It's the 2011 World Series, it's Game 6, and the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup has been posted, going up against Texas Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis. Straight from Tony La Russa's brain to your eyes:
2011 World Series: Game 6 Lineup Unveiled By St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa
1. Rafael Furcal (S) SS
2. Skip Schumaker (L) CF
3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B
4. Lance Berkman (S) RF
5. Matt Holliday (R) LF
6. David Freese (R) 3B
7. Yadier Molina (R) C
8. Nick Punto (S) 2B
9. Jaime Garcia (L) P
Much has been made of Matt Holliday's struggles this month -- he's hit just one home run in 15 postseason games -- and thus his inability to adequately "protect" Albert Pujols. Which is why (so the argument will go) Holliday is making way for Lance Berkman in the cleanup spot.
Except this ignores that Holliday’s been good this month, except for the big flies. And also that Berkman batted cleanup frequently during the regular season. Oh, and that they’re both great hitters when healthy, and it really doesn’t matter which of them bats fourth and which of them bats fifth. The down-side for La Russa is that he’s now got three right-handed hitters plus Nick Punto in a row, which might make Ron Washington’s life just a touch easier at some point.
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