Theriot's clogging the bases a high-five moment

HOUSTON - Lou Piniella is the first Cubs manager to talk extensively about on-base percentage, at least in a positive way.

So it doesn't bother him to see those pesky walks clogging the bases.

That's why he's had at least one talk recently with second baseman Ryan Theriot, who went from May 1 until Saturday between walks.

Theriot high-fived Piniella and his teammates in the dugout after getting that walk Saturday.

"It was a light moment that you can enjoy," Piniella said. "I'm sure that the monkey's off his back in that regard for him. Now, he's just got to figure a way to do it a little more often. He's got to lay off the high pitch primarily."

Theriot seemed relieved after getting the walk. He did not start Sunday, and his OBP is a low .311 after he singled twice after coming into Sunday's game late. He has 8 walks for this season and reiterated that he does not want to go to the plate looking for a walk.

"That's just a defensive state," he said. "One thing I was always good at before was being able to hit with two strikes. Get back to that. Put some pressure on the pitcher."

Piniella, however, sees nothing at all "defensive" about walking.

"It's a defensive if you hit a lot of doubles and you drive in a lot of runs," the manager said. "But if not, his job is to table-set. He's not hitting 3-4-5 in the lineup. So basically, his job is more of a table-setting than a table-cleaning.

"I don't look at it in a defensive way. A walk is an offensive thing, not a defensive thing. It's putting a baserunner on base. It's making a pitcher throw more pitches. It's giving your team on the bench an insight into the pitcher. What is he getting over? What is he not getting over? I think the walk for a 1-2 hitter, 7-8 hitter, it turns the lineup over. It gets people on base. If that's the way he's looking at it, he's looking at it the wrong way."