Chicago Cubs: Should Maddon have batted Caratini after Rizzo?

Many of the complaints from Chicago Cubs’ fans have been Joe Maddon’s constant changing of the lineup. It’s ever changing, but was Victor Caratini batting in the fifth spot the right choice?

The Chicago Cubs have struggled to find offensive consistency this season. Part of it has to do with the team’s struggles from one player to another. The other is the absence of Willson Contreras and Addison Russell, in particular with the way Contreras was hitting the ball. And that’s why one of the questions I had to ask my myself was, why Victor Caratini?

The Cubs are coming off a game in which they put up a 15 spot against the Reds. With the right hander Luis Castillo on the mound, you might have thought you’d see Kyle Schwarber again tonight. Instead, you saw an outfield of Albert Almora, Jon Jay and Jason Heyward. This is where the confusing part comes in.

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With Javier Baez and Jason Heyward in the lineup, Maddon chose to go with Caratini in the five spot behind Anthony Rizzo. I believe that Caratini is going to be a solid hitter in the majors, I do. But with a more experienced Baez and Heyward, that seems like it was an odd choice.

Less than ideal?

Caratini has played in 14 games. He’s batting just .212 with a home run and two runs batted in. Baez has his issues with the slider, and Heyward isn’t setting the world on fire, either. But either would have been a better option in the No. 5 spot in the lineup.

The Cubs’ Maddon has his quirks and likes to do different things with his lineup, day in and day out. But this is one that I’m not a big fan of. Even Almora, batting one spot behind Caratini, would have been a good option in the fifth spot.

Next: Anderson signs with the Jays

I’m not one to question Maddon’s choices of lineups. I scratch my head at times, but I trust in this guy. He helped lead us to the World Series last year, even with a few hiccups along the way. But the end goal of this is to beat a struggling Reds team at least three out of four games. With the Cardinals trailing the Red Sox tonight, it’s a chance to go 2 1/2 games up on the Redbirds. Put the best lineup out there and get ’em. That’s not what I felt tonight, but we’ll see what happens in this pitcher’s duel.