Rough Draft Phillies 2014 Lineup

[Omar 382]

I want to see Hernandez starting in center field next year, with Revere moved to left. Revere's lack of an arm and misjudgment of fly balls will be better disguised in left field. I also think Ruf should start the year on the bench. He gives us a right handed power option late in the game, and he should start against lefties for Howard. With Sandberg, I actually think this is a possibility, not a pipe dream. It's not that I think Ruf is awful, but I think he is unfortunately the odd man out. Between Howard, Revere, and Brown getting days off, he would be getting his fair share of AB's anyway. And let's face it- between the trio of Revere, Brown, and Howard, one is bound to get hurt, opening a door up for Ruf. More bad news for a good player- I think Franco starts the year at AAA. The Phillies need to let Ashe play. He has performed very well in his tryout. I think Franco should be playing first base down in the minors. As I said earlier, Howard is likely to miss time. Franco is another guy who could start there while he's out. Lastly, I think Ruiz should be re-signed to a one year contract-although I would be equally happy if he walks and Rupp starts because I fear that Amaro is considering a multi-year deal. So the lineup would look like

1. Hernandez CF
2. Revere LF
3. Utley 2B
4. Howard 1B
5. Brown RF
6. Asche 3B
7. Rollins SS
8. Ruiz C

Obviously, this is a September rough draft. It remains to be seen how Amaro will fuck this team up through free agent signings and trades.

 

[jvett77]

I don't think you can push Ruf out of the lineup, number one, because that's tossing 35 homers out the window. Better to let Cesar be an option who can hit, run, and field.

 

[Omar 382]

I don't think you can push Ruf out of the lineup, number one, because that's tossing 35 homers out the window. Better to let Cesar be an option who can hit, run, and field.

Ughhh I really don't want Hernandez on the bench. If he isn't starting, I want him in AAA.

 

[WestCoastPhan]

I want to see Hernandez starting in center field next year, with Revere moved to left. Revere's lack of an arm and misjudgment of fly balls will be better disguised in left field. I also think Ruf should start the year on the bench. He gives us a right handed power option late in the game, and he should start against lefties for Howard. With Sandberg, I actually think this is a possibility, not a pipe dream. It's not that I think Ruf is awful, but I think he is unfortunately the odd man out. Between Howard, Revere, and Brown getting days off, he would be getting his fair share of AB's anyway. And let's face it- between the trio of Revere, Brown, and Howard, one is bound to get hurt, opening a door up for Ruf. More bad news for a good player- I think Franco starts the year at AAA. The Phillies need to let Ashe play. He has performed very well in his tryout. I think Franco should be playing first base down in the minors. As I said earlier, Howard is likely to miss time. Franco is another guy who could start there while he's out. Lastly, I think Ruiz should be re-signed to a one year contract-although I would be equally happy if he walks and Rupp starts because I fear that Amaro is considering a multi-year deal. So the lineup would look like

1. Hernandez CF
2. Revere LF
3. Utley 2B
4. Howard 1B
5. Brown RF
6. Asche 3B
7. Rollins SS
8. Ruiz C

Obviously, this is a September rough draft. It remains to be seen how Amaro will fuck this team up through free agent signings and trades.

If that's the lineup for 2014, get ready for a last place finish.

 

[Cedrique]

I think Ruf has got to be in there instead of Revere or maybe let Revere fight it out with Hernandez for CF.

 

[jvett77]

I think Ruf has got to be in there instead of Revere or maybe let Revere fight it out with Hernandez for CF.

Revere is the man - left handed batter who hits lefties at .370 (only .285 v RHP lol). Hit .339 with runners on and .352 risp. Hit .312, .354, .388 May - July after slow April start. You can't beat that. A perfect lead off hitter. I can't figure out how fans would even think about a Phils lineup w/o Revere. He will be good for 180 hits, .300, 40 SBs in 2014, guaranteed.

 

[Cedrique]

If Revere and Brown can play a full season like they played in May-July we can start printing the playoff tickets right now.......

 

[Omar 382]

Revere is the man - left handed batter who hits lefties at .370 (only .285 v RHP lol). Hit .339 with runners on and .352 risp. Hit .312, .354, .388 May - July after slow April start. You can't beat that. A perfect lead off hitter. I can't figure out how fans would even think about a Phils lineup w/o Revere. He will be good for 180 hits, .300, 40 SBs in 2014, guaranteed.

Revere is a nice player, but I think you are going overboard. You can't look at what he did over two and a half months and project it to a full season while ignoring the awful April that he had. I give him a lot of credit, he got hot, and he stayed hot from May all the way up to his injury. But some of it was luck, too. A lot of the balls that went through the hole in June were being fielded by infielders in April. Revere was notoriously known as a ground ball hitter. I am really impressed on how he worked on that this year- his ground ball % went down to 59% while his line drive percentage went all the way up to 23%. His fly ball rate also went up a tad, which is a huge problem for someone with no power, but I think he worked on some things after April, such as quieting that hitch, and it payed off from May-June.

