Lineup construction is something that we’ll never tire of arguing over. We didn’t stop arguing about it even into the playoffs. So, I figured I’d get the ball rolling and get us thinking about 2012′s lineup and what it could look like. For the sake of this post, we’ll assume that ‘s 2012 option is picked up (like it should be) and that Jesus Montero is going to be on the team for the entire year (like he should be).
There are obviously a few ways we could go with this. We could go with the “traditional” lineup construction or go with the “optimized” lineup construction. We’ll do one, and then take our crack at the other.
Let’s start with the traditional way against right handed pitchers. Remember, this is what I think the lineup should be, not necessarily what it will be.
1. , LF
2. , CF
3-4-5: Some combination of , , and . Does it really matter that much?
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Jesus Montero, DH
8. , C
9. , SS
As for the lineup against lefty pitchers, that depends on a few things. If the Yankees want to just use Russell Martin at catcher and have Montero DH full time, then nothing really changes, but Jeter goes to the leadoff spot and Gardner goes back down to ninth. You could also toy around with Swisher, Granderson, and Rodriguez a bit since Swisher has been hitting well right handed the last few years and has hit the better (.377 wOBA) than he has lefties (.350 wOBA) in his career while Granderson sees to have figured out his platoon issues, and A-Rod has had a reverse platoon split of late (excuse the run-on).
Trying to optimize the lineup actually gets a little tricky for the Yankees. We can use this as our guide. Hell, we run into a snag at the first spot. Obviously, we want a high OBP guy at the top of the lineup, but which one? Could we go with Swisher? Sure, but he hits enough home runs that he warrants a position lower in the order. The same could be said of Curtis Granderson or Alex Rodriguez. I guess that leaves Brett Gardner, but we’d want to utilize his steals in front of singles hitters lower in the lineup. Let’s bite the bullet, though, and go on pure OBP skill for the first spot. If we do that, it’s Nick Swisher all the way.
Again, though, we’re going to run into a snag. Essentially, you want your three best hitters in the 1, 2, and 4 spots. So, whom are we going to identify as the team’s three best hitters? Nick Swisher may be the best OBP guy on the team, but I don’t think I’d call him one of the three best hitters on the team. But the fact remains that Swisher’s OBP skill is superior to the other players. I think I keep him at number one and go a bit against the Book. Then, I’d have Granderson bat second because he’s also a high OBP guy. Cano can move to cleanup.
Then, we’ve got to decide whom we want batting third and whom we want batting fifth. Our guide tells us that the fifth spot is more important than the third, so who goes there? Is it Alex Rodriguez or is it Mark Teixeira? Maybe here’s where we deal with our first platoon issue. Tex has hit lefties better than A-Rod has and A-Rod has been better against righties. Maybe against LHP, Tex bats fifth and A-Rod third. Against righties, we flip them to Tex third and Rodriguez fifth.
The guide identifies the sixth spot as a good place for a base stealer so he can be on base in front of singles hitters, so we could slot Gardner in here in front of the team’s singles hitters–Rusell Martin and Derek Jeter. However, this would mean Jesus Montero would bat ninth. I don’t love that idea and I’m willing to buck the Book again and put Montero sixth. This way, his power bat gets more plate appearances and we can slot Gardner in at seventh with the singles hitters behind him.
Another complication I didn’t take into account was the idea that Gardner could be platooned in left field, thus necessitating a right handed bat. Until that bat reveals itself, though, I’m going to assume Gardner starts against lefties, Martin gets the day off, Montero catches, and Eduardo Nunez gets some reps at third (I think this is at least reasonably likely). And, let’s not forget that Derek Jeter is much better against lefties than he is against righties, so he, too, could be moved up.
