Tiger Geist

I’m conflicted on Jimmy Leyland’s regular season batting order. This is based on the assumption that I think Miguel Cabrera is a better hitter then Gary Sheffield.

Widely publicized is the suggested batting order going into the season:

1. Granderson
2. Polanco
3. Sheffield
4. Ordonez
5. Cabrera
6. Guillen
7. Renteria
8. Rodriguez
9. Jones

With that order, maybe it doesn’t matter. But, over the course of a season, the #3 hitter will have more at bats then the #5 hitter. If I think the positions are relatively interchangeable in terms of what you are looking for, you’d want the better hitter at the #3 position. But what does Sheffield give you that Cabrera does not? More walks and less strikeouts. Or so I thought…. Gary walked a mere 5 more times then Cabrera last year, while striking out a hefty 56 fewer times. Miguel had a higher on base percentage (.401 vs .378, though Sheffield has a higher career avg by 11 points). If they’re both getting on base about the same amount of time, they’re both feared hitters, the major flaw in Cabrera’s game is strikeouts.

Wouldn’t getting better protection in Ordonez, who lit up the league last year (and is already on a torrid pace this spring), lead to better pitches for Cabrera to see? Wouldn’t Ordonez give Cabrera a better at-bat then Guillen, and help reduce his strikeout total? I’ll make the assumption that, based on health, Cabrera will also play in more games this year (he had 94 more at bats last year). Might as well keep him in the same spot he’s used to as much as possible.

After going through the lean years, and while Carlos Guillen is a fine hitter, isn’t it nice to have at least THREE players that are even better? Though I really think Sheffield and Cabrera should flip flop, I almost feel guilty for discussing it.