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The "genius" has had all winter to mull things over in his mind.
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Leadoff man is still a mystery for Cards
By Joe Strauss
Post-Dispatch
03/20/2004
If Ray Lankford wins the starting job in left field, he will be a candidate to lead off for the Cardinals.
(Chris Lee/P-D)
JUPITER, Fla. - After coming south with questions swirling about their pitching, the Cardinals are less than two weeks from heading north with their lineup the most intriguing riddle.
If the most interesting issue isn't who plays second base, it is certainly who hits first.
Before Saturday's 4-3 exhibition win over the Baltimore Orioles, manager Tony La Russa referred to his lineup as "a uniquely different situation." Left field and second base remain unsettled, but who will have the distinction of making the team's first at-bat April 5 is a complete unknown.
One option is a 30-year-old outfielder with 579 major-league at-bats who has nothing to say about the competition. Another involves a recognized power hitter who missed last season and was thought done with the game until signing a minor-league contract two months ago. A third is a trade that would bring the Cardinals a second baseman or outfielder.
La Russa stoked the lineup fascination Saturday by saying he has considered a batting order listing the pitcher as its No. 8 hitter, thus diminishing the need for traditional traits such as speed and high on-base percentage in the leadoff spot.
Though he said he has only tinkered with the idea, La Russa insisted he would implement it if a better alternative doesn't surface during camp's final two weeks.
"Even if you put yourself on the line a little bit where somebody's going to second-guess or criticize you or whatever, I know it's how you survive," La Russa said. "It's all about looking in the mirror and sleeping at night. If I really believe 'X' is the best way to go - and the reason I don't go there is because the players might get upset, the media might get on my (case) or the owner might be upset - then how do you look at yourself in the mirror and say you took your best shot?"
La Russa used the pitcher as his No. 8 hitter for the second half of the 1998 season. The Cardinals were 40-46 while averaging 4.94 runs per game before the All-Star break compared to 43-33 while averaging 5.0 runs per game after the break. Placido Polanco, Eli Marrero and Tom Pagnozzi were most frequently assigned the No. 9 slot while Polanco, Delino DeShields and Royce Clayton often hit leadoff.
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La Russa said he has not discussed the possibility with his players. La Russa approached Reggie Sanders earlier in camp before batting the power-hitting rightfielder in the No. 2 slot. Placing a position player behind a pitcher in the batting order involves even more delicate issues regarding ego.
La Russa has decided to carry 12 pitchers and five extra position players - likely an extra catcher and two spare infielders and outfielders.
The cost-conscious Cardinals remain impressed by Rule 5 draft choice Hector Luna, 24, a talented but raw shortstop whose erratic arm caused him to be left off the Cleveland Indians' 40-man roster last winter. General manager Walt Jocketty probably will try to broker a trade in the upcoming days with Indians GM Mark Shapiro that would allow the club to option Luna to Class AAA Memphis. Without a deal, the Cardinals must offer Luna back to the Indians for $25,000 if they choose not to carry him on their 25-man roster.
Jocketty is trying to acquire a lefthanded-hitting infielder. Ironically, he could dangle lefthanded-hitting Marlon Anderson, once the club's projected second baseman.
The Cardinals watched Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, a potential trade target, during Saturday's exhibition; however, the Orioles announced during the game that nonroster utility player Mark McLemore will have surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee.
The Orioles' incumbent starting second baseman, Jerry Hairston, is expected to miss the season's first four weeks after fracturing a finger in the Orioles' exhibition opener. Hairston and Roberts are leadoff types.
Bo Hart, the Cardinals' current favorite to start opening day at second base, is without a walk this spring after amassing a .317 on-base percentage last season. Hart, who served as leadoff hitter a team-high 59 games last season, is expected to bat eighth or ninth this year.
La Russa has offered few clues to the identity of his eventual leadoff hitter. Kerry Robinson, who has fewer than 600 at-bats in pieces of five major-league seasons, typically handles the chore when in the lineup but trails Ray Lankford in the left-field derby.
"You have your choice of guys who get on base with line drives or guys who get on base with extra-base hits," La Russa said. "I look at leadoff and second together."
Confident he could secure the role before reaching camp, Robinson has had nothing to say about his candidacy since the exhibition schedule began March 4.
The Hazelwood East alum, who cited local ties as a factor in accepting the team's one-year offer rather than risk a nontender, has adopted a no-comment policy regarding baseball-related questions. Robinson is hitting .308 with four walks and three steals after embracing a more patient approach at the plate.
La Russa spoke favorably Saturday of Robinson's performance but stopped shy of projecting his status. "You can see he's more confident working his at-bats. He also has said it's something he'd do given the opportunity. And he's right," the manager said.
Should Lankford win the left-field job after not playing last season, he would be a strong candidate to bat leadoff barring a trade, according to several sources close to the situation. Lankford has 206 strikeouts in his last 594 at-bats but has impressed hitting coach Mitch Page with a modified top-down swing.
"I've got to do what (I) feel is best, whether it's an in-game decision, your lineup, or pitching. This is a uniquely different situation," La Russa said.
The issue should be kept in perspective as well, the manager cautioned. Referring to his team's 876 runs in 2003, he said, "All I know is we scored 800-plus runs last year. ... We didn't do a great job of table-setting, but we scored 800-plus runs, third-most in the franchise's history. There's probably something right with the lineup we had."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leadoff man is still a mystery for Cards
By Joe Strauss
Post-Dispatch
03/20/2004
If Ray Lankford wins the starting job in left field, he will be a candidate to lead off for the Cardinals.
