The Perfect (Yet Realistic) Baseball Lineup

I was reading all of the stuff on this fine website we have here about how our Opening Day Lineup sucks, how it is absolutely terrible and how it is one of the worst Opening Day lineups of all time. I was thinking about the Yankees and Red Sox and how they have uber amazing lineups that nobody can possibly compete with, unless you have a humongous payroll. I was thinking about how we do have a humongous payroll, yet we still don't have an uber amazing lineup like the Yankees or Red Sox. Why don't we have a great lineup like them? It is because the Mets front office does not know how to effectively use the money given to them by the ownership. However, it isn't necessary to spend $60 million on three hitters like the Yankees did with Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixiera to have a great lineup. All the front office needs to do to have a great lineup is to understand the roles and importances of each spot in the order, and to be smart about filling those spots.

Starting Lineup

1. The number one hitter, also known as the leadoff hitter, is very important to a team's offense. This is the player that will start off the game for the team, the player that will have the most at-bats during the game and the player that will precede all other hitters in the order. His job is to get on base, by way of hits, walks, or anything else necessary. This should be a player who has speed to burn, so that he can get infield hits, steal bases, and cause havoc on the basepaths. He should also have enough power to leg out a double or a triple, so that he can get into scoring position. It also helps if his teammates like him, because that might help create a spark in the team's vibe.

Ideal number one hitter: Jose Reyes

The poor man's choice: Nyjer Morgan

2. The number two hitter is ideally a second leadoff man. You want the same skills in the number two hitter as you do in the number one hitter. However, if he was good enough to hit number one, he would be hitting number one on a realistic team, so it is safe to say that the number two hitter's skills are slightly less apparent than the number one hitter's skills. The second hitter should have speed and the ability to get on base, so that he can set the tables for the power hitters. He should also have a good eye, so that he can give the leadoff man a chance to steal a base, and the ability to bunt, so that the team can play small ball if they so choose. The number two hitter should have good bat control, and shouldn't strike out a lot.

Ideal number two hitter: Derek Jeter

The poor man's choice: Ryan Theriot

3. The number three hitter is often considered the best all-around athlete on the team. Ideally, you want this guy to have the ability to get on base so that the middle of the order can knock him in. You also want him to have some power, so he can drive in the first two guys, and also to get into scoring position himself.  He should have speed and good baserunning skills. In a nutshell, the number three hitter should be the overall best hitter.

Ideal number three hitter: Hanley Ramirez

The poor man's choice: B.J. Upton

4. The number four hitter is also called the clean up hitter because he is supposed to clean up the bases. He does this by hitting home runs, and lots of them. Not just a lot of home runs, he is supposed to hit a CRAPLOAD of them. He should also have a decent ability to hit for a decent average, so at least if he doubles often it will still drive guys in. This should be your absolute strongest hitter who will hit the most home runs. It doesn't matter if he is slow as long as he can mash.

Ideal number four hitter: Prince Fielder

The poor man's choice: Jack Cust

5. The number five hitter should have all the tools of the number three hitter. He should be able to hit for power and average, and have speed. He should be your second best overall hitter. He should be a bit of a better average hitter than the number three guy simply because by hitting five there are more people on base to knock in then by hitting three. You want him to have good speed so he can set the tables for the bottom of the order but he doesn't have to be a speed demon, otherwise he should be hitting first or third.

Ideal number five hitter: Albert Pujols

The poor man's choice: Justin Upton

6. The number six hitter should have a high batting average and the ability to get lots of hits. He should have some power but it is not completely necessary to be a 20 home run guy at this spot. He needs to get lots of hits because he will have lots of players on base who he needs to knock in. He also needs to get on base to give opportunities for the seven and eight hitters to knock him in before the pitcher comes and kills the rally.

Ideal number six hitter: Joe Mauer

The poor man's choice: Scott Rolen

7. The number seven hitter should be just like your number six hitter, only with a little more power. He needs to be able to get hits to knock in  guys ahead of him, but he should also have an extra power reserve. This is because the eight hitter and the pitcher are likely to be very weak hitters and therefore may not be able to be reliable in knocking runners in. You want the seven hitter to be able to hit around 20 homers a year and have a batting average around .280. In the end he should be a better overall hitter than the sixth hitter.

Ideal number seven hitter: Justin Morneau

The poor man's choice: James Loney

8. This should be your worst hitter. This is generally where the guy who is only playing for his defense hits. Realistically, you would like a batting average above .240 here and hopefully someone who can hit around 6 or 7 home runs. Anything more is pretty good. Going into the pretty good range, it would be nice if this guy can have quality at bats, get a decent amount of hits, and have pretty good speed so when the leadoff man comes back to hit again he can do so with someone on on base and in scoring position.

Ideal number seven hitter: Marco Scutato

The poor man's choice: David Eckstein

9. Pitcher

The All Star Lineup

1. Jose Reyes

2. Derek Jeter

3. Hanley Ramirez

4. Prince Fielder

5. Albert Pujols

6. Joe Mauer

7. Justin Morneau

8. Marco Scutaro

9. Pitcher

We have four shortstops and three first basemen. Oh well, this is never going to happen anyway. Obviously if it was a real All-Star lineup you would have maybe Robinson Cano hitting eighth and Ryan Howard hitting sixth, but I wanted to at least keep these players as definition players for the hitting spots.

The Poor Man's Lineup

1. Nyjer Morgan, LF

2. Ryan Theriot, SS

3. B.J. Upton, CF

4. Jack Cust, C

5. Justin Upton, RF

6. Scott Rolen, 3B

7. James Loney, 1B

8. David Eckstein, 2B

9. Pitcher

I put Cust at catcher because I needed a catcher and he would play crappy defense anyway no matter where I put him. Take a look at this lineup. Does it look so terrible to you? I had no real criteria for picking poor man's players, I just wanted to make sure he isn't an All-Star every year and he isn't on a really expensive contract. This lineup has a cornerstone player in Justin Upton and some very good role players. Sure, it doesn't have a bona fide MVP candidate, or someone who will hit 40 home runs, but is that necessary? And even if it is, nobody says that just because you have a low payroll, doesn't mean you can't afford one really good hitter. The A's got Matt Holiday. The Marlins almost got Manny Ramirez. To me, this looks like a decent lineup, and if you think about it, is a very good lineup.