FanHouse

Since the Cubs' are the NL Central favorites and not much changed about their team this offseason, there's been a lot of talk revolving around their lineup and where Alfonso Soriano would bat. Today I saw the headline, "Fukudome to hit 2nd, Soriano 3rd" and thought to myself, "Wow, Lou Piniella must get it. That makes a lot of sense." I mean, Soriano's got plenty of power for the three slot and Kosuke Fukudome's power may not translate to America, but his on-base skills and batting average probably will.

Of course the headline doesn't mention who's hitting lead off. Surely Mark DeRosa and his .371 OBP would be there, right? Wrong.

Piniella's new order now goes: Ryan Theriot, Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Geovany Soto, Felix Pie and the pitcher.

Ryan Theriot. .266/.326/.346 last year. I guess he stole a lot of bases last year (28 in 32 attempts), but he only swiped bases at a 70% clip in the minors, which means that the value was pretty negligible. Apparently, Sweet Lou doesn't want his bases clogged. Cubs fans should probably just cover their eyes and pretend the lineup is Fukudome, Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, DeRosa, Soto, Pie, the pitcher, and Theriot. Actually, that lineup would make a ton of sense. Maybe Lou's just messing with us, after all.