Aaron Miles Is Key to Cardinals' Success in the Second Half

Just before the All-Star break, Aaron Miles was driving in runs for the Cards against Pittsburgh and bringing his season average up to .317.  He has also come up with several hits that have jumpstarted the Cardinal offense. 

If it were up to me, Miles would be starting at second base and leading off on a daily basis.  Tony LaRussa, on the other hand, has never liked the idea of having the same leadoff man for more than five games in a row.

Bothered by that tendency, I also have always wondered why the Cards can get shut out one day and then go on to score double-digit runs the next.  Then I started to think that these two issues may be related.

The solution that I have for the Cardinals is to have a more consistent hitter leading off for the offense to get it going, and I do not mean for just the first at bat of the game.  That hitter would be Aaron Miles for several reasons.     

1. He is batting just under .300 (.294) in the leadoff spot, but that only comes from 17 at bats over the course of just five games.

2. He is one of the hottest hitters on the team, so make him the bridge from the bottom of the lineup to Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel, and Ryan Ludwick.

3. He is hitting .360 (better than Albert) when he starts at his natural position, second base.

Did I mention that he is a switch hitter?  By switch-hitting at the top of the line-up, Miles has an advantage—no matter what side the opposing starter is throwing from, Miles can adjust every day.

I know some will say that LaRussa likes having Miles come off the bench when he is not starting.  However, when you go to your bench, other than hitting for a pitcher, you are trailing in the game more often than not.  Having Miles out there every day jumpstarting the offense could eliminate the need to pinch hit for Adam Kennedy or Brendan Ryan.

On top of that, LaRussa has other good players that can come off the bench if the plan isn't working out for that game in Chris Duncan, Joe Mather, and Skip Schumaker (minus whichever one is starting that game).

I hear this from every baseball fan I know all the time: "We just need to get our offense going."

Wouldn't a consistent leadoff hitter help solve this offensive problem?