Cedeno in Center?
Ronny Cedeno will not be ignored.
After hitting .383 with a .473 on-base percentage in 22 games, manager Lou Piniella has to come up with a way to get Cedeno’s bat in the lineup.
I personally thought he had a perfect opportunity this weekend when Aramis Ramirez sat out a couple of games because of a sore left wrist. He could’ve played Mark DeRosa at third, Cedeno at short and Ryan Theriot at second. But, instead, Piniella went with Theriot at short and Mike Fontenot at second. Maybe Fontenot is just that much better in the infield than Cedeno, but he’s certainly not hitting better.
Anyway, with Felix Pie continued struggles and Cedeno’s hot bat, we may see Cedeno get some time in centerfield. The Tribune reports that Cedeno was working on playing in centerfield hours before Sunday’s game in St. Louis.
Cedeno has been taking flies in center during early workouts the last three days, and coach Ivan DeJesus, who has been hitting fungos to him, said Cedeno has looked impressive. The hardest part is getting a read on the ball as soon as it comes off the bat, but Cedeno appears to be adept at that.
Why not try it? Pie has done nothing in centerfield to make me miss his glove and his bat is atrocious right now. As the story later suggests, I believe a trip to Triple-A Iowa may be just the thing Pie needs to break out of his batting funk. If it works, Piniella has a good problem on his hands: an abundance of good hitters.
