The Chicago Cubs have played some of their best baseball of the season over the last two weeks, and with only 10 games left before the postseason, there may not have not been a better time. During these final two weeks before the playoffs come, it may be a good time to figure out what […]
Tag: Lineups
Where Is Jason Heyward’s Optimal Batting Position?
Lineup construction certainly stands as one of the more heavily analyzed elements of Major League managers, and there’s probably an argument to be made somewhere that it’s also a largely overrated element. (Aside: I’m not saying that’s a sentiment that I share, as I put quite a bit of stock into that aspect, but it […]
For the Chicago Cubs, Maybe Ben Zobrist Should Bat Ninth
In ‘Batting (Dis)Order,’ the chapter of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball that deals with optimizing lineups, the authors hit the nail on the head in the introduction: “To understand the impact of your possible choices,” they write, “you have to understand the environment in which you are working. Context.” That’s true, of course, and it’s […]