Reilly
02-28-2005, 02:03 AM
TEMPE, Ariz. -- A great baseball lineup, like an ensemble acting cast, is a mix of disparate parts that mesh into a seamless and efficient whole. Jeff Goldblum was every bit as integral to "The Big Chill" as William Hurt, and "Cheers" wouldn't have been "Cheers" without Cliff Clavin and his white cotton socks and cheesy Boston accent.
In baseball, as in Hollywood, typecasting abounds. The leadoff man, we're told, should be a pesky, Brett Butler type who reaches base at a .400 clip and lives to annoy pitchers by dancing off the bag. The No. 2 man should be selfless enough to work a count and strong enough to drive the ball into the gap. A team's best all-around hitter and resident OPS machine bats third, and the cleanup hitter should have Ted Kluszewski forearms and make opposing pitchers quake as he knocks the dirt clods from his spikes.
And so it goes, all the way through the No. 9 spot in the order.
But unless you're Bob Howsam assembling the Big Red Machine teams in the 1970s, prototypes aren't so easy to find. Most general managers figure it's their job to do the best they can to approximate the ideal within the framework of a budget, then rely on the manager to make the pieces fit.
"If you're looking for a leadoff hitter, you can't just pick up the phone and call Florida and ask if they'll talk to you about Juan Pierre (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6550)," said Bill Stoneman, general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. "You can't construct a lineup the same way rotisserie guys construct it. The reality is that business isn't done that easily."
In Tempe, spring training home of the Angels, Stoneman has assembled a pretty fair collection of hitters for the 2005 season. Now it falls to manager Mike Scioscia to tap their scoring potential to the utmost. As Scioscia knows from experience, things don't always work out according to plan.
Last year, because of a scary run of injuries, Scioscia's projected lineup was on the field for one game all season -- against Oakland and Mark Mulder (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6393) on April 17. The Anaheim manager used 15 players in the No. 7 spot in the order and 14 designated hitters (including Adam Riggs (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5876), Shane Halter (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5790) and Josh Paul (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6354)).
Now, as the Angels try to follow up on their first division title in 18 years, they're hoping the holdovers stay healthy and the new acquisitions are more productive than the guys they replaced. Troy Glaus (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6063), David Eckstein (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6688), Tim Salmon (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4918) and Jose Guillen (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5753) are gone, and if the season began today, Scioscia's lineup card would probably look like this:
1. Chone Figgins (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6986), 2B
2. Darin Erstad (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5634), 1B
3. Vladimir Guerrero (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5737), RF
4. Garret Anderson (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5289), LF
5. Steve Finley (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4307), CF
6. Orlando Cabrera (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5900), SS
7. Dallas McPherson (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7353), 3B
8. Bengie Molina (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6026), C
9. Robb Quinlan (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7192)/Juan Rivera (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6805)/Jeff DaVanon (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6355), DH
While Guerrero and Anderson are immovable cogs in the machine, some of Scioscia's options will change on a nightly basis. Depending on the pitcher, he might bat Erstad leadoff instead of second. Against a tough lefty, he might bump Cabrera up to the No. 2 spot. If the Angels are facing a righty starter and the opposing team is thin on lefties in the bullpen, Scioscia could "stack" three lefties in succession. And when Adam Kennedy (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6318) returns from a knee injury in May, there'll be someone else to throw in the mix.
When Scioscia contemplates lineup options, he talks about "groupings" of players. The "table setters" are in the 1, 2 and 9 spots. Guerrero is the quintessential "swing" guy, capable of getting on base with regularity and clearing the bases with his power. Since he has a .390 career on-base percentage, compared to Anderson's .329, it's logical that Anderson should bat behind him to protect him and collect RBI opportunities.
The arrival of Finley and McPherson pretty much assures the Angels will surpass their 2004 total of 162 homers, which ranked 10th in the American League. Anaheim also ranked 13th in doubles, but still finished seventh in the league with 836 runs scored.
"One thing you can't necessarily force is walks," Scioscia said. Last year, the Angels led the AL in batting average, drew the fewest walks and finished sixth in the league with a .341 on-base percentage.
