Trial and error in making the Yankees lineup

If there is one thing the Yankees have had for the duration of the 2012 season, it was the fact that they have had a potent lineup. With Derek Jeter leading off and with Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano supplying power in the middle of the order, nothing could go wrong for a team that has a somewhat comfortable lead in the American League East. However, manager Joe Girardi likes to move the players around in the order, which could affect how the team plays for that day.

Putting together a lineup is like a science experiment. Girardi tinkers with the lineup and puts it to the test. If it comes out good, then he might use the combination more often. If the results come out wrong, then he tries again and puts the players in a different order. When he does not have the important pieces of the lineup due to injuries (i.e.: Brett Gardner, Alex Rodriguez), Girardi has to think of a different way to make the lineup work with the technique of trial and error. Do you want an example of Girardi’s process of trial and error with the lineup?

After the Yankees lost Alex Rodriguez and already had Ichiro Suzuki in the lineup, Girardi had to think of a way to get all of his hitters together. Girardi decided to move Curtis Granderson into the leadoff spot and have Derek Jeter bat second in the lineup. Both Granderson and Jeter were hitting before the move and Girardi figured that Granderson and Jeter would continue hitting after the move. Both Jeter and Granderson were not hitting at all after Girardi made the move. Even if the move did work, Granderson would not have used his skills to his full potential. In the leadoff spot, Granderson would not have gotten a lot of RBI’s if he had hit a home run. To add to the issue, Granderson strikes out a lot, which is not something you would like from your leadoff hitter. Girardi realized the move was not working and tried moving Granderson down in the order on Wednesday and had him bat 6^th in the order.  Granderson went three for five with a 3-run homer.

When piecing the lineup together, Girardi has no margin for error. He has to make the moves correctly for his team so that their abilities could be used to its upmost potential. Sometimes the lineup might not produce the way we would like, but that is the joy of trial and error. If something does not work, then scrap it and try again.