Rejuvenated Ichiro Should Lead Off

Ichiro had two more hits today against the Toronto Blue Jays capping a two-day hitting clinic that he'll remember for quite some time. Three games were played during the two days, and Ichiro went 9-12 with three doubles, one homer, four runs batted in, four runs scored, and four stolen bases. It was vintage Ichiro and it was exactly what the Yankees for looking for ever since they acquired him from the Seattle Mariners. Coming into tonight's game, Ichiro has hit .317 with nine doubles, a triple, and three homers in Yankees pinstripes. He now has played 54 hits in 54 games as a Yankee. He only has 16 runs though, and it prompts the question, should he return to role of lead-off hitter?

Lead-off man has been Ichiro's role for the majority of his major league career. This year he basically split time hitting first and third for the Mariners. Before being traded to the Yankees he had to agree that he would be fine with batting at the bottom of the order. He spent the majority of his short Yankee career batting eighth and ninth. This is because his numbers were way down in Seattle, hitting only .261 as a Mariner. Now that he has gotten used to New York and found his swing, a climb in the order might be in order. The problem is that the Yankees current lead-off man is Derek Jeter, who found his swing in April and hasn't lost it since.

Moving Jeter down to the hole might not be a bad idea though. The Yankees current 2-hole batter is Nick Swisher, who is not your typical guy to bat second. Swisher is a corner outfield-first baseman that has no speed and a lot of power. He fits better as a middle-of-the-order kind of guy. Jeter, on the other hand, its for contact and still has good speed despite his advanced age. His 15 homers shows that he still has some pop in his bat. Jeter is the perfect 2-hole hitter. Now that Ichiro has found his swing, he and Jeter could be a deadly 1-2 punch at the top of the Yankees order. When you add Robinson Cano, the usual 3-hole hitter, to the mix, then you get three of the best pure hitters in the game starting off each game for you.

Another thing Ichiro brings to the table that Jeter doesn't is stealing. Ichiro has 10 steals as a Yankee already and 25 for the season. Derek Jeter has only stolen nine bases the whole season. This means that if Ichiro gets a hit, Jeter will automatically have an easier at-bat because the pitcher will have to worry about Ichiro at first. If Ichiro does steal after reaching base, Jeter will have a chance to drive in a run every time he gets up, and with the way Jeter was hit he'd drive Ichiro in more times than not. This gives the Yankees a way to score besides the home run, something they desperately need. Manager Joe Girardi realizes this and that's why his team is second this month in steals with 20.

The argument against this would be that with Ichiro batting 8th or 9th, Jeter gets the chance to drive him anyways. This is true but the chance for Jeter to drive him in comes in the third or fourth inning rather than the first. This doesn't do the Yankees any good as their average pitching staff could give up three or four runs by the time Ichiro steps to the plate for the first time. The Yankees want to strike first, and they could every night with the small-ball combo of Ichiro-Jeter to start each game. If I were Girardi, my lineup card would look like this every night:

RF Ichiro (L)
SS Jeter (R)
2B Cano (L)
3B Rodriguez (R)
1B Swisher (S)
CF Granderson (L)
C Martin (R)
DH Ibanez/Jones (L/R)
LF Nix (R)

Jayson Nix is good enough to play every night as long as Mark Teixeira is out. He came play every infield position and the corner outfield positions. He is a sound fielder and a decent hitter with OK speed. Putting him at the bottom of the order makes up for bumping up Ichiro to the top of the order. There is no need to have Casey McGehee in the game over Nix as he does nothing better than Nix. Also notice that this lineup is very balanced, meaning there isn't any lefty or righty heavy parts to it. I have put in parentheses which side he player bats from to make it easier to see. A balanced lineup makes it harder for the opposing manager to play the matchups. Having Swisher and his good eye 5th in the lineup means that Granderson will have a chance to get another RBI as he as morphed into a homer-or-strikeout batter this season. The DH spot is weak in my lineup with both Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones slumping as of late, but the Yankees bench is fairly deep and so McGehee, Chavez, or Eduardo Nunez could also slide into the lineup.

I think runners would be on base more often in my lineup than the one Girardi puts out each night. Simple logic tells you that the more times you have runners on base, the higher the chance you have at scoring. With Ichiro returning to vintage Ichiro and Jeter already being vintage Jeter, I think it's time to see what they can do as a tandem. C'mon Joe, do what you've been tempted to do ever since you got Ichiro, have him lead off. You know he can do it.

Reference

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/4570/ichiro-suzuki
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/4570/ichiro-suzuki
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/4570/ichiro-suzuki
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/3246/derek-jeter