Matheny shares timeline of lineup construction

LOS ANGELES — Of all the decisions Mike Matheny makes in his position as Cardinals manager, there seems to be none more scrutinized than the ones that appear on his lineup card. Whether it’s through questions from the media or passionate discourse by fans on social media, the batting order has proven to generate plenty of debate.

Matheny has now used 33 different lineups, and none more than two times. He’s had five position players make a start in at least four different spots in the order. The Cardinals had similar inconsistencies with their lineup last year, but that was largely the result of so many injuries. This year, it’s by design.

Eleven of the Cardinals’ 13 position players have started at least 16 games. Matheny has found the mix-and-match approach to be successful in exploiting matchups and keeping all his hitters sharp.

Designing those lineups, though, is a process perhaps more complex than most realize and often begins days before. Prior to the Cardinals’ series finale in Los Angeles, Matheny offered a detailed timeline of how he came up with Sunday’s lineup in order to illustrate the method involved for each one he writes. Here’s how it came together:

• The rough draft of Sunday’s lineup is produced before the team’s three-game series in Los Angeles even starts. With an off-day coming on Monday, Matheny likes the option of getting veteran catcher …

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