Line 'em up

The Orioles lineup has been debated on countless sites, so I figure I'd offer my attempt at maximizing production to start the season.

Roberts and Izturis at #1 and #9 are pretty much a given, as is Markakis at the #3 spot as that is where DT wants to put him, though he's said Nick could hit in the #2 spot as well.

Nolan Reimold is my #2 hitter because of the power and patience he can provide at the top of the order and the fact that he's not a baseclogger either showing decent speed on the basepaths. He's a nice fit at #2 as he and Roberts can set the table for Markakis.

The cleanup spot however is crucial, and unfortunately Andy didn't give Trembley much to work with here. He doesn't have a true cleanup hitter on the team, yet. Now one of Jones, Wieters and Reimold could be that guy, but you do not want any of them swinging for the fences to start the season. There's no need to screw up any of those guys because if they fail, the Orioles are DONE.
There's no backup in the minors and Andy hasn't acquired any help for them in the majors. It's all on them.

Now with that taken into consideration, Luke Scott is my choice for cleanup hitter. He's more expendable that those other guys, and as he's usually better in the first half of the season, the Orioles can take advantage of his power. As he fades, one of the younger guys will most likely have taken off and can take his place. But they don't need that pressure to start.

Jonesy is my #5 hitter because I think that's his best spot with his power and lack of getting on base compared to Reimold and Wieters.

Wieters bats #6, but eventually I think he'll take the #3 spot from Markakis as our most consistent hitter.

Tejada is learning a new position so why bat him high in the order? Players who are learning a new position typically also struggle in that season so Tejada probably won't be as productive to start IMO. But I think he can still provide some nice consistency average wise at the bottom of the order.

Atkins is a reclamation project, so #8 is where he goes until he plays his way off the team, or heats up to justify a move up in the lineup.

So there you have it. To recap:

2B Roberts
LF Reimold
RF Markakis
DH Scott
CF Jones
C Wieters
3B Tejada
1B Atkins
SS Izturis

Eventually I expect the lineup to shake out like this:

2B Roberts
RF Markakis
C Wieters
LF Reimold
CF Jones
DH Scott
3B Tejada
1B Atkins
SS Izturis

We'll have to see how Spring Training goes, but that's my best lineup possibility for now.