It is entirely possible that a fulltime Figgins is indeed the worst hitter in Ms lineup. In fact, it is rather likely.
Oh, I suppose Ryan could be worse, maybe Guti....but it is difficult to think that anybody may be more futile than Figgins. Very difficult.
No way that either Wells or Seager hit worse, given the playing time. Not on this earth. (Wells doesn't play 3B, I know)
Liddi? 25 taters, say no more.
Even Olivo has a better bat.
All the same, I'm not bothered by the idea that the M's couldn't possible score runs, even with a horrible/hacking Figgins leading off. I am bothered by the idea that Wedge seems to have simply annointed Figgins as his 3B/probable lead-off hitter before seeing him swing a bat against a live pitcher....and before watching Seager or Liddi do the same.
This is absurd, and rediculously so. Figgins costs the M's the same whether he plays or doesn't. There certainly wasn't a line of GM's standing at the door over the winter, licking their chops at the idea of swapping for Figgins. They, too, find it unlikely that we're going to turn him into a silk purse. And I'm willing to bet the M's shopped him around, and were willing to eat some significant salary, too. Playing him early is unlikely to create much demand for him.
So, rather open the position up to a ST challenge and saying the best player is opening at 3B, we annoint the likely worst player (in my opinion, of course) as the King of the Hot Corner.
Putting the worst bat first is less the issue for me than simply putting it in the lineup, come hell or high water.
You put a Ryan in the lineup because he has a World Class glove, not so Figgins.
Is there any likely Opening Day 3B in the whole of MLB that brings more dismal projections than Chone Figgins.
I feel like it's 1st and 10 and we're punting already.
Doc, we may as well just give the position to Enzo Hernandez.
Even if he OPS's a whopping 90, there is no way this is worth the lost opportunity for Seager, or even Liddi (who seems to have been washed out, already).
Whoever is responsible for this one, please stand up.
Man up and let us all join in a Bronx cheer.
moe
C'mon, there are lots of people can't hit like me and Edgar
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Let DaddyO go first:
We can't afford a real 3B, but we can afford to risk blowing off April/May 2012 and start-of-the-season momentum if Figgins hits .250 / .310 in spring training, just enough to sustain life support on hope that we can get value out of him.
Yeah, let's dive underwater in the middle of the Atlantic, try and seal the leaky hull with Carlos Guillen and George Sherrill and Kevin Millwood and everybody for a 2012 sailing into the playoffs ... maybe push Paxton and/or Hultzen in there, Carp in LF, pedal to the metal, see if we can't surprise ... and then point the cannon into the bottom of the keel and let fly with a Figgins experiment.
First AB of the entire season, and many thereafter, will be a clarion cry from the Crow's Nest ... "Land NOT Ho!"
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Hang on one second, though.
What we are used to seeing, is a leadoff hitter ground out weakly ... and then also see the next 8 guys feeb out behind him also. This is a compelling picture of futility, one that conditions us to hate the leadoff hitter. A picture's worth 1,000 words, and we saw this picture approximately 162 times last season.
But! What happens if the leadoff hitter isn't helping ... but then the Ackleys, Monteros, Carps and Smoaks behind him are launching the ball into the nether regions of the park? Suppose, on Opening Night, Figgins feebs but ... Ackley has a single and double, Carp has a 432-foot shot, Smoak's on base twice and Jesus Montero doubles in two runs?
Well, the Mariners score five or six runs and win 5-1 behind Felix. Despite Figgins' 0-for-5.
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=== Edgar. Is. Good., Dept. ===
One team that actually played this way was the 1996 Mariners.... actually the entire 1990's Mariners sequence, but the 1996 Mariners illustrate it best.
The 1990's Mariners routinely had their worst hitter, or one of their worst hitters, batting leadoff, every year.
In 1996, Joey Cora was definitely their weakest hitter other than Russ Davis -- Cora had a 91 OPS+ in the Kingdome, and for a leadoff hitter, 5 SB's and 5 CS's don't cut it. Lou kept running Cora out there because all of Lou's best hitters were RBI men. This is precisely the case with the 2012 Mariners: They go into camp with four good hitters, each of whom is an RBI man.
The 1990's Mariners ran Joey Cora's 91 OPS+ out there game after game, and in 1996 they scored a thousand runs. Cora would swing at the first pitch and pop it up, and then after he did, Edgar and ARod and Junior and Bone would start in on the opposing pitcher.
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=== Kwibbles and Bits, Dept. ===
It's true that Cora didn't always hit first for the 90's M's, but when he didn't, it was somebody like Darren Bragg or Rich Amaral. Go through the #1-#9 splits for those teams and you'll be shocked at the robust numbers #2-6 contrasted with the weak ones at #1.
It's also true that Figgins is capable of a much, much worse OPS+ than Cora's 90. If Figgins is going 0-for-5 on a nightly basis, that's a tougher drag on the scoreboard. Still: if Carp slugs .500, he slugs .500, right?
It was annoying that the Griffey Mariners never had a leadoff man, but it didn't stop Junior from slugging .600. If Jesus Montero is really Albert Pujols, then having a weak spot at leadoff won't stop the M's from scoring runs.
Comments
To heckle Figgins at Tokyo Dome!
You may hear me screaming "Mental Midget" on that Game 1...!
Is this like deferring in football? This way you get the worst bat out of the way and then the rest of the line up looks pretty awesome?
With age and rebuilding factors far beyond 2012....short leash please!
I guess the 90's M's kinda did do that. Once they got into the 4-HOF'er run it was pretty intense.
Somebody, anybody, hold up your hand if you do NOT want Chone Figgins on a short leash.