Leadoff spot eyed to give Davis a boost
Showalter expects to eventually balance time for Joseph, Sisco
Whether or not Orioles manager Buck Showalter hits enigmatic slugger Chris Davis atop the batting order come Opening Day on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins — as he’s done for the past few weeks of spring training and has threatened to dowhenthegamescount — isn’t just about who hits where.
It’s clear to Showalter and Davis that regardless of where the big first baseman hits, it’s about spurring a mentality change after he’s struggled to consistently help the team at the plate for the past two seasons.
“I think the batting order sometimes is made way too much out of, but in this case, I think it’s something that has a little more bearing,” Showalter said.
Neither he nor Davis would show his hand about what would happen when. Showalter has also said this spring that his three best hitters would occupy the three top spots, and that trio likely includes Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Trey Mancini.
Yet there was Davis, whoneeded to get extra at-bats in spring training after missing time with elbow soreness, batting atop the lineup whenever the Orioles’ regulars played. Showalter would only say Wednesday that it’s a “possibility,” and regarded the idea as having “conventional unconventionality.”
“It’s as much his [idea] as ours,” Showalter said. “It’s something we’ve talked about.”
Davis explained why he wants to do it, why he believes he’s suited for it and why he’s embraced it now that it’s a possibility.
“I think even if I hadn’t have been put in the leadoff spot, that was something I’ve worked a lot on this offseason,” Davis said. “I talked to you guys last year at the end of the season about making some adjustments mechanically, making some adjustments mentally, and I think that goes into it.
“I’m tired of hitting .200. You’re going to find a way to combat that, and that’s part of the game. If they’re going to give you the entire left side of the infield, then I’m going to make them pay for it. We have enough guys in that lineup that can do damage where the more guys we can get on, the better off we’re going to be as a team.”
Even with a low batting average in recent seasons, Davis has walked pretty consistently, and 67 of his 111 home runs in the past three seasons have been with the bases empty, so there’s something to be said about his mindset in those situations. A leadoff batter is guaranteed only once to bat leadoff, but Davis wants to use the leadoff title, if it’s his, to be more aggressive.
“I think that was going to be the case no matter where I was batting,” Davis said. “That was something that I wanted to kind of change going into this season, no matter where I was hitting in the order. I think that being in the leadoff spot, it makes it a little more intriguing, but I think the reason that I was put in the leadoff spot was my ability to see some pitches, my ability to get on base, and like I’ve said, it’s kind of a lost art.
“I’ve never led off in my life, other than the spring training games, and to be honest with you, the first time he did that I thought he was just messing with me. I’ve been trying to get him to put me there for seven years. I thought, ‘Now he’s just giving me a hard time.’ But I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited about it.”
Showalter sees it as a way to get Davis back contributing, something the Orioles will need wherever he hits in the lineup.
“We missed him, when he wasn’t on the field last year and when he wasn’t productive,” Showalter said. “He knows that. He’s a driven guy. ... He knows what the job description is, and it’s got nothing to do with the [financial] commitment necessarily, but it does play into it where he’s concerned.” Showalter Sisco’s playing time: Showalter said Wednesday that he envisions veteran Caleb Joseph getting more playing time than rookie Chance Sisco behind the plate early, but hopes to see that tandem grow into an equal partnership quickly.
“We’ll let it develop,” Showalter said. “They’re both going to catch. I’m hoping that, in a perfect world, you’d be able to split it and keep them all healthy and keep them all engaged. Chance, fortunately, got here last year and got his feet wet, so I think he’s another guy that once everything kind of calms downand a lot of the wheels quit turning and it settles into baseball, I think Chance will be more and more of a guy that we’re going to want to put out there.
“I’m going to play both of them, as you all well know. We’ll start out with Caleb initially, but I’m hoping Chance develops into a guy we feel comfortable with either way.”
Ever since Sisco made the team as the second catcher, the notion that one of the team’s top prospects should sit on the bench for days at a time has been challenged.
But a straight platoon between the left-handed-hitting Sisco and the right-handed-hitting Joseph would be tilted too far in the other direction, so for the time being Showalter seems like he’ll ease Sisco into his major league role. Beckham ready for Opening Day: Third baseman Tim Beckham, whotweaked his groin in the final days of spring training and had to stay back two extra days in Florida to test the injury, returned to the club Wednesday and will start Opening Day.
Beckham played in a simulated game Tuesday in Sarasota and the most important part of playing in that gamewasmoving laterally at third base in game speed without discomfort.
Beckham made a relatively seamless transition to third base from shortstop during spring training, but Opening Day will be just his sixth career regular-season start at third. Around the horn: Left fielder Mancini, who sat out Monday’s exhibition game at Triple-A Norfolk as a precaution with a mild right hamstring strain, said he’s “totally fine” and will be ready for Opening Day. … Right-hander Alex Cobb will participate in Opening Day ceremonies, being introduced and running down the orange carpet, and then return to Florida to continue preparing for the season.