After a sluggish 6-8 start to the season, Lumberjacks manager Mons Raider announced this week that the team will move forward with loading the lineup with an offensive minded group of players. With everyone healthy and off the injured list, and the team off to its worst start in 4 years, Raider felt now was the time to give it a shot.
"With Dodson back from his spring injury, we figured now is the time to give it a go. We aren't panicking and this isn't a knee jerk reaction to our slow start. The lineup we'll roll out this week is something we had considered during spring training but we didnt' get to go with it in the spring or to start the season because of injuries. We'll give it a go and see how things shake out."
Some of the big moves to watch will be Greg Squires' shift to centerfield. Squires is off to a very slow start and a big reason the team is struggling to score runs. His bat will be an upgrade an outfield position but it remains to be seen how his lack of defense there effects the team. This move is to allow the better hitting duo of Dodson and McFadden (also off to a slow start) to flank the corner outfield positions.
Another change to keep an eye on is having Hideaki Ohayashi starting some games at 3B to help at the top of the lineup. Ohayashi is also off to a slow start but his on-base potential and speed have been huge assets the last few seasons. His shift to 3B is to allow Grame Odhieng the chance to start at 1B. Odhieng is having a good start to the season and Raider wants to keep him in the lineup. The shift of Ohayashi to 3B also weakens the defense and bumps Daniel Frampton, who had a career year last year, out of the lineup.
"Again, this is a trial run. The season has a long way to play out and we think we'll be in the thick of it come September. If this doesn't work out this week, we'll back up, punt, and try something else" concluded Raider.
Portland has series with both Sacramento and San Fernando this week. But it first must stave off a sweep at the hands of Valencia first.