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 As if going 4-9 over their last 13 games wasn't bad enough, it now looks like the Cubs are quickly coming to the conclusion that they need a left-handed hitting power hitter in the middle of their lineup. If only they had listened to me before the season when I said Kosuke Fukudome wasn't going to be that guy.
Look, Fukudome has been really good so far....even better than I thought he was going to be but he's slowly coming back down to Earth and he's not hitting for any power at all (one homer). To have him hit in the fifth spot in the lineup just doesn't make sense. The easy, in-house, solution would be to move Alfonso Soriano down in the order (sound familiar?) and then slide Fukudome up to the second slot and have Ryan Theriot/Reed Johnson hit lead-off but we all know that's not going to happen anytime soon. Another option is to move Geovony Soto to the fifth spot in the lineup but we all know that Lou Piniella hates to have a right handed dominant lineup out there. The final in-house option is to have Daryle Ward play more in right field and have him hit fifth....again, not a good option.
So now the rumors about the Cubs trading for Ken Griffey, Jr. and any other available left-handed hitting outfielder (Raul Ibanez?) have begun. It's great that the Cubs players are getting on base more often but right now there seems to be a huge void in the fifth spot in the lineup when it comes to driving in runs, especially with how much Derrek Lee has been getting on base. If the Cubs were able to pick someone up they'd have to slide Fukudome over to center which would take away from the excellent defense the Cubs have been getting in right field so far this year. Ugh. This is what losing streaks will do to you.
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2008 Cubs Preview
So if they trade for Griffey, that means Fukudome moves to center? Can he play center?
He won't be like Torii Hunter in center but he can play there. He's been out there at least once already this season.
If the Mariners start to fizzle look for Ibanez to be a key name that the Cubs will look at.
Also, there is a left-handed hitting power hitting outfielder that is currently out of baseball that is ripe for the signing. Defensively it would make the Cubs horrendous but.....