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Looks like we have probably now made the biggest move in our off season and likely not much else will change...

So does anyone have a guess on what our batting order may look like?

At this point right now I'd go with this line up.. I still think they're going to add another bat..

R.Davis --CF
Y.Escobar --SS
J. Bautista -- 3B
A. Lind-- 1B
M.Napoli --DH
A. Hill--2B
T.Snider-- RF
J.Rivera-- LF
J.P Arencibia --C

LittleOzzy wrote:Looks like we have probably now made the biggest move in our off season and likely not much else will change...

that's what we all thought after the Marcum deal... just watch AA pull another one on us.

Anyways:

Davis
Escobar
Bautista
Snider
Hill
Lind
Rivera
Napoli
Arencibia

The only reason I put Snider at the 4 is because Lind has stated he dislikes the 4 spot for whatever reason.

i posted this in the offseason threadL:

Batting Order/ Fielders:

1/CF: Davis (R)
2/SS: Escobar (R)
3/RF: Snider (L)
4/3B: Bautista (R)
5/1B: Lind (L)
6/2B: Hill (R)
7/DH: Napoli (R)
8/LF: Rivera (R)
9/C: Arencibia (R)

This way it spreads out the lefties a bit

CF - Rajai Davis
2B - Aaron Hill
LF - Travis Snider
3B - Jose Bautista
1B - Adam Lind
C - Mike Napoli
SS - Yunel Escobar
RF - Juan Rivera
DH - Edwin Encarnacion

If Jays are done tinkering, then Corey Patterson has a good chance to stick. Eric Thames probably has a chance as well since they're both lefty bats.

They'll probably want to try Aaron Hill second in the lineup again to see if he can regain 2008 form, and makes for a more dangerous top of the order threat.

Snider's time to shine batting third in the lineup. Bautista protecting you = 30 HR this year.

hyper316 wrote:i posted this in the offseason threadL:

Batting Order/ Fielders:

1/CF: Davis (R)
2/SS: Escobar (R)
3/RF: Snider (L)
4/3B: Bautista (R)
5/1B: Lind (L)
6/2B: Hill (R)
7/DH: Napoli (R)
8/LF: Rivera (R)
9/C: Arencibia (R)

This way it spreads out the lefties a bit

if things go our way that could be deadly for opposing pitching

1. davis
2. yunel
3. lind
4. bautista
5. hill
6. snider
7. nap
8. ee
9.jpa

1. escobar 1. davis
2. hill 2. escobar
3. lind 3. Lind
4. Bautista 4. Bautista
5. Napoli 5. Napoli
6. Snider 6. Hill
7. Arencibia 7. Snider
8. Rivera 8. Arencibia
9. Davis 9. Rivera

1/CF: Davis (R)
2/2B: Hill (R)
3/LF: Snider (L)
4/3B: Bautista (R)
5/1B: Lind (L)
6/SS: Escobar (R)
7/DH: Napoli (R)
8/RF: Rivera (R)
9/C: Arencibia (R)

A few notes:

- I like Hill in the 2 spot - he's hit well there in the past and I think he will return to form this season. In the event he doesn't, I would swap him with Escobar
- We will give JPA a chance at starting C, thus making Napoli the DH. There's no way you don't use Napoli in the starting lineup - too much power/hitting ability there.
- As previously mentioned, the 3-5 spots in the lineup will absolutely mash this year.
- I think Lawrie has an outside shot at 3B at some point this year (if not outright coming out of ST). I would put him in the 8 spot and put Rivera on the bench. Shift Bautista back to RF.

Napoli is probably going to be our DH, you dont put a weak bat like Edwin in a hitters spot. I still hope to see JPA starting at the C spot and I want the watch Jose in RF.

1) CF - Rajai Davis
2) 2B - Aaron Hill
3) 1B - Adam Lind
4) 3B - Jose Bautista
5) LF - Travis Snider
6) DH - Mike Napoli
7) SS - Yunel Escobar
8) RF - Juan Rivera
9) C - JP Arencibia

I hope Arencibia's ready to be the catcher here. If he struggles really early we probably send him down and put Napoli in there.

