Pirates lineup forecast
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• Player - Position - Votes.
• Andrew McCutchen - CF - 7.
• Akinori Iwamura - 2B - 7.
• Garrett Jones - RF - 4.
• Ryan Doumit - C - 4.
• Andy LaRoche - 3B - 3.
• Lastings Milledge - LF - 3.
• Jeff Clement - 1B - 1.
• Ronny Cedeno - SS - 6.
• Paul Maholm - P - 4.
Eight players participated in the annual pre-spring survey: Fill out the Pirates' lineup card for the April 5 opening day against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Three others begged off, citing. . . well, they just didn't feel comfortable even under the veil of anonymity. So the entire poll group was granted such secrecy, but suffice it to say all were regulars in 2009.
The top two in the predicted Pirates order were near-unanimous choices, Andrew McCutchen followed by Akinori Iwamura. Nos. 3-6 fell into a bit of a jumble, though it's clear that manager John Russell is expected to use a combination of Garrett Jones, Ryan Doumit, Andy LaRoche and Lastings Milledge in those spots. With four total votes from the eight polled, Jeff Clement wasn't a clear-cut winner but earned the No. 7 spot by virtue of more total votes. Ronny Cedeno nosed out free-agent Bobby Crosby at shortstop. And Paul Maholm, a unanimous choice last year, won over All-Star Zach Duke and surging Ross Ohlendorf.
Speaking of last year, it was a far easier race: 1. Nyjer Morgan, LF; 2. Freddy Sanchez, 2B; 3. Nate McLouth, CF; 4. Ryan Doumit, C; 5. Adam LaRoche, 1B; 6. Brandon Moss, RF; 7. Andy LaRoche, 3B; 8. Jack Wilson, SS; 9. Maholm, P. All captured 60 percent of the votes, or better.
First Published February 17, 2010 12:00 am
