But every team has good and bad hitters. You dont intentionally take one of your worst hitters and hit him in the middle of the lineup for political reasons. That is just foolish. We won a World Series a decade ago with a combination from 3B that was laughably bad. This is not a WS winning team, but that isnt a reason not to try and put the best available option out there.
Altherr is having a bad slump, and maybe it is permanent, but there is a season and a half of solid results and the "eye test" that he can do better. He has been doing great in the clutch, he isnt a bad hitter I think. He is a guy I would want to keep running out there and have him improve.
Crawford is doing what he does, and he has a history of taking awhile to adjust to new levels. He still has a respectable OBP if you factor in a little better luck in hitting, his high BB% make him a solid #7/#8/#2 type hitter.
Franco is what he is. He actually is doing better this year than in the last couple, I would rather see him hitting in a lower pressure position some and see what he can do. #6, traditional slot of a guy who has some power and can "clean up" guys in the middle of the order that are on base.
Williams. I am not a fan. He has plate discipline issues and his defense is subpar for his athleticism.
I dont think these guys are big issues, and they dont all have to play every day. I think we really just need 1 hitter to add to this and we have a reasonably solid offense assuming Altherr can return to some semblance of himself and Franco can keep being the guy he is this year and not the last 2. Crawford is going to be a solid player, his OBP and defense will compensate for his lack of power and his average BA I think.
My point is that you put together a lineup that takes advantage of these guys skills. Maybe you put one of the weaker hitters in the #2 slot and have him work on getting guys over, hit the others 6-8. Dont hit a guy 3rd or 5th because he signed a contract (or whatever foolish reason you think Kingery is hitting there for).