Where Does Alfonso Soriano Belong In The Cubs Batting Order?

Lou Piniella will bat Alfonso Soriano in the two spot this season, behind Ryan Theriot.

The Cubs started off the 2006 offseason with a bang. After news came of Alfonso Soriano agreeing to an eight year, $136 Million contract, Soriano was expected to bring the same combination of Power and speed he had in New York, Texas, and Washington. Lou Piniella planned to (and did) bat Soriano leadoff, as that's what he batted in Washington. Piniella said at the time:

"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."

Soriano had a rocky April, failing to hit a homerun. Soriano hit his first homerun as a Cub on May 1, 2007. Soriano started off the year in Center Field, but was moved back to Left Field following a hamstring injury. Soriano won National League Player of the month in June 2007. Then on August 5, 2007, Alfonso Soriano injured his right quadriceps versus the New York Mets. Soriano came back to the Cubs lineup in September and went on a tear that made Cubs fans believe "This Will Be The Year!" He hit fourteen home runs, twenty-seven runs batted in, and recorded a .320 batting average within twenty-nine games.

Soriano (and the rest of the Cubs) offense and plate discipline dissapeared in the National League Division Series against Arizona. Soriano finished the 2007 season with 36 homeruns, seventy RBI'S and a .299 Batting Average.

Now, let's look forward to the 2008 Season. It's the 100th anniversary of the Cubs last World Series Title (they won the World Series in 1907 and 1908, both times against Detroit)and Wrigleyville is wailting to see if the Cubbies can take the next step. Lou Piniella is tinkering with the batting order, moving Ryan Theriot to the lead off spot and moving Alfonso Soriano to the number two spot in the batting order.

Let's go back to that quote by Lou Pinella for a second.

"He likes the leadoff spot and there is none better," He called Soriano "a young man who can get on base and steal some bases and hit the ball for extra base power and hit it for a homer. We are talking about the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball."

Apparently Soriano's injury's have limited his speed, so the Cubs now want to use his power as a number two hitter. Alfonso wan't your prototypical leadoff hitter. Guess What? He isn't your prototypical number two hitter either. The job of the lead off batter is to get on base. Soriano doesn't have a high On Base percentage and strikes out a lot. The job of the number two hitter is to move that leadoff batter into scoring position through any way possible. Soriano will not bunt, but he does his major skills with the bat. Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Kosuke Fukudome headline a Cubs ballclub that is hungry to repeat as Division champions and is hungrier to become World Series Champions.

Soriano likes leading off, but his power would be best suited in the middle of the order. Count this as a possible compromise.