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| Sports ExtraTuesday, June 24, 2008 6:55 PM CDT |
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Piniella keeps 'em guessing
CHICAGO -- After his team was swept by Tampa Bay last week at Tropicana Field, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella made a cryptic comment. | MLB page “I found some things out in this series that I think will pay some dividends down the road,” he said. “And we’ll leave it at that.” Trying to decipher Piniella is never easy. He likes to keep everyone guessing, as evidenced by his announcement of an impending “big surprise” last summer before the City Series. The big surprise turned out to be the decision to move Ryan Dempster from closer to starter, which lasted about 15 minutes before Piniella changed his mind and decided to wait until this year to make the switch. While Piniella usually plays it close to the vest, he sometimes leaves clues for veteran Lou-ologists to examine. Lineup changes, bullpen strategy and playing time are always under review, since Piniella likes to audible when he spots a potential problem on the horizon. His instincts have been on the mark more often than not during his stewardship of the Cubs, as evidenced by Piniella’s .600 winning percentage since June 9, 2007. So what did Piniella find out in Tampa that will pay dividends down the road? Here are a few theories, based on clues discovered at Wrigley Field during last weekend’s City Series: LEFTY RELIEVERS NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME Despite Scott Eyre setting a club record with 33 consecutive scoreless outings, Piniella doesn’t seem sold on the idea that the left-hander can be trusted in crucial, late-inning situations, based on his implosion against the Rays on the night of the cryptic comment. Piniella insists he doesn’t have a doghouse, so Eyre may simply go into “Lou limbo.” He did not pitch in the weekend series, though neither did Piniella’s other lefty, Neal Cotts, who also looked shaky against Tampa Bay. It will be interesting to see the next time Piniella uses Eyre in a similar situation, and how long Cotts remains in the Cubs’ bullpen. THE 2-HOLE NEEDS SPEED “I feel very comfortable with (Ryan) Theriot in the 2-hole, and I feel comfortable with him in the 8-hole,” Piniella said before Sunday’s game. Then Eric Patterson stole the show Sunday night against the White Sox. Matchups will dictate where Theriot hits. Piniella batted him eighth against right-handers Saturday and Sunday, while the left-handed-hitting Patterson moved up to the No. 2 spot. Kosuke Fukudome and Patterson proved to be a potent 1-2 combination against the Sox, going 9-for-20 with nine runs scored. Theriot is hitting .310 with 28 multihit games. But he’s also third in the league in ground balls hit and already has grounded into nine double plays, despite having decent speed. Piniella prefers speed at the top of his lineup, and obviously Patterson trumps Theriot, who leads the team in steals with 13 but also has been thrown out eight times. Patterson’s emergence last weekend may be one of the most important developments of the first half. If he can stick until Alfonso Soriano returns after the All-Star break, the Cubs could have a lethal 1-2 combo. GALLAGHER HAS THE RIGHT STUFF Piniella has shown a lot of faith in rookie right-hander Sean Gallagher, and the kid responded at Tampa Bay with one of his most dominant outings yet — one run on four hits over six innings. With Carlos Zambrano on the disabled list, Gallagher theoretically moves up to No. 4 in the rotation behind Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, and he appears unlikely to be bumped out by a midseason pickup. Gallagher has a 3.14 ERA over his last five starts and is gaining confidence. His next start will be his biggest test yet, opening the second round of the City Series on Friday at U.S. Cellular Field. FIRST BASEMEN PLAY FIRST, NOT LEFT Micah Hoffpauir’s left-handed bat is a valuable asset with Daryle Ward out, but, like Ward, the rookie is not good enough defensively to play left or right field on a regular basis. Hoffpauir looked tentative on a few balls that landed in front of him on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field, and he didn’t receive a start over the weekend against the Sox. The Cubs are 12th in NL fielding, and Piniella prides himself on having strong defensive teams. No matter how good the pitching is, one untimely error can cost a game. Since Derrek Lee is ensconced at first, Hoffpauir’s main value may be as trade bait to an American League team looking for a first baseman/DH. If the Cubs make a move for Oakland’s Rich Harden, Hoffpauir may be included in the package. (c) 2008, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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Spanky wrote on Jun 24, 2008 8:50 AM:
michelle24 wrote on Jun 23, 2008 11:11 PM:
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