Opening day line-up unveiled; Victorino leading off makes sense
After so much talk surrounding Juan Pierre as a leadoff hitter, Charlie Manuel opted to go with Shane Victorino at the top spot in the order for the Phillies' Opening Day tilt against the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Opening day line-up unveiled; Victorino leading off makes sense
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
After so much talk surrounding Juan Pierre as a leadoff hitter, Charlie Manuel opted to go with Shane Victorino at the top spot in the order for the Phillies' Opening Day tilt against the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
The move makes sense for a variety of reasons, some of which we details in our earlier post projecting some of the possible line-ups that Manuel is likely to use this season. While Pierre has led off for his entire career and has a solid career OBP and well-known speed, he has no power, which could come into play with Carlos Ruiz and his solid OBP hitting seventh. Victorino was a better base-stealer than Pierre last season, and also has very good power, particularly against left-handed starters, which the Phillies will face today in Erik Bedard. You should still expect to see Pierre at the top of the order on numerous occasions, but when all is said and done, Victorino was the Phillies best all-around offensive player last season, which means the Phillies need to get him as many plate appearances as possible, which means he should be batting in the top three spots in the order as often as possible.
The only minor surprise is that Ty Wigginton is in the line-up at first base.
As we've said throughout the spring, John Mayberry Jr. is the biggest wild card in the line-up. If he does what he did last season while playing every day, the order doesn't look so bad. If he does what he did in spring training, then it has the potential to fall off a cliff.
Without further ado, here is the line-up for today's 1:35 p.m. game against the Pirates:
- Shane Victorino CF
- Placido Polanco 3B
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Hunter Pence RF
- Ty Wigginton 1B
- John Mayberry Jr. LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Freddy Galvis 2B
- Roy Halladay RHP
Wiggy showed no power in spring training. His best shot I saw barely made it to the warning track.— Dull- Yikes.— beegal99
- Stop being so negative on the lineup. That line up has 2 All Stars in Vic and Pence, former All Stars in Rollins & Polly, and upstarts like May and Galvis. They can score some runs, just need to stay healthy.— FABER
- I would put Wiggs in the 7th hole and move Mayberry and Chooch one spot.— EL Zorro
- Either Charlie fooled the writers or is thinking too much. LOL.— EL Zorro
- Think about who they're playing! That is why Wiggy is on 1B instead of Mayberry or Thorme. Charlie ought to put Juan P. in Sat's lineup.— bartm
- Calm down. First game of the year. Relax and enjoy. Plenty of time to freak out later....— FightinPhil
- It was only a spring training game the other night, but after a decade of watching Jimmy swing for the fences leading off, seeing him bunt batting third made me want to throw a shoe at the tv.— Sidewinder7
- Get ready for the first of many 2-1 games. Hopefully, the Phillies get the "2".— EaglesPhilliesIrish
- Wigginton isn't hitting, and is protecting Pence in this lineup, who does not fair as well in the cleanup spot as he does batting third or fifth. I don't see it, but I'm hardly the expert.— jerseyshorefan
- Ty starting at first? Really Cholly. Figures, a moron for a manager, starts an over weight, over the hill player at first. Got to have those washed up veterans in the lineup. Right Cholly?— shattereddreams
- I would like to see Victorino behind Pence. Wiggington is starting due to Pirates lefthander.— Don w
- Terrible line-up, maybe because it's Pittsburg.— Pepe LePew
- I'm with you, Jerseyshorefan. Pence is an impatient hitter and now he has no protection behind him at 5th or 6th. Victorino may be a better leadoff man than Pierre but Victorino also is a better 5th hitter than Wiggs or Mayberry.
— eman - I still don't get why the Phillies felt they needed Wigg-Nix-Thome....I think 2 of them would have fine....I would rather have PODS over Nix. PODS is a much more versatile player and his OBP in 08-09-10 was .350 ish.....Nix stinks his career OBP is .288...it really makes no sense...Nix does have a little more power but PODS is clearly a better player......— bbrady25
