Lineups fun: Martinez may bat pitcher eighth, Harper first

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - If you've been paying attention to the Nationals' starting lineups in recent days, you've certainly noticed a new wrinkle by manager Davey Martinez, rarely seen in these parts before but a bit more common around the rest of the National League: The pitcher batting eighth.

It's happened the last three days, with Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday, Gio Gonzalez on Wednesday and Tanner Roark on Thursday night. And, if we are to believe Martinez, it's going to happen sometimes during the regular season. He's just not ready to declare exactly when or how often.

"So far, I like it some days," the rookie manager said. "Some days I don't."

Tony La Russa was the first manager to do it on a consistent basis. His rationale: He wanted Albert Pujols (normally the cleanup hitter but now bumped up to the No. 3 spot) to bat in the first inning every game, but he still wanted a second "leadoff hitter" batting ninth once the lineup turned over.

A few other analytically minded skippers have followed suit in recent years, including Joe Maddon in Chicago. That's where Martinez (who served as Maddon's bench coach) began to become a fan of the strategy, something he would've considered heresy during his playing days.

"With all the information that's out there," he said, "you start realizing some of the things you can and can't do and make sense of it."

Martinez has two rationales for batting a pitcher eighth. He thinks it makes sense for a starter who doesn't consistently go deep into games, figuring he's going to have to pinch-hit for him by the fifth or sixth inning anyway. He also likes the idea of a second leadoff hitter, though only certain guys (he specifically mentioned Wilmer Difo).

"For me, it's more about pitch counts," Martinez said. "We have a chance to maybe (pinch) hit a little earlier. When you've got a guy like Difo, he's like another leadoff hitter. And he can turn the lineup over to the top. So it's kind of nice. ... When you've got a guy I think is going to pitch deeper in the game, you just bat him ninth and just let him concentrate on pitching."

The Nationals have employed the pitcher-hitting-eighth strategy for only one brief stretch in their history. It happened in June 2011, when manager Jim Riggleman had no reliable leadoff hitter and decided to move Jayson Werth up to the top spot and weaker hitters like Roger Bernadina or the still-developing Ian Desmond to the No. 9 spot.

It was meant to be a temporary fix, but the Nats wound up winning 10 of those 11 games, and Riggleman seemed to have hit upon something ... until he abruptly resigned in a contract dispute minutes after his team won that 11th game in walk-off fashion. Interim manager John McLaren was at the helm for three interleague games against the White Sox, with the designated hitter used. And then Davey Johnson took over permanently and moved the pitcher back to the bottom of the order.

Every Nationals pitcher has batted ninth in the 6 1/2 seasons since. But that may be about to change.

Does this strategy make sense for this particular Nats lineup, though? If one reason to bat a pitcher eighth is to compensate for the lack of a good leadoff man, this team doesn't fit the bill. It actually has two potentially potent leadoff hitters in Adam Eaton and Trea Turner.

Martinez plans to bat those guys 1-2 most of the time, though he admitted Thursday he could move Eaton down from the leadoff perch at times to reduce some wear and tear on his reconstructed knee.

"I want him to lead off, of course," Martinez said. "But running him out there every day right now, especially in the cold weather ... he looks great right now, but it's warm. We'll have to see what transpires when we get to the cold weather. I think some days we might hit him ... I don't know yet, but we might hit him a little further down, just to give him a little breather. But as long as he's doing good, he's that pain-in-the-butt batter. He gets up there and sees seven or eight pitches an AB. I like that."

There's another potential wrinkle to this whole equation, one that certainly would qualify as unconventional: Bryce Harper leading off. Martinez did it for one exhibition game recently, and he might just try it for real if the situation is right.

"Say you have a tough matchup," the manager said. "A (pitcher) that wears us out a little bit. Maybe you want to try. We're struggling a bit offensively, create something early, create some excitement. What better excitement than having Harper lead off with a homer?"