After bashing a staggering two home runs last season with Philadelphia -- the same total as three pitchers in the National League -- it seems the most logical place in the lineup for revered slugger Placido Polanco is the cleanup spot. Or so his new team believes.
The Marlins announced Sunday they will start the season with Polanco in the noted run-producing spot while Giancarlo Stanton, who matched Polanco's homer total in two separate games last year, takes the No. 3 position. Perhaps the Marlins are playing it strictly by the numbers -- Polanco does have 103 career homers compared to Stanton's mere 93. There's only one key difference: Stanton has accomplished his total in 1,436 fewer regular-season games than Polanco.
Ultimately, Stanton's spot in the lineup won't matter as he's actually gone deep more from the three-hole (14) than the cleanup spot (12) in his brief career despite receiving fewer at-bats as the third hitter. When Albert Pujols led the NL with 42 homers during the 2010 season, all of them came from the No. 3 spot.
Throughout all the sarcasm, one thing remains clear: Stanton will continue to rake as he is easily the leading candidate to pace the league in home runs this season for the first time in his blooming career.