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In a post to his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman quotes a long-time National League scout as saying, while the Phillies have spirit and the Braves can hit, “I really think the 
Mets are the class of the division if – and this is my big if – if the two Carloses hit.”
…there has been a lot of talk regarding Carlos Delgado, and rightfully so, but some are saying that Carlos Beltran is getting a free pass from due criticism…
In 110 at bats this season, Beltran is hitting .218 with just two home runs and 13 RBI - all while batting clean up.
Beltran is hitting .167 with runners on base, and is 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position and two outs.
However, he is on pace to draw nearly 130 walks this season, compared to just 69 all of last year.
…to me, this says he is not getting any quality pitches to hit…and so he is being patient and taking the walk…and when he does choose to swing, if you notice, most of the pitches are outside of the strike zone – and, as such, he is on pace to strike out the most of any season in his career…
…frankly, you can thank delgado’s struggles and the early-season absence of Moises Alou for this…i mean, why would any pitcher give beltran a decent pitch to hit if the only threat behind him is Ryan Church, assuming he isn’t batting second that day…
…also, there are lots of people who keep suggesting that beltran is playing in pain…to which i think, no kidding…when isn’t he playing in pain…i suspect he hit 40 home runs in 2006 while in pain, and he strikes out in pain…it is what it is…
…the problem, now, be it physical or mental, is that beltran looks to have developed some bad habits – probably from having the bat on his shoulder so much – and now seems to legitimately be in a slump…such is baseball…
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Beltran is in a precarious position. Delgado became his protection in ‘06 as well as his familiarity to confidence. Now that Delgado is neither, I wonder if Beltran welcomes Delgado’s departure after this year
Just throwing it out there… how does the fan base feel about Beltran in the 2 hole?
1. Reyes
2. Beltran
3. Wright
4. Church
5. Alou
6. Delgado…. etc.
Positives: Beltran could see better pitches with the improved protection, he will take enough pitches to let Reyes steal a base, has good speed, and its a pretty smart hitter
Negatives: Strikes out and doesnt make contact all the time, Church has flourished in the 2-hole so why would we move him?, supposedly has too much power for the prototypical 2-hitter
Thoughts?
Might not be a bad idea only because where he is now isn’t working. It could help get him out of his slump maybe. Then when he gets hot and starts hitting for power again, he can slide back to #4.
i’ve said this alot recently
As crazy as it might sound, I’d like to see:
1. Reyes
2. Church
3. Wright
4. Delgado (yes, I know)
5. Beltran
6. Alou
This way Delgado might see more fastballs, as would Beltran since Alou is more of a threat behind him than Delgado. Maybe it would also get Delgado back on track.
Delgado’s problem is that his bat has slowed and he can’t catch up to the fastballs like he used to . . . Seeing more fastballs isn’t going to help if he can’t hit ‘em.
I’ve always been a big Delgado fan and hoped he could turn it around this year, but I’m finally on the bandwagon believing he’s probably close to done . . .
I kind of see what you are trying to do here. But I still feel that you want to give your best hitters the most at-bats, and that should supercede everything else.
I may be inclined to go this way:
1. Reyes
2. Beltran
3. Wright
4. Delgado
5. Alou
6. Church
7. Schneider
8. Castillo
This way Beltran sees more fastballs between Reyes and Wright - Delgado sees more fastballs between Wright and Alou and Church can provide protection for Moises, plus with the exception of Church and Schneider it breaks of the lefties and makes the line-up balanced.
if anything i think this would be temporary at best. Beltran is an RBI guy and you need those guys in a position to drive in runs. I dont see willie pulling the trigger on this but its creative
He has done it in the past to get players going.
then i hope he does because they need to get motivated and going. I know its early but they have to start to work out those kinks. Hopefully he does who knows with willie….
I’d say put him anywhere but the cleanup spot. I mean, he must have the lowest BA of any cleanup player in the league. It’s just not working, so change something, anything! But not willie, he’ll stay with “his guy.” genius!
Ryan Howard, an MVP in this league, is batting .165 from the 4 hole.
A bigger sample size is the following:
Balt - Millar .217
Chw - Konerko .215
KC - Guillen .185
TB - Pena .200
Was - Johnson .216
Phi - Howard .165
NYM - Beltran .218
So apparently Willie isn’t the only manager in the league that continues to stay with “his” guy, should the managers for all these teams also be fired?
yes…exactly….Randolph’s managerial difficency has everything to do with the perfromance of our 4th hitter.
Way to sum it up.
you just put millar and jose guillen in the same class as ryan howard and carlos beltran
I’ve been telling people that for a couple of weeks also.
Beltran is a natural 2-hitter. And it gets you two switch hitters and then alternating LH and RH bats the rest of the way.
