A Potentially Bizarre Lineup

by Sam Page on Dec 10, 2009 8:28 PM EST

A thought I just had: if the Mets sign Bay, Molina, and, for the sake of argument, Nick Johnson, this would be the lineup, sorted by 2009 walk rate:

Nick Johnson 17.8% (1st in MLB)

Jason Bay 15.0%

Carlos Beltran 13.2%

Luis Castillo 12.4%

David Wright 12.2%

Jose Reyes 10.9%

--League Avg: 8.89%--

Jeff Francoeur: 3.7% (fourth worst in MLB)

Bengie Molina: 2.6% (last in MLB)

Daniel Murphy, the more likely firstvbaseman, had av7.0% mark, although he could really range from Francoeur-esque discipline to above-average, depending on which Murphy shows up in 2010. Imagine facing that kind of dropoff as a pitcher. I predict: Jeff Francoeur, .305 OBP, 150 RBIs.

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and the 150 rbis will make 10000000 people think they were right all along about Frenchy

by Gina on Dec 10, 2009 8:37 PM EST reply actions

It cost us FA church .220 hitting 0 HR

It was a steal

25 HR 150 RBI, there is no one on the Braves capable of those stats

by a hay on Dec 10, 2009 11:21 PM EST up reply actions

...

Chipper Jones? Brian McCann?

wut?

by Gina on Dec 10, 2009 11:45 PM EST up reply actions

Phillip's boy McLouth too

"I see the job in bigger terms. Paperwork, that’s false hustle... Know what I’m sayin’?"

by Evan_S on Dec 11, 2009 1:37 AM EST up reply actions

What in hell makes people think Francoeur is anything more than a 15 homer guy?

He hit 29 in 2006, that’s the only time he’s hit over twenty. The bigger question is, why are so many people penciling in Francoeur to hit 20+, but are worried about Wright getting his power back? Francoeur is bad at baseball and should have been non tendered in favor of anyone.

"I see the job in bigger terms. Paperwork, that’s false hustle... Know what I’m sayin’?"

by Evan_S on Dec 11, 2009 1:40 AM EST up reply actions

b/c Francouer hit the same amount of homers for the Mets last year in half the games as Wright

and people are easily fooled by small sample sizes

"[The Giants] beat us down. We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day. They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. ... It wasn't even close." - Raheem Morris, 9/27/09

by cjmulrain on Dec 11, 2009 2:11 AM EST up reply actions

Sorry to nitpick a bit

But 300 PAs isn’t exactly a small sample size for HR rate. I’m not saying I expect Frenchy to continue hitting HR at a rate 2x that of Wright, but that’s the one thing Frenchy did do that we can’t just write off as a fluke. His BABIP will probably still come back down to earth, so even if he maintains that HR rate, which is still just about average anyway, he won’t be anything special, but he won’t be valueless either.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on Dec 11, 2009 3:42 PM EST up reply actions

but even at that HR rate he hits what, 20 HR next year?

that would be great if he could pair it with a halfway decent OBP, but he won’t. If his BABIP comes down he’s gonna pair those 20 HR with a sub-.300 OBP. I can live with one guy like that in the lineup if he provides good defense – the problem is Frenchy doesn’t play good defense AND he’s gonna be paired with Bengie Molina most likely, who is pretty much the exact same hitter. That’s not good.

And I’m one of the more neutral Francouer people on this site – I can live with him next year. But I’m just pointing out why people think Francouer is gonna be good, when he probably won’t be.

by cjmulrain on Dec 11, 2009 5:39 PM EST up reply actions

Sarcasm just floats over you, doesn't it

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Dec 11, 2009 2:01 AM EST up reply actions

it was not a steal

you fail

"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"

by firejerrynow on Dec 11, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions

um

yeah… it kind of was

church was a flop with atlanta, now they dont even have him anymore

francoeur will be giving us value in right field for maybe 7-8 years if we’re lucky

A "Zeile" for avoiding outs

by metsguy234 on Dec 13, 2009 7:19 PM EST up reply actions

150 RBIs!?

Why this is crazy

"The picture looked like I was in the dugout, but they got it all wrong. I absolutely was never in the dugout."

- Mr. B.V. Incognito

by sj10689 on Dec 12, 2009 3:39 AM EST up reply actions

Confuse the pitchers!

Omar is a genius! The pitchers will be so confused that they’ll just balk run after run!

The diabolical plan fails, alas, as I don’t see a lineup fitting in both Murphy and Johnson.

by danielj on Dec 10, 2009 8:41 PM EST via mobile reply actions

when did the A’s hire Norm McDonald?

by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on Dec 10, 2009 8:42 PM EST reply actions

Jinx

by TedBerg on Dec 10, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions

if we ever meet, tedberg

I will buy you a beer.

by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on Dec 10, 2009 8:52 PM EST up reply actions

You'll have your chance

next Wednesday at River.

by Eric Simon on Dec 10, 2009 9:03 PM EST up reply actions

Would love to but I live in Phoenix

Nothing like an empty promise, eh?

by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on Dec 10, 2009 10:36 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Book a flight to New York

Pay for it with the Amazin’ Avenue credit card

by James Kannengieser on Dec 10, 2009 10:45 PM EST up reply actions

Whoa

I’ve never before noticed how much Billy Beane looks like Norm MacDonald. Maybe that’s some sort of archetype of man designed to appeal to me.

by TedBerg on Dec 10, 2009 8:42 PM EST reply actions

Norm is playing Beane in the film

i can’t remember who is playing Omar

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Dec 10, 2009 9:04 PM EST up reply actions

Brad Pitt??

by Sam Page on Dec 10, 2009 9:07 PM EST up reply actions

i just can't think of an appropriate jackass actor

to play Doh’mar.
I believe Pitt is taking the role of Tony Bernazard.

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Dec 10, 2009 9:09 PM EST up reply actions

Omar - John Leguizamo

Or Terence Howard. Or Edward James Olmos.

by James Kannengieser on Dec 10, 2009 9:14 PM EST up reply actions

I'd buy Leguizamo in his crazyman persona as Tony Bernazard,

and I think Ernie bears more than a passing resemblance to Omar.

by SeanSchirmer on Jan 5, 2010 10:38 PM EST up reply actions

there's

this
but i’m not buying Benicio Del Toro.

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Dec 10, 2009 9:14 PM EST up reply actions

I was watching an "All-Time Game" on MLB Network yestarday, and I saw a young Bernazard on the White Sox. I found it comical.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 10, 2009 10:06 PM EST up reply actions

Hah I can see all the commentary now....

The Mets got the perfect blend of patient guys at the top of the order complemented by the aggressive RBI guys in Francoeur and Molina that are look to drive in runs, not wait for a walk. A perfect blend.

Ugh.

"For $11.4 million you can actually get a good player. But of course this is one of the things foolish organizations do: They complain that they can't afford good players after spending millions of dollars on not-good players." --Rob Neyer

by boom_roasted on Dec 10, 2009 9:48 PM EST reply actions