Kosuke Fukudome to hit third?

[Mephistopheles]

I can't believe there's not a thread on this.

 

 

Just a few days after saying he had the right fielder penciled into the fifth spot, Cubs manager Lou Piniella is now looking at hitting Kosuke Fukudome third ahead of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.

Fukudome ahead of Lee and Ramirez is a good idea, but he should be hitting second against right-handers, with Lee and Ramirez staying in their usual spots. Unfortunately, the Cubs have decided that Ryan Theriot is their No. 2 hitter, even though he hit just .260/.318/.316 versus righties last season. Odds are that Pineilla will do a fair amount of lineup juggling once things get going.

[Mephistopheles]

"I've played around and fiddled with this thing in my mind," Piniella said. "We've got to get this young man comfortable here. He was our key acquisition over the winter. He being successful will make us more successful. I know he can hit second, but I don't think he serves a purpose for us second."

[Derwood]

batting theriot 2nd is [expletive]. i'd rather have just about anyone else hit there. against righties, it should be Soriano, Kosuke, Lee, Ramirez

[hankp101]

Great news. Where did you hear/read it?

[Geech]

"I don't think he serves a purpose for us second."

 

Awesome.

[davearm2]

I've really been warming to a Roberts Lee Fukudome Soriano Ramirez top half, rounded out by Soto Pie Theriot.

 

That said, I like Soriano Roberts Lee Ramirez Fukudome too.

[Soul]

batting theriot 2nd is [expletive]. i'd rather have just about anyone else hit there.

 

Yeah this should not even be considered.

[Andy]

Putting aside the asinine idea of Theriot hitting 2nd, I really like having Fukudome hitting ahead of Lee and Ramirez. Lots of RBI chances for them.

[cbbryan]

Well, the only good thing is that Lou won't die with the line-up. If Theriot isn't getting the job done he'll be moved fairly quickly. Especially if everyone else is doing their jobs.

 

I'm quietly hoping Cedeno removes his head from his arse and forces Theriot out at SS. That's just my preference though.

[Rob]

Theriot should never even be considered for any of the top seven spots in the lineup. I don't much care if Lou bats him eighth or ninth, though.

[DiamondMind]

I think Lou's point is he doesn't want Fukudome to be obligated to bunt, hit and run, hit to the right side with less than 2 outs, etc etc. He wants him to drive in runs, either 3rd or 5th in the order. Fukudome has hit 3rd his entire career, so I'm sure comfortability is factoring into the decision as well.

[A New Era]

This is a non issue. Lee - Ramirez - Fukodome. Or Fukudome - Lee - Ramirez. They are both good orders and all 3 are good hitters. I doubt Lee even cares so much if he hits 3rd, 4th, or 5th.

[BDWeav71]

This is a non issue. Lee - Ramirez - Fukodome. Or Fukudome - Lee - Ramirez. They are both good orders and all 3 are good hitters. I doubt Lee even cares so much if he hits 3rd, 4th, or 5th.

 

I mean if you think about it, wouldn't you rather have Fukudome hitting in front of Lee and Ramirez? That is definitely an issue in my mind.

[Rob]

This is a non issue. Lee - Ramirez - Fukodome. Or Fukudome - Lee - Ramirez. They are both good orders and all 3 are good hitters. I doubt Lee even cares so much if he hits 3rd, 4th, or 5th.

 

I mean if you think about it, wouldn't you rather have Fukudome hitting in front of Lee and Ramirez? That is definitely an issue in my mind.

 

Oh, of course I would.

 

The problem is in the fact that the single worst hitter on our team (bench players included, but most pitchers excluded) is currently batting in front of those guys.

[Beer Kaese]

I think we're over doing the Theriot bites thing. The fact is Theriot would be an excellent utility infielder. The problem is Cedeno hasn't hit. So shouldn't we take the position that Cedeno sucks and because of that a utility guy is starting at short?

 

Back to the topic. Lou said at the convention that he's thought about batting Fukudome 2nd and 3rd as well as 5th. He just doesn't know and how could he?

[rawaction]

Everybody knows the lineup goes:

 

CF

2B

1B

RF

LF

3B

C

SS

 

There should be no deviation from that. Ask the 84 Cubs.

