Piniella having no fun with outfield
But the Cubs manager, who's growing weary of daily questions on the subject, said he has spent countless hours working on solutions to get playing time for everyone on his bloated outfield roster. He has done everything but publicly call for general manager Jim Hendry to move an outfielder for him.
''I think I know what I'm doing with this,'' Piniella said. ''It's no fun for me, either, believe me.''
The Cubs might feel forced to option touted rookie Felix Pie back to the minors Sunday, when they must send out a position player to make room on the roster for fifth starter Angel Guzman.
Beyond that, only a trade -- probably of Jacque Jones -- or an injury resolves the issue. But Jones is by far the Cubs' most experienced right fielder, and he's also the best center fielder behind Pie. And there's still no guarantee Pie is ready to compete offensively every day in the majors.
So for now the Cubs have five outfielders worthy of starting time, and one -- $136 million newcomer Alfonso Soriano -- locked into left field every day. And a manager with more headaches than at-bats to give them.
The result: Since Pie was brought up from the minors to fill in for the hamstrung Soriano two weeks ago, Piniella has used eight outfield alignments in 12 games, never using the same one twice in a row.
Asked whether something eventually has to give, Piniella said: ''I don't know. It's hard rotating them all. We're doing the best we can. I don't really have an answer to that. We're just going to continue to play different lineups and get everybody some playing time.''
Even as he admits the more veteran players being rotated through the two spots tend to be hitters who need regular at-bats to perform well.
''I don't think it's a bad situation,'' Piniella said. ''But I'd like to get more constant [with the lineup]. ... I'm doing the best I can. I go through a lot of work trying to figure this thing out and how everybody gets playing time and how everybody stays sharp, and it's not easy.
''I've managed a long time, and I would rather have set lineups and everybody in roles where everybody knows their roles and rest people when it's necessary and that's the end of it. I just don't have that situation now.''
SHORT HOPS: Shortstop Cesar Izturis, who was in Sunday's lineup before the game was postponed because of the death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, didn't start Monday, but Piniella has told him he'll be in the lineup today. If the team gets on a run with him in the lineup, the former Gold Glover could have his starting job back indefinitely.
• Piniella's evaluation of Pie: ''He covers some ground in the outfield, and he has an outstanding throwing arm. The important thing is he just masters the strike zone a little bit. He swings at a lot of bad pitches. We've talked to him about it.''
• Derrek Lee's double in the first inning gave him 14 for April. It's the most for a Cub in at least 50 years (Eric Young's 11 in 2000 was the previous Cubs high in that span).