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This discussion began on today’s game thread, but let’s give the leadoff man its own topic.
I saw the following today. I am not calling it cause and effect necessarily, but these appear to be facts (I did not verify)…
Is there a “Plan C”?
(P.S. Kolten Wong has a .352 OBP this season for Milwaukee.)
1/2 #STLCards #StLFly were
in 1st w Edman leading offSince Shildt moved Dylan Carlson to leadoff:
-14 for 66 , 24K (36%) , 5 BB, 4RBI
-Avg. .212
-OBP .288
-SLG .318
-OPS .606
-extra base hits: 4leads team by wide margin with 94K
Edman has 49
— Andy Banker (@andybankertv) July 17, 2021
2/2 #StLFly #STLCards Edman at leadoff before Shildt removed him, in 74 games
84-312 41K (13%) 17 BB
-Avg. .269
-OBP .312
-SLG .385
-OPS .697Shildt moved him to 6th
He’s hitting .156
Slugging .219
OPS .447Maybe Edman 1st & Carlson 6th?!
— Andy Banker (@andybankertv) July 17, 2021
Edman was also hitting leadoff before our rotation was decimated by injuries, which is probably a bigger reason why we are in fourth place instead of first.
Our leadoff man plays for the first place Brewers (Wong), and that was a self-inflicted decision by ownership.
All we are doing now is shuffling deck chairs among non leadoff players. STL ranks 27th batting first in the lineup this season.
True our rotation is in shambles but our leadoff namely Carlson has been really horrible of late, not really that late though, at the plate. Some will excuse him for being young, but that doesn’t mean you keep putting him near top of lineup. Edman at least has speed if he gets on.He can score from first on a double, he can steal, or you can hit and run. Lot more can happen right now with edman vs Carlson.
IIRC, Edman started hot and then went cold which is why he was dropped in the lineup. That part seems absent from that guy’s argument. But the same needs to happen with Carlson at least until he stops getting carved like a Butterball at the dish.
Edman was doing ok batting first the first two months until he forgot how to take a BB.
1 BB in June, in 106 PA’s. To worsen his June, his BAbip dropped, which leaves you with a low BA contact hitter, who won’t walk. The perfect storm.
True but Carlson strikes out at a much higher rate which kind of negates any walks he might get and he likes to chase as well. To me right now only two guys fit any criteria though far from the whole package of a leadoff. Edman can at least run if he does manage to get on. Carpenter is willing to take pitches.
.Edman and Bader have both hit well in July, so I could go with either leading off. I know Carp had done well here lately, but I think we all know what to expect if he played everyday and led off. Hitting into the shift over and over with plenty of ugly looking ABs mixed in.
I don’t think we can afford to have guys who are not hitting right now hitting ahead of Goldy and NA. We don’t have the luxury of waiting for them to adjust or whatever they need to do.
I also am not sold on the Goldy resurgence unless it starts translating into clutch hits that help win games.
As a desperate attempt to save the world we could try batting Bader and Edman or vice versa at 1 and 2, with O’Neill 3 and then Goldy and NA. The 2021 season extinction asteroid has already entered the atmosphere so its not like it could be any more of a disaster.
We really don’t have any good options to hit lead off but we could try a Bader/Nootbaar platoon depending on the opposing pitcher that day. We aren’t going anywhere this year anyway so why not experiment a little?
Funny isn’t it? It’s ever so much easier to think about who you don’t want to lead off than who you do want in that spot.
July BAs
Goldschmidt .395
DeJong .382
O’Neill .320
Bader .275
Molina .250
Edman .233
Arenado .222
Carlson .174
Sosa .200
Carpenter 6 for 15 .400Anybody wanting to go with the hot bats?
Finding a good lead off hitter is kind of like finding a good closer. The spreadsheet guys will tell you anyone can do it but I beg to differ. It takes someone with the right mindset who can handle the pressure. Many times we have seen bullpen guys put up microscopic ERA’s as middle relievers but get pummeled when used as the closer. And many times we have seen hitters tear the cover off the ball batting low in the lineup but then go into an extreme funk when hitting leadoff. There is a different set of responsibilities with those two jobs that not every player can handle.
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