Mora Moves Down in Lineup
Melvin Mora told me he doesn't care where he hits in the lineup, but obviously he doesn't feel he belongs in the seventh spot. He said he's always hit second or third in his career and we've seen the type of career he's had as a hitter.
As Dave Trembley said last month, Mora is a guy who had made a living hitting with two outs, two strikes, and runners in scoring position.
The reality is though, Melvin isn't hitting with runners in scoring position lately. His RBI numbers have decreased monthly this season. In April he knocked in nine runs. In May, Mora drove in six runs, and so far in June, he's only driven three runners in.
That's a total of just eighteen RBI's as compared to this time last year when Mora had thirty eight RBI's.
So for now Melvin moves to the seventh spot, but he told me he knows he'll hit his way out of this. Melvin said he's sure he'll be where he needs to be numbers wise by the end of the year.
Honestly, he was quite relaxed about the move. That was a good sign. I think it shows he's a very confident player. He told me as long as the team is winning, he doesn't care where his name is in the lineup.
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Categories (click for archive)Amber Theoharis | MASNblogs |
Hello Amber. This actually might not be a horrible move from Mora's perspective. First of all with regard to his numbers, we'd do him justice to keep in mind that he was on the DL for awhile this season. So there was approximately 15 days when he wasn't producing anything through no fault of his own. But while he's in a bit of a funk, teams still have to be aware that Melvin Mora is a solid hitter (2 for 3 last night with 4 RBI, and he's still hitting .278). In fact, he drove in a few runs with a RISP last night. If anything, this will force the opposition to pitch to Reimold, Scott, etc (whomever is hitting in the six hole). Towards the end of his career the Orioles pretty much did the same kind of thing with Cal. Mora is also a good bunter, so if a couple of guys get on ahead of him, there's another option for Trembly in that he can ask Melvin to lay one down and move the runner(s) over, or even bunt for a base hit.
Respectfully to Mr. Mora, with all of the talent hitting their way into this lineup, (Mr. Huff, Mr. Reimold, Mr. Jones, Mr. Markakis) Melvin should feel fortunate that he is still in the lineup. Would he rather be hitting in front of Geronimo Gil? There needs to be some production in the #7 hole - the lineup is that much deeper that way. There's plently of RBI's that we need from the #7 hole, and he is playing a great 3B of late.
Hi Amber. I'm working on an article for the Salisbury Daily Times about how new media influences professional sports and was wondering if you could spare a few minutes for some questions. I thought our readers might be especially interested to hear your take because you're from the area.
Thanks for your time.
-josh