Yes, and fortunately for all the fans back in K.C.
With the DH out of play and that big right field in San Francisco in play, this lineup's pretty, pretty, pretty good.
1. Escobar (R)
2. Gordon (L)
3. Cain (R)
4. Hosmer (L)
5. Moustakas (L)
6. Infante (R)
7. Perez (R)
8. Dyson (L)
9. Guthrie (P)
I've just one small quibble: batting Moustakas sixth would make Bruce Bochy's job just a little harder, so I would order them Perez-Mooooose-Infante. But as I said, it's a small quibble.
Ah, but Yost's explanations...
It was out of necessity. With this vast outfield, we knew that we had to put our best defense out there.
No, it's not necessary. Preferred, maybe. Especially with Aoki's left-handed bat now available on the bench. Hey, we endorse the inclusion of Dyson here at JABO; it's just silly to suggest it's a necessity. I would love for a manager to say something like, "Hey, this was a tough decision and we know it's really close, but we just think this lineup gives us an ever-so-slightly better chance of winning." Which would have the singular virtue of being true (so far as we're able to figure these things).
I know, I know ... semantics, and not worth even mentioning. Okay. But here's the part that made me wonder if Yost is even paying attention:
So that took Nori out of the two hole. We put Alex in there. Because of the speed of Dyson at the bottom of the order and the speed with Escobar at the top of the order, Alex might get a few more fastballs to hit, and we like Alex in that spot.
Dyson's not at the bottom of the order. These are National League rules. The pitcher's at the bottom of the order. Do you know what the odds are against Gordon batting with Dyson on first or second base?
Okay, I don't, either. But they're pretty long. You bat Gordon second instead of sixth because he's one of your best hitters and he actually gets on base with some frequency, unlike most of his teammates.
As I said, it's a perfectly fine lineup. But the manager's words sort of make you wonder if he just lucked into it.
