Why would you think he’d drop Grady down to 7th?

I think his comments in part reflect something that many here I guess would find baffling … that despite not having the tape-measure HR power, Valbuena is a finished product and a more polished pure hitter than LaPorta.

I really don’t like DeRosa in the 2 hole. The guy is too much of a free swinger for that spot in the lineup.

The only problem with this is that it would require Wedge to start LaPorta, something he hasn’t done in 4 games. Is Wedge about to pull a Marte on LaPorta?

Otherwise, I’d be surprisingly ok with that starting lineup (with Grady moving back up – not to the #1 spot though – once he finds his swing). Do it Wedge/Wedge’s-replacement!

“coffe” is that new starbucks instant crap they’ve been peddling.

if carroll is behind him

Blargh.

Should I just accept this? Wedge is going to give Carroll every possible start and a metric crap-ton of ABs?

I’ve said this before: I’m not sure that Grady is trying to pull everything — at least, not more than usual — so much as he’s being pitched inside pretty exclusively.

I believe Grady is pulling way too much – before his 2 or 3 hits in the White Sox series, STO mentioned that his hit distribution chart was the following:

22 hits to RF
8 hits to CF
1 hit to LF(!)

Grady is a better hitter than that, and really is the very good to elite offensive player when he’s using the whole field, not when he’s pulling off of everything like he’s doing in 2009. With all due respect to lfeerdon, I’ve seen several outside pitches Grady has been pulling off on – resulting in either weak groundballs to the 2B or his missing those pitches entirely, which is why he’s struck out 39 times in 145 ABs through Wednesday, or 26.9% of the time, over 1/4 of his ABs, and why he’s also struck out twice in 5 of his last 11 games and once in the other 6 games during that stretch – not all the pitches he’s been getting have been inside. Yet, Grady is trying to pull virtually EVERY pitch – that will not work, especially in the leadoff spot.

As mjmarble mentioned, Grady has to adjust and get back to staying on the ball and using the whole field – he certainly has enough power to get XBH by using the whole field – that’s what makes him a very good, and even, elite offensive player, not by trying to pull everything. That’s mostly why Grady’s BA is so low (.220 or .230 will NOT cut it, even if he had more than 6 HRs – we need the Grady who hits at the very least .270+, if not .300+ – that too would help this offense to be more consistent and not allow so many scoring opportunities to go by the wayside).

Just my 2 cents.

I think the consensus would be, why the hell not?

I’d have no problem with that; in fact, I suggested it last year. He’s second in OBP so far this year.

I really, really do not want to mess with what Droobs has going. I’d rather put just about anyone there than Droobs.

I made roughly the same argument about moving Asdrubal up in the first place, but the other half of it was, Mark DeRosa’s not going to OPS+ 20 for the rest of the season. Here’s how this is different: Asdrubal seems to have demonstrated he’s got the intestinal fortitude for the top of the order, whatever that is. And also, dropping Grady in the order, taking some of the heat off, may be what he needs to get going. It may be what worked for DeRosa.

I agree with the idea that moving Grady out of the leadoff spot is not going to magically restore him to his old, consistent form – he has to adapt and get back to using the whole field again.

However, I think someone else might be more apt to fit the leadoff spot better (a point I have made for at least the past 1-2 seasons) – there are two main problems with having Grady in the leadoff spot in my opinion, both stemming from Grady having good HR power:

1. His HRs would likely be multi-run HRs more often if he was batting in the middle of the order (currently, I’m thinking #6 or #7, maybe #5 or #4 depending on the rest of the lineup, but NOT #2 or #3 – leave Cabrera and Martinez where they are at – they’re going well, so don’t fix something that isn’t “broken,” plus their hitting skills and approach fit perfectly in those spots). After all, the hitters in front of him are more likely to get on (Cabrera, Martinez, Choo, Hafner, Peralta) than guys hitting at the bottom of the order (Dellucci, Shoppach, Francisco). Therefore, his HRs would be more likely to create more runs and do more damage to the opposing side.

2. In some ways, HR power can be a double-edged sword for a leadoff hitter. Recall the time when Kenny Lofton was our leadoff man here in Cleveland. There was much talk about worrying about Lofton becoming pull-happy in his effort to hit HRs whenever he went on a bit of a HR tear. Fortunately, Lofton never got into severe ruts (certainly not as severe or as numerous as Grady’s over the past few seasons) of getting pull happy and trying to hit HRs very often. The few times it started to occur, Lofton was able to right himself.

