Figuratively, of course. Mike Fontenot has officially won the second base job, at least against righties.
Piniella said Mike Fontenot would be his everyday second baseman, at least againist right-handed pitching, and would bat sixth in the lineup. That would give the Cubs lefties in the second (Kosuke Fukudome), fourth (Milton Bradley) and sixth (Fontenot) spots. Bradley is a switch-hitter.
“I don’t want to get caught with two left-handers sixth and seventh or sixth and eighth,” Piniella said. [This] is a real nice way to break them up.” Hardball.
I am, of course, thrilled about this news, but I wouldn’t be a Chicago Cubs blogger if I didn’t find something to complain about.
There is the primary complaint: why bat Fukudome second and Fontenot sixth instead of the other way around? But even aside from that obvious flaw, I have to take issue with the lefties going 2-4-6.
I am not a Ryan Theriot apologist by any stretch of the imagination, but the guy was great in the 2-hole last year. If it’s not going to be Fontenot batting second, Theriot makes some sense there. And it makes possible the most important move in the lineup: batting Milton Bradley third. Aramis Ramirez could bat fourth, Fontenot fifth, Derrek Lee sixth (where he should be), Soto seventh (very low, but it’s where he’s going to be regardless), and Fukudome eighth.
Again, this is all assuming Fontenot isn’t going to be batting second (where he makes a ton of sense).