If you referenced yesterday’s lineup, you’re probably not very happy, unless of course you replaced Mark Buehrle with someone who didn’t absolutely stink. The rest of our lineup did alright, but that’s why you should take these lineups with a grain of salt, and use them to supplement your own strategy.
In the end, you’re on the hook for your own bad decisions. This is my way of not being accountable.
Today we’re going with a handful of players who are due. This isn’t an ideal strategy, but when you’re down, you’ll try anything.
(P) Daniel Straily OAK@HOU $6,300: Before you roll your eyes, remember he’s up against the Astros, who, over their first three games have tallied 16 hits, 8 runs and a .206 on-base percentage. Rolling the dice on this one.
(C) Carlos Santana CLE@TAM $3,700: Santana is 6-for-13 so far this season, so we’ll see what he can do today against Matt Moore
(1B) Adrian Gonzalez PIT@LOS $4,200: Over 41 at-bats, Gonzalez has done reasonably well against Jonathon Sanchez, hitting .244 with six RBI, but that’s not why we’re playing him today. We’re playing him because he’s 1-f0r-9 through three games which tells us that he’s due. This may seem counter-intuitive, but, well; it is. Go with your gut.
(2B) Jose Altuve OAK@HOU $3,400: Altuve is just about the only Astro hitting the ball. He’s 5-for-12 in his first three games.
(3B) Will Middlebrooks BOS@TOR $3,300: There are obviously other third basemen we could play here, but we’re going with Middlebrooks for two reasons. First, he’s on the cheaper side, and second, he’s bound to heat up. He had enough at-bats last year to make his ,288 BA not seem like a fluke. There’s also the fact he had 15 HR in limited playing time.
(SS) Jed Lowrie OAK@HOU $3,100: Lowrie is 6-for-13 with four doubles and a home run. Also, he’ll be facing Brad Peacock, who’s pitched 12 innings in the major leagues. Ripe for the picking.
(OF) Bryce Harper WAS@CIN $4,700: Raking. This kid has the bat speed of Bryce Harper.
(OF) Josh Reddick OAK@HOU $3,100: Reddick has struggled this far, he only has two hits in 13 at-bats, but he has knocked in four runs. Let’s see if the Civil War beard has any luck in it.
(OF) Jackie Bradley BOS@TOR $2,800: There’s a lot of buzz about this kid, and he’s appeared in our lineups already this season. If you have any cap room, go with Shane Victorino; he has solid numbers against Josh Johnson. If you’re in the position we’re in, stick with Bradley. I have a feeling he’ll do something amazing early this season, and cool off significantly as the weather warms up.
