Our weakest lineup of the year

Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Cano 2B
Mientkiewicz 1B
Thompson LF
Nieves C

Okay, I understand that the team’s hands are tied with Posada’s injury and Damon’s unavailability today (soreness in his hamstring and back — we’ll see how long he’s out for). But when you have Doug Mientkiewicz batting 7th, wouldn’t it make sense to screw the platoon and start the better-hitting Phelps?

And batting Melky leadoff is just insane. He’s been terrible, save for maybe two games so far. He has no pop to his swing — it’s like he’s just sticking the bat head out there and hoping he can pop it over an infielder’s head. Not exactly the soundest approach to hitting. He’s also seen just 3.24 pitches per plate appearances this year, so he’s the antithesis of a leadoff hitter.

Just so I don’t complain without offering an alternative, this is how I’d fill out the lineup card today:

Abreu RF
Jeter SS
Giambi DH
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Phelps 1B
Cabrera CF
Thompson LF
Nieves C

Anyone disagree?

It sucks that just as I cooled down about Torre’s moves last night, he goes and pulls something like this.