Realizing that none of us saw an opening crawl this year, I did some digging, and it does appear that losers did in fact all see this on opening day... ASTROS WARS Episode II THE LEAGUE CALLS IN SICK The ASTROS ORDER reigns. Having decimated the entire league, Supreme Leader Altuve now deploys his merciless legions to seize control of the league. Only a small band of RESISTANCE fighters stand against the rising force, certain that Shohei one-seven Ohtani will return and restore a spark of hope to the fight. But the league has been exposed. As the Astros Order speeds toward opening day, the disheveled losers mount a desperate escape.... And they ALL call in sick. This bootleg still was captured and posted by a Dodger's fan..
Guys in the top 4 typically all end up with close enough total AB's to make their absolute order negligible. Sure, Altuve could lead off. So could Correa. Fact remains, Springer has performed the best as a leadoff hitter compared to batting elsewhere. If he prefers batting there, and thrives there, he should stay there.
He has the stuff to accomplish that. His main downfall (IMO) is that he gets rattled. Errors by his teammates, bad calls by the ump in pressure situations and lots of traffic on the bases seem to get to him and throw him off at times. Conversely, when the bases are empty and he is pitching well, he can be lights out. Hopefully, its a maturity/age thing that he will outgrow in time.
Why do you persist? Springer will continue to lead off unless some weird injuries or trades occur. It has proven to be successful. They won the freaking World Series and Springer set the tone as the lead off man and, if you remember, won the MVP. If you want a “prototypical” lead off man, go watch old baseball games. Adapt. Enjoy.
1) I was merely shooting holes in Nick's logic 2) I am enjoying myself, thanks. 3) I persist because I still believe...
Care to respond to my response? There are no holes. Altuve could bat first. Correa could bat first. Springer batting first works best for him... and it turns out, the team. But sure... go on believing that the team would be better with a speedy little pissant leading off, because that's how it "should" be. You're probably hating the 3 point shot as well... silly gimmicks.
Sure... Your logic that moving Springer down would cause him to lose AB's. Your right here. But it also means Altuve and Correa would get more AB's. Then you say the 1-4 in the BO get about (close to) the same AB's, yet you also say moving Springer to the 5 or 6 would lessen his AB's too much. Is there some magical difference between the #4 and the #5 ? BTW, I would be fine with Springer in the 3 or 4 spot. Yes, you concede that Correa or Altuve could leadoff. But you go on to say the TEAM is better for Springer leading off. While your well within your rights to feel that way, Springer hasnt had significant AB's lower in the order with the team we have NOW. None in fact. So there is no data to empirically support the idea that Springer or the team would be worse off if he batted lower. And yes, there isnt data to support my position either, so its a wash.
I already miss Gurriel's professional AB's. He had one of the highest average EXIT VELOs in the game last year.
Here are some facts Astros won 100+ games with Springer as the primary leadoff guy. Astros won World Series with Springer as the only leadoff guy. Springer won World Series MVP as the only leadoff guy. Take that for data
I take it and raise you. What would they have done without Springer leading off? Thats right, you nor anyone else can say.
