PITTSBURGH -- A brand new month greeted the Cubs when they arose Tuesday at their downtown hotel, and a dramatically different lineup card greeted the players when they arrived at the ballpark.
First baseman Derrek Lee, third baseman Aramis Ramirez and center fielder Marlon Byrd joined Ryan Theriot on the bench for Tuesday night's game against the Pirates.
Tyler Colvin will play center and bat clean-up. Xavier Nady will be at first base and bat third behind right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and shortstop Starlin Castro.
Left fielder Alfonso Soriano will be in the No. 5 spot, followed by second baseman Mike Fontenot, third baseman Jeff Baker and catcher Koyie Hill behind starting pitcher Ted Lilly.
"You know, I've got to start getting people in there who are swinging the bats the best, that's all," manager Lou Piniella said before Monday's game. "We've just got to get more consistent offensively."
Photo: Lou Piniella is looking for ways to ignite the Cubs' offense. (Phil Velasquez/Tribune)
The Cubs then scored one run on four hits in a 2-1 loss to the Pirates, who'd been averaged 2.7 runs per game over their previous 24 games and had lost five straight.
If April was a wakeup call for the Cubs, they apparently hit the snooze button on May 1. They finished ninth in the National League with a .253 average in May, and 14th in runs at 108, an average of 3.9 runs per game.
The Cubs also finished in a 10th place tie in home runs (21), 12th in on-base percentage (.319) and 12th in slugging percentage (.386).
The team pitching hasn't been too good either, with an 11th-ranked 4.23 earned-run average in May.
With a payroll of $146 million, third highest in baseball, the Cubs aren't exactly giving Tom Ricketts his money's worth. And with the highest average ticket price in the game ($52.56), Ricketts isn't exactly giving his paying customers their money's worth.
So change was as inevitable as the Toyota sign in the left-field bleachers.
But the question was, what parts of the puzzle does Piniella move? He benched Theriot on Monday, but didn't say how long it would be. He's also hinted for several days that Colvin could earn a regular spot, but wasn't sure how to act on it.
"Where do I put him?" Piniella asked. "Do I sit the left fielder down? Do I sit the center fielder down? Do I sit the right fielder down? One of them has got to sit if he's going to play."
On Tuesday, Byrd was the odd man out.
Soriano would seem safe since he was the team's only consistent starter in May and is making $19 million to boot. Both Byrd and Fukudome have leveled off after hot starts in April and are in danger of losing at-bats.
Here's how the Cubs' eight regulars performed during the month:
Player AVG OBP SLG
THERIOT .236 .257 .245
FUKUDOME .253 .348 .367
LEE .257 .352 .381
RAMIREZ .173 .241 .253
BYRD .257 .319 .410
SORIANO .308 .376 .626
SOTO .200 .333 .329
CASTRO .310 .355 .414
--tribune sports
First baseman Derrek Lee, third baseman Aramis Ramirez and center fielder Marlon Byrd joined Ryan Theriot on the bench for Tuesday night's game against the Pirates.
Tyler Colvin will play center and bat clean-up. Xavier Nady will be at first base and bat third behind right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and shortstop Starlin Castro.
Left fielder Alfonso Soriano will be in the No. 5 spot, followed by second baseman Mike Fontenot, third baseman Jeff Baker and catcher Koyie Hill behind starting pitcher Ted Lilly.
"You know, I've got to start getting people in there who are swinging the bats the best, that's all," manager Lou Piniella said before Monday's game. "We've just got to get more consistent offensively."
Photo: Lou Piniella is looking for ways to ignite the Cubs' offense. (Phil Velasquez/Tribune)
The Cubs then scored one run on four hits in a 2-1 loss to the Pirates, who'd been averaged 2.7 runs per game over their previous 24 games and had lost five straight.
If April was a wakeup call for the Cubs, they apparently hit the snooze button on May 1. They finished ninth in the National League with a .253 average in May, and 14th in runs at 108, an average of 3.9 runs per game.
The Cubs also finished in a 10th place tie in home runs (21), 12th in on-base percentage (.319) and 12th in slugging percentage (.386).
The team pitching hasn't been too good either, with an 11th-ranked 4.23 earned-run average in May.
With a payroll of $146 million, third highest in baseball, the Cubs aren't exactly giving Tom Ricketts his money's worth. And with the highest average ticket price in the game ($52.56), Ricketts isn't exactly giving his paying customers their money's worth.
So change was as inevitable as the Toyota sign in the left-field bleachers.
But the question was, what parts of the puzzle does Piniella move? He benched Theriot on Monday, but didn't say how long it would be. He's also hinted for several days that Colvin could earn a regular spot, but wasn't sure how to act on it.
"Where do I put him?" Piniella asked. "Do I sit the left fielder down? Do I sit the center fielder down? Do I sit the right fielder down? One of them has got to sit if he's going to play."
On Tuesday, Byrd was the odd man out.
Soriano would seem safe since he was the team's only consistent starter in May and is making $19 million to boot. Both Byrd and Fukudome have leveled off after hot starts in April and are in danger of losing at-bats.
Here's how the Cubs' eight regulars performed during the month:
Player AVG OBP SLG
THERIOT .236 .257 .245
FUKUDOME .253 .348 .367
LEE .257 .352 .381
RAMIREZ .173 .241 .253
BYRD .257 .319 .410
SORIANO .308 .376 .626
SOTO .200 .333 .329
CASTRO .310 .355 .414
--tribune sports
