Tyler Colvin Forces Fukudome to the Bench

Many Cubs fans finally got their wish on Saturday night, as Lou Piniella put Tyler Colvin in the starting right fielder’s spot instead of the struggling Kosuke Fukudome. Colvin thanked Piniella for doing that in a big way, as he went 2-5 with a double and a two run home run in the Cubs 8-5 win over the Houston Astros.

Last week, Piniella stressed that he would get Colvin more starts, however, Colvin remained on the bench after those comments. But after another week of watching Kosuke Fukudome’s average drop, the Cub manager felt it was time to get Colvin in the lineup. Although, Piniella did not comment on whether or not Colvin would remain the starting right fielder.

“We can move him all over,” he said. “We’re not just looking at right field. We’re going to get his name in the lineup more than we have…We’ll see what we do. Let’s just through tonight and we’ll see.” CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Their is no question in my mind that the Cubs need to be playing Colvin everyday so they can get better production out of their lineup. Colvin, in 92 plate appearances, is hitting .300/363/638 with 6 home runs and 15 runs batted in. Compared to Kosuke Fukudome who in 181 plate appearances is hitting .285/.383/.483 with 6 home runs and 23 runs batted in. So Colvin, who has about a half less plate appearances than Fukudome, already has the same amount of home runs, a better average, and a better slugging percentage. Another thing to add to Fukudome, is since the start of may he is hitting .243.

So there you have it, the number are right there for everyone to see. Tyler Colvin, at least up to this point, is without question the better option to go with in right field. With that being said, manager Lou Piniella should make sure he pencils Colvin in the lineup on a daily basis. Enough of this being nice to veterans on the team, I guarantee the only reason Piniella is still trotting out Fukudome is the fact that he is a veteran, and he is making $13MM this season.

It will be interesting to see if Tyler Colvin is in the lineup today, as the Cubs go for the series win over Houston.