Weekly Cleveland Indians Lineup Analysis

Once again, this is the weekly series where I plan take the top 9 Indians in terms of OPS and feed them into Dave Pinto's Lineup Analysis Tool to determine the theoretical ideal batting lineup.

This Week's Results
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This Week's Ideal Lineup
Fasano
Sizemore
Choo
Francisco
Blake
Peralta
Shoppach
Dellucci
Carroll

Changes From Last Week
Grady Sizemore and Ben Francisco flip-flop; the rest remain the same.

Theoretical Runs Per Game
5.371, down 0.253 runs per game from last week. Sal Fasano's regression is kicking in already.

Theoretical Improvement
The Indians are currently scoring 4.567 runs per game. That's an improvement of 0.804 runs per game, which in turn leads to 130 over the course of the season, or 13 more wins.

Defensive Plausibility
Fasano and Kelly Shoppach can alternate between first base and catcher, with everyone else assuming normal responsibilities. Or, Fasano or Shoppach can DH, with one of the outfielders playing first.

Fan Believability
Again, batting Sal Fasano leadoff is akin to asking to be fired. Otherwise, this lineup is balanced enough (for better or for worse) that it otherwise works.

My Take
I also wouldn't bat Fasano leadoff. But I do like Sizemore second and Blake fifth as the team's top two all-around hitters. I may bat Jhonny Peralta at leadoff over Ben Francisco, although Francisco has improved his isolated slugging as of late.

Random Indians Thought of the Week
Look at that, I'm famous.