Pierre to Bolster Leadoff Spot for Cubs in 06

10 January 2006 | C Whitmer

The 2005 MLB season was another tough one for Cubs fans. A seemingly potent lineup of strong hitters and solid pitchers was plagued by underachievement, injury and bad luck. With Sammy Sosa off to the Baltimore Orioles, many thought the locker room atmosphere would stabilize and Dusty Baker would have a cohesive group of focused ball players that could go out and take the National League Central Division title in 2005. As we all know, however, a team that simply looks good on paper is often not so good when it comes down to the actual 162 games that need to be played on the field. Even with standout offensive performances from Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Todd Walker (all of whom finished the season hitting above .300), the Cubs failed to muster the kind of team-wide offensive consistency needed to compete for a division crown.

But that could all change, if Jaun Pierre has anything to say about it.

A December acquisition from the Florida Marlins, the lanky centerfielder will take over as the Cubs leadoff hitter in 2006. At 28 years of age, the fleet-footed Pierre has a .305 lifetime batting average, which is great news for manager Dusty Baker, who struggled all year to find a quality bat to put in the one-spot.

And you don’t have to tell fans in Chicago just how formidable of an opponent Jaun Pierre can be. When the Florida Marlins defeated the Cubs in the 2003 National League Championship Series, he hit for an impressive .303 average, which included two triples and a double.

All-star first baseman Derek Lee was a Florida Marlin that year as well, and the 2006 MLB season will reunite Lee and Pierre for the first time since their World Series winning run.

And Cubs fans everywhere are hoping this one-two combination will be just as lethal in Chicago.