UPDATE (6/27): Lou Piniella said today, “I think we’ll be going with someone else there tomorrow,” when asked about Patterson, and it seems that Patterson’s days in the outfield are numbered. If the Cubs are looking for a natural outfielder to replace the converted ones that they’ve been using the Cubs could turn to Andres Torres, a former centerfielder for both the Tigers and Rangers. Torres is hitting .325/.415 with nearly half (28-of-62) of his hits going for extra bases. 

In the first few innings of today’s Cubs @ White Sox game two Cubs players provided the perfect juxtaposition to prove a point that many around the Cubs blog-o-sphere have been arguing for quite some time now… Position players are best used when playing their natural positions.

Unfortunately for Cubs fans, Lou Piniella has an odd tendency to try to convert players into position players that fit the Cubs’ needs, rather than what that player might be best suited to do. Most teams would never take a decent outfielder and throw him into the middle infield to fit a need, or vice versa, but its been all too common a trend this season at Wrigley.

Obviously these moves sometimes work out, but under Lou Piniella the Cubs havent had much luck when players try to learn new positions. Several examples jump out in the short tenure of the Cubs skipper and each failed for various reasons that should have been expected.

Alfonso Soriano, LF to CF (and back to LF), 2007- Soriano never felt comfortable and had his fair share of growing pains defensivelly in center before being moved back to left after just 12 games. He hit .245 with no homeruns and just one RBI before being moved back to left, where he finished the season with 33 HR, 70 RBI and a .299 batting average.

Kosuke Fukudome, RF to CF (that officially never happend), 2008- Seemingly one of the most quiet guys on the team, newcomer Kosuke Fukudome was signed to be the Cubs 2008 right fielder. Fukudome even went so far as to say (if my memory serves me correctly) that being able to play right field, his preferred position, was part of the lure that landed him in Chicago. Luckily Lou never made the full-time switch, instead sending Murton down and giving the job to the platoon of Pie and Johnson to start the season. In the spring he went 0-for-4 in his first start as a center fielder and in the rare circumstances where he has played center for the Cubs he’s only got three hits in fifteen at-bats.

Eric Patterson, 2B to LF, 2006-2008 - Patterson was considered by some to be an above average defender at 2B but the Cubs looked to Patterson to fill a need in the outfield when Patterson reported to the Arizona Fall League in 2006. Since then Patterson doesnt seem to have gotten comfortable in the outfield and has misplayed several balls in the outfield, giving him two errors in fifteen chances coming into play against the White Sox (6/27). After two poorly played grounders got past Patterson in the early innings against the White Sox its likely that his poor defense and mediocre batting average of .265 wont keep him in the lineup (or in the majors as an outfielder) much longer. (To his credit Patterson does have a .350 OBP heading into play today.) UPDATE: It seems as though Lou has gotten the hint as Matt Murton came in as a pinch hitter in the 7th and stayed in to play left with Patterson moving to 2nd.

Micah Hoffpauir, 1B to OF, 2008- Hoffpauir has done nothing but hit for the Cubs, hitting .400/.432/.571 in 35 AB this season. In the field Hoffpauir hasnt seen much action, and rightfully so, as the 6′3″ lefty is still learning the ropes in the outfield. After splitting time as a firstbaseman and outfielder during spring training the Cubs have used Hoffpauir in both roles again during the season. Although he has yet to commit an error at either position (23 chances at 1B, 4 chances in the OF) he’s much better suited to play first and when in the outfield he brings memories of Adam Dunn as he awkwardly tries to track down fly balls. Hoffpauir has proven, in limited action, that he can hit at the major league level and that ability will keep him shuffling between the majors and minors depending on the Cubs’ need. Hopefully Lou will come to the realization that Hoffpauir is best suited to play first and pencil him into the lineup accordingly. 

Ryan Theriot, 2B to SS, 2007- Theriot is leading the Cubs regulars with a .317 batting average and has played a decent shortstop for the Cubs prior to 2008, having committed just 8 errors in 394 chances in 2007. In 2008 things have been different for Theriot in the field, however, as he’s already committed 10 errors in just 307 chances, giving Theriot the most errors of any individual on the team and more errors than any other POSITION on the team. If the Cubs plan on following in the footsteps of fellow championship-drought-breakers like the 2004 Red Sox or the 2005 White Sox they’ll need to improve on their middle infield defense.

[Up the middle the ‘04 Red Sox had just 11 errors from Mark Bellhorn in 550 chances at 2B and 8 errors from Orlando Cabrera, the shortstop aquired at the trade deadline (in a trade that involved the Cubs) to improve team defense. The ‘05 White Sox didnt have defense as good as the previous champs, but Tad Iguchi and Juan Uribe both had fewer errors (14, 16) than Theriot is on pace to have (20). Both regulars from the ‘06 Champion St Lous Cardinals had fewer than 10 errors at their normal positions (Miles with 10 in 407 chances at 2B, Eckstein with 6 in 547 total chances). ]

The Cubs do have some players capable of filling various roles, such as Blanco’s ability to fill in at 1st base and DeRosa’s ability to play any of the four infield spots and both corner outfield spots, but these types of players are few and far between. For every player capable of playing various positions there are players that are merely considered versatile because people think they can play various positions. These types of players, the Eric Patterson’s who were converted infielders to fill a void, or the Daryle Ward’s, who are over-sized and unfit to play a passable outfield, these are the players that can cost a team a game. With poor defense (Patterson), lacking skills (Hoffpauir) or just a lack of ability (Ward), these players become defensive liabilities that good teams dont have.

Back to the example given in the introduction, today was a prime example of how a player playing out of position can affect a team just as much as a player can help his team by playing stellar defense at his natural position. In the 3rd innings Eric Patterson badly misplayed a pair of hits, one that allowed a runner to stretch a single into a double and another that resulted in an error for Patterson as he overran and missed a ground-ball single hit to left. These two plays werent the only reason that the Cubs lost 10-3 but they helped prolong an innings in which the White Sox scored seven runs and put the game out of reach. Would an average defender have limited the damage? Yes, and if the plays are being made its altogether possible that the innings goes in a different direction.

In perfect juxtaposition, just an innings later Cedeno made an exceptional over the shoulder catch in shallow left that took away a single from Pierzysnki with a runner on first and no outs. Cedeno then made a spectacular diving play to rob Carlos Quentin of a single and take a good amount of momentum from the surging White Sox, who went on to go scoreless in the inning.

There’s obviously a middle ground between what you need offensively from a player and what you need defensively, and for the most part the Cubs have found a good mix for most players, but if the Cubs continue to try to convert players to fill needs they’ll be doing more harm than help.