2B
8) Heck- SS
9) Britton- 3B

Off the bench:
Vickerson
Gridley
Smith
Walker

Britton had knee surgery during the fall and Cohen has refused to play him until Kentucky. We saw what he did then. Knee flared up again the next day, didn't play. If he is healthy he should be in the lineup

I never wanna hear about Spurill, Waddell, or Swinarski again. I've seen enough practices of Swinarski to know he can't hit anything. Another overrated guy. He might be worse then Bunky K under Polk.

[JohnnyQuid]

Anybody that would bench Wes really doesn't understand baseball. He leads the SEC in walks, His on base% is high. He is the best fielding 1st baseman in the league.Most of our wins are because Rea played a part in the scoring. And just who are you going to play in His spot? How much better could they be? Third base is where we need somebody and second base isn't much better.

Had people arguing with me in the Saturday auburn thread who were fine with starting Waddell over rea. Blew my ****ing mind. I went and looked and he leads the team in walks and over .500 obp. Has he struggled some? Yea but pretty much can be said for anyone on the team at this point. Like you, I just don't get the rea hate.

[smootness]

Who cares - CF
Who cares - SS
Who cares - 3B
Who cares - DH
Who cares - C
Who cares - 1B
Who cares - RF
Who cares - LF
Who cares - 2B

My defense of this is that we're terrible and probably not going to get far better. One thing is for sure, the exact makeup and order of the lineup right now doesn't matter at all.

[Smitty]

Heck - SS
Collins - C
Brown - RF
Hump - DH
Holland - 2B
Vickerson - LF
Rea - 1B
Robson - CF
Gridley - 3B

[msstate7]

Heck - SS
Collins - C
Brown - RF
Hump - DH
Holland - 2B
Vickerson - LF
Rea - 1B
Robson - CF
Gridley - 3B

If you put Collins in the 2-hole, he'll be bunting

[Irondawg]

1) Robson-CF
2) Brown-RF
3) Collins-C
4) Hump- 1B
5) Gordon- DH
6) Rooker- LF
7) Holland- 2B
8) Heck- SS
9) Britton- 3B

Off the bench:
Vickerson
Gridley
Smith
Walker

Britton had knew surgery during the fall and Cohen has refused to play him until Kentucky. We saw what he did then. Knew flared up again the next day, didn't play. If he is healthy he should be in the lineup

I never wanna hear about Spurill, Waddell, or Swinarski again. I've seen enough practices of Swinarski to know he can't hit anything. Another overrated guy. He might be worse then Bunky K under Polk.

Good info on swinarski. What's your take on Rooker?

[BankerDog]

I like Rooker's potential. You have to remember this is his first live, in-game action he has seen since high school. He is going to have his growing pains, but he will be okay. He has showed a lot of power potential in practice. It doesn't help that Cohen changes the line-up every game and does not let guys get into rhythms on the field. It also doesn't help that he loves to bunt. He needs to stop letting Butch recruit these dual guys, then try to keep them as pitchers (Cole Gordon for example). Also since I am on it, the new coach Dillon is the hitting coach, that's why the player's are on 1st coaching. But it is still Cohen calling these bunts.

[Todd4State]

I like Rooker's potential. You have to remember this is his first live, in-game action he has seen since high school. He is going to have his growing pains, but he will be okay. He has showed a lot of power potential in practice. It doesn't help that Cohen changes the line-up every game and does not let guys get into rhythms on the field. It also doesn't help that he loves to bunt. He needs to stop letting Butch recruit these dual guys, then try to keep them as pitchers (Cole Gordon for example). Also since I am on it, the new coach Dillon is the hitting coach, that's why the player's are on 1st coaching. But it is still Cohen calling these bunts.

Totally agree with you on Rooker. He's going to have a good career for us. He represented Tennessee in the National Power Showcase, and to me he's the front runner to replace Rea next year. He has enough speed and athleticism to play the OF as well. I agree with you about Gordon as well.

[Todd4State]

1) Robson-CF
2) Brown-RF
3) Collins-C
4) Hump- 1B
5) Gordon- DH
6) Rooker- LF
7) Holland- 2B
8) Heck- SS
9) Britton- 3B

Off the bench:
Vickerson
Gridley
Smith
Walker

Britton had knee surgery during the fall and Cohen has refused to play him until Kentucky. We saw what he did then. Knee flared up again the next day, didn't play. If he is healthy he should be in the lineup

I never wanna hear about Spurill, Waddell, or Swinarski again. I've seen enough practices of Swinarski to know he can't hit anything. Another overrated guy. He might be worse then Bunky K under Polk.

I think Swinarski made a mistake skipping his senior year in high school. He does have a BIG hole in his swing. He has also had some concussions and things like that which have stunted his development. Swinarski may very well be a bust- and odds are good that is what will happen. But it's too soon to give up on him IMO.

[tcdog70]

Had people arguing with me in the Saturday auburn thread who were fine with starting Waddell over rea. Blew my ****ing mind. I went and looked and he leads the team in walks and over .500 obp. Has he struggled some? Yea but pretty much can be said for anyone on the team at this point. Like you, I just don't get the rea hate.


I'll bet our SS and third basemen want Rea over at first.