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Live to Lead Off Another Day

Is it time for a change at the top spot?

Poll
Who Should Bat Leadoff in Game 6?
Erick Aybar
274 votes
Howie Kendrick
99 votes
Chone Figgins
274 votes
Bobby Abreu
26 votes

673 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  28 comments

Comments

Do not fear

Stay with they way- good things will come.

I voted Howie

wouldn’t mind Figgins there, per se, but Howie is a Yankee killer…the more ABs, the better.

I like Howie 6th, then have Rivera 7th , Mathis 8, OR, Mathis 7, Rivera 8. (actually I would prefer GMJ. WOW.)

 Mathis all the way baby!!! He is amazingly our hottest hitter!!!

i almost agree with you about Mathis

but I just can’t justify benching Naps’ opposite-field power in that stadium. if he lifts one, it’s gone.

He's gotta make contact first
His BP session yesterday was atrocious...

Naps didn’t hit a single ball with solid contact. Nothing but flares and chops.

Nah...

Its only a matter of time till Figgy gets Figgy with it.

a mater of time

2010 or ’11?

2010 with the cubs.
I think they give Aybar a shot in 2010
Come on Figgy

I believe in you. :(

Biggest change needed

is getting Rivera out of the lineup. He’s a one-man rally killer.

Hell, even GMJ would do better. He can’t make contact for shit, sure…but you can’t ground into a double play if you can’t even hit the ‘grounder’ part of it.

CKOD, this would be hillarious if it weren't so true.
Okay, I was NOT watching in the first inning when Rivera hit that "double play ball"

WHAT?! I know I was wrong about Rivera’s lack of hustle in Boston on the pop fly that dropped…. but someone tell why it looks like Rivera is walking to first base on the tail end of the double play?! This is some camera trick, right? Rivera is trying, right?

GMJ

yeah man let him play GMJ wont hit into DPs and he’ll take more pitches and has a higher chance to walk

People are voting Figgins?

He’s lucky he is even getting play time, considering not only the current 2/30, but his historical playoff performance which can only be described as, THE WORST PLAYOFF PERFORMANCE OF ALL TIME! ALL TIME!

Rivera is 2 more post season away from joining Figgy in that regard.
Scioscia has waited a long time to actually make moves, but lineup moves don’t really do jack. You need to bench dead weight, even if it could be their last game as an Angel. I’m all for benching Figgins against all lefties, and bat him 9th against the righties.

He sure as shit didn’t have any issues yanking Lackey in possibly his last appearance to push Teix to the right side, where he actually hit better this year and this post season.

I can live with Figgins hitting 9th.
Rivera had no business being in the lineup the last 5 games, but can you really bench him now before facing someone like Pettite? He should absolutely rake Pettite.

Maybe bench him if his 1st at bat looks like every at bat from the last 2 months.

STOP BENCHING KENDRICK
MATHIS NEEDS TO PLAY THESE LAST 2 GAMES
LACKEY’S MOLE DAMN NEAR EXPLODED TODAY!

I voted Figgins.

We’ve won five games and lost three games with him in that spot. I know how Figgins can turn it on, and he’s not pressing so much that he’s not taking walks when he can. I know that if he gets just a couple hits, that will lead to a couple great rallies, and I honestly love our chances with him at the top of the lineup.

He could go 9th, but I’m hesitant sticking Aybar in the leadoff spot at this point in the season. These are mid-season shakeups, not mid-series shakeups. That’s my opinion, anyway.

How much of those 5 wins has Figgy been responsible for?

How much of those 3 losses has Figgy been responsible for?

Answers:

1) not much
2) too much

Just how bad has Figgins been in the post-season?

This bad: Over the course of 131 plate appearances, he’s batting .169 with an OBP of .222. His defense is the best reason to keep him in the lineup for the rest of the ALCS. But for the entire 2009 season he only hit .246 w/ an OBP of only .325 versus lefties. The Yankees will start a lefty in both Games 6 and 7.

Aybar hit .325 versus lefties in 2009, and 4 of his 5 HRs came from the right side.

It’s very unusual to make a lineup move of this nature is such a crucial situation this late along the way. But in truth, a swap of Figgins and Aybar in the lineup when facing a lefty is a move that should have been done months ago. If I were managing, I’d roll the dice and do it for Game 6 and 7.

Let's compare Figgins entire post season career with Aybar vs lefties in 2009. Sounds fair.
He compared BOTH of their 2009 splits vs. lefties, actually

and just tossed in (a rather large sample size, even) Figgins’ postseason stats on top of that.

So he did. I'm half blind.
in their careers against LHP...

Figgins: .266/.340/.351
Aybar: .307/.341/.410

the OBP’s are the same, but i’ll take Aybar’s higher BA and SLG at this point. Figgins has done anything this postseason… what’s it going to hurt? Our backs are against the wall.

in the words of Dan Fouts – “Last game of the year, Brett. Can’t hold anything back now”.

Get Aybar in the 1-spot ...

can it really go any worse than what Figgins has been ? I love Figgy but 2 for 31 or whatever he is in the entire postseason is putrid… Angels are winning despite him, not because of him. Let Figgy figure things out from the 9- spot and get Aybar an early start on his 2010 spot in the lineup (should be his spot, anyway)

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