Now Batting

Ah, the batting order. Too often confused with the pecking order. Does the spot in the batting order determine how a player will perform? No. Does the batting order dictate anything. No. Is there really any difference where somebody hits in the batting order? No.


Okay. We're lying. It does matter. Kind of. Back in Little League the best spot in the batting order was "now batting". Everything else was waiting to get to that. Usually the coach would put his better players up at the top of the order in order to get them more at bats. Simple science.


In MLB things are more complex. For no good reason. In reality, your production will determine how many at bats you get. If you bat second, fifth or ninth, doesn't really matter; if you're not producing you're not going to be in the line up. Royce Clayton, Neifi Perez, Tony LaRussa and Syd Thrift theories aside.


The only time a batting order really matters is when games are close and it doesn't even matter that much. But, if you need a single run in a tie game, you probably want a high-on base percentage guy out there with some speed up as soon as possible. Unless you have a guy with a free home run card to burn. In the realm of possibilities, a ground ball might move a runner over if he is not dragging an anchor. Also, going form first to third and scoring from second are all real nice with a speedy guy. The sooner you score the sooner you win, etc.


But does having a decent 'bunter' or good contact hitter behind the fast guy who hits left handed to avoid double plays really matter that much? Maybe. There's just not a real definitive need to justify not having your better production guys at the top of the batting order. Staggering them left-right-left-right or even based on speed and base stealing goes into the area of micro-managing to a fault.


One of the few things that Art Howe did extremely well was letting guys play ball. For the most part he resisted the urges to shimmy the batting order to play small ball and call for a bunt when it wasn't needed (read: NEXT TO NEVER). He didn't stick Terrence Long in the two hole because he was fast. Then again, he didn't stick Terrence Long down at the end of the bench away far from the batter's box, either.


Well, so why's the batting order such a big deal?


It has roots in the tradition of baseball. The cleanup hitter is well, a cleanup hitter. He's a monstrous character who swings a Redwood tree for a bat and hasn't shaved in 40 years and he's only 30 years old. The lead-off hitter is faster than fast and scores runs before the game even starts. He's just that fast. The ninth hitter is a weak-kneed chump who looks out of place in a uniform and resembles the owner's nephew or his accountant.


That's just baseball.


There's a psycho-social factor, though, that managers GM's and players rely on. When Miguel Tejada moved to the three hole last year he thrived. Most likely because he was going to anyway-no matter where he batted. But, is was something that denoted that Miguel was finally expected to stop swinging at 2-0 pitches and chasing balls in the dirt. He was a veteran on a team of young players and a lot more was going to be expected of him.


Often, when a player moves to the clean-up spot or three hole too much self-inflicted pressure follows. A departure of what got them to that place in the order disappears and they start floating around in the order, again. You see guys swinging too hard, too long and too much. Trying to pull every pitch as if hitting it 100 feet beyond the fence counts for more than just hitting it over the fence by ten feet. Hey, they both count.


Let's get to the meat of this post before we bore you to tears.

Oakland A's Projected Batting Order

1. 2B Mark Ellis
2. 3B Eric Chavez
3. SS Miguel Tejada
4. RF Jermaine Dye
5. DH Erubial Durazo/Ron Gant
6. 1B Scott Hatteberg
7. LF Terrence Long/Adam Piatt
8. C Ramon Hernandez/Mark Johnson
9. CF Chris Singleton/Eric Byrnes

Where do we get the collective...

Here's the deal. Mark Ellis was the A's leadoff hitter last year before the acquisition of Ray Durham. He had an OBP of .350 and hit .272 he didn't hit the crap out of the ball only slugging .394, but then the A's didn't ask him to. He got on base and scored runs. When he did need to, he showed some pop in his bat, ask the Twins in Game five of the ALDS. He is fast and a good base runner. Not that there should be any need to steal a base, but TAKING an extra base here and there would be a big difference form the clod footed-non-slidy-pants guy the A's started 2002 with.


A better reason is that the A's don't have anyone else better suited for the 'role'. Which is how most leadoff hitters and two-hole guys get their jobs, anyway.


Speaking of number two hitters. We're going with Eric Chavez. Basically because the Scott Hatteberg (SCOTT HATTEBERG OWNS RIGHT CENTER FIELD) Experience is suited a little better further down in the order. Scott has some back problems. He did a good job of getting on base at .374 and slugging at .433, but he still only scored 58 runs in 132 games. By contrast, Mark Ellis scored 58 runs in 96 games.


We feel that Eric Chavez would be a better fit in the two spot. For a couple of reasons. First, we think so. Second, we say so. Beyond that is starts to get numbery. Chavez ground into all of 8 double plays last year. That's the same number Ichiro ground into last year. Hitting into double plays is bad. Not hitting into double plays is better than bad.


But the real reason is to not leave Chavez lingering around at the five hole. Get Chavez a guaranteed first inning at-bat so he can screw his head on straight. One of the big knocks against Chavez is that he's streaky. Well, show us any 25 year old MLB that has hit 100 homeruns that is not a little inconsistent. Plus, hitting second might focus Chavez to think, "get on base". Chavez can launch 40 homeruns and he's getting better at hitting left-handers. Okay, not much better, but he's getting more comfortable. Remember, Jason Giambi didn't his first homerun off a left-hander until 2000...not that it's particulalry relevant here. Just that little hitter's split didn't change the fact that Jason was hitting third for several years by then.


