Revolution #3

This is the third in a series examining the 2007 Diamondbacks batting order. Earlier installments discuss our choices for the leadoff and #2 positions, Carlos Quentin and Orlando Hudson respectively.   

It's no secret the 2006 Diamondbacks lacked a consistent, productive hitter in the middle of the lineup, but it's important not to gloss over just how glaring this deficiency was. How bad were the the Diamondbacks best hitters, relative to the best hitters on MLB's thirty teams? Based on park adjusted OPS(OPS+), they were the worst in baseball. Dead last. Everyone, by this measure, even the Cubs and Pirates, the Devil Rays and Royals had at least two hitters superior to the Diamondbacks' best. There were at least fifty hitters(park adjusted) in the National League last year who were better than Arizona's best hitter. Fifty! Even the 2004 Dbacks had three hitters better than last year's best - and they lost 111 games! Melvin's best (Jackson and Hudson at .809 OPS) were just historically woeful. Imagine gearing up to play an opponent whose best hitter is Orlando Hudson - and let that sink in for a minute.

OK.

Now, the 2007 Diamondbacks have made many changes, by addition and subtraction, and are certainly not resigned to repeat those shortcomings. But who's it gonna be? Who is Bob's best hitter, who will lead this team offensively, day in and day out? Is it a young gun, and if so, which one? Is it the 2005 Chad Tracy, or was that season merely a fluke? At least one Dback will almost certainly break out from the .800 OPS ceiling, but Diamondhacks doesnt have a particularly good feel for who that might be. CoJack? Quentin, perhaps, but he's otherwise engaged.

Sadly, the Diamondbacks dont have an established, reliable #3 hitter by major league standards, so they need to find one - fast. Barring a trade for a legitimate bat, and considering their balance (or mediocrity if you will), the best solution is not to prematurely annoint a number three so much as creatively construct one. 

This is a fairly radical idea, in that threes are very rarely platooned. Every team, it seems, has a star hitter and that's simply where you stick him. He's your cornerstone, your day to day anchor - but the Dbacks clearly dont have that kind of player - so why pretend otherwise? What they do have is a pair of veteran players who have clearly established throughout their careers a terrific ability to hit either right or left handed pitching.

Chad Tracy and Eric Byrnes.

You can pretty much book that this composite player, "Chic" Tryrnes, will hit for .850 OPS minimum - and 30 HRs/ 900 OPS is within "his" established range. Still not as good as the NL's best, but better than the consensus expection for any Dback alternative - and better than the lifetime marks of HOF wannabes Jim Rice and Andre Dawson. I mean, you could do worse.

Tracy, who gets the nod two thirds of the time, should give our upper third(Quentin, Hudson, Chad) a respectable 1-2-3 in terms of OBP/patience and power. The insertion of Byrnes abruptly ends that critical chain of patience we value, however he mimics Tracy's power as well as the speed of his tablesetters - indeed, he may exceed those peers in both respects. And Eric's lifetime OBP vs lefties is a respectable .357, so you can indulge some aggressiveness.

Moreover, Chad Tracy has never hit into double plays much, and Byrnes' GIDP rate is 50% lower against LHP - which is nice, because they'll hit with men on and keep rallies going, even when they're making outs.

It's important to also recognize that as good as Chad and Eric are in this composite role, they're equally bad trying to hit from their weak sides - and you obviously dont want that at #3. Here's another radical idea: pinch hit for them! Pinch hit for your #3 batter. When the late inning LOOGY comes in for Tracy, pich hit Hairston. Versus LH starters, start Callaspo and sit Tracy, so that Chad can pinch hit for Byrnes against a dominant RH reliever. Or later in the year, give Davanon some starts, and bring in Eric to battle Chad Tracy's LOOGY.  Managers hate this, because they want to save pinch hitters for traditionally weaker spots in the order - but this is where the Diamondbacks balanced offense comes to the rescue. Compared to most teams, Arizona doesnt appear to have gaping 1-8 holes crying out for bench assistance. Use your bench to plug actual gaps, not perceived gaps dictated by historical norms.

To review, here's what we have so far:

Quentin

Hudson

"Chic" Tryrnes -