So I was thinking about this while drinking my coffee this morning. The Miami Marlins keep losing games ’cause they ain’t scoring enough runs. Figured I’d test if shuffling their batting order could help.
First thing, I pulled up last month’s game stats on my laptop. Made a spreadsheet with every player’s batting average and on-base numbers. Noticed Jazz Chisholm gets on base decently but keeps getting stuck in the #5 spot. That feels wrong to me – he’s fast as lightning!
Grabbed a baseball simulation app I’ve had for years. Set up two tests: one with their current lineup (that predictable order where Soler always bats cleanup). Ran 100 simulated games. Saw they averaged like 3.2 runs per game. Pitiful stuff.
Then did my experimental lineup:
- Moved Chisholm to leadoff – dude needs more at-bats
- Put Soler in the #2 spot instead of cleanup
- Stuck the new rookie Sanchez in the #4 hole
Ran another 100 simulations. Kept staring at the loading bar while my dog begged for walkies. Got kinda sidetracked when he knocked my coffee mug over – had to wipe stats sheets with paper towels!
Final numbers showed improvement but nothing crazy. Their average went up to 3.7 runs. Still below league average! What this taught me:
- Lineup tweaks help a bit
- But you can’t squeeze blood from stone
- They just lack consistent sluggers
Reminded me of coaching my nephew’s Little League team last summer. Tried batting the worst kid leadoff just to give him confidence. Still lost 18-2. No magic solution when your hitters can’t make contact. Marlins might need to trade for better bats instead of rearranging deck chairs.
