Just got upstairs from the clubhouse, and Geoff Jenkins is, in fact, batting leadoff for the first time in his career. Jenkins said he thought it was a joke when he walked into the clubhouse and saw the lineup posted near the door."I was like, 'Nah, somebody just grabbed the dry-erase pen,'" Jenkins said. "I talked to Charlie [Manuel] and said, 'If I'm going to lead off, I've got to have the green light.' He's like, 'Uh, no.'"
Why Jenkins? Manuel cited his career success against Cubs starter Jason Marquis (10-for-32, three triples, six RBIs). Jayson Werth is batting second and playing center field in place of Shane Victorino, who is seeing team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti right now.
"I chuckled a little bit when I saw the lineup," Werth said. "If all the lineups that I projected in my head, Jenks leading off was not one of them. That's why I love Charlie, man. I looked at the lineup and said, 'That might work.'"
The rest of the lineup: RF Jenkins (.243/1/2), CF Werth (.400/0/3), 2B Chase Utley (.326/3/8), 1B Ryan Howard (.205/3/6), LF Pat Burrell (.378/4/12), 3B Pedro Feliz (.220/2/6), C Chris Coste (.308/1/1), SS Eric Bruntlett (.105/0/0), LHP Jamie Moyer (1-0, 4.66)
Howard's impression of the lineup, minus speedsters Victorino and Jimmy Rollins: "I don't know if our short game is going to work. I've been upgraded to the yellow [light] now."
By the way, Manuel reiterated that Rollins should be ready to play Tuesday night against the Astros. Rollins' reaction: "Don't know."
No comments:
Post a Comment