[fromthestretch]

I think Lou's point is he doesn't want Fukudome to be obligated to bunt, hit and run, hit to the right side with less than 2 outs, etc etc. He wants him to drive in runs, either 3rd or 5th in the order. Fukudome has hit 3rd his entire career, so I'm sure comfortability is factoring into the decision as well.

 

I don't think that's a concern considering how infrequently the Cubs lay down a bunt. They were last in the NL in sacrifice bunts in 2007.

[Derwood]

I think Lou's point is he doesn't want Fukudome to be obligated to bunt, hit and run, hit to the right side with less than 2 outs, etc etc. He wants him to drive in runs, either 3rd or 5th in the order. Fukudome has hit 3rd his entire career, so I'm sure comfortability is factoring into the decision as well.

 

why would Fukodome feel obligated to do any of those things? does Derek Jeter drop a lot of sac bunts for the Yankees?

[David]

I think Lou's point is he doesn't want Fukudome to be obligated to bunt, hit and run, hit to the right side with less than 2 outs, etc etc. He wants him to drive in runs, either 3rd or 5th in the order. Fukudome has hit 3rd his entire career, so I'm sure comfortability is factoring into the decision as well.

 

why would Fukodome feel obligated to do any of those things? does Derek Jeter drop a lot of sac bunts for the Yankees?

 

A Japanese analyst the other day said that if he's hitting second, Fukudome might feel obligated to do things like that because in Japan, all #2 hitters are expected to do that stuff. As for whether Fukudome, himself, would actually feel like that... I doubt it, but who knows?

[ctcf]

Great news. Where did you hear/read it?

 

His initial post is just a copy and paste from Rotoworld.

[jmajew]

I'm very confused on this whole line-up dilemma that Lou is having. To me it shoudl be pretty simple to construct. Soriano - DeRosa - Fukudome - Lee - Ramirez - Soto - Pie - Theriot/Cedeno.

 

The 6-7-8 spots could be a slight issue that may need to be resolved with an inseason trade. It depends on how Soto and Pie develop. If Soto is a 275/345/455 and Pie can pull a 270/320/450 out of his butt I think we will be set. The question is how much faith do we have in those 2? If it is high then we don't need to go out and get Roberts to improve the lineup.

[YearofDaCubs]

I'm very confused on this whole line-up dilemma that Lou is having. To me it shoudl be pretty simple to construct. Soriano - DeRosa - Fukudome - Lee - Ramirez - Soto - Pie - Theriot/Cedeno.

 

The 6-7-8 spots could be a slight issue that may need to be resolved with an inseason trade. It depends on how Soto and Pie develop. If Soto is a 275/345/455 and Pie can pull a 270/320/450 out of his butt I think we will be set. The question is how much faith do we have in those 2? If it is high then we don't need to go out and get Roberts to improve the lineup.

Check my notes from Lou on the score. As of right now this is the lineup:

 

Soriano

Theriot

Fukudome

Lee

Ramirez

DeRosa

Soto

Fuld or Pie. The way Lou was talking up Fuld it sounds as though he might be the starter.

[BigbadB]

I think we're over doing the Theriot bites thing. The fact is Theriot would be an excellent utility infielder. The problem is Cedeno hasn't hit. So shouldn't we take the position that Cedeno sucks and because of that a utility guy is starting at short?

 

Back to the topic. Lou said at the convention that he's thought about batting Fukudome 2nd and 3rd as well as 5th. He just doesn't know and how could he?

 

I don't think anyone can clearly say exactly what the Cubs have in Cedeno. Sure, he got plenty of at bats in 2006, but he had just turned 23 years of age. During his age 24 season, he got limited major league at bats and absolutely tore up AAA.

 

Now that he's basically fully developed, it's worth the risk to give Cedeno the job and see if he can outproduce Theriot. Personally, I think he can. He has more power and is a better defender and I think he can hit for better average, which should help him match Theriot overall in OBP. The Cubs have a perfect spot for him to bat, which is 8th. This would also prevent Lou from playing Theriot and batting him 2nd. DeRosa is currently the best option (excluding Fukudome) to bat 2nd.

[BigbadB]

They were last in the NL in sacrifice bunts in 2007.

 

=D>

 

Yay, Lou!

[Tyrant]

Fukudome has hit 3rd his entire career, so I'm sure comfortability is factoring into the decision as well.

 

That's a fun word.