As seen here, Lee wants to hit 4th in the lineup, and I'm 100% behind Lee in this. He should bat 4th... right behind Berkman, and right in front of Tejada. It's how lineups are supposed to be configured. You put your best hitter 3rd, followed by your 2nd best in the 4 hole... No reason to question tried and tested philosophy. You just do it and don't think about it. If you want to get fancy with the lineup, you might(if your team layout deems it feasible), do something like batting a speed guy 9th with the pitcher 8th(like LaRussa has done multiple times), or switch around lead off hitters to try and spark someone. But you don't put your 2nd best hitter in the 5 hole and your best hitter in the 4 hole... you just don't do it.
Obviously this is just my opinion and I have no where near the baseball experience that Cooper has, but I think Cooper is wrong even tinkering with the idea of Berkman not batting 3rd in front of Lee.
Lee, who hasn't hidden his dislike for the five-hole, playfully blamed his skipper for his hitless day at the plate.I know I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again... at least 3 times... but the lineup should be:
"He blamed me for being 0-for-3 today, for hitting in the five-spot," Cooper said. "I have to go back to the drawing board now. I can't have him going [hitless]."
Lee prefers to hit fourth, and he's expressed as much to his manager. That said, Lee has no intentions to make this an issue in the clubhouse. He'll do what he's asked, even if it means hitting fifth.
- Bourn
- Pence
- Berkman
- Lee
- Tejada
- Wigginton
- Matsui
- Towles
- Pitcher