Left Wing Cubs

Hidden in the Sun Times today was this little nugget:

Look for right fielder Jacque Jones to get his first game in center field as the Cactus League schedule hits its midpoint and the Cubs start taking a closer look at the Alfonso Soriano experiment in center.

See, the Cubs know that Soriano has no business playing center. They really want him to play right field so the outfield can have Soriano-Pie-Murton/Floyd from right to left and trade Jacque Jones. Unfortunately, the Cubs are afraid that Soriano can't play right, either.

The problem really is that the team has three left fielders, a rookie center fielder, and a right fielder they'd love to dump (Note: Has anyone noticed that Jacque's barely been mentioned in published reports? It's almost as if the Cubs want us to forget about Jacque).

With this announcement, it's also pretty clear that Lou Piniella wants Soriano out of center. That means a defensive train wreck with Jacque, or a trade and Pie time.

Note to management: Glad to oblige.