re: Baseball starting line-up

Three spots not settled, catcher, 3B and third OF spot.

I do believe McManus unseated Milazzo as our primary pitcher but there is still much to consider. Milazzo might work better for some pitchers that are a little more wild. Milazzo might work better against an aggressive stealing team. Milazzo could improve his hitting. Who is our third catcher? This will go on for awhile.

Berry playing 3B gives opportunities for a lot of players at DH, so he will play there but I don't think he will be there when it really counts. Merrifield is strong defensively and hits pretty well. Merrifield at 3B and Berry at DH is our strongest lineup. I think once SEC play gets here, you will see more and more Merrifield at 3B. My bold prediction is that Doughty gets drafted before Berry next year.

A lot of contenders for the third OF spot. I haven't even mentioned Leto or Bianco as possibilities. Drost reminds me of Deichmann in some ways and I could see him becoming that and taking the job but if he doesn't, Pearson is my first guess.

This roster is not finished yet, we are still two over limit. The Priester situation is not completely over yet and we still need a third catcher in my opinion.

There are still players we haven't seen yet. Leto and Bianco that I just mentioned. There are a lot of positive things said about Simon. Johnson even talked about Travinski being reevaluated in the Spring. On the pitching side, we still haven't seen Shaffer and he could impact this team.

Wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Morgan be the CF. Opens up way more options to the lineup and gives you a better defense than sticking Berry at 3B. According the the LSU baseball vid posted recently Morgan has been practicing there already. McManus and Berry are probably our 2 worst defenders and Johnson has spoken highly of Beloso. 2 of those 3 will be your 1B and DH, they may start berry at 3B but I bet Doughty is moved back there eventually.

The biggest wildcard is really whether or not McManus could give you enough defensively at C. If he can, then you can really get all your best hitters in the lineup.

It’s been mentioned by several people, but some literally have a panic attack when it’s mentioned.

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But I dont remember Berry getting any work at 1st during the fall. Which makes me think the staff doesn’t think that’s a viable situation.

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I think he worked at first over the summer for team USA. In the fall it could have been about getting him as many reps as possible at third.

It seems that from at least the fall his error problems aren’t with his glove. Seems throwing is more the issue. You would think playing 1st would be an easy solution to that problem.

I think that is the best situation as well, but like you said, doesn’t seem like they are preparing for that. I’m curious to whether or not they have tried McManus or Travinski at 1B.

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I’m curious to whether or not they have tried McManus or Travinski at 1B.

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I don’t think McManus at 1st gains you much except in a late game defensive replacement for Milazzo. But even then you’re taking a dip in defense between McManus and Morgan I would assume.

And didn’t Travinski have knee surgery? Don’t remember the details of his injury but he didn’t participate in fall ball at all

Now this is deadly!!

Travinski has played at 1B prior to his surgery, at least in practice. He doesn't look too bad there.

He had Tommy John surgery but was sporting a leg brace during the fall. I believe he did have some lingering knee issues, so perhaps he had that cleaned up while recovering from TJ surgery.

Johnson mentioned, not too long ago, that he would be reevaluated in the Spring. I was assuming the TJ surgery would have him out for 2022 but I guess there is a chance he plays. Lets not forget that right now we are at 2 catchers, so I think there is a plan in place for a third or they would have kept Wyeth. Priester? Travinski? I'm not sure. Maybe Johnson was just thinking of Travinski at 1B or DH. There are still some questons to be answered about the roster.