Are the Reds Hurting Hamilton’s Confidence

Depending on your opinion on the decision to move Billy Hamilton down in the line up, the performance was poor enough to justify the decision. Last week Reds Center Fielder Billy Hamilton was moved down to the number eight spot in the line up to try and take the pressure off of him.

But today, the Reds have Hamilton batting ninth. It is not the first time this week that Hamilton has hit ninth, but the other games were inter-league play with a DH. Now, the Reds return to Great American Ball Park for a three game series against the Colorado Rockies.

The line up that was listed today had the Reds Starting Pitcher Jason Marquis hitting ahead of Billy Hamilton, a strategy that had been done before by the likes of Tony LaRussa and Joe Madden. But it begs to ask the question, at what point does Hamilton have the sudden realization that the team values hitting the pitcher ahead of him?

Coming into the ballpark how can you have confidence as a player when not only is the pitcher batting ahead of you, but once the pitcher needs hit for later in the game, the manager is essentially telling Hamilton that he has more confidence in the bench players to bat higher in the line up?

If the idea is to take pressure of off Hamilton, how can burying him below the bench players and pitcher give him any?