As the St. Louis Cardinals prepare to open their first season under new manager Mike Matheny, many have wondered how Matheny would construct his lineup.
Over the past several seasons, the Cardinals lineup almost always had two certainties. One was that Albert Pujols would bat third and the other was that former manager Tony La Russa would do his best to add a unique touch to the lineup card everyday.
Both Pujols and La Russa are gone, but it looks like Matheny is not changing much else and will employ some of the same strategies Cardinals fans have grown accustomed to.
As he announced earlier this spring, Matt Holliday will hit third in the lineup on a daily basis and is slotted their for the opener on Wednesday night.
But Matheny is also employing a popular trait of his predecessor by having some "pop" in the two hole.
Matheny has newly acquired Carlos Beltran hitting second in the lineup and center fielder Jon Jay, who hit second in 72 of the 107 games he started in 2011, will hit seventh.
Here is the Matheny's full lineup that he will run out to face Miami Marlins starter Josh Johnson.
1. Rafael Furcal SS
2. Carlos Beltran RF
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Lance Berkman 1B
5. David Freese 3B
6. Yadier Molina C
7. Jon Jay CF
8. Daniel Descalso 2B
9. Kyle Lohse P
What do you think? Should Jay, who had a .331 on base percentage while hitting second, or Beltran hit in the two hole?
Or is it just too early to be second guessing Matheny, considering he has yet to even manage and official MLB game?
Over the past several seasons, the Cardinals lineup almost always had two certainties. One was that Albert Pujols would bat third and the other was that former manager Tony La Russa would do his best to add a unique touch to the lineup card everyday.
Both Pujols and La Russa are gone, but it looks like Matheny is not changing much else and will employ some of the same strategies Cardinals fans have grown accustomed to.
As he announced earlier this spring, Matt Holliday will hit third in the lineup on a daily basis and is slotted their for the opener on Wednesday night.
But Matheny is also employing a popular trait of his predecessor by having some "pop" in the two hole.
Matheny has newly acquired Carlos Beltran hitting second in the lineup and center fielder Jon Jay, who hit second in 72 of the 107 games he started in 2011, will hit seventh.
Here is the Matheny's full lineup that he will run out to face Miami Marlins starter Josh Johnson.
1. Rafael Furcal SS
2. Carlos Beltran RF
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Lance Berkman 1B
5. David Freese 3B
6. Yadier Molina C
7. Jon Jay CF
8. Daniel Descalso 2B
9. Kyle Lohse P
What do you think? Should Jay, who had a .331 on base percentage while hitting second, or Beltran hit in the two hole?
Or is it just too early to be second guessing Matheny, considering he has yet to even manage and official MLB game?
I'd rather see Jon Jay in the 1 hole and Furcal in the 7 hole. I like Jon's speed at the top of the line-up. I could be wrong but we'll see.
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