Poll: Church or Castillo Batting Second
Lately, Willie Randolph has experimented with his batting order – especially at the number two spot in the order.
Ryan Church has replaced Luis Castillo, who had been bumped down to eight in the order, except for when Raul Casanova starts at catcher.
Since last Sunday, Castillo has gone 9-for-31, with one RBI, five walks, and three runs scored. His on-base percentage this year is .338, his lowest since 1998. He also has only four hits in his last 21 at bats.
Church has a hit in 12 of his last 31 at bats, scored 11 times, walked three times, and drove in two. His OBP for the year is .397 and he has an eight-game hitting streak.
…the two-hole should be reserved for a contact hitter with a high on-base percentage who can move the leadoff man into scoring position…
…historically yes, castillo better fits the outline for a No. 2 guy, but this year he hasn’t showed me much…we’re only 18 games into the season, but castillo hasn’t displayed much of the same ability he showed last year by slapping base-hits, laying down bunts, and beating out infield singles, which makes me think that for now, church is a much better fit at No. 2 except for when the light-hitting casanova is in the lineup…
[poll=73]
