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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Rays manager Joe Maddon unveils Opening Day lineup

HEAD FOR THE EXITS!!!!...Maddon has unleashed his head-pounding “total RBI mentality”!

The team returned Tuesday from its lone off-day of the spring to find a revamped lineup that had Crawford leading off, followed by Zobrist, Baldelli and Wigginton. That’s the top of the order, and Maddon wants to keep that group together for as long as possible.

...The next five spots, which had Young hitting seventh and Iwamura eighth, can be tinkered with, Maddon added.

“I just kind of like the way this feels,” Maddon said before the Rays pounded a spring-high 14 hits in a 7-0 victory against the Cleveland Indians. “Primarily it’s based on what I’ve seen over the last part of last season and the beginning part of this camp. And I want to see if we can get the offense going with a different kind of thought philosophy.”

Repoz Posted: March 21, 2007 at 10:02 AM | 12 comment(s)
Related News: General, Tampa Bay

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1. retro-shiite Posted: March 21, 2007 at 10:57 AM (#2315251)

The bottom third might be the best part of that lineup.

2. Torn_cuff Posted: March 21, 2007 at 10:58 AM (#2315252)

Joe Maddon needs to get hit in the head with THE BOOK. Maybe somebody can go down there and throw a couple mercy copies onto the field and one of the interns can read it to him.

3. Harold Reynolds: An Erotic Life (AG#1F) Posted: March 21, 2007 at 10:59 AM (#2315254)

That lineup makes no sense. What I'd do:

LF Crawford
CF Baldelli
3B Iwamura
RF Young
1B Wigginton
2B Cantu
DH Norton
C Navarro
SS Upton

Zobrist ain't bad, but I don't like the "Chone" plan for BJ Upton.

4. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: March 21, 2007 at 11:01 AM (#2315258)

Wigginton, cleanup? It's a World Gone Mad!

5. Jimmy P Posted: March 21, 2007 at 11:26 AM (#2315276)

The bottom third might be the best part of that lineup.

I'm not sure I'd go that far. The bottom third will be good, but Baldelli and Crawford are good enough to probably equal those three guys.

Zobrist ain't bad, but I don't like the "Chone" plan for BJ Upton.

BJ can't play infield. The sooner the Rays get over that, the better. Trade him, or play him exclusively in the OF.

6. Cris E Posted: March 21, 2007 at 11:32 AM (#2315281)

BJ can't play infield. The sooner the Rays get over that, the better. Trade him, or play him exclusively in the OF.

Couldn't he play 1b? Wiggington's plus at the plate might be offset Zobrist's plus on the turf, and with the young and/or shaky staff adding a bit of D could help their development. It's not science or anything, but if I were trying to bring along a bunch of pitchers I'd get them a good group of gloves up the middle and tell them to trust the guys behind them. Goodness knows there's plenty of hitting elsewhere in the lineup.

7. Cris E Posted: March 21, 2007 at 11:35 AM (#2315288)

Well RTFA indeed. I still think Upton at 1b and Zobrist at SS makes sense.

8. Squeaky the Ethiopian Posted: March 21, 2007 at 12:15 PM (#2315322)

Whither Gomes?

9. J. Cross Posted: March 21, 2007 at 12:45 PM (#2315338)

That lineup makes no sense. What I'd do:

LF Crawford
CF Baldelli
3B Iwamura
RF Young
1B Wigginton
2B Cantu
DH Norton
C Navarro
SS Upton

That lineup makes no sense. Why not play the guys who might have a future? What I'd do:

LF: Crawford
CF: Baldelli
DH: Gomes
3b: Iwamura
RF: Young
1B: Dukes
2B: Upton
C: Navarro
SS: Zobrist

10. retro-shiite Posted: March 21, 2007 at 12:55 PM (#2315341)

The bottom third might be the best part of that lineup.

I'm not sure I'd go that far. The bottom third will be good, but Baldelli and Crawford are good enough to probably equal those three guys.

Crawford and Baldelli equal to/better than Young and Iwamura? I'll take that bet. And Navarro's got to be better than Zobrist.

11. Jim Wisinski Posted: March 21, 2007 at 02:05 PM (#2315388)

Maddon is a jackass. It looks like he really is dumb enough to start Norton at DH over Gomes.

Part of the problem with this lineup is that Crawford doesn't like leading off and from his comments clearly isn't pleased with it. It's stupid to put your best player in a position he doesn't like and doesn't feel comfortable in. For the heck of it, my lineup:

CF Baldelli
LF Crawford
DH Gomes
RF Young
3B Iwamura
1B Wigginton/Dukes
2B Cantu/Upton (until Upton remembers how to hit)
C Navarro
SS Zobrist

12. buddy34 Posted: March 21, 2007 at 04:44 PM (#2315486)

gomes may not even make the 25-man. he had a bad year and followed with a terrible spring so far.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Rays manager Joe Maddon unveils Opening Day lineup

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