But at the end of the day, Revere is still a player who has no power, doesn't take walks, and plays lackluster defense. I wouldn't say his production is something that you "can't beat" and he just barely beats out Ruf for left field in my books.

 

[Omar 382]

But on a side note, Revere should definitely join the booth after he retires. His enthusiasm is crazy, and was a real breath of fresh air to listen to, especially considering that Sarge had about 7 coke and rum's before the game that day and was really laboring in his speech.

 

[Retroram52]

Sounds like another Bernie Kosar!!

 

[jvett77]

Revere is a nice player, but I think you are going overboard. You can't look at what he did over two and a half months and project it to a full season while ignoring the awful April that he had. I give him a lot of credit, he got hot, and he stayed hot from May all the way up to his injury. But some of it was luck, too. A lot of the balls that went through the hole in June were being fielded by infielders in April. Revere was notoriously known as a ground ball hitter. I am really impressed on how he worked on that this year- his ground ball % went down to 59% while his line drive percentage went all the way up to 23%. His fly ball rate also went up a tad, which is a huge problem for someone with no power, but I think he worked on some things after April, such as quieting that hitch, and it payed off from May-June.

But at the end of the day, Revere is still a player who has no power, doesn't take walks, and plays lackluster defense. I wouldn't say his production is something that you "can't beat" and he just barely beats out Ruf for left field in my books.

You gotta be kidding. He sucked in April getting use to new surroundings hitting .220, then hit .346 till his injury. He played 1/2 a season - 88 games. If that's not enough to draw conclusions, then how can you make any decisions for next year? Plus there's the intangible exciting player factor - cartwheeling into home plate forcing Utley to crack a smile. His attitude helps the team.

Revere is so good, Wade will recommend to Ruben trading him for two pitching prospects.

 

[jvett77]

But on a side note, Revere should definitely join the booth after he retires. His enthusiasm is crazy, and was a real breath of fresh air to listen to, especially considering that Sarge had about 7 coke and rum's before the game that day and was really laboring in his speech.

I'd love to see a replay of that interview.

 

[Omar 382]

You gotta be kidding. He sucked in April getting use to new surroundings hitting .220, then hit .346 till his injury. He played 1/2 a season - 88 games. If that's not enough to draw conclusions, then how can you make any decisions for next year? Plus there's the intangible exciting player factor - cartwheeling into home plate forcing Utley to crack a smile. His attitude helps the team.

Revere is so good, Wade will recommend to Ruben trading him for two pitching prospects.

No, you can't draw a full conclusion on Revere after 88 games. There was two totally different players. One who hit into a double play in every other at-bat, and one who was scorching hot. Obviously, he will fall somewhere in the middle of those two. Regardless, that doesn't answer the question of who provides more production to the Phillies.

Player A: Mediocre defense, .290 average, .330 obp, 40 steals, no power
Player B: Mediocre defense, .260 average, .360 obp, no speed (and a bad base runner), lots of power

I think Revere slightly gets the edge, but only because the Phillies lineup is more tailored to him. They already have Asche, Brown, and Howard, who at best are probably only going to hit around .280. A player that can get on and steal bases is what the Phillies need. If you choose to give Hernandez more time in the minors, fine, but just know that all three of our outfielders will be average (Revere) or below average (Ruf and Brown) in the field.

 

[Caligula]

Ruiz better not be on the roster next season.

 

[Omar 382]

Now that I think about it, I am honestly leaning towards Ruf. He is a better offesnive player, and while Revere is a slightly better defensive outfielder, it doesn't make up for Ruf's offensive production. I might like to see Revere traded for a bullpen arm and a decent AA prospect. Revere is basically a poor man's Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez plays a better center field, is more versatile, walks more, has more power, and has more speed. We could get a decent return for Revere.

 

[Omar 382]

Ruiz better not be on the roster next season.

I would like a one year deal. But realistically, he will be brought back on a two year deal. There's almost no doubt in my mind.

 

[Caligula]

Ruf comes off the bench until the albatross at 1st gets injured again. Or, move Hernandez to second when Utley gets injured again and put Ruf in right.

Can Asche or Franco play short?

 

[Caligula]

I would like a one year deal. But realistically, he will be brought back on a two year deal. There's almost no doubt in my mind.

Ruiz should not be back on this team. If Ruiz signs a multi-year deal, it will be for 7-8 million a year. That doesn't do any good for this organization.

 

[Omar 382]

Ruf comes off the bench until the albatross at 1st gets injured again. Or, move Hernandez to second when Utley gets injured again and put Ruf in right.

Can Asche or Franco play short?

I know this was a joke, but that would be great. Man, Rollins is awful.

 

[Omar 382]

Ruiz should not be back on this team. If Ruiz signs a multi-year deal, it will be for 7-8 million a year. That doesn't do any good for this organization.

I agree- I'm just telling you that you can almost bet with Ruben running the show that he will be back