(Chris Lee/P-D)
JUPITER, Fla. - After coming south with questions swirling about their pitching, the Cardinals are less than two weeks from heading north with their lineup the most intriguing riddle.
If the most interesting issue isn't who plays second base, it is certainly who hits first.
Before Saturday's 4-3 exhibition win over the Baltimore Orioles, manager Tony La Russa referred to his lineup as "a uniquely different situation." Left field and second base remain unsettled, but who will have the distinction of making the team's first at-bat April 5 is a complete unknown.
One option is a 30-year-old outfielder with 579 major-league at-bats who has nothing to say about the competition. Another involves a recognized power hitter who missed last season and was thought done with the game until signing a minor-league contract two months ago. A third is a trade that would bring the Cardinals a second baseman or outfielder.
La Russa stoked the lineup fascination Saturday by saying he has considered a batting order listing the pitcher as its No. 8 hitter, thus diminishing the need for traditional traits such as speed and high on-base percentage in the leadoff spot.
Though he said he has only tinkered with the idea, La Russa insisted he would implement it if a better alternative doesn't surface during camp's final two weeks.
"Even if you put yourself on the line a little bit where somebody's going to second-guess or criticize you or whatever, I know it's how you survive," La Russa said. "It's all about looking in the mirror and sleeping at night. If I really believe 'X' is the best way to go - and the reason I don't go there is because the players might get upset, the media might get on my (case) or the owner might be upset - then how do you look at yourself in the mirror and say you took your best shot?"
La Russa used the pitcher as his No. 8 hitter for the second half of the 1998 season. The Cardinals were 40-46 while averaging 4.94 runs per game before the All-Star break compared to 43-33 while averaging 5.0 runs per game after the break. Placido Polanco, Eli Marrero and Tom Pagnozzi were most frequently assigned the No. 9 slot while Polanco, Delino DeShields and Royce Clayton often hit leadoff.
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La Russa said he has not discussed the possibility with his players. La Russa approached Reggie Sanders earlier in camp before batting the power-hitting rightfielder in the No. 2 slot. Placing a position player behind a pitcher in the batting order involves even more delicate issues regarding ego.
La Russa has decided to carry 12 pitchers and five extra position players - likely an extra catcher and two spare infielders and outfielders.
The cost-conscious Cardinals remain impressed by Rule 5 draft choice Hector Luna, 24, a talented but raw shortstop whose erratic arm caused him to be left off the Cleveland Indians' 40-man roster last winter. General manager Walt Jocketty probably will try to broker a trade in the upcoming days with Indians GM Mark Shapiro that would allow the club to option Luna to Class AAA Memphis. Without a deal, the Cardinals must offer Luna back to the Indians for $25,000 if they choose not to carry him on their 25-man roster.
Jocketty is trying to acquire a lefthanded-hitting infielder. Ironically, he could dangle lefthanded-hitting Marlon Anderson, once the club's projected second baseman.
The Cardinals watched Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, a potential trade target, during Saturday's exhibition; however, the Orioles announced during the game that nonroster utility player Mark McLemore will have surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee.
The Orioles' incumbent starting second baseman, Jerry Hairston, is expected to miss the season's first four weeks after fracturing a finger in the Orioles' exhibition opener. Hairston and Roberts are leadoff types.
Bo Hart, the Cardinals' current favorite to start opening day at second base, is without a walk this spring after amassing a .317 on-base percentage last season. Hart, who served as leadoff hitter a team-high 59 games last season, is expected to bat eighth or ninth this year.
La Russa has offered few clues to the identity of his eventual leadoff hitter. Kerry Robinson, who has fewer than 600 at-bats in pieces of five major-league seasons, typically handles the chore when in the lineup but trails Ray Lankford in the left-field derby.
"You have your choice of guys who get on base with line drives or guys who get on base with extra-base hits," La Russa said. "I look at leadoff and second together."
Confident he could secure the role before reaching camp, Robinson has had nothing to say about his candidacy since the exhibition schedule began March 4.
The Hazelwood East alum, who cited local ties as a factor in accepting the team's one-year offer rather than risk a nontender, has adopted a no-comment policy regarding baseball-related questions. Robinson is hitting .308 with four walks and three steals after embracing a more patient approach at the plate.
La Russa spoke favorably Saturday of Robinson's performance but stopped shy of projecting his status. "You can see he's more confident working his at-bats. He also has said it's something he'd do given the opportunity. And he's right," the manager said.
Should Lankford win the left-field job after not playing last season, he would be a strong candidate to bat leadoff barring a trade, according to several sources close to the situation. Lankford has 206 strikeouts in his last 594 at-bats but has impressed hitting coach Mitch Page with a modified top-down swing.
"I've got to do what (I) feel is best, whether it's an in-game decision, your lineup, or pitching. This is a uniquely different situation," La Russa said.
The issue should be kept in perspective as well, the manager cautioned. Referring to his team's 876 runs in 2003, he said, "All I know is we scored 800-plus runs last year. ... We didn't do a great job of table-setting, but we scored 800-plus runs, third-most in the franchise's history. There's probably something right with the lineup we had."
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