George Castle

on the Cubs

CHICAGO | The ninth-inning duel of Kosuke Fukudome against Milwaukee Brewers closer Eric Gagne was a thing of beauty rarely displayed by a typically impatient Cubs hitter.

Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez had just reached base with none out via a single and walk. Protecting a 3-0 lead, Gagne -- a former dominant closer deemed a shaky choice for that job for the Brewers -- was clearly showing the pressure.

Now, the classic Cubby Occurrence, the latest Lou Piniella-ism, would have been for Fukudome to flail wildly at the first pitch to pop up or slap into a double play.

Instead, Fukudome displayed that all the advance billing on his plate discipline was not just embellishment from 6,000 miles away.

The right fielder, winning over Cubs fans who want to believe so badly, got 'em excited by taking three pitches from the increasingly rattled Gagne. An automatic strike made it 3-and-1. Fukudome, knowing Gagne would have to get it over with a strike, then lowered the boom with a stirring homer to right center.

Such bat-handling needs to be displayed at or near the top of the lineup.

Piniella had Fukudome batting No. 2 earlier in spring training, then moved him down to No. 5 to protect Ramirez. Piniella theorized he did not want to separate his only two left-handed hitters -- Fukudome and No. 8 batter Felix Pie -- by such a wide margin.

But the crying need here is to get the lineup going as quickly as possible, and have the wisest hitter who can do so much with the bat at the second spot.

Fukudome can hit behind the runner, drive the ball into the gaps for an RBI or take a walk to bring up Lee and Ramirez.

Such skills are beyond the ability or discipline of present No. 2 hitter Alfonso Soriano.

On Monday, Soriano struck out twice, flied to right and slapped a weak grounder to first. Brewers ace Ben Sheets had something to do with that feeble output. But with 32 more home games being played in the cold-weather months of April and May, the Cubs need every element of "small ball" at their disposal to play under the winds and eke out low-run victories. They need to get off to a good start and pile up victories to counterbalance the inevitable pratfalls on dog-day road trips.

I don't think Soriano is a $136 million bust. He's simply a slugger who through various incarnations and his ability to run when younger convinced himself he was a top-of-the-order hitter.

Players must inevitably change for their team's overall good. Soriano is unwilling or unable to adapt to situations. Fukudome is. Get him as many at-bats as far up as possible -- now.

George Castle's "Diamond Gems" baseball show airs at 3 p.m. Saturdays on WIMS-AM (1420).

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at DGemsNet@aol.com.