[click on scratch paper to enlarge]
We've all witnessed a female fantasize about what it would be like to have her man's last name, subconsciously doodling it on a piece of paper. On the other hand, males -- cool ones anyway -- subconsciously scribble down possible lineups for their favorite team.
I'm willing to bet Charlie Manuel has given it some thought, and we know that Pat Gillick has too:
According to Gillick, both Jason Michaels and Shane Victorino - both considered possible starters before the Rowand deal - are still in the Phillies plans. Gillick even floated the idea of playing Burrell at first on certain days against left-handers to get Michaels playing time and give Ryan Howard a break.
You'll see in my lineups I have Howard sitting against lefties, but I'm only in favor of that when the Phillies face a tough lefthander, easing him along against lefties the way Charlie Manuel did with Chase Utley in 2005.
Several problems I ran into were ways to properly alternate lefthanded batters and righthanded batters. You'll also notice I have Bobby Abreu batting in the second slot. I still say he has too much power to bat leadoff, but his power numbers are declining [somewhat], so possibly the two-hole is a nice compromise.
Another issue to deal with when constructing a lineup is what to do with David Bell and Mike Lieberthal. I think the both will be on the Phillies roster in 2006, but hopefully there are other players that can spell or platoon with Bell and Lieby, like Bill Mueller and Carlos Ruiz.
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The Zoner has created a lineup for the '06 Sox...Jim Thome DH's and bats third.
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As usual, I have to ask, did you vote for Whitey today?