Thing is, this is the lineup that WOULD be used if this were a HS team, where decisions could be made strictly for baseball reasons, without contractual considerations.
Just like if the Yankees were a HS team, they’d have plugged Arod in at SS the minute they acquired him and moved Jeter to make room for him. And just like you’d use your closer when the game was really on the line, not necessarily in the 9th.
I don’t like Church in the 4 hole. Leave Beltran there and allow Alou to bat 5th because it will allow Beltran to see better pitches. He hasn’t hit much partly because Delgado hasn’t protected him much.
Putting Beltran in the two hole for a while is not a bad idea. RD mentioned on the broadcast Tuesday, I believe, that Luis Castillo mentioned you see much better pitches in the 2 slot, in fact the Dodgers are doing that same thing with Andruw Jones right now. Granted, Jones can’t catch up with anything over 81 mph at this point, but Beltran doesn’t seem to have that problem. Besides if he keeps walking like he has been, maybe that opens up some RBI opps for Wright, or maybe some hit and runs with Reyes and Beltran. Beltran can carry a team when he is hot (see Houston, 2004), so anything that can jumpstart needs to be done, NOW!
Exactly, the at the top of the lineup the biggest thing is to have guys with high OBP, its all a numbers game, the higher the OBP the more chances to score. Eventhough Beltran is hitting just .218 his OBP is still a very respectable .363 because of all of the walks.
Lets throw him in the 2 hole, it shouldn’t hurt the run production much and if he can get a couple more hits off of fastballs with wright protecting him, we should see that OBP go up toward .400
I’m inclined to agree with you. With no respect for the hitters behind him, Beltran is getting jack to hit.
HOWEVER. He has of late been hitting a lot of balls that have found gloves. This will even out and those hard liners he’s been hitting will start going for hits.
But some power would be nice.
not for nothing…the guy makes 17 million a year does he need ted williams behind him to hit 280 with a few more homeruns i mean c’mon already…this guys gotta start hitting and i don’t want to hear any excuses anymore
Finally a sensible comment. No joke - these guys are pros. I’m not saying he should be hitting .340 but .280 should certainly be within reach even with crapola hitters behind him…
Sensible? SENSIBLE? You must be kidding. Yeah, these guys are pros, but pros slump. Hitting, in case you didn’t notice, is HARD, and if your timing or rhythm is off, sometimes you go for a bit without doing a whole lot.
Your comments show that you just know very little about the game of baseball. Lineup protection is a huge deal in this game. If you don’t have a hitter behind you that pitchers don’t want to face, they’ll throw you pitches outside the strike zone all day, and the end result will be that you’ll walk more, since they’re throwing you so many balls, and you’ll strike out more, since you’re chasing pitches out of the zone trying to get hits to please idiotic fans who don’t understand the game.
And if you think that batting average is an accurate indicator of how someone is hitting, you are wrong.
Guys slump. Beltran will be fine.
no one is saying he won’t be fine eventually and obviously the lineup means something…but the guy is 0-19 with runners in scoring position and 2 out and hitting like 150 with runners in scoring position period…i dont care if im hitting behind him…that’s unacceptable…ryan church had brian schneider and the pitcher hitting behind him earlier in the year but he was hitting 350…these guys know how to hit without good bats behind them in the lineup…the guy is in a slump and he needs to get out of it…ohh and im sure he had great hitters behind him in kc right which is what in part earned him this contract…but i know very little ab baseball i guess.
He batted in the 2-hole at KC.
Yes, that’s right; if you’re comparing how guys pitch to Ryan Church to how they pitch to Carlos Beltran, you do not know very much about baseball. It’s one thing to pitch around a star (Beltran) to get to easier hitters behind him (Delgado, et al), and it’s another thing to pitch to a team’s seventh hitter.
I hate this argument, past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future performance. Yes he is being paid 17 million, but that contract was signed 2 years ago off of his past production. You can’t say this guy has to hit 280 becuase of the money he is making.
This guy was paid the money to be a consistent, if not spectacular player. He is there to produce - that’s his job. He needs to execute. Would your boss care about your 100000 excuses if the job you’re doing is well below expectations?
280 isnt even good…and he wont hit 280 i hope he hits somewhere around 265 at this point…but the power production has to be there and the guy is 30 or 31, am i supposed to expect him to hit 218 now bc he signed his contract a few years ago.
We should put Luis Castillo #4 and Beltran #2.
jk
Sounds like the Tony LaRussa school of managing.
I hate the pitcher batting 8th thing. Especially when it works and everyone rides his jock for it.
Beltran in the 2-hole is not a revolutionary idea…its where he’s hit second most often in his career:
3rd: 773 games (.274 career BA)
2nd: 226 games (.292 career BA)
4th: 120 games (.290 career BA)
It could be worth a shot to see if it gets him going.
Yes but that was before he became bigger and more of a power hitter.