Derrek Lee: Third Best Option to Bat Third for the Chicago Cubs

So much has been made about Alfonso Soriano batting leadoff, but not nearly enough has been made about Derrek Lee holding onto his spot as the Cubs number three hitter. 

In 2004, former Cubs manager Dusty Baker took a lot of heat for not moving former Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa down in the order.  The former Cubs slugger batted third for the first 60 games before being moved down in the order.  Sosa finished the year with 35-home runs and was rightfully traded at the end of the 2004 season. 

Today, Derrek Lee continues to hold down the number three spot in the Cubs batting order.  Despite being the third best option, Cubs skipper Lou Piniella continues to pencil in the good but not great hitting Lee as his number three hitter. 

Piniella who has done a better then average job as Cubs manager continues to drop the ball when choosing to bat Lee in the number three spot. Unlike Baker who was criticized for not moving Sosa, Piniella has taken little to no heat for keeping Lee in the number three spot. 

It's not as if Piniella doesn't have better options.  In most cases, your number three hitter is your most dangerous hitter. Sometimes it's a power hitter, and sometimes it's a guy who sprays the ball all over the field.  Derrek Lee is none of the above.  He's a good hitter but not a great hitter.

Two of the most dangerous bats in the National League are Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez.  The switch hitting Bradley hit .321 with a league leading .436 OBP last year. Ramirez hit .289 with 111 RBI last year. 

One doesn't have to know much about baseball to notice that the ball comes off Ramirez's and Bradley's bat with a lot of electricity. 

Derrek Lee is a good hitter but he is not a great hitter.  He will hit between .280 and .300 with 20 HR and 80-85 RBI.  Those are certainly good numbers but they are not great numbers. 

Lee will strike out around 125 times, while hitting into a lot of double plays.  Ramirez will likely hit between .290 and .310 while striking out 85-90 times. 

In my opinion, the decision to move Lee out of the three whole is a no brainier.  Aramis Ramirez would thrive in the three whole with Milton Bradley batting behind him. At the end of the day it's Piniella's decisions, and he is making the wrong decision. 

When the regular season begins on Monday, it's likely that Lou Piniella will be the only manager in baseball to pencil in his best hitter as his No. 5 hitter.