Chicago Cubs Baseball

While all eyes are focused on Kosuke Fukudome, and Jason Marquis and Lou Piniella are exchanging headlines, perhaps the most overlooked story of this spring training is, “Who’s going to play center field for the Chicago Cubs?”

So far the prospects aren’t looking good. At least at the plate.

Felix Pie and Sam Fuld entered spring training 2008 with the expectations that one of them would be holding down the center field slot when the Cubs opened their season. I think it would be safe to say through the first week of play, all bets are off.

Through six games, Pie is 4 of 14 for a .286 batting average with two homers and two RBIs. Fuld, meanwhile, has collected two hits in nine plate appearances, primarily as Pie’s backup.

Dreams aren’t exactly made of these and neither are World Series titles. So is it any surprise names like Coco Crisp and Marlon Byrd keep circulating when it comes to the Cubs’ center field job?

Crisp is reportedly looking for an exit out of Beantown with the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury as the apparent Red Sox center fielder. Although Crisp is in the middle of a three-year contract, the Cubs could do far worse than having Crisp roaming Wrigley or whatever name it may be called by this summer.

At age 27, Crisp boasts good speed (104 career stolen bases in six seasons), a better than average glove (a .998 fielding percentage in 144 games last year) and as a switch hitter (.268 BA, .330 OBP) would give Cubs manager Lou Piniella the versatility that he loves.

It’s still early in spring training. Pie and Fuld both deserve and I’m sure will get the opportunity to win the job. It would be in the Chicago Cubs best interest if instead of creating the next Corey Patterson, they built the first Felix Pie.

On the bright side, if the Cubs can’t land either Crisp, the Cubs can be relatively assured neither Pie or Fuld will have broken any fingers catching the ball.

Heard It Myself

For those of us in Cubdom still hoping for Brian Roberts to don a Chicago Cub uniform, don’t give up - just yet.

Last Friday on Mike Tirico’s ESPN talk show, former Baltimore Oriole great Jim Palmer said Roberts would “probably” end up in a Cubbies uniform. The reason, Palmer said, is the Orioles farm system has developed just two players since the 1980s - Roberts and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken.