With Baker and Fontenot, Cubs get second guessed

If there's one position where Cubs general manager Jim Hendry left himself open to second-guessing this off-season, it's second base.

For various reasons, including money, the Cubs never got into a free-agent market that included such players as Orlando Hudson and Felipe Lopez.

Instead, they chose to stick with what they had and hope it works.

The left-handed hitting Mike Fontenot is coming off a disappointing season. Jeff Baker, who bats right-handed, was a bright spot after coming to the Cubs in a July trade with the Rockies.

There are legitimate questions surrounding both. Let's explore a few.

What happened to Fontenot? After putting up a promising hitting line of .305/.395/.514 in 119 games in 2008, Fontenot sunk to .236/.301/.377 last year in 135 games, getting 134 more at-bats than he did the previous year. During the early days of spring training this season, he said he blames himself for failing to make the necessary adjustments at home plate.

He also may have put undue pressure on himself to replace third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who was out from early May until early July with a shoulder injury.

"It was a rough year," he said. "I just try to take in and learn things from whatever happened last year, try to move forward. Sometimes, down years or things that happen to you help you in the long run. Hopefully, that's what I'm looking at.

"To be honest with you, this off-season, I wasn't worrying about it. I just wanted to remember all the positive things and forget everything else and move forward. That's what I did. I didn't sit around and think about it or anything else. I was just looking forward to the next year, to a better year. You start with a clean slate and get out there and prove you can play again."

Is Baker the real deal? The Cubs will find out, especially if opposing teams see enough of Baker this year.

In 81 games between the Cubs and Rockies, Baker's hitting line was .288/.343/.425 with 4 homers and 24 RBI.

Are there statistical red flags with Baker? There is one possible red flag, and it's called BABIP, or batting average on balls in play.

For Baker, the BABIP was .357 last year, and the average in the big leagues usually is right around .300. When a player is significantly higher than .300, it often means a lot of batted balls were finding holes. When it's well below .300, it usually means a player hit into bad luck.

If Baker's BABIP regresses, his overall numbers could drop.

What about with Fontenot? He had been a good on-base guy throughout his minor-league career and in 2008 with the Cubs. Going from an OBP of .395 to .301 is a huge drop-off.

Fontenot's line-drive percentage dropped from 24.1 in 2008 to 17.5 last year while his groundball rate went up from 37.7 percent to 44.1 percent. On the bright side for the Cubs, his BABIP last year was .276, so some of those grounders may find holes this year.

How versatile is each? Baker came to camp with gloves for second base, third base and the outfield. The Cubs are hoping he can replicate the versatility that made Mark DeRosa valuable in 2007 and 2008.

When asked what position he likes, Baker replied: "Second base. There's opportunity there."

The Cubs are trying Fontenot at shortstop in spring training games, and manager Lou Piniella has liked what he has seen in the early going.

"He made a couple real nice plays and felt real comfortable out there," Piniella told reporters earlier this week. "We'll continue to play him there from time to time. It gives us different options, if we chose."

Who's better defensively? It seems a wash. Fontenot had an ultimate zone rating (UZR) of 1.8 at second base, and a UZR prorated over 150 games of 5.5, meaning he saves that many runs above average. Baker's UZR was 3.1, and his UZR/150 was 10.6.

Will shortstop Ryan Theriot move to second base? Join us tomorrow for our shortstop discussion.

<p class="factboxheadblack">NL's best</p>

<p class="News">Where we rank the top second basemen:</p>

<p class="News">1. Chase Utley, Phillies</p>

<p class="News">2. Dan Uggla, Marlins</p>

<p class="News">3. Martin Prado, Braves</p>

<p class="News">8. JEFF BAKER-MIKE FONTENOT, CUBS</p>

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