Is the lineup change first of several?
GM offers few hints after meeting
By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer
The Reds' front office staff and coaches met for 2½ hours before Wednesday game.
No roster moves followed.
But the lineup for Wednesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals was different than it had been for any of the previous 26, and that's no coincidence.
Ryan Freel batted first and played center field. Felipe Lopez batted second and played second base.
"We had an honest exchange," Reds general manager Dan O'Brien said. "Some ideas of merit were presented for moving forward. It starts with (manager Dave Miley) making adjustments to the lineup."
So you can read something into the Reds' two fastest players hitting first and second. You read something into the fact D'Angelo Jimenez wasn't in the lineup against a left-hander, even though he's hitting well against lefties and horribly against right-handers.
But don't read anything into the fact that Ken Griffey Jr. was not starting.
"With (left-handed Mark) Mulder starting and a day off (today), I thought I'd give him two days in a row off. We have a lot of games in a row coming up," Miley said.
O'Brien said the Reds want to create a lineup "with a different flow and structure to it."
He said putting Freel and Lopez together was an example of that. He declined to give details beyond that.