#90: Order of Operations

-- A quick thought on the batting order of Adam LaRoche and Jason Bay

---Protecting Each Other---

Remember how excited Pirate fans were when Adam LaRoche was acquired last season?

It was thought that someone was finally going to provide Jason Bay with some protection in the lineup, or maybe that Bay would provide LaRoche some protection, depending on the lineup for that day.

Well, the two combined for 42 home runs (21 for each) in 1101 at-bats. They only hit 111 extra-base hits, including the homers.

At some point last year I compiled a list of how the team did based on where LaRoche and Bay were placed in the lineup. Considering the team did slightly better when only one of the two was in the lineup (winning percentage-wise), I don't think it really mattered.

Check it out.



Not that there's a lot you can draw from this. LaRoche was cold to start the season, Bay was cold to end it, so it really wasn't a situation where former manager Jim Tracy could win.

It's just a question: "If the two have more average seasons from wire to wire without the extreme slumps, it may actually help the team immensely."

We are, however, talking about the Pirates here.