Opening Day Lineup (If You Were Manager)

Wanted to do something fun to gear up for opening day, so here goes! If you were Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington what would your lineup be for Friday afternoon against the Red Sox. In the comments, post your lineup and then explain yourself!

Jonathan’s Lineup

1.) Ian Kinsler 2B
2.) Elvis Andrus SS
3.) Josh Hamilton CF
4.) Adrian Beltre 3B
5.) Nelson Cruz RF
6.) Michael Young DH
7.) David Murphy LF
8.) Chris Davis 1B
9.) Mike Napoli C

My explanation and Stacy’s lineup after the jump….

This is strictly on gut reaction, I like the performance Chris Davis has given us so far this spring and think he earned the starting job over Moreland. Julio Borbon hasn’t impressed me this spring and I think Murphy deserves that job. I’m not tied down to that batting order, the top six I like where they stand but for the other three they can mix and match. I’m only putting Napoli in the order over Torrealba to possibly get a little more bang against Lester.

Stacy’s Lineup

1.) Ian Kinsler 2B
2.) Elvis Andrus SS
3.) Josh Hamilton CF
4.) Chris Davis 3B
5.) Nelson Cruz RF
6.) Michael Young DH
7.) David Murphy LF
8.) Mitch Moreland 1B
9.) Mike Napoli C

I completely agree with Jonathan about the lineup. Kinsler has definitely been impressive thus far this spring in the leadoff posiiton and I think Washington did an excellent job placing him up top. I also do not believe that Borbon deserves the job in the outfield; however, I have mixed feelings on Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis. I like them both. Davis has had problems in the past being able to get things in order and Moreland has impressed me since being called up. With that being said, I’m going to stick with Moreland but I do believe that Davis deserves a spot on the Opening Day roster…and I would definitely have him as backup on the bench or wherever I could get him! If we didn’t have Adrian Beltre, I’d put Davis on third since he can play that corner infield position.

Post your lineup below and a small explanation!

-Jonathan and Stacy