I would like to know what your strategy is for creating custom lineup cards. I've seen a lot of good suggestions, so I'd like to get as many as possible in this thread, in order to improve my own projected lineup for the Rangers in 2013.

Example:

#1: OBP, SB
#2: OBP, SB, low GIDP, low K%
#3: OPS
#4: SLG
#5: SLG
#6: SLG
#7: SLG, AVG
#8: OBP, low K%
#9: OBP, SB

1. .330 hitter with speed
2. .330 hitter with speed
3. .330 hitter with speed and gap power
4. .330 hitter with power
5. .330 hitter with power
6. .330 hitter
7 .330 hitter
8. ,330 hitter
9. Kinsler[.250 hitter]

1. OBP, SB, bunting ability, situational hitting
2. OBP, SB, bunting ability, situational hitting
3. OBP, RISP, best hitter on the team
4. OBP, RISP, SLG
5. OBP, RISP
6. OBP
7. OBP, situational hitting
8. OBP, situational hitting
9. OBP, SB, bunting ability, situational hitting

I'm sensing a trend. Just call me Billy Beane.

2nd best hitter
3rd best hitter
4th best hitter
best hitter
5th best hitter
6th best hitter
7th best hitter
8th best hitter
9th best hitter

Wow Eric is amazing-such insight

Eric, there are many who believe that your best hitter should be your #3 followed by your 2nd best hitter. The 27 Yankees for example hit Ruth 3rd and Gehrig 4th. 55 Dodgers Snider/Hodges, 46 Cards Musial/Slaughter, This gives your best hitter an AB in the 1st inning. What is your rational on having your best hitter hit 4?

1. Speedy badass
2. Solid all-around badass
3. Ultimate badass
4. Enormous badass
5. Hulking badass
6. Powerful badass
7. Big badass
8. Plain old badass
9. Somewhat badass

1-Michael Young
2-Michael Young
3-Michael Young
4-Michael Young
5-Michael Young
6-Michael Young
7-Michael Young
8-Michael Young
9-Craig Gentry

I know in a normal lineup you'd like to have one of your best OBP guys (like Andrus) hitting second but with Wash's propensity to bunt whenever the leadoff guy gets on base it just seems like a waste of a potentially quality AB on far too many occasions. While the obvious answer would be to stop bunting so much in those situations, I doubt that's going to happen. Consequently, I wouldn't mind seeing someone like Profar, Martin, or Gentry hitting second next season even if they're not likely to be one of our top OBP guys. Honestly, and I feel dirty for even suggesting it, batting FACE second might mitigate a bit of his offensive ineptitude if it would take away as many AB's from him as it did from Andrus this season. I also think it would be interesting to see if he'd ask MY to bunt as much as he did Andrus. All that to say, I think the ideal lineup for Texas is going to be slightly different from the ideal lineup other teams might employ.

@switch_hitting_witch: Because it's what the book says. Your best power hitter should hit 4th.

It's probably not very clear-cut, but looking back at the stats they had just this year, this is how I'd organize the Rangers' lineup, going by my interpretation of its suggestions:

1. Murphy
2. Andrus
3. Hamilton
4. Beltre
5. Cruz
6. Kinsler
7. Napoli
8. Moreland
9. Young

Before you get bent out of shape at my choices, look at the book's recommendations, then look at their numbers for the year. Again, I'm simply putting this together based on my interpretation of the book.

Looks right on the money to me Andy.

Peace

Andy, thank you for the backup.

@swtich_hitting

Think of it like this: In the first inning, what happens when the first two hitters get out? Then, as you purport, you have the best hitter in your lineup batting with 2 outs and no one on base (mathematically, as you can imagine, the worst odds for scoring a run). But what happens when the first three hitters get out in the first inning? Then you have the #4 hitter, the best hitter in the lineup, leading off the following inning (where, as you can imagine, the odds of scoring one run with no one on and no outs is greater than no one on and two outs).

Basically, this is sabermetric shit, not traditional shit. Traditionally, we've all been taught to bat our best hitter in the three-hole, because it means a first-inning at bat and you generally want your best hitters batting in the first inning. Guys like Ron Washington will probably never implement this, and Jon Daniels won't override Wash on some trivial shit, but over the course of a season you're probably looking at an extra 10-15 runs, which might not sound like much, but it could be the difference between an extra win or two.

This year, that would have come in handy.

Marco is making me want to pick up Borderlands 2 again...

Andy/Eric,

I agree that the "Enormous Badass" as Marco put it should be in the clean-up spot but that doesn't always equate to the best hitter. When I think of the best hitters I don't always think of power. I think that it is your most complete hitter. A guy that routinely hits at the .300 mark, shows power to all fields, runs the bases well, clutch hitter that drives in runs and draws 80-100 walks. George Brett is a great example.Cal Ripken on the other hand probably should not have hit 3rd. Mantle is actually the perfect example.

IMHO when you build a lineup you should start with the 3 hole. By matter of value using SABR metrics you should build in this order 3-4-1-5-2-6-8-7-9. So if I were Ron Washington I would have fielded the line-up this way:

1-Elvis
2-Murphy
3-Beltre
4-Hamilton
5-Cruz
6-Kinsler
7-Moreland
8-Napoli
9-Young

Ryan despaired:

"I know in a normal lineup you'd like to have one of your best OBP guys (like Andrus) hitting second but with Wash's propensity to bunt whenever the leadoff guy gets on base it just seems like a waste of a potentially quality AB on far too many occasions. . . .Consequently, I wouldn't mind seeing someone like Profar, Martin, or Gentry hitting second next season even if they're not likely to be one of our top OBP guys. Honestly, and I feel dirty for even suggesting it, batting FACE second might mitigate a bit of his offensive ineptitude if it would take away as many AB's from him as it did from Andrus this season. I also think it would be interesting to see if he'd ask MY to bunt as much as he did Andrus."

I appreciate the honesty; thinking about batting MY number 2 would make me feel dirty, too. But MY can't bunt--someone noted he hasn't bunted in years--and the prospect of all his GIDPs would make me cringe. Then again, The prospect of MY bunting would cause Wash to never call it.

@Andy

I wish we could have seen that lineup.

In 2011, Young led the team in OBP (except for Napoli). He was a great contact hitter, but he didn't steal many bases. He probably would have made a good hitter in the 2nd spot, but so would Elvis. Now, of course, that would be a terrible idea.

@Yu: me too.

"In 2011, Young led the team in OBP (except for Napoli)."

I call that second place... not leading.

Just messin' with you Andy.

Andy, I like that lineup. Although, if you're basing that on just this season, Moreland should have been batting fifth. He finished with a higher slugging percentage and batting average than both Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz.

So, using the book, I believe this is how the order should look like next season, based on the current roster.

Murphy RF
Andrus SS
Beltre 3B
Moreland 1B
Cruz DH
Kinsler LF
Profar 2B
Napoli C
Martin CF

Beltre > Moreland. That much is obvious. Therefore, by the book, we can't possibly have Mitch batting 4th while Beltre bats 3rd. Also, as much as I'd love Murphy to keep up his excellent work from this year, I'm not sure he will. A few of his numbers suggest unsustainability.

Not sure how the rest of this shakes out. Should be interesting.

I'm not sure what you mean. Beltre > any of the other batters in that lineup. Are you saying that your best hitter should be batting 4th? If so, who should bat third assuming Hamilton is gone? Are you also saying that the regular lineup in April should be based on what players have done in their entire career rather than what they have done lately? In that case, why not have Michael Young batting third?