These are the games that are fun in their meaninglessness. The roster has expanded. The permutations for lineups are amazing. But why should we let Don Mattingly have all the fun in trying to come up with the craziest, but still playable, lineups for the last three games of the season.
Mike Petriello over at Dodgers Digest had some thoughts about how different guys might get used in the next few days. He even noted that Michael Young saw a start at short in the waning days of the 2013 season.
Prepare yourself for some hilarious baseball this weekend. I imagine we’ll see Joc Pederson finally get a start or two for the first time in three weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if A.J. Ellis, Drew Butera, and Tim Federowicz all got a start behind the plate. Maybe Alex Guerrero will finally get his first major league start, with it being a coin flip as to whether that’s in left field or at second base. Maybe Andre Ethier will get some playing time. Ha, no, that’d never happen. Maybe Don Mattingly will let a player manage the final game, as Joe Torre used to do when it didn’t matter, and I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that it would be fun to see Ellis get a head start on his inevitable managerial career. (I don’t believe Mattingly did that last year, though. ButMichael Youngdid get to start at shortstop. That was… fun? And then seemingly minutes after the final out, we learned Matt Kempwouldn’t be joining the team in the playoffs. Ugh.)
So, while sitting in a boring meeting, I pulled together what my favorite lame duck lineup might be.
http://instagram.com/p/taoSorj5ra
If I turn that into a batting order it looks like this…
1. Barney – 2B
2. Guerrero – LF
3. Ethier – RF
4. Van Slyke – 1B
5. Pederson – CF
6. Arruebarrena – SS
7. Rojas – 3B
8. Federociwz – C
9. Hernandez – SP
Wow. That’s pretty amazing. And don’t forget, I’ve got Butera coming in for the save!
What would your best lame duck lineup look like?