Wasted AB’s.

Written by Joe Veno on June 25, 2009 – 11:20 PM -

Why do the Marlins insist on batting Emilio Bonifacio at the top of the lineup?

Tonight, they had him batting second.  Again, why?  Why would you want to give that many AB’s to such a poor hitter.  The only explanation could be that they want to stay out of the double play by having a fast runner in the two-hole.  And that is not a worthy explanation.  Not even close.

Sure, that matters.  It is nice to have a hitter that isn’t doubled up easily, but the said player needs to get on base often first.  And second, they need to flash at least a little power if a team is going to invest so much in them throughout the course a season.

But Emilio Bonifacio, as fun as he is to watch when he is playing well, just doesn’t play “well” often enough.  His current line is .240/.289/.290.  This isn’t a scenario where the Marlins don’t have the personnel do bat anyone else in that spot either.  A hitter hitting like that, with a bad track record, simply does not deserve to hit there, or at all.

If Bonifacio is on the roster, he should only pinch run and play defense when needed, prefereably at second where he is best, or seems to be best according to UZR.  And since Uggla is defensively challenged, Emilio could be called upon when the Marlins have a lead, for defensive purposes.

But for some reason he gets these AB’s high in the order.  I know that they don’t bat him leadoff anymore, which is a step in the right direction.  But they batted him second tonight, and I saw it for my own eyes.

And I asked, “Why?”

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