Joe posted his Opening Day lineup a few weeks ago, and now, with about 3 weeks left before the Cards open up in Philly, I’ll unveil mine (I have an advantage here, watching a few weeks of camp to handicap some positional battles)..
This lineup is assuming Jon Leiber starts on the bump opening day…
1. SS, Eckstein, David: Not much more you can say about this spot. He’ll be permanently entrenched here again this year provided he doesn’t go into a Corey Patterson-like slump (which isn’t going to happen). You know what you’re getting with Eck offensively and defensively, and I will guarantee you right now he will have another moment this year like he did last year that Sunday afternoon against Atlanta (walk off granny anyone?)
2. LF, Bigbie, Larry: There are a few guys that have had a better spring then Bigbie (Chris Duncan, Scott Spezio, Brian Daubach) but I think with Bigbie’s ability to hit left-handed and hit out of the 2 spot will probably give him the start on opening day (if the Phillies were starting a lefty, Taguchi would pretty much be a guarantee to start). I like Bigbie here because when healthy he can get on base and see a lot of good pitches ahead of Pujols…key phrase there being “when healthy.”
3. 1B, Pujols, Albert: I’m not even going to explain.
4. CF, Edmonds, Jim: Keeping with the righty, lefty, righty, lefty theme, I really like Edmonds in the 4 hole. La Russa might go with Rolen at 4 and Edmonds at 5, but I would like the righty/lefty scenario better only because it creates matchup problems late in games for managers facing 1-5. I would be willing to stake some dough that Edmonds returns to form this year and hits right around .285 (no more of this .260 garbage)…his power numbers will be there as usual.
5. 3B, Rolen, Scott: When healthy, the best 3B in the NL and the best defensive player in either league at any position (yea, I said it). I don’t think Rolen’s power numbers will be like normal because I just don’t know if he’ll have his power stroke back from that shoulder, but he’s having a fairly good start to spring (albeit a late one) and it looks like he’s seeing the ball very well. No HR’s yet but I have seen him just miss a few…might be a reflection of the shoulder surgery…we’ll have to wait and see…the success of this team rides on Rolen’s shoulder.
6. RF, Encarnacion, Juan: He’ll be here all year, so get used to it. I’ve already heard Cards fans complaining about his lack of effort and being a defensive liability in the WBC for the DR, but it IS Spring Training, so, I’m going to hold off on my judgements for a few weeks. I think, hitting in this lineup, with these professional hitters, that he’ll have a breakout year offensively. I think he’ll be more selective at the plate as well (cross my fingers).
7. C, Molina, Yadier: Most people don’t realize yet how excited I am about this kid. He was hitting the daylights out of the ball before he left for the WBC (where he hasn’t seen a whole lot of PT playing behind Pudge, but he’ll be returning to camp sometime this week, thankfully) and his defense speaks for itself. These pitchers trust the hell outta Yadi and he’s only going to make the #5 starter (sounds like Ponson) better and more comfortable when he comes back this week. Look for him to have a career high in most offensive categories (staying healthy the key).
8. 2B, Spivey, Junior: He had the job going into camp, and he’ll have the job going out of camp. No one else has impressed at the position (Luna has 5 errors I think this spring..yikes…but Luna will still make this club, his versatility and speed are much needed) and Spivey is a former All-Star and veteran, two characteristics Tony has got to love. Aaron Miles started out smoking at the plate but got hurt and hasn’t seen hardly any AB’s since the first week of camp, which has hurt his stock considerably. Spezio has played 2B in the past but hasn’t played there in a few years (no way do I put him at 2B)….Spivey will be riding around in the convertible as the opening day 2B when new Busch opens…and when they open the season in Philly. I like him hitting here behind Molina because it gives Tony more options to run, bunt and run, hit and run, etc. with Spivey here then if Molina was here…that, and Molina is probably the better hitter..he’s just slow as dirt.
9. P, Carpenter, Chris: There’s been talk that Chris shouldn’t pitch in the first series and be saved for the weekend series against the Cubs, there’s been talk that he shouldn’t pitch in the Cubs series so he can pitch opening day @ Busch..but I’m sorry, the reigning Cy Young award winner is your opening day starter…..period.
Like I said..I had it easier then Joe because I’m doing this a lot later then he did….but I’ll throw some more names at you….quickly filling out the 25 man opening day roster (- the 9 guys I already mentioned)….Tony will carry 12 pitchers out of camp
Mulder
Ponson
Suppan
Marquis
Looper
Rincon
Isringhausen
Flores
Thompson
Reyes
T. Johnson (don’t know about carrying 3 lefties in the pen..but we’ll see…this spot might be Mateo’s considering his situation…or Wainwright’s….but I have a feeling that Wainwright gets traded before we head north for the season)
Taguchi
Luna
Bennett
J-Rod
Spezio
**I actually like our bench a lot if these are the 5 guys we go with…cept for Bennett…but we need a backup catcher..so meh
There you have it..come back in a few weeks and see how wrong I was….Go Birds!
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