Speaking of third.


What will make you happy? Denial, resistance or futile clinging?


The reason the Miguel Tejada Issue is still not an issue is because it never will be.


Miguel Tejada will not be with the Oakland A's in 2004.


The only question is whether the A's decide to trade him or allow him to go via free agency and collect the first round draft picks. After the Jason Giambi scenario and the recent growth of the A's minor league talent, what do you think the A's are prepared to do?


We will not weep over this course of action. Though Miggi will be missed. Just as anyone you've watched grow up before you eyes. Miggi is an under-rated fielder and has the ability to abuse pitchers at the plate. He's a shortstop that has been slighted because there are a few right-fielders playing the position these days.


The Oakland Athletics Baseball Club does not have the funds to tie up a supposedly 27 year-old shortstop and reigning MVP with a long term deal.


It's just not in the cards, fans of the Green and Gold.


The A's don't have the funds to pay a public relations consultation firm or a market research team to do their PR or analysis. It's all done in house, on the fly, on the cheap. They don't have the infrastructure to build a cable package and shop it around superior California and raise the value of the franchise.


However.


A new ownership group with a few heads put together could. The BayArea and Sacramento have a metro area large enough to support two NBA teams, Two MLB teams and two NFL teams. There are two major NCAA programs and several lower division schools in the area. That's enough sports programming in and of itself to create a network that would rival TBS, WGN and the Super Station without any additional programming.


No, you couldn't directly broadcast NFL games and we're not sure of the NBA TV package. But we know that someone could put a decent MLB package together on a cable network for the BayArea. Fox Sports sure as hell hasn't. The A's haven't helped themselves by shooting themselves in the foot with adding the River Cats to the Sacramento area. The local radio station and TV station that carried A's games now carry River Cats games. There's a few million in lost revenue. Not to mention zapping dollars away from the parent club in the form of attendance.


The A's have a minor league affiliate in Modesto, too. The Giants are in a similar boat having their minor league team in Fresno and lower minor league team in San Jose. They seem to be able to throw $20 million at Barry Bonds and waste $10 on Neifi Perez and Kirk Reuter. That's $30 million at three players. That's more than half the A's payroll for the 40 man roster.


We're getting off the subject we went off subject to rant about in the third place.


You don't have to have professional sports streaming 24 hours a day. We are referring to highlight shows, player shows, fan shows, fantasy league shows, sports talk radio on TV...imagine the Best Damn Sports Show with actual content and with more brain cells and fewer 'personalities'. Throw in the splendor of Northern California with its golf, adventure sports and third tier professional sports and there's too much content for one network.


What Napa Spa or San Francisco restaraunt is not going to want to advertise and to reach their target demographic on a regular basis through a sports cable network?

Husband: "Hey, maybe we can go to that wine tasting place this weekend dear."
Wife: "Wine tasting?"
Husband: "Yah, it's at this trendy restaraunt and spa place in between Napa and Walnut Creek. It doesn't sound that bad."
Wife: 'Really?! Wine tasting?"
Husband: "Yah, oh and there's that championship golf course, thing, too"

Anyway.


Miggi is going to be gone and if it happens mid-season Chavez can drop to the number three spot without any added pressure, real or imagined.


Jermaine Dye is going to have a big year. Think 2000 only more so. Putting him at cleanup provides the A's with the big bat everyone has been clamoring for free and allows Durazo to slip in to do even more damage in the five spot. Putting Hatteberg at 6th just makes the line-up look better as guys with very good OBP just keep stepping up.


Then, the A's will trot out the bottom of the order to ruin everything.


No, really. That's the difference between the A's and, oh, say the Yankees. The A's are going to have a dip somewhere and this is it.


The most that can be hoped for in the 7-8-9 spots are a workable platoon with Mark Johnson and Ramon Hernandez, for Terrence Long to justify his presence on the roster and Chris Singleton to continually earn his keep on an at-bat by at-bat ratio. Call it the tough love foursome.


Terrence Long has an eye problem that apparently has been discussed hush-hushly. That really doesn't matter. Playing centerfield, second or DH'ing; if you can't produce and are detrimental to the team performance, you shouldn't be out there. Especially out there very single day with some stupid and egotistical notion that a consecutive games played streak means something other than adding a line to your player bio. T Long still has to play leftfield, and while a decent athlete, he still isn't an above average fielder and he certainly isn't above average at the plate.


Mark Johnson will be a decent replacement for Ramon Hernandez as someone is going to start inquiring about him in trade talks. The A's could free up dough this way. Ramon may have a sentimental attachment with the A's pitching staff as he grew along with most of them. Well, they grew. He regressed. At least witht he bat. But, the A's can't afford defensive specialists when they must even out the offensive production to compensate for being unable to pay 'Super Star' salaries. Or, what 'Super Star' agents think 'Super Star' salaries should be.


The Chris Singleton experiment has about six weeks. That's it. From Opening Day Sushi to Memorial Day fat free turkey dogs.


Well, there you go.


We're heading over to MLB Radio to listen to the first Spring Game.