Cubs’ Sveum making all the right moves with lineup
If you like the changes Cubs manager Dale Sveum has made to the Cubs’ alignment on the field, get used to them.
All except for that DH thing, of course. That’s going by the wayside this weekend, when the Cubs return to National League play.
But Sveum has used the DH this week at U.S. Cellular Field and filled in the puzzle pieces around it.
The picture has been a winning one, with the Cubs taking the first two games from the White Sox, 12-3 Monday night and 2-1 Tuesday.
With Alfonso Soriano going from left field to DH, Sveum moved Bryan LaHair from first base to right field, shifting David DeJesus from right to center and putting Tony Campana in left field.
He also has been playing both of his catchers: Geovany Soto behind the plate and backup Steve Clevenger at first base.
“Yeah, that’s basically what we’ll hang on to as much as we can,” Sveum said. “Let Soto get his feet wet a little bit, not playing every single day right now because of his knees. Clevenger will probably catch tomorrow, and we’ll adjust around that.”
The Cubs are doing all this to see how things look when they call up first baseman Anthony Rizzo from Class AAA Iowa. If nothing else, the moves have broken up the monotony of a losing season.
“I guess so,” said DeJesus, who drove in both Cubs runs with a third-inning single. He also tripled leading off the ninth inning but was left stranded.
“It’s one of those things. We’re trying things out, and right now it’s working. We’re getting guys that we need in the lineup out there. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”
Although 32, DeJesus has looked comfortable covering more ground in center field.
“He’s very athletic in the way he can move his body when the ball is straight over his head,” Sveum said. “He’s done an awesome job in right field, but he played a lot of his career in center field.”
The Cubs talked of having some versatility and flexibility as far back as spring training. LaHair made a nice running catch in right field Monday. Sveum got him out in the eighth inning Tuesday, putting Reed Johnson in. Johnson came in to make a nice running catch in the eighth on Paul Konerko’s ball.
“Going out on a limb, I don’t think LaHair would have got to it,” Sveum said. “But that’s sometimes one of those things where how many innings do you wait to go for your defense? I just hate playing a guy six innings and getting him out of there. I like to at least get him to seven innings, and that’s what we did.
“It’s tough. It’s a tough decision. In an American League game like this, it’s kind of like the toughest decision you make: When do you get your defense in there?”
Like most things Sveum has done the last couple of days, he picked the right time.
bmiles@dailyherald.com