Thanks to Paul Sullivan for this-
DENVER - Alfonso Soriano's expected return to the active roster May 1 against Milwaukee is likely to bring back the old question of where he should bat in the lineup.
Reed Johnson's success in the leadoff spot, in addition to the team's .336 average and .429 on-base percentage over its last nine games entering Wednesday, could give manager Lou Piniella a handy excuse to move Soriano down to the fifth or sixth spot when he returns.
But when asked if he planned to insert Soriano back into the leadoff spot next week, Piniella paused for a few seconds before giving his response."Yeah, we'll put him back in left field and lead him off," he said. "We want to make sure he can do all the things a leadoff hitter needs to do. We don't really want to take any chances here early in the year of bringing him back too soon, and all of a sudden we have another problem on our hands.
"He's going to go through a full agenda of outfield play and running the bases and hitting and those sort of things to ensure that we can keep him as healthy as possible."
Soriano, who suffered a right calf strain on April 15, took batting practice Wednesday at Coors Field and said he's at 80-90 percent of full strength. He said he expects to bat first when he returns but will do whatever Piniella tells him to do.
Watching his teammates play so well without him has not been difficult for Soriano, unlike his stint on the disabled list last August.
"I'm OK because I know I can't play," he said. "I'm happy they're doing such a good job when I'm out. If they played badly, I'd try to get back quicker to help the team win. But if they don't need me right now, I don't have to come back so quickly."
I do not think Soriano should lead off, especially how great Johnson is doing in the leadoff spot. Soriano has leg problems, strikes out a a lot, and does not get on base. The thing Soriano does have for him is his power. Sounds like a 5 or 6 hole hitter to me.
I can see Lou giving him a shot in leadoff and if it does not work then Lou would have a reason to move him. Rather than him losing his job to injury, have him lose it himself that way Lou can say he at least tried. That could be Lou's plan in my opinion.
Here is my ideal lineup-
Johnson CF
Theriot SS
Lee 1st
Aram 3b
Fukudome RF
Soriano LF
Derosa 2b
Soto C
or
Johnson CF
Fukudome RF
Lee 1st
Aram 3b
Soriano LF
Derosa 2b
Soto C
Theriot SS
Either one of these would work for me but I like the first lineup more than the 2nd. When Soriano is activated we will likely see this lineup trotted out there by sweet lou.
Soriano RF
Johnson CF
Lee 1st
Aram 3b
Fukudome RF
Derosa 2b
Soto C
Theriot SS
3 comments:
If Soriano can't produce leading off where do you see Lou moving him in the order? I heard HOF reporter Rick Hummell say today that he thinks the Cubs are the team to beat in the division. Jimbo
Jimbo..
I believe that Lou will stick with Soriano in the leadoff spot for a couple of weeks even if he starts struggling.. if he continues to struggle after that I see he moving Soriano to the 5 spot and putting Fuk in the 2 spot. For some reason I do not think Lou would ever put Soriano below 5, I think he belongs in the 6th spot.
I agree Fukudome should bat 2nd, he had 5 RBI's the first week, and 4 RBI's the next 3 weeks. Soriano can protect Ramirez batting 5th. It's best to have your high OBP guys batting at the top of the order. I still like Cedeno at SS and Derosa at 2nd. Theriot becomes super sub. Cedeno 44 AB's 13 RBI's Theriot 89 AB's 7 RBI's. And if Patterson wasn't injured i would bring him up instead of Fontenot. He has more speed and power than Fontenot.
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