21
2009
Beltran Batting Third, Wright Fifth… Finally
An article by 
UPDATE: It looks like MetsBlog and Adam Rubin accidentaly posted the wrong lineups today, but I’m gonna keep this blog going just for a good argument and debate.
MetsBlog and Adam Rubin are reporting that Carlos Beltran will be batting third tonight and David Wright drops down to the fifth spot in the lineup.
Let me be the first to applaud this move and I hope it’s not just a temporary move either. For a long time, I’ve felt that Wright has never looked comfortable batting in the three hole.
Despite Dan Murphy, Jose Reyes and most recently Luis Castillo all hitting over .325 as the table-setters, David Wright has just 4 RBI batting third. That’s not acceptable.
Luckily, Carlos Delgado has managed to pick the team up batting behind Wright and leading the team with 14 RBI, and Beltran has 7 RBI all while batting fifth.
Beltran leads the team with five hits with runners in scoring position for a .357 average. Wright was batting .231 with RISP.
Will this shake things up and get the offense going?
Who knows, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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I think Adam Rubin listed the lineup wrong as he calls it the “normal” lineup yet he has Beltran hitting 3rd and Wright hitting 5th. He also list two 3B in the lineup.
I believe this is the lineup you will see tonight but I hope I am wrong…
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets/archives/2009/04/game_13_mets_at.html#more
hmmm, thanks. That’s weird, lol
I saw it on MetsBlog too??
beltran should be in the 3rd spot, remember what he did the last time he played 3rd for a whole year, 40 HR
yeah man 2006!
it was beltran 3 ‘gado 4 wright 5
that worked out great keep it that way.
or flip flop wright and delgado
what im saying is put wright 4 gado 5
Just to add my two cents, I still do not understand why Willie Randolph and the Mets decided they needed to rush David Wright into the 3 hole during the 2007 season. I have always felt the lineup lost something when they took Beltran out of the 3 spot. Beltran was a better hitter hitting 3rd just as Wright was hitting 5th back then. Wright does not have the same approach at the plate as he once did. Especially when speaking of going the other way. I think some pressure would be taken off if you put him back in the 5th spot. I talked more about this back in February here…
http://the1constant.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/02/mets_news_state_of_the_organiz_5.html
Wright has been a better hitter hitting 3rd than he has hitting 5th. And actually at the time they made the move, Beltran was on the DL, so it made perfect sense to move David there. And once David was there he was putting up ridiculous numbers (much better than Beltran had been), so there was no point in moving them back.
If Wright continues to struggle, I could see making the switch, but IMO Wright is a better hitter than Beltran, and better suited to hit 3rd.
Beltran had his career year hitting 3rd in 2006 and the Mets had their 2nd best offensive season as a team in their history in 2006. Both Beltran and Delgado have been better situational hitters over the last year and I would rather them get more atbats than Wright at this point. I am not saying Wright is a bad player or hitter but I would rather have Beltran, Delgado, and then Wright in the order as it was best for them in 2006 and we have not seen that kind of offense since then. I would also move Castillo to the 2 hole and platoon Church/Sheffield and Murphy/Tatis in the 6th and 7th spots in the order to keep everyone fresh and to get everyone involved.
Yeah, but Beltran also struggled in the 3rd spot in both 2005 and 2007…so its not a magic cure all. He actually has better career numbers hitting 2nd and 4th than he does 3rd. And Wright put up his best numbers hitting 3rd in 2007. Part of the reason the 2006 team was so good was b/c everyone was great in the lineup..not just the middle 3.
I don’t think batting order is that big of a deal really..wouldn’t bother me if Wright or Beltran hit 3rd… but I still think Wright is the best suited guy to hit 3rd. Chances are pretty good that he is going to post the best OBP and OPS on the team and be the best hitter on the team, so I’d rather have him on in front of the other big bats instead of just having him in front of the bottom half of the lineup.
I totally agree with Amazin. The lineup worked so much better with Beltran third.
Maybe they should move Beltran to the 3 hole and Wright down to the 5th spot … maybe it will shake up DW and get him going, finally!!
The Mets did get good seasons from Lo Duca and Valentin in 2006 which really balanced and lengthened the lineup. Whatever they decide to do it will not matter unless they can start playing a better brand of baseball all-around. What I just witnessed was one of the worst played games I can remember not just in recent times but as far back as I can remember. Games like these really make you wonder if this group really has what it takes to go places that everyone else says they are capable of going. They just do not play crisp baseball.
Lineup should be:
Reyes
Beltran
Delgado
Wright
After that, who cares. Those 4 should be getting the most AB’s. Switch Beltran and Wright if you like.
Why not bat Castillo second in that configuration of yours James. I think I’d like to increase the odds of having Beltran come up with at least one guy on base and maybe two. He’s still a huge RBI bat. I do like having Delgado in the cleanup and Wright behind him, that works well even if you were to continue with Church behind Wright.
People here don’t think like I do and that’s OK – but based on research of maximizing runs, your 3 best hitters (Reyes, Wright, Beltran) should bat 1st, 2nd, and 4th. Your next best hitter (Delgado should bat 3rd). Putting your best hitter 3rd is conventional wisdom that really has not statistical basis. Oh well.
Maybe wright should leadoff since he hits better when the bases are empty.
Or perhaps we should flip flop delgado and castillo, since delgado leads off too many innings. (This due to the fact that of wright’s can get a hit with two outs and a runner on second or better). It seems that wright should see a shrink or get hypnotized because he is just way too tense with runners in scoring position. Lastly, perhaps razor should tone down sending the runners a bit and whoever is on deck should instruct beltran to slide or take the catcher out like wiggy use to do. But hey it’s still early yet.