I think any team in MLB, would expect to see a drop off, if there regular lead off hitter had to miss time (other than normal rest type days)

Having an equal back-up on the small MLB roster is near impossible. If Roberts does go down with an Injury, I am sure we would see several things looked at, then go with the what seems to be the best option. Saying who that is now may be hard, unitl it happens, cause maybe there will be a player on a hot streak that would make sense, more than slotting in somebody now as the default. Seems that it would most likely be Jones or Pie,

Also I think Leadoff is way overrated after the first inning.

His name is Justin Turner.

leadoff is overrated after the first inning. with your leadoff hitter getting the most plate appearances, you gotta have someone to get on base. Adam, at this opoint in his career, isn't the guy. Reminds me Soriano...he'll get his xtra base hits, but in a tight situation he can be pitched to. I like Reimold in the leadoff hole. Like Downing, has nice discipline, and unlike Downing, good speed...maybe not stolen base speed, but doesn't clog up the basebaths.

Like Doug said, most teams don't have an obvious fill in leadoff guy.

Pete, neither Jones or Pie have the plate discipline to lead off every day. Trembley can vary the lineup many days and slot people in and out of the position if Roberts goes on the DL, but the team does not presently have an alternative to Brian Roberts. Itzuris is the next closest thing because he switch hits, can steal a base and makes contact.

If Roberts goes on the DL we have to trade a prospect or two for a second baseman who can lead off.

Tony,

Maybe, make that a huge maybe, if Roberts had a career ending injury, that would be needed, but not for "just" a DL trip, that would be silly. Put in who ever is looking the best at the moment. could be anybody. Tejada could even fit that, We have no true cleanup hitter (yet). I think anbody but Wieters and Scott who both look a little slow to first could fill in.

Dumping prospects to get a leadoff hitter mid season is pretty silly, unless we are leading the AL East, and Roberts goes down to the 30 or 60 day DL.

Even the most optomistic koolaid drinking fan does not think we will be leading the AL East this year.

Pie would be great, maybe as the DH....but refresh me: is he a good bunter? He has awesome tools for the job.

Hey Doug, If Roberts is out an extended period of time and goes on the 60 day DL or has a season ending injury...and that is a big if{that's what we do on the blog, deal in hypotheticals} it is critical to put great defense behind the young pitchers. Not to go for the pennant but to build their confidence, rather than tear it down. I don't want to start the whole argument over again, because I am not on the Andy Macphail prospect hoarding train, but prospects are prospects...nothing more. A bird in hand is worth two in the "field".

Tony,

This subject was about lead off Hitter, #1 in the batting order, not about defense replacement.

Andino Would play a fine 2B for Roberts, and give the young (or propects) pitching good defense to build there confidence.

But not as the Lead off hitter, that would have to be somebody else. (still not worth trading for, unless we are in real battle for the playoffs)

And yes this is a blog and we can disagree. :) With out insults even...

The two truths about this team is (a) they are not a typical AL-only team in that they have good hitters throughout their line-up despite the DH rule replacing the P, and (b) they really don't have a typical lead-off hitter even with Brian Roberts.

While Mauch probably had his wife bunting on their wedding night, having Downing bat first was rather ingenious, I thought at the time. That team was strong top-to-bottom making the lead-off position important once per game rather than four times in a normal game. Downing was good at getting on base, and every position higher in the line-up usually means an extra 30 ABs per year.

His Angel team bears no likeness to this Oriole team.

Pie is not a bad choice IF he can stay on track at being selective at the plate. He had his moments. He certainly improved as the season progressed. He may be a dark horse to do something special this year.

Certainly, Trembley shouldn't be bristling at every question. Unlike last year when the Orioles trotted out 37 ambidextrous hurlers (they couldn't throw with either arm), this team is at least 80% set. Besides clapping his hands and saying, "Let's look like a ball team," he really has little else to do but consider his team and their contingencies.

There are so many ambiguous answers he could have given if he is not yet sure, I won't even bother to start a list. Just cue the John Harbaugh tape and insert Oriole nothings in place of his Raven nothings.

The fact he bristles at questions like Plan B lead-off men and Plan B middle infielders tells me either he hasn't yet thought about it or he gets easily frustrated by thinking about it.

Not exactly managerial material ... but then again, it wasn't me who thought he "deserved" another chance.

I stated on another blog and agreed with a blogger here Reimold might be a good Plan B lead-off hitter. He's smart. He makes contact often. He's patient. He has a good on-base percentage. He has good speed.

He may be taller than Downing and not as muscular, but he may be the best out-of-the-box solution.

Still, Pie isn't worth bristling over unless you disturbed Trembley's "me time."

good question.

i think Jones or Reimold could handle in an unconventional way mentioned by some above.

But i'm a Pie guy. It looked to me when he got locked in that he was extremely balanced at the plate and took a lot of close pitches. Also showed he knew game situations such as taking a strike when you're down a few runs late in the game.

And he squared around alot when leading off innings just to draw the corner infielders in. Yeah, he can bunt, but at this point in his career is probably better at bunting for a hit than sacrificing. Ideal leadoff man, imo.

Reimold would seem to have the best combination of OBP and speed.

No offense to AJ but Reimold walks more and looks to be the more skilled basestealer.

Kenny Lofton is looking for work!

Pete - Weaver used Ken Singleton in the 70's because of his high OBP. Talk about slow and not an atypical lead off batter.

Imbecile McFAIL had a hance to dump damaged roberts on the Cubs and steal more of their talent but he got greedy and now has nothing but a high salary and a herniaated disc to deal with. what a PUTZ!!!!

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: C'mon. Let's try not to be too kneejerk.

Does anybody have a statistic about how ofter, other than the first-inning, of course, so-called lead off hitters actually lead off innings? Just thinking through a typical game, I'd guess that Roberts, for example, leads off the first, and maybe one more time during the game. If you take out the obvious leading off the game at-bat, I would guess that subsequent innings are lead off by just about every other position in the batting order just about as often. That stat might not hold in the NL because their lead off hitters follow pitchers, but in the AL, "WHO IS THE BACK-UP LEADOFF HITTER" seems like an overblown discussion. Whatever happened to that theory of making a batting order of 1-9 as your best hitter first, second best hitter second, etc.? I'd be willing to bet that a team (manager) with the juevos to try that for a season would have just as much offense as any other style of lineup.

The best leadoff option to Roberts may be Markakis. He has a great feel for the strike zone, can obviously hit and can run if he gets on base. He basically does everything well. He kind of reminds me of Grady Sizemore who bats leadoff for Cleveland.

Call me crazy, but isn't the idea to put guys on base right out of the shoot? Your leadoff hitter therefore, must be patient at the plate (which also makes opposing pitcher labor, which in turn allows following hitters to see more of the pitchers repretoire) and then make contact! BRob is a .300 hitter, then next best option would be Miggy, not Jones. Jones is still to impatient. Can easily be duped into the bad pitch away or in the dirt. He still needs the protection of the 2 hole. Miggy would be the best choice, after Roberts, to set the table. In fact, his penchant for hitting doubles is equal to or better than Roberts. Next question.