They probably walk Reyes either way but there is still a major advantage of having Lo Duca up there, despite the potential double play ball. Lo Duca is simply the better, more experienced hitter. He's less inclined to chase bad pitches and won't help the pitcher out in that respect. Yes the inning ending double play chance exists but you still have to deal with a much better hitter.
Look at it this way. Until we get our guys back we will have five regulars and three guys that will most certainly suck. So you can have one of two lineups. It's :
Reyes
Lo Duca
Beltran
Delgado
Wright
Suck
Suck
Suck
or
Reyes
Suck
Beltran
Delgado
Wright
Lo Duca
Suck
Suck
I like the first one better because you have a better chacne at runs early and Willie has more options with Reyes on base on Lo Duca behind him. |