Don't know much about baseball... tactics! Can anyone help?

[Curtis]

I don't like On Base plus Slugging, since Average is included in both On Base and Slugging, so you're counting it double. I use my own stat, OBPIP (On Base Plus Isolated Power), instead. To get OBPIP, just subtract Average from OBS.

Ideally, what you want to do is find the nine batters (eight in the National League) who have the highest OBPIP against left handers, and the nine/eight who are best against right handed pitching. If you can fill all your positions in the field from those nine/eight guys, you're golden, otherwise you'll need to start switching batters in and out until all eight fielding positions are covered.

Once you've decided who your batters are going to be, take the one with the highest OBPIP vs. left handers and bat him third. (After you've made your lefty lineup, go back through and do the righty lineup.) If you're letting the pitcher bat, put him ninth. (Note: On my current team I have three really good hitting starting pitchers who I sometimes bat higher, but don't mess around with that.)

Now look at Slugging Percentage. Find the three remaining batters with the highest SP. Of those, insert the one with the highest On Base Percentage in fourth, next highest in fifth, and lowest in eight (ninth in a DH league). Out of your remaining batters, look at their On Base Percentages and place the best at lead off, next at second, next sixth, next seventh and (in a DH league) next eighth.

Having done that, take a minute to look things over. Can you juggle guys in similar positions to get a better alternation of left/right/left handed batters as you run through the lineup? (Similar positions would be 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th, 4th/5th, 6th/7th, and in DH leagues 7th/8th.) Likewise, can you shuffle things a little so that fast runners are likely to be on base with good contact hitters, good bunters or other fast runners batting next?

All of that last bit falls under the 'season to taste' category. I've had teams with awkwardly fitting lineups that won 120 games, and teams with picture-perfect lineups that struggled to .500. The most important thing is to get hitters whose OBPIP is as high as possible.