The twist is, they only struck out 942 times -- fewest in the league. Hitting coach Mickey Hatcher thinks the Angels reduce their whiffs because they're always a threat to put runners in motion, so they see more fastballs than a lot of clubs. At the same time, they create holes by forcing infielders to be on the move. As Scioscia puts it, "Offense isn't just what happens in the batter's box."
The Angels are both aggressive and smart on the bases. They led the league in steals last year and ranked second to Tampa Bay with a success ratio of 75.6 percent. Anaheim baserunners also advanced from first-to-third on a single 99 times. Among major-league teams, only Colorado did it more often. And that's only because the outfield at Coors Field is so spacious.
In one respect, Anaheim's offensive approach flies in the face of conventional wisdom. The Yankees and A's, among other clubs, have emphasized working deep into counts from 1-9. If one hitter after another executes that approach, the thinking goes, you can force the opposing starter to run up a big pitch count and get into a bullpen early.
Anaheim's hitters have wide-ranging approaches. While Figgins, Finley, Kennedy and Erstad are comfortable hitting with two strikes, Guerrero and Anderson come from the grip-it-and-rip-it school of offense. Guerrero, the American League MVP, saw an average of 3.17 pitches per plate appearance last season. A.J. Pierzynski (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6109) was the only big-league hitter who saw fewer.
"I got cards and letters the first month from people saying, 'You've got to make this guy take more pitches,'" said Hatcher. "But I knew Vlady. You just have to let him go, and he'll be dangerous. I read the letters and I kicked back, and sure enough people were writing a month later saying, 'Just let him go up and hit. Don't touch him. Don't mess with him.'"
At the start of each season Scioscia likes to remind his hitters that there's a time for unselfishness in the batter's box. "If you're not willing to give up a certain number of at-bats for the team, you don't belong here," he tells them.
No one personifies that mindset more than Darin Erstad. He's routinely savaged on statistically-oriented message boards -- intangible free zones -- because his offensive production is substandard for a first baseman. But Erstad's teammates love him because he plays hurt, saves the infielders a ton of errors with his glove work and doesn't have a trace of ego. The next time he bellyaches about where he hits in the order will be the first.
"I suppose five years ago I would have liked to know where I'm going to hit," Erstad said. "Now I've moved around enough that it doesn't matter. I can adjust to wherever I am." Stability is nice, but in the end it all comes down to putting runs on the board. Mike Scioscia, like 29 other managers, has been handed his ensemble cast. Let the production begin.
In baseball, as in Hollywood, typecasting abounds. The leadoff man, we're told, should be a pesky, Brett Butler type who reaches base at a .400 clip and lives to annoy pitchers by dancing off the bag. The No. 2 man should be selfless enough to work a count and strong enough to drive the ball into the gap. A team's best all-around hitter and resident OPS machine bats third, and the cleanup hitter should have Ted Kluszewski forearms and make opposing pitchers quake as he knocks the dirt clods from his spikes.
And so it goes, all the way through the No. 9 spot in the order.
But unless you're Bob Howsam assembling the Big Red Machine teams in the 1970s, prototypes aren't so easy to find. Most general managers figure it's their job to do the best they can to approximate the ideal within the framework of a budget, then rely on the manager to make the pieces fit.
"If you're looking for a leadoff hitter, you can't just pick up the phone and call Florida and ask if they'll talk to you about Juan Pierre (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6550)," said Bill Stoneman, general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. "You can't construct a lineup the same way rotisserie guys construct it. The reality is that business isn't done that easily."
In Tempe, spring training home of the Angels, Stoneman has assembled a pretty fair collection of hitters for the 2005 season. Now it falls to manager Mike Scioscia to tap their scoring potential to the utmost. As Scioscia knows from experience, things don't always work out according to plan.
Last year, because of a scary run of injuries, Scioscia's projected lineup was on the field for one game all season -- against Oakland and Mark Mulder (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6393) on April 17. The Anaheim manager used 15 players in the No. 7 spot in the order and 14 designated hitters (including Adam Riggs (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5876), Shane Halter (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5790) and Josh Paul (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6354)).
