Leading question: Hey, Lou, what's up with your lineup?

MESA, Ariz. -- At one point during Thursday morning's friendly sparring session with reporters, Cubs manager Lou Piniella looked to national broadcaster Dave Campbell for a little help.

"Hi, Dave, nice to have you here," Piniella said, imploringly. "Come over here and ask me a question that's different from what I'm getting."

What Piniella was "getting" were questions about his latest lineup alchemy. As promised, Piniella moved Alfonso Soriano from the leadoff spot into the second hole and Ryan Theriot up from second to first. Those moves also forced Kosuke Fukudome to go from second to fifth.

"We said we were going to try it," Piniella said. "We've got everybody playing today. Might as well get started with it today and see what it looks like."

What Piniella didn't seem to anticipate was the firestorm of criticism he's getting for this lineup. Heck, even before this, a lot of people who analyze the game had said Soriano isn't best suited to be a leadoff hitter.

More on that in a bit.

Piniella did his best Thursday to say these changes aren't necessarily permanent.

"I didn't say it was permanent yesterday," he said. "I wanted to take a look at it. I think the big thing is it gives Soriano more time to get his legs stronger. Out of the leadoff hole, you've got to be able to run. He's about 80-85 percent, coming along fine. We don't have to rush him."

Your intrepid reporter jumped right into the fray with Lou, asking him some direct questions. Here's how the fun went:

Question: In perfect world, is Soriano a leadoff man?

"He's had great success out of the leadoff hole, great success," Piniella said. "He's hit leadoff more than anywhere else. When we signed him here from the Washington Nationals, he came out of a great year out of the leadoff spot. You look at him, and he hits for power, and he steals bases. Usually, that's more associated with the 3-hole than any other hole.

"You have exceptions. I remember Bobby Bonds. Bobby Bonds was a heck of a leadoff hitter, and he hit home runs and he stole bases. Rickey Henderson, there's as good a leadoff hitter as there's ever been. He stole bases, and he hit home runs. So there are exceptions to every rule, obviously."

Question: Does Soriano need to get his on-base percentage up, or with the other things he does, is that not a concern?

"His on-base percentage last year was .330 or so," Piniella responded.

Question (phrased as a statement): A lot of people say that's not good enough for a leadoff man.

"How many home runs did he hit last year, 33?" Piniella asked back. "Is that good enough for a leadoff man? I think that's good enough for any spot in the lineup, right? He's had a lot of success out of the leadoff spot. He's played on winning teams out of the leadoff spot, including last year's team.

"Is he a prototype leadoff hitter? No, but depending on how your lineup is put together, I think Alfonso fits into any spot in the lineup in the top five or six spots, and you've got no complaints one way or another."

Lou then started getting a little exasperated at the whole thing.

"We're making too much of this," he said. "This is the 13th of the month. We've still got 2½ weeks to play, and we'll just take a look at this. I said coming into spring training that we wanted to see Fukudome in the 5-hole, and this frees that situation, too."

Piniella doesn't have many allies in the sabermetrics community. Writing for the esteemed Baseball Prospectus recently, Joe Sheehan had this to say about the Cubs' lineup construction:

"The Cubs … have the potential for a disastrous lineup in play. A couple of weeks ago, Lou Piniella indicated that he would lead off with Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Theriot, who possess two of the lowest projected OBPs in the Cubs' lineup, while batting Kosuke Fukudome fifth. It would be hard to assemble a worse lineup given the talent available; Soriano is simply not a leadoff hitter, possessing the power and OBP of a No. 4 batter.

"Theriot, despite 28 steals last season, is at best a No. 7 batter, and best suited for eighth. Fukudome will hit for average, OBP and doubles power, and is a good No. 2 or No. 3 hitter depending on the players around him."

Here are a couple of reasons to relax: First, like Chicago weather, Piniella's bound to change in an hour or two. And second, if the Cubs do get Brian Roberts from Baltimore, all of this is out the window anyway.

bmiles@dailyherald.com