Today’s Enquirer says that Miley is going to be using his “regular lineup” for the next few days:
D’Angelo Jimenez, 2B
Adam Dunn, LF
Sean Casey, 1B
Austin Kearns, RF
Ken Griffey Jr., CF
Joe Randa, 3B
Rich Aurilia, SS
Jason LaRue, C
That tells me that Aurilia will be the starter. Lopez will ride pine, as the second infield option behind Ryan Freel.
I would feel much better if Rich Aurilla hit second in the line-up and Adam Dunn hit 6th. Aurilla had his best seasons in SF hitting in front of Barry Bonds out of the 2 hole. Adam Dunn has a better chance driving in runs out of the 6 hole then the 2. On another topic does Javy Valentin have pictures of Dave Miley somewhere?? How else do you explain a mediocre catcher/1st baseman on your roster, at the expense of Bobby Estalella?? So Javy hits from the left side most of the time. He strikes out from the left side ,most of the time also. Javy was so mediocre in Lou Piniella’s opinion that the lowly Devil Rays didn’t even offer him a contract when he played for Tampa Bay. Lou never played Valentin at first base. Does Dave Miley know something Lou Piniella doesn’t?? My feeeling is Javy will never see first base this year after committing what seems like 10 errors at first base this spring. My opinion is Miley or the Reds organization doesn’t want a catcher who will threaten Jason Larue’s number 1 position. So they keep a jack of all trades on the roster who as it goes is master of none. If Dane Sardina is not the future then the Reds really need to upgrade the catching position.
Harry:
You’d really want the team’s best hitter hitting sixth? With a below average hitter batting second?
Aurillia will ‘start’ like Larkin used to ‘start’ these past few seasons: Play a couple months and get injured. Lopez will see plenty of time at short. He deserves all of it, but the Reds fail to see that. Why be conservative and go with Aurilia when you’ve got no chance of making the postseason? Let the young guy play! Aurilia is a has-been.
I think that’s a pretty good order. Griffey fits better down there due to his declining OBP, and this gives more ABs to the younger guys. It’s easy to forget that Dunn is fast and can steal bases. He’s going to score a ton of runs if he bats second.