PRODUCTIVE #YANKEE LINEUP 101

I teach courses and develop students who want to someday teach in the public and/or private schools.

Every course has a purpose and it's own unique call number. Every lesson and project has an objective, every objective has an outcome associated with it. So, if we look at the science or behind the scenes of the structure of a team's workforce, its offensive and defensive layers, there is a calculated method behind who you pitch when you do, who plays where and who is in your lineup. This method stems from a strategy implanted in every game a team plays, but the objective is always the same: to win.

Now, there are always questions posed to managers by reporters looking for interesting nuggets and creative ways to write and tell stories. It's called news and in sports, the news is not always what you see but what you find out through asking good, well-articulated, outcome-based questions. So when it comes to lineups, one can see the amount of time and effort put into creating a lineup that's effective, that pairs a team with another team strategically and gives a team the best chance to win. But like making a seating chart in your classroom or for a big event like a wedding, pleasing everyone is out of the question. That's why managers are not about pleasing, they are about putting the best team for that day on the field in an order that statistically supports the most number of hits, on base percentages and runs against a pitcher.

I'd imagine the guys like Joe Girardi, John Farrell, Terry Francona, Joe Maddon and new manager Ryne Sandberg needing to take some time to think things through in a number of ways to get the best fit for that game. It must be an awful task, but when the formula works, we win, again and again. To help our skipper out, I've put some of my own thoughts together based on percentages and chemistry of our new team. Here's my opening day lineup, as long as everyone on the roster is cleared to play.

1. CF- Jacoby Ellsbury

2. SS- Derek Jeter

3. RF- Carlos Beltran

4. DH- Alfonso Soriano

5. 1B- Mark Teixeira

6. C- Brian McCann

7. 2B- Brian Roberts

8. 3B- Eduardo Nunez

9. LF- Brett Gardner

Now here is my thought process, which is probably not all that original, but purposeful, taking into consideration our strengths.  Firstly, there's speed and we have it with Ellsbury and Gardner bookending our lineup and with Nunez, capable of keeping it interesting as long as he is paying attention on the base paths.  Secondly, there's power, and we have it nicely distributed throughout the meat of the lineup in Beltran, Soriano, Teixeira and McCann.

Thirdly, there's Roberts, whose former manager Buck Showalter says has "a little more thump than people think," batting 7th, if of course he stays healthy.  Fourthly, there's our captain in the two-hole with presence, charisma, passion, polish and  veteran vision to see a way to get on base and win ball games.

I read an article in the Daily News the other day regarding Ellsbury's sore calf and got that old "here we go again" foreshadowing injury feeling.  But, I want to stay optimistic and say if everyone is healthy and cleared to play on Opening day, this is what I envision for our lineup.  It's not bracketology, it's science, and it can work for us this season.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



 
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