Expect Soriano to get some at-bats in middle of order

MESA, Ariz. - Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano hasn't reported for spring training yet, but when he does, he might be getting ready to hit in a couple of different spots in the order: leadoff and in the middle.

Manager Lou Piniella was asked Monday if he had played around with various lineups and what he might do with the 3-4-5 spots, which figure to involve Derrek Lee, Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez.

"We've got a combination of Derrek, Bradley, Ramirez," Piniella began. "You know, I'm not going to (rule) out the possibility of throwing Soriano into that mix, too. We'll see how it works out. We can play around with that this spring."

Soriano has been the Cubs' principal leadoff hitter the last two years, and Piniella repeatedly has cited his team winning two division titles with Soriano there. Of course, Soriano has not performed well in the playoffs, as the Cubs were swept in the division series in 2007 and 2008.

"We're going to try it a little bit and see," Piniella said of Soriano hitting somewhere in the middle. "I talked to Soriano at the (Cubs) convention. He said, 'Lou, you can do whatever you want.' So, we'll see.

"To me, he's still my leadoff hitter. I love him in the leadoff spot. I like him in the leadoff spot. We can see how it looks. We've got plenty of time in the spring to see where things shake out."

If Soriano doesn't lead off, Piniella ticked off his options, with one possible surprise.

"We've got (Aaron) Miles that could lead off. If we have to, we've got (Ryan) Theriot. We've got little (Mike) Fontenot if we have to.

"(Kosuke) Fukudome. Let's see if he comes back and swings the bat like he was earlier in the year, and there's another candidate."

Fukudome, who is in Japan preparing for the World Baseball Classic, lost his right-field job to Milton Bradley. He'll share time in center with Reed Johnson.

Hoff's power: Lou Piniella acknowledged that the primary bench job belongs to left-handed hitter Micah Hoffpauir.

"I would think that it's his job to lose," Piniella said. "I plan on giving him some playing time at first to rest Derrek (Lee) and also at both corner outfield spots. The kid swings the bat, I don't see any problems there."

Hoffpauir, who turns 29 March 1, made his big-league debut last year and played in 33 games, hitting 2 homers. At Class AAA Iowa, he hit 25 homers and drove in 100 in 71 games.

"I don't think there's any different feeling," he said. "For me, the job's still got to be done. I don't think there are any guarantees in this game. I've seen that throughout my career."

Who's on third? One of the big questions entering camp is who will back up Aramis Ramirez at third base. Taking grounders there Monday were Aaron Miles, Mike Fontenot, Jake Fox and nonroster man Bobby Scales.

Miles played in 11 games at third for the Cardinals last year. He has 15 games there for his career. Fontenot has not played third.

Recession proof: Interest in the Cubs has not waned because of the recession. They project to be up 2 percent in ticket sales over last year for spring training. Already, they've sold 151,000 tickets for the spring. They sold 181,000 last year.