Piniella likes the look of Cubs' depth at outfield

Posted April 04, 2010 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

ATLANTA - Opening Day is here. Let Lou Piniella's juggling act begin.

As the Cubs worked out Sunday at Turner Field in preparation for Monday's 2010 season opener against the Braves, Piniella praised his five outfielders but acknowledged that he'll have to find playing time for them all.

Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd and Kosuke Fukudome will start, from left to right, against Atlanta.

Waiting in the wings are Xavier Nady and Tyler Colvin.

"We have five good outfielders, and we're going to utilize them all," Piniella said. "This is a nice major-league outfield."

The most interesting situation is with Colvin. The 24-year-old rookie, who got into 6 games with the Cubs last season, tore it up in spring training. He was 36-for-77 (.468) with an on-base percentage of .468 (no walks) and a slugging percentage of .753 on the strength of 8 doubles, 4 triples and 2 home runs.

Nady is coming off elbow surgery, and Piniella said Sunday he'd likely get most of his playing time, early anyway, in left field so he does not have to make the long throw from right field to third base.

Colvin, the fastest runner on the team, could spell Byrd in center and Fukudome in right.

"We've got to get him some work," Piniella said. "I had a meeting today with all of our outfielders. First of all, I'm pleased with every one of them. We've got a chance with this group of five to have as good an outfield as there is in major-league baseball.

"But I've got to find a little playing time for Colvin early in the season. I've got to find a little playing time for Nady. So we're going to be rotating our outfield a little bit. It'll keep everybody nice and fresh. It'll keep everybody healthy, and I think more productive, especially as the summer comes into play.

"You go through spring training. You're sharp and you're ready to go, and all of a sudden, you sit for an extended period of time and it negates everything you've done prior to."

Soriano began to pick things up offensively as spring training wound down. He is coming off surgery to his left knee. The Cubs need a bounce-back year from him and catcher Geovany Soto, who hit .216 this spring. They also need Aramis Ramirez, their most potent offensive force, to stay healthy after he missed two months of last year with a dislocated left shoulder.

Ramirez batted .256 with no homers in the Cactus League.

"We need it," Piniella said of the combined production. "We need Alfonso to get back to where he was a couple years ago, there's no question. Ramirez, keep him healthy and keep him very productive. We need the right fielder (Fukudome) to give us a good, solid season."

The Cubs will have six new relievers in the bullpen from the start of last season. Chad Tracy and Jeff Baker are new additions to the bench from Opening Day a year ago. Baker came to the Cubs in a July trade with Colorado.

Pitcher Carlos Zambrano will make his sixth straight opening-day start.

Overall, Piniella seems as relaxed and as optimistic as he has in a couple of years.

"We've got some good personnel here," he said. "We've got a pretty good blend of veteran leadership here, veterans and younger players. We need to have big years from certain people, there's no question. We've got a little more depth on our bench than we did last year so I'll be able to rest our team a little better."

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves at Turner Field

TV: Channel 26 today; Comcast SportsNet Plus (CLTV) Wednesday; Comcast SportsNet Thursday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Carlos Zambrano (9-7) vs. Derek Lowe (15-10) Monday at 3:10 p.m.; Ryan Dempsters (11-9) vs. Jair Jurrjens (14-10) Wednesday at 6:10 p.m.; Randy Wells (12-10) vs. Tommy Hudson (11-4) Thursday at 6:10 p.m.

At a glance: The Cubs were 2-4 against the Braves last year, 1-2 at Turner Field. Braves manager Bobby Cox is retiring after this season. The Braves' pitching could keep them on the heels of the favored Phillies in the NL East. Zambrano makes his sixth straight opening-day start for the Cubs. The Braves were sixth in runs scored last year while the Cubs dropped from first to 10th. Atlanta had a team ERA of 3.57, third in the NL. The Cubs were fifth, at 3.84.

Next: Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, Friday-Sunday

Probable Cubs lineup

Ryan Theriot, SS

Kosuke Fukudome, RF

Derrek Lee, 1B

Aramis Ramirez, 3B

Marlon Byrd, CF

Alfonso Soriano, LF

Mike Fontenot, 2B

Geovany Soto, C

Carlos Zambrano, P

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