Big numbers at the plate

For a 10-12 team, the Cubs have remarkable offensive numbers. While Derrek Lee (.203) and Aramis Ramirez (.155) are struggling mightily for balls to fall in, most everyone else is getting the job done.

Geovany Soto leads the pack with a .362 batting average and an on-base percentage of .516. That's not a misprint, Soto has reached base in more than half of his plate appearances through more than ten percent of the season.

Ryan Theriot has developed a knack for multi-hit games - seven of them during his current eight-game hitting streak - and is at .333 through today's loss. He leads the league in hits, five stolen bases put him in the top 10, and he's even managed to drive in 10 runs. It's nice to see him producing at the top of the order. I've been suggesting it for three years.

Marlon Byrd has done a fine job both at the plate and in the field, also hitting .333 and leading the team in RBI. A great free-agent signing at a bargain price. Milton who?

The record skips again with Kosuke "Mr. April" Fukudome, another .333 with an OBP of .423, and even starter Randy Wells is 3-for-9 at the plate. And Tyler Colvin is at .325, Mike Fontenot at .308. Starlin Castro (.377 with 18 RBI in 18 games at AA Tennessee) will just have to wait.

That gives the Cubs a lineup option with six players batting over .300, seven if Wells is pitching, and Alfonso Soriano is one multi-hit game away at .292. Yet with the exception of the recent series against the Brewers, they have trouble pushing all those runners over and in, particularly in tight games. I think it's time to shuffle the lineup. Here's my suggestion:

1 - SS - Ryan Theriot
2 - RF - Kosuke Fukudome
3 - C - Geovany Soto
4 - CF - Marlon Byrd
5 - LF - Tyler Colvin or Alfonso Soriano
6 - 2B - Mike Fontenot
7 - 1B - Derrek Lee
8 - 3B - Aramis Ramirez

If your 3-4 hitters are both struggling at the same time, you're going to leave runners on base and have trouble winning games. I'm not saying Lee and Ramirez should remain at the back even beyond the upcoming series against Arizona - Lee shares the team lead in walks and has a respectable OBP of .326, and Ramirez has quietly extended a hitting streak to five games, showing that the worst is probably over - but just shake things up a bit and put all the hot bats in a row to make the most of the opportunities they create. I want more dogpiling like in the Brewers series, especially against a Diamondbacks team that always seems to give the Cubs headaches.

And my wacky idea of the day is to see if Tyler Colvin can play any first base - he never has in pro ball - to occasionally spell D-Lee and get his bat in the lineup more often. Put him there during batting practice, and maybe give him a couple of late innings in the next 8-2 game to see what happens. At age 24, he could have a bright future in Chicago for a long time. Until there's an everyday spot for him - barring a trade that means 2012, after Fukudome's contract ends - every bit of versatility beyond playing all three outfield positions will make him that much more ready when the Cubs can give him 600 at-bats a year.