Quote: Church Loves Batting Second
Ryan Church was 2 for 4 last night, with a home run, against a lefty, while once again hitting from the number two spot in the batting order.
Church is batting .350, with two HR and five RBI in 20 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season.
Church, on batting second:
“I love it…I’ve been getting some pitches that I’ve been able to do something with.”
Willie Randolph, on why the switch in the lineup:
“Well, you know, when I make moves like that, it’s because I know my players better than any one. I have a good feel for my players. I watch BP, I watch how guys are swinging…I think when you face a guy like Chico, and (other left-handed pitchers), you take away their change up by putting a guy like Church in that spot where – you take that away from him, now there’s fastballs and Church takes advantage of that. So, that’s my thought process. I don’t always go in to detail, because sometimes it’s just a feeling that I have.”
…i still feel that this new lineup wastes church’s and Luis Castillo’s greatest assets…however, it’s hard to deny that the team has been scoring in this new method…i’ll concede that this may be the best option against lefties, because a) it breaks up the other left-handed bats, and b) it gets church more fastballs, which he clearly enjoys as evident by his quote and results…so, maybe this is good, maybe they go with this lineup against lefties and the other lineup against righties…
