Lou still considering Soriano at second?

Nick Friedell says it’s still a possibility, that Lou Piniella could get desperate enough to move Alfonso Soriano to second base. The defense could really suffer, but the offense already is. Moving Soriano back to the infield, would allow PIniella to insert Micah Hoffpauir into the line-up, and maybe even Jake Fox.

The question is would a permanent Soriano switch make the Cubs better?

The answer isn’t as cut-and-dry as it might have been a few weeks ago:

Aaron Miles is still hitting just .202, but after spending some time on the disabled list recently, he appears to be healthy once again. Whether that helps him at the plate or not is yet to be determined. What we do know is that Miles can still play a little defense at second base, as he proved on Friday afternoon.
Mike Fontenot’s bat finally appears to be showing some signs of life. He is 13-for-38 over his past ten games with a home run and eight RBIs. While he is better suited to play second base, he has done a decent job (not counting that play in Cincinnati last weekend) in place of Aramis Ramirez at third.

Hoffpauir still has some pop in his bat, but he has slumped badly of late. Since May 22, the part-time slugger is 7-for-39 with zero home runs and just three RBIs. You could argue that with a little more playing time, his numbers might be better — what you can’t argue is that his defense leaves a lot to be desired.

For his part, Soriano says he is willing to play wherever Piniella puts him.
“Anything to help the team, to make the team better,” Soriano said after today’s game. “I signed here just to try and make the team better.”

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