Grady has not been able to do that to this point, and too often, I think his streakiness and his high K totals come from the fact that he is often pulling the ball in an effort to supply HR power. Again, considering reason #1, it would make more sense to move Grady down in the order. As well, an ideal leadoff man is one who can not only take pitches (which Grady does well for the most part when he’s going well, which has not been the case in 2009), but also has the propensity to use the whole field consistently, and preferably, someone who has impact speed (and maybe even more accurately, has elite baserunning skills, though usually that includes elite speed,) who can terrorize pitchers and defenses when he gets on base. Lofton had those skills; Grady, for all his skills, doesn’t fit that same profile. It takes more than just getting on base to be an impact leadoff man in my opinion.

This doesn’t mean that Grady should just become a pull-hitter if he is moved down in the order – what makes him a very good to elite offensive player is the fact that he has enough power and hitting ability to go to all fields – that’s what he needs to get back to no matter if he’s hitting #1 or #7 (or anywhere inbetween).

As for who to put in the leadoff spot in place of Grady, I’d consider the following:

Carroll – I know many are not fond of his getting more ABs, but he knows how to take pitches as well, likely has as much or more speed than Grady, and has shown a propensity to use the whole field.
Choo – I would consider him as well for many of the same reasons as Carroll, and Choo has shown more consistent ability to stay within himself and use the whole field – outside of Martinez and Cabrera, Choo has likely been our third-best hitter.
Valbuena – As mentioned in an earlier post, Valbuena also seems to have good knowledge of the strike zone, seems to have a propensity for using the whole field, and can run a little bit, though he doesn’t have elite speed either.

Essentially, while I’d like to have elite speed at the top of the order long-term, for the guys that are on the ballclub right now, those are the ones I’d consider trying in the leadoff spot. I’d mention Cabrera, but as I mentioned above, I’d rather keep him in the #2 hole – he is fitting well there and that is where he was projected to be hitting long-term. He’s doing well there – why mess with a good thing; he and Martinez should NOT be moved, as we do have other options and problems in this lineup – leave those two as is.

Long-term, I would consider these two as leadoff men:

Brantley – the one we are expecting to take the position long-term, and one who fits the mold of an elite leadoff hitter (like Lofton) better than Grady. The strike zone discipline, the approach of using the whole field, and the elite speed are all there – we just need to bide time for him to stay healthy and hone his game.

Crowe – before someone claims I’ve gone off the deep end :-), the main reason I mention Crowe is to provide another internal option who has the same skill set you’d want in a leadoff man. A leadoff man does not have to have power (as I implied above, it might be better if he doesn’t have much power), so Crowe’s deficiency in power is not a concern. His main objective is to get on base and create havoc once he’s on the bases, which he has shown a propensity to do when he’s gone well in the Minors (admittedly, not often enough). Without saying, he is the long-shot as compared to Brantley, but at this point, I’m not ruling out anyone as long as we get a more traditional, elite leadoff man at the top of the order in the near future, as I don’t believe Grady’s skill-set works best there for him or for this team long-term.

If you want a real long-shot for the leadoff position, and third behind those two, I present Jose Constanza (I know – you really think I’ve gone off the deep-end now, LOL! :-) – the guy has been erratic, no question, but when he’s gone well, he has posted very solid OBPs (though old for his league, but I don’t think that’s much of a concern, being that we’re not focused on power here), he has solid knowledge of the strike zone, and he has, by all accounts, elite speed.

Again, Constanza is a longer shot than Crowe, and is a last resort option at THIS POINT in time – someone else may emerge from the system or in a trade that would be more appealing than Constanza, but at this point, I’m looking to anyone who has the skills of good plate discipline, consistent ability to use the whole field and get on base, and cause havoc when he’s on the bases with elite speed and baserunning ability. Power is not necessary, and actually, isn’t even preferred in my opinion – that’s why I submit those three for being our leadoff man, long-term, in this order: Brantley, Crowe, Constanza.

Just my 2 cents.

Yea, Grady was hitting the ball yesterday, but not a lot to show. Dellucci…..um……keep at it, buddy

Grady is, is, present tense, is still one of our very best hitters. No reason to bat him at #7, which would be seen as a slap in the face.