1 CF R Davis
2 SS R Escobar
3 3B R Bautista
4 1B L Lind
5 DH R Napoli
6 LF L Snider
7 2B R Hill
8 RF R Rivera
9 C R Arencibia

Bench

C R Molina
1/3 R Encarnacion
2/S R McDonald
OF L Patterson

- Rivera actually has a decent arm so I have no problem with putting him at RF and keeping Bautista at 3B where we have no other options
- I like having Napoli the lefty masher sandwiched between Lind and Snider
- Patterson is the backup CF, can split playing time against righties with Davis.
- Encarnacion is the odd man out here, but can probably still get 3-4 starts a week subbing in for Rivera, Lind, Napoli.

End thoughts - There's a lot of versatility and flexibility with the roster. Good job AA.

R.Davis CF R
A.Hill 2B R
A.Lind 1B L
J.Bautista 3B R
T.Snider LF L
M.Napoli DH R
J.Rivera RF R
J.Arencibia C R
Y.Escobar SS R

I'd prefer Rivera as 4th OF 'cause then I think the flexibility would really be in good shape, but I'm actually not expecting another move before the season, 'cause I think they're leaving room for Lawrie as a mid-season call-up at 3B and Bautista back in RF.

satyr9 wrote:R.Davis CF R
A.Hill 2B R
A.Lind 1B L
J.Bautista 3B R
T.Snider LF L
M.Napoli DH R
J.Rivera RF R
J.Arencibia C R
Y.Escobar SS R

I'd prefer Rivera as 4th OF 'cause then I think the flexibility would really be in good shape, but I'm actually not expecting another move before the season, 'cause I think they're leaving room for Lawrie as a mid-season call-up at 3B and Bautista back in RF.

That's the ticket.

With Cito Gaston gone, we can actually use different lineups against different pitchers instead of being restricted to starting the same guys game after game and watching them fail (Lyle Overbay, Adam Lind against lefties). It will be a refreshing change.

In order to get John Buck his 20 HRs, Cito started JPA vs. Price, Davis, Lester, Hernandez, and CC in September. Way to bring in the rook. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing him against non-Cy Young caliber pitching, preferably 4 times a week.

I doubt Rivera will be the 4th OF. Other than Davis, no one on the projected 25-man roster can play CF, so chances are someone like Corey Patterson will make the team as the 4th OF. My guess is Rivera and Snider will play the corner OF spots while Napoli splits time between catcher, 1B, and DH. I just hope Arencibia gets to play the bulk of the time at catcher. No need to keep him on the bench in favor of Encarnacion.

R.Davis CF R
Y.Escobar SS R
A.Lind 1B L
J.Bautista 3B R
T.Snider LF L
A.Hill 2B R
M.Napoli DH R
J.Rivera RF R
J.Arencibia C R

speed at the top, lefties in the middle. The clear spots imo. are 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9. I'd love it if Snider can stick at the 5th or 6th spot of the batting order finally. Here's another one:

R.Davis CF R
Y.Escobar SS R
A.Hill 2B R
J.Bautista 3B R
A.Lind 1B L
T.Snider LF L
M.Napoli DH R
J.Rivera RF R
J.Arencibia C R

Either way you look at it, that's a pretty potent order, particularly if Hill and Lind can get their offense back.

vs. RHP

Davis-CF
Escobar-SS
Bautista-3B
Snider-LF
Napoli-DH
Lind-1B
Hill-2B
Rivera-RF
JPA-C

vs. LHP

Davis-CF
Escobar-SS
Napoli-C
Bautista-3B
Encarnacion-1B
Rivera-RF
Snider-LF
Lind/JPA-DH
Hill-2B

thought a bit about this one and looked at the splits, this lineup relies a lot on Snider becoming the player we all hope he will be.

edit moved Snider down 1 in LHP

1. Davis CF
2. Escobar SS
3. Lind 1B
4. Bautista 3B
5. Snider LF
6. Napoli DH
7. Hill 2B
8. Rivera RF
9. JPA C