Today's lineup has JJ, JW, Winn, Burly, Scott

[rockondlouie]

Winn walks, SB, scores on JJ single

JJ now hitting .375 w/a 1.365 OPS

Yeah, but is he doing it the right way?

If he can stay healthy, JJW is a kid you simply install in the lineup and leave alone. He will have his ups and downs in a rookie season, but you just stick with him. Let's hope that Oli has been told by Bloom to do that and not jerk the kid around. JJW can hit and he will have a better OBP than anyone else on the team. I don't expect him to hit over .300 with OPS over 1.000. Maybe, but he is a rookie. But he will still be one of the best 2 or 3 hitters in the lineup and Oli needs to play him except for the needed day off now and then. Oli has been making sure JJW gets lots of ABs so far in ST, so maybe there is hope. You wanna sell tickets, at least JJW might be a bright spot.... This team could sniff .500 if things go well. Or they could win 70 games. I am not too worried about JJ. They need the pitchers to step up, and they need at least one of Walker or Gorman to actually become a good player. They also need one other OFer to step up and be at least league average. CF will probably remain an offensive black hole, but hey, yaneverknow....

Been saying the same thing bcc, no jerking him around in the field or the lineup!

Plant the kid at 2nd base, bat him lead-off or in the #2 hole and let him play as many games as he can handle.

If they only had a reliable lead off hitter, then JJ could bat in the 2 hole. He takes a lot of pitches allowing the lead off hitter to run. He also would be good at the hit and run, and would probably get a lot of favorable counts given his good eye. As a manager you would have a lot of options with a good lead off hitter followed by JJ. I don't see VSII being that guy though, and Noot is always injured and has a total of 28 career SBs.... Church stole 24 bags in the minors last year, but he has to get on base, and also he has to get a chance to play. I would certainly give him a lot of innings in ST to see if he has potential. I just don't see VSII ever being enough of a hitter to be at the top of a lineup. Church at least did hit in AAA. We shall see. If JJ is good enough to be your lead off hitter, then you need someone to bat in the 2 hole with a good eye and some bat control. I am just not big on Noot. He has his streaks, but has not shown himself to be a consistent MLB hitter over the course of a season. Hopefully someone steps up. Burley clogs the bases. I dunno, let's see how it plays out.

Spot on, here's what I have said:

Re: What is your opening day lineup?
Post by rockondlouie » 05 Feb 2026 12:30 pm

Noot is the perfect lead-off man who works counts and gets on base at a .343 clip when leading-off.

I like JJW in the #2 hole where his batting skills and extra base hit power could do some damage.