Batting Order

I don't put much stock in what Lou says about the lineup order a month before the season, but he seemed to indicate that Kosuke Fukudome is in line to bat second after the outfielder dropped by camp today with Team Japan.

"He looks wonderful," Piniella said of Fukudome. "He's in really good
shape. I told him we're holding a spot for him, and we'll put him out
in center field and we'll try him in the No. 2 hole in the lineup. 

and

"We're going to try it initially with Soriano and Fukudome, one-two,
against right-handed pitching and see how that works," he said. "I
think that'll work quite well."

You have to assume that means Soriano, Fukudome, Lee, Bradley, Ramirez, Fontenot, Soto, Theriot, Pitcher, with the possibility of Soto and Fontenot getting flipped. You also have to assume that Lou will change his mind a dozen more times during the course of the season.

One of our trusted readers tells us that he heard on WGN radio that Lou Piniella has decided to bat Kosuke Fukudome leadoff until Alfonso Soriano is back...or until Lou changes his mind again. I would assume that Jim Edmonds would get the bulk of the work at the five spot from now on, at least versus righties.

I also wanted to share this story that another reader found via the Sun-Times:

Mark DeRosa interrupted Matt Murton's back-in-the-big-leagues news conference Tuesday with the question most people want the answer to:

''Will you stop hitting swinging bunts and start driving balls out
of the ballpark with your quads the size of bricks?'' DeRosa said,
grinning. ''Let's ask the real questions. You going to hit some home
runs?''

Replied Murton: ''Why not?''

That's the even bigger question -- the one probably most responsible for keeping Murton in the minors longer than expected.

 That is the million dollar question with Murton, now isn't it?