Matchup/Game Thread Game # 102 vs. Reds

Elizardo Ramirez	Taylor Buchholz
3 - 6, 4.43	6 - 8, 5.57

While we spent some time earlier in the year playing with the lineup toy and even a perl program that would rank all 300,000 lineup possibilties by expected runs, what we hadn't done yet was take a look at the lineups Phil (and Cecil) have actually used, by wins and losses.

So that's what I spent my afternoon doing, and while all my results aren't ready for this evening's post, I can say that we've used a lot more lineups than you may realize.

In evaluating this, I wasn't worried about order, I was worried about personnel. Lance can affect the game if he bats seventh. But he can't if he's on the bench. So a lineup was counted as multiple-use if it used the same players regardless of where they batted.

And I was just looking at the top eight, forget about the pitcher.

It may be partially due to the injuries that have beset the club, and may be due to ineffectiveness by certain players, but the Astros have used 51 different lineups this year, order not important.

51!

By far the most common used was our Opening Day lineup of ?Ausmus Berkman Biggio Ensberg Everett Lane Taveras Wilson. It's been used 22 times so far, and the team is 11 - 11 when it starts the game.

We have a tie at second place, with

?Ausmus Berkman Biggio Burke Ensberg Everett Lamb Wilson

and

Berkman Biggio Ensberg Everett Lane Munson Taveras Wilson

having been used six times. The Ausmus lineup was 3 - 3 and the Munson lineup was 5 - 1. Since you ask, we are 11- 15 with Munson starting, 23 times at catcher, twice at first and once at DH.

Speaking of the DH, Phil trotted out six different nine-man lineups during the nine road games of interleague play.

Ausmus?? Berkman?? Biggio?? Burke?? Ensberg?? Everett?? Lamb?? Taveras Wilson??

were the least successful at 0 - 3 and

Berkman?? Bruntlett Ensberg?? Everett?? Lamb Lane?? Munson?? Taveras?? Wilson??

were the most succesful if you don't mind limited duty, winning the only game they started.

?Ausmus Berkman Biggio Ensberg Everett Lamb Taveras Wilson

was 4 - 1 in its five chances.

36 times, Garner wrote up a unique lineup, one that has only been used that one time this season. I think his weirdest unique lineup might have been for game 51, at the Pirates:

Ausmus?? Bruntlett? Burke?? Ensberg?? Lamb?? Lane?? Taveras?? Wilson??

No Berkman no Everett, not a single luxury. Like Robinson Crusoe they were primitive as can be. But they won, 5 - 4.

Anyway, it's getting close to game time, so I'll stop fucking around with this, and post. But I've got this spreadsheet I've made up, and I'll try to derive stuff like answers to the question, "what's our record with Wilson hitting fifth?" plus whatever else I can pull from it.

And maybe y'all were wondering something.

Go Astros!