"Matt Kemp is clearly the better player at the moment, and without question the Dodgers most valuable. Andre Ethier has performed well yet unspectacularly as the club's number three hitter, but has seen his productivity drop in recent months. That said, should Kemp and Ethier switch spots in the lineup, and with the team's playoff chances hanging by a thread, is the question even worthy of debate?

As to the latter question, well, since I'm bringing it up, obviously I'm eager to get a discussion going. And I'd like to see the switch made as soon as possible.

As for a possible consensus, I imagine there'd be two schools of thought on the matter. You've got your "best-hitter-bats-third" line of thinking going up against the "biggest-power-guy-bats-cleanup" contingent. And lest we forget the "get-your-best-man-to-the plate-in-the-first-inning" camp, of which I am a card-carrying member.

Either group can point to statistics to support an argument, certainly, but since Ethier has batted third exclusively this season, and Kemp fourth, you might as well throw out the 2011 numbers right now. Using ESPN.com's last three seasons feature, the 2008-2010 statistics are more telling, but far from conclusive. And to be completely honest, they don't support my argument, necessarily.

Andre's actually done his best batting second, with a .316 average, .385 on base percentage and an OPS of .937. Something to do with Manny Ramirez, you may recall. You might also recall that both Joe Torre and Don Mattingly wanted Manny up in the first inning and batting third, and were thoroughly confident about it. Why not the same thing for Matt Kemp?"