DODGERS REPORT Is leadoff spot the Achilles heel? By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com February, 5, 2013 | 12:18 PM PT About a month ago, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly left his home in Indiana to drop by the Dodgers' mini-camp in Arizona. First, he diverted to Houston, where he started getting to know his new left fielder, Carl Crawford. Afterward, Mattingly told reporters that Crawford would willingly bat leadoff for the Dodgers. In Boston, Crawford's spot in the order was a hot topic of debate, with a widely held suspicion that he's about as fond of batting leadoff as he is of paying taxes. "He said he didn't know where that came from," Mattingly said. "He said he heard that on ESPN. He said he would do whatever we want him to do." Maybe a better question is why would they want him to? Crawford was a dynamic player in Tampa Bay, before injuries and two seasons of Boston turmoil slowed him down, but he has never been even remotely ideal as a leadoff guy. Just not his thing. He's a career .302 hitter in the No. 2 spot, almost 20 points better than as a leadoff hitter. Hitting leadoff, a spot that demands plate discipline, just doesn't seem to be in his nature. Crawford isn't a particularly selective hitter. He has walked more than 50 times in a season only once and his career swing rate is 52.9 percent. He swings at 31.6 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, according to Fangraphs, and has a career-high on-base percentage (in 2009 with Tampa Bay) of .364. He's not exactly the ideal guy to set the tone for what Mattingly and hitting coach Mark McGwire are hoping will be more patient, disciplined Dodgers at-bats this season. On the other hand, Crawford can be devastating as a No. 2 hitter. With a runner on base, pitchers are more likely to throw him fastballs. They're more likely to throw him strikes. In 2010, he had hits in 57 percent of his bunt attempts, so he can apparently handle the bat pretty well. But here's the problem (and it's maybe the biggest challenge Mattingly and McGwire face this spring): who else is going to hit first in the order if Crawford doesn't? Nick Punto? Skip Schumaker? Do you really want those guys in your lineup every day? Mark Ellis? Maybe a bit, against lefties, but hardly an exciting prospect. This is the point in the discussion where we may pause and ask, "Isn't Michael Bourn still available?" Well, yeah, he is -- and according to reports, he's looking for a five-year deal and his most ardent pursuer, the New York Mets, have only been willing to guarantee three. And if we've learned nothing else about the Dodgers this winter, it's that they have tended to solve problems by writing really big checks. But it's complicated. To accommodate Bourn -- a Gold Glove center fielder -- the Dodgers would have to move two of their best players. They would have to move Andre Ethier out of town (and they insist they don't want to do that) and they would have to move Matt Kemp to right field (something he says he's not ready for). And while, for a minute, it's fun to imagine the defensive prowess of an outfield made up of Crawford, Bourn and Kemp, a quick glance at career stats tells us that Bourn will steal bases and score runs, but not get on base regularly enough (career OBP of .339) to justify revamping the outfield to include him. So, for now, the leadoff quandary remains one of the central themes of the upcoming camp. Look at it this way: you've got to build some intrigue over six weeks of spring training or what's the point, right? __
It seemed like last season whoever batted leadoff made an out in their first at bat 99% of the time. Very rarely did the leadoff hitter get on base to start the game and set the tone for the rest of the game. It seemed like there was instantly one out in the first inning for the Dodgers with nobody on base. There can't be a repeat of this in the upcoming season. I don't have a solution however. I keep looking up and down the roster and can't find the guy who would make me comfortable batting leadoff and do things that leadoff hitters do.
I like the idea of finding a genuine lead off man and Crawford hitting second. A one two punch to get the game going. Small ball and base stealing at the top of the lineup. Dee would have to a have remarkable spring for me to consider him back on the team and batting leading off (and Cruuz would have to have a bad spring to lose his starting 3B role in that scenario). If Cruuz has a great spring - I might consider him hitting lead off until we get a real lead off guy. Yeah, he's young and not the type, not the base stealer at all - but he does hit for average and at least it would help set up the rest of the lineup to start the season. Maybe that's no better than the other options, though. I am worried. With Hanley gone we won't be able to see how the infield fares until April. I would hate to lose a bunch of games to start the season because we are trying to figure this shit out.
My number one is Mark McGwire helping Crawford become a leadoff hitter. Second option is Hanley. Right now, Mark is probably the safe choice--because he's a savy vet who did pretty well at it last year. But he's not exactly an OBP machine himself. I have considered the leadoff spot a huge problem all through the off season and I hope something gets figured out.
good to hear, regardless of where he hits Mattingly told reporters that Crawford would willingly bat leadoff for the Dodgers. In Boston, Crawford's spot in the order was a hot topic of debate, with a widely held suspicion that he's about as fond of batting leadoff as he is of paying taxes. "He said he didn't know where that came from," Mattingly said. "He said he heard that on ESPN. He said he would do whatever we want him to do."
kinda leaning toward an m ellis/schumaker semi-platoon with skip getting periodic starts against righties
If it's Crawford I'm guessing it'll be Crawford-Ellis-Gonzo-Kemp-Ethier-Hanley-Cruz-Ellis? I wouldn't hate that tbh.
Fuck it....lets just sign bourn and worry about the outfield logjam later. We have 8 starting pitchers why cant we have 4 outfielders. Problem solved.
Hit the pitcher leadoff... It sends the message "yes bitches, we will outscore you even giving you the first out as a gift"