So our semi-optimized lineup…
vs. RHP:
1. Swisher, RF
2. Granderson, CF
3. Teixeira, 1B
4. Cano, 2B
5. Rodriguez, 3B
6. Montero, DH
7. Gardner, LF
8. Jeter, SS
9. Martin, C
vs. LHP
1. Jeter, SS
2. Swisher, RF
3. Granderson, CF
4. Teixeira, 1B
5. Cano, 2B
6. Rodriguez, DH
7. Montero, C
8. Gardner, LF
9. Nunez, 3B
With this lineup, we have the three best hitters against LHP (Jeter, Swisher, Teixeira) in the three most important spots, while Cano and Granderson are still up near the top, with Cano in the more important position. It’s odd to have A-Rod so low, but his struggles vs. lefties haven’t let up. There’s only one singles hitter (who’s probably not that great) in back of Gardner, but I think this lineup wouldn’t necessarily need Gardner’s steals. The 2012 Yankees should destroy LHP.
At the end of all this, what do we know? We know that no matter how you arrange the prospective Yankee lineup, it’s going to freaking mash. There are literally too many ways to organize these 9 players. Regardless of how you do it, you’re probably going to end up with a pretty high scoring team. Isn’t that just awesome?
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Were you drinking when you wrote this? I stopped reading after I saw Jeter 9th and Swish 1st vs. RHP. If you think Girardi is just going to bat Jeter 9th because that’s where you think he’ll help the team, then why not have Arod bat 7th or 8th where he eblongs at this stage of his career. I didn’t think so.
Did you notice Jeter at the top of the lineup against LHP? Did you notice I “penalized” Rodriguez for his recent performance (or lack thereof) against LHP? The logic is laid out.
By putting jeter in the ninth slot, this guy is just trying to be the center of attention
Jason, that may have been one of the best opening lines ever. No need to overhaul the lineup here. Matt, Swisher has proven in the past that he’s no leadoff guy, wasn’t comfortable there. This is not a team in search of a new leadoff hitter. Thanks for the article.
Matt it seems as though some have missed the point of your article… I for one enjoyed it, and it’s fun seeing the optomized lineups.
Assuming we don’t see any real changes with the position players (and I don’t think we will), plus being reasonable about where Jeter will hit I would prefer something more like…
Vs RHP
Gardner
Jeter
Granderson
Cano
Rodriguez
Teixeira
Swisher
Montero
Martin
Vs LHP
Jeter
Granderson
Cano
Teixeira
Rodriguez
Swisher
Montero
Martin
Gardner
Nothing too different from what we did this year. Moving Granderson to the 3 hole against righties gives him more RBI opportunities, and flipping tex and Alex against lefties just makes sense by the numbers.
R u crazy Jeter batting 9. He almost hit .300 this year.
T.O. you said that we missed his point on the article but you have placed Swisher in either the middle 3rd or bottom 3rd of the order as well. Are we in agreement that this is not a team in search of a new leadoff hitter….damn we had 2 productive ones! Swisher is a run producer who belongs somewhere between 6 and 9 in the order. He drove in 85+ runs again and that was with Grandy, Cano and Tex clearing the bases in front of him. Swisher has done that 3 years in a row now. Not easy to do when there is 325-350 RBIs batiing before you doing their job.
It’s an optomized lineup. It’s not a lineup that Matt expects to ever actually hit the field. So in that way yes, I think many have missed the point of this excersie.
Do you really think you have to tell anyone that this is your lineup??
When I saw you put Jeter at 8 or 9 I stopped reading since I could not stop laughing. Get Real!!
SWISHER minus line up is a start..lets make a trade for a legit RFer, big arm and solid glove..boeshe comes in and plays like paul o’niel
So, in three plus years of blogging over the InterTubez, this is definitely the most widely negative response I’ve gotten to an article! Thanks, guys!
What about the possible addition of free agents? Wouldn’t Pujols look good in this line-up. I know its pie in the sky but look at the possibilities. Pujols plays first and has played third before.
Pujols DH, Arod at 3b, and Tex 1b.
Pujols at 3b, Arod at DH, and Tex at 1b.
Pujols at 1b, Arod at 3b and Tex at DH.
Add Cano, Granderson, Montero, Swisher, Jeter and Gardner and who needs pitching?