Anthony Rizzo Says He’s Leading Off Tonight

At this point, the Cubs may very well be taking a “meh, whatever” approach to the batting order, given how little anything has been working.

Case in surprising point:

Wow! Anthony Rizzo just told us on @ESPN1000 that he is hitting lead off tonight against the NY Mets.

— David Kaplan (@thekapman) June 13, 2017

Depending on who else is in the lineup, it might not be *insane* to have Rizzo bat leadoff – remember, the leadoff hitter gets the most plate appearances in the game, so at least that’s good for Rizzo. And apparently Rizzo wants it:

Anthony Rizzo told us he has been lobbying Joe Maddon to move him into the lead off spot. @espn1000.

— David Kaplan (@thekapman) June 13, 2017

But, on the whole … I just kinda hate that it’s come to this. I doubt it’s a long-term thing, and is probably more of Joe Maddon trying to shake things up. You just don’t want to see one of your best overall hitters – a slugger who happens to also get on base a lot – having to slide up into the leadoff spot because nothing else is working.

I guess we’ll see what’s what when the lineup comes out.