Ron Washington has unleashed upon the cold uncaring world his Game 5 lineup, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
World Series Game 5: Rangers Lineup Same As Game 4
1. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B
2. Elvis Andrus (R) SS
3. Josh Hamilton (L) CF
4. Michael Young (R) DH
5. Adrián Beltré (R) 3B
6. Nelson Cruz (R) RF
7. David Murphy (L) LF
8. Mike Napoli (R) C
9. Mitch Moreland (L) 1B
Yeah. Exactly the same as Game 4. The lineup so nice he’s posted it twice.
You actually have to respect Washington’s faith in Mitch Moreland, who batted .241/.300/.367 in the second half of the season and has two hits in 23 at-bats this month. Basically, over the last four months Moreland’s been the worst first baseman in Major League Baseball.
And still Ron Washington plays him!
Does he have options? Well, sure. He could get Yorvit Torrealba into the lineup, but of course Torrealba's hardly adequate against right-handed pitchers like Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals' Game 5 starter. He could get Endy Chávez into the lineup, which is probably what I would do. But Washington's not been enamored lately of Chavez, who's started just one game in the whole postseason.
So it’s Mitch Moreland, again. Washington’s faith is touching.
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