TUCSON, Ariz. -- Ryan Theriot officially has won the battle with Kosuke Fukudome to be the leadoff man, and Mike Fontenot likely will be the regular second baseman.
That was the word from manager Lou Piniella on Monday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field before the Cubs' exhibition game against the Colorado Rockies.
"I would say it would be Theriot," Piniella said. "I like Fukudome in the No. 2 hole, and we'll go from there. And right now, as we speak, I think that Fontenot has probably jumped ahead a little in the second base slot. It hasn't been finalized, but that's the way I view it right now."
Photo: Ryan Theriot will bat leadoff against both right-handers and lefties, manager Lou Piniella said. (Phil Velasquez/Tribune)
Piniella said he wants to have a set lineup in place by the final week of Cactus league games. He will have only two left-handed hitters, Fukudome and Fontenot, batting in the Nos. 2 and 7 holes.
"That's OK as long as the two lefties in the 2 and 7 hole hit," he said. "That's the important thing. Because we could have two righties in the 2 and 7 holes."
Theriot will bat leadoff against both left-handers and right-handers, while Fukudome will sit against lefties and someone else will move into the No. 2 hole.
Piniella said his lineup probably will be Theriot, Fukudome, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, Fontenot, Geovany Soto and the pitcher.
Piniella also said he would play Kevin Millar in left field some time later in the Cactus League games. Baker will also play some outfield this spring.
Also, Ted Lilly will throw batting practice when he returns Thursday after the birth of his first child, Theodore Roosevelt Lilly IV.
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The thing w/Theriot isn't just his OBP that makes him a bad choice to leadoff,but his lack of patience at the plate,(despite popular belief & the statement of Brokelyn).he doesn't take pitches. Another is his poor stolen base percentage. The fact that he doesn't hit for extra bases hurts because 20 stolen bases isn't going to get it done. Especially when you get caught 31 times. Now if Riot can turn on the ball more & drive it like he did in that one lil' stretch last year & get some extra base hits I can live w/ a .347 OBP. Or if he can get his OBP to .380 or more I can live w/the .370 OBP. That would give him a respectable .800 plus OPS,& a pretty decent leadoff hitter. Lets see what Riot can do. I just hope Lou doesn't go w/him long if he's not producing because he's a vet not a rook & theres nothing to see. He has history.
"Maybe next year" -- got a better idea? D. Lee batting first??
Theriot is a consistent OBP producer
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Fukudome vs. RHP, Theriot vs. LHP.
"Theriot is a consistent OBP producer"
That line actually made me laugh.
2007 OBP .326
2008 OBP .387
2009 OBP .343
consistent?
Career OBP vs LHP .386
Career OBP vs RHP .347
There is nothing that suggests anything close to being a "a consistent OBP producer" in fact that is about as inconsistant as one can get.
If Theriot bats anywhere near the top of the order vs RHP, it will hurt the team.
After reading these lines above--- Cubs might as well pack up and go home and not even play.
Theriot is a better lead-off hitter than Soriano....despite fewer HR's..
Man theriot is not a lead off hitter.This is getting frustrating 1st the cubs don't acquire brian roberts who is a lead off hitter and 2nd baseman.Then they insist we gotta get more left handed which leads to the bradley disaster now we are right back at square one with a dominant right handed line up and a guy is not a leadoff hitter hitting leadoff.It's like this team is inept seriously
This makes me mad that we didn't bring back Reed Johnson. It would have been great to bat Theroit 2nd behind R.J. Why does it seem like we are always two steps behind and one step ahead. We need to analize the situation to get the greatest needs to be able to compete. I want us to be in first place on May 5th when I'm going to see the Cubbies play Pittsburgh once I get my tickets in the mail. Also, I'm getting a little tired of asking the Tribune to make it bigger down below. Please comply as seeing it is getting hard.
"Maybe next year" -- got a better idea? D. Lee batting first??
Theriot is a consistent OBP producer, if not flashy. He works counts (in other words, tires out pitchers) and can use his speed to put a runner in scoring position with less than 2 outs. SB and avoiding DP don't show up in OPS, but they contribute to scoring runs. Sure, we'd all like someone with an OPS > 800 leading off, but I don't see much of that anywhere on the team. If Theriot did generate more power, I'd rather see him lower in the order because we need consistent RBI production.
I have NO worries that Theriot will score 90 runs (if allowed ot play 160 games) this year--the big question will be whether Fukudome and Fontenot can provide consistent offense. If they deliver at least BA>280 and OBP>350, then we'll have plenty of people on base for Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Byrd, Geo, and Zambrano to knock in.
Go (re-) read Money Ball. Every player doesn't need to be a stud, they just need to play their particular roles well and management needs to fit those pieces together in a complementary way. If Theriot and Fukudome spend all season getting on base with bunts and walks, we're going to score a ton of runs.
I see the Cubs are doing their usual rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic. I can hear a band playing!
why isn't Geo batting behind Rami? What is Byrd going to do in the fiith that Geo can't? Also forget about seeing any decent pitches in the 8 spot.
Wonderful.
Theriot's .347 obp and pathetic .351 slugging vs. rhp will be getting the most AB's on the team. A sub .700 ops getting the most chances, beautiful.
An out machine with almost no chance at an extrabase hit getting the most AB's. This just may revolutionize thie game