A good Reed

April 4th, 2008 at 04:53pm Gareth Sleger

Depending on how the rest of the series against Houston goes of Pie (who was 0-4 today and is 3-15 with 3 singles for the season) at the plate, Piniella should consider giving newcomer and former Blue Jay Reed Johnson a shot at starting in center-field when the
Pittsburgh series begins on Monday.

Johnson, who doubled in his first at bat of the season today, is a hustler (in his first at bat for the Cubs in spring training, he went all-out for a triple) and hits well against lefties. Over the past three seasons, the right-handed Johnson has hit .305 with a .380 OBP in 406 at bats against lefties. And two (Gorzelanny and Cub-killer Duke) of the three probable Pirates pitchers for upcoming series are southpaws.

I’m all for giving Pie as much experience as possible, but with the Cubs off to a 1-3 start, the lineup needs an offensive stop-gap like Reed.

Entry Filed under: Reed Johnson