Now, as the Angels try to follow up on their first division title in 18 years, they're hoping the holdovers stay healthy and the new acquisitions are more productive than the guys they replaced. Troy Glaus (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6063), David Eckstein (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6688), Tim Salmon (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4918) and Jose Guillen (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5753) are gone, and if the season began today, Scioscia's lineup card would probably look like this:
1. Chone Figgins (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6986), 2B
2. Darin Erstad (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5634), 1B
3. Vladimir Guerrero (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5737), RF
4. Garret Anderson (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5289), LF
5. Steve Finley (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4307), CF
6. Orlando Cabrera (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5900), SS
7. Dallas McPherson (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7353), 3B
8. Bengie Molina (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6026), C
9. Robb Quinlan (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7192)/Juan Rivera (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6805)/Jeff DaVanon (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6355), DH
While Guerrero and Anderson are immovable cogs in the machine, some of Scioscia's options will change on a nightly basis. Depending on the pitcher, he might bat Erstad leadoff instead of second. Against a tough lefty, he might bump Cabrera up to the No. 2 spot. If the Angels are facing a righty starter and the opposing team is thin on lefties in the bullpen, Scioscia could "stack" three lefties in succession. And when Adam Kennedy (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6318) returns from a knee injury in May, there'll be someone else to throw in the mix.
When Scioscia contemplates lineup options, he talks about "groupings" of players. The "table setters" are in the 1, 2 and 9 spots. Guerrero is the quintessential "swing" guy, capable of getting on base with regularity and clearing the bases with his power. Since he has a .390 career on-base percentage, compared to Anderson's .329, it's logical that Anderson should bat behind him to protect him and collect RBI opportunities.
The arrival of Finley and McPherson pretty much assures the Angels will surpass their 2004 total of 162 homers, which ranked 10th in the American League. Anaheim also ranked 13th in doubles, but still finished seventh in the league with 836 runs scored.
"One thing you can't necessarily force is walks," Scioscia said. Last year, the Angels led the AL in batting average, drew the fewest walks and finished sixth in the league with a .341 on-base percentage.
The twist is, they only struck out 942 times -- fewest in the league. Hitting coach Mickey Hatcher thinks the Angels reduce their whiffs because they're always a threat to put runners in motion, so they see more fastballs than a lot of clubs. At the same time, they create holes by forcing infielders to be on the move. As Scioscia puts it, "Offense isn't just what happens in the batter's box."
The Angels are both aggressive and smart on the bases. They led the league in steals last year and ranked second to Tampa Bay with a success ratio of 75.6 percent. Anaheim baserunners also advanced from first-to-third on a single 99 times. Among major-league teams, only Colorado did it more often. And that's only because the outfield at Coors Field is so spacious.
In one respect, Anaheim's offensive approach flies in the face of conventional wisdom. The Yankees and A's, among other clubs, have emphasized working deep into counts from 1-9. If one hitter after another executes that approach, the thinking goes, you can force the opposing starter to run up a big pitch count and get into a bullpen early.
Anaheim's hitters have wide-ranging approaches. While Figgins, Finley, Kennedy and Erstad are comfortable hitting with two strikes, Guerrero and Anderson come from the grip-it-and-rip-it school of offense. Guerrero, the American League MVP, saw an average of 3.17 pitches per plate appearance last season. A.J. Pierzynski (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6109) was the only big-league hitter who saw fewer.
"I got cards and letters the first month from people saying, 'You've got to make this guy take more pitches,'" said Hatcher. "But I knew Vlady. You just have to let him go, and he'll be dangerous. I read the letters and I kicked back, and sure enough people were writing a month later saying, 'Just let him go up and hit. Don't touch him. Don't mess with him.'"
At the start of each season Scioscia likes to remind his hitters that there's a time for unselfishness in the batter's box. "If you're not willing to give up a certain number of at-bats for the team, you don't belong here," he tells them.
No one personifies that mindset more than Darin Erstad. He's routinely savaged on statistically-oriented message boards -- intangible free zones -- because his offensive production is substandard for a first baseman. But Erstad's teammates love him because he plays hurt, saves the infielders a ton of errors with his glove work and doesn't have a trace of ego. The next time he bellyaches about where he hits in the order will be the first.
"I suppose five years ago I would have liked to know where I'm going to hit," Erstad said. "Now I've moved around enough that it doesn't matter. I can adjust to wherever I am." Stability is nice, but in the end it all comes down to putting runs on the board. Mike Scioscia, like 29 other managers, has been handed his ensemble cast. Let the production begin.