Gordo has once again this season proved he is an elite offensive player ( minus a slow start) and with the Royals having nothing left to lose the Royals should let Gordon hit 3rd (the naturally right spot for him) and drive in some runs the rest of the year and with no pressure.

This will improve the Royals short term and long term going into next year...Gordon and Butler are a good start to build on and it most likely would take more pressure of guys who are pressing (Moose).

1)Cain/Dyson
2)Escobar
3)Gordon
4)Butler
5)Sal Perez
6)Moose
7)Frenchy/Cain
8)Hosmer
9)Getz

thats more of a winning type lineup

"the Royals should let Gordon hit 3rd (the naturally right spot for him) and drive in some runs the rest of the year and with no pressure"

Is it the naturally right spot? For his career:

hitting 1st: .307/.384/.496 in 678 ABs
hitting 2nd: .338/.420/.549 in 71 ABs
hitting 3rd: .251/.338/.422 in 479 ABs

Why that is, I have no idea. He probably focuses more on shortening up his stroke, and just getting on base when he leads off. But he's clearly been more effective leading off.

That's because, after four years, he finally figured it out, and they put him in the lead-off hole. In other words, he wasn't hitting because he hit lead-off. He was hitting lead-off because he was hitting.

I hope so. I just have this odd feeling, that if they move him - he'll go into a slump.
I'm not a believer in a guy 'should hit better from this spot'......I just get a feeling with Gordon - it might be the case. I'm likely wrong - and hope that I am.

The David DeJesus complex has now rubbed off on Gordon...

who cares if he does slump...the Royals need a guy in the middle of the lineup to drive in runs with Billy Butler and I bet you would be shocked if you have 2 guys raking back to back (in the middle of the order) it would make a big difference

Well remember in his final year here, DeJesus was hitting in the 3-hole an awful lot and he was having his best offensive year. In fact, according to his 2010 splits, he hit 3 most of the time, and was hitting .358 out of there.

If it were me at this point it would look more like this:

1. Escobar, good hitter with speed to steal bases
2. Getz, great bunter who could move runners over, hitting well this season.
3. Gordon, yes i agree that he may finally be that NO 3. He's now a seasoned veteran who should be able to drive in runs with Butler batting behind him.
4. Butler is a no doubter in either the 3 or 4 hole.
5. Perez makes the most sense to me as he is showing to be a good hitter who i feel will develop power.
6. Moose would be perfect here to keep them pitching to Perez.
7. Frenchy a spotty hitter but with power
8. Hosmer, putting him in this spot gives him time to work out his flaws,, although his average is climbing and i expect he will still finish with at least 15 HRs. too good a 1B to take out of the lineup, I still see a lot of good things coming with him.
9. Dyson, I like this kid better than Cain, they were playing well with him the first half of the season, his speed and defense in the outfield to me are more valuable than Cain's.

I like that lineup, shealy. I remember about five years ago thinking that in the future, Gordon and Butler would be the 3 and 4 hitters for the Royals. That was the future. I think that time is now. There is no other good No. 3 hitter for the Royals now than Gordon.

The only quibble I would have with your lineup is with Francoeur. Regardless of whether the pitcher they're facing is right-handed or left-handed, I'd have Cain in RF and Dyson in CF. I'd put Cain at No. 7, right where you have Francoeur right now.

Thanks for the compliment but if i were to move Frenchy out it wouldnt be for Cain. It would be for Wil Myers who has earned it long ago.

I was one of those that wanted Gordon back in the 3rd hole...not any more. Yes he swings and misses to much for a leadoff hitter but we have to see the big picture and admit that hitting leadoff has pretty much revived his career.

I was one of those that wanted Gordon back in the 3rd hole...not any more. Yes he swings and misses to much for a leadoff hitter but we have to see the big picture and admit that hitting leadoff has pretty much revived his career.

Yes hitting leadoff did revive his career but that was at a time when he was still growing as a major league hitter and still learning to play LF. I think now he has grown to the point that he could handle hitting in the 3 hole, hes a veteran now and no longer a young player trying to find his way. Hosmer is almost a carbon copy of what Gordon was 2 years ago and they tried him in the 3 hole with the same results. We need a good hitting speed guy in that spot to set the table for the guys behind him and Escobar to me is perfect for that spot. I think whereas Gordon was too raw for the 3 hole a couple years ago is no longer the case, I think he's ready for it now.

When last I checked, a leadoff guy is supposed to get on base and into scoring position. AG is leading MLB in doubles, is hitting for good AVG, and has the 10th best OBP in the AL. I think that does exactly what a leadoff guy should do. It's not as if he cannot score from 2nd on a ball in the gap. He's no speedster, but Escobar's OBP is 33 points lower, has 14 fewer 2Bs and 14 more SBs than Gordon. Gordon clearly hits better when he's not in a position to try to hit bombs, and it seems to be working. Rs offensive production with AG in leadoff is pretty good. It may not be entirely conventional, but it works. I'd say AG has found a home hitting 1 for the Royals. Besides, he's never going to hit 35 HR.

In my mind Gordon is not a RBI guy, he is more of a run scorer thats why he does better in the leadoff spot.

Agree 100%.

I dont doubt what you're saying about Gordon in leadoff but he can do the same thing from the 3 hole and still succeed. He has power when you factor in his extra base hits for this stadium, in fact i wouldnt doubt if he leads the team in extra base hits, Brett wasnt a home run hitter either for the most part, his game was also extra bases and he was another who hit a lot of doubles. Brett did hit 15-20 Hrs a year and one year hit 30 but Gordon is much the same type hitter when hes used in a run producing spot of the order.. who else besides Butler could man the 3 hole and be successful? Gordon to me is the logical choice. Also you might remember he had 23 Hrs and 87 Rbis from leading off most of the time last season, how much better would he have done in the 3 hole?

Exactly how would a world record setting loser know anything about putting together a winning lineup?

That is the same rational I used to use when I thought Gordon should be our 3rd hole hitter...it has been proven more than a few times he simply does not hit from that slot.

Once again, he wasn't hitting when he was in the 3 slot. He is hitting now.

I am not saying the Royals need to move him out of leadoff and into the middle of the order. But I don't buy the notion that he would suddenly forget to hit, or the approach that leads to all those doubles would be different in another role.

As for those who think you have to hit tons of home runs to be a middle-of-the-order hitter, well, Hal McRae was a pretty good run producer.

Once again, I wouldn't move Gordon out of the leadoff spot until I had a reasonable replacement. In other words, if the next Willie Wilson came along (and I know statheads don't think Willie walked enough -- which of course, for a pitcher, would be just as stupid as putting him on second base).

And I will repeat this again: Gordon is hitting leadoff because he is hitting. He isn't hitting because he's hitting leadoff.

How do you explain when he hits leadoff he always seems to be hitting and when he hits third he always seems to be not hitting?