Last year, rookie Tyler Colvin hit 20 home runs in his first full season with the Cubs. With the pressure on to add a fan favorite to the regular lineup in 2011, the organization knew they would have to make some tough decisions.
Instead, they just made something up. The team is in the process of petitioning Bud Selig to legalize a new position that would allow Colvin to stand in shallow right field and move between guarding the foul line and backing-up second base.
“We didn’t want to risk a young player providing a defensive drop-off at first,” said Cubs GM Jim Hendry. “It’s much more status-quo to sign a one-dimensional veteran.”
If the position doesn’t stick, Hendry is reportedly looking into trading Colvin for outfielder Andruw Jones.
“We wanted to create a new position for Starlin Castro, too,” added Hendry. “But Neifi Perez apparently retired before we could re-acquire him to play short.”
It is unclear, as of now, if adding a new position will affect the batting order.
“I better not be batting tenth,” fumed Carlos Zambrano, upon hearing of the Cubs’ plans.
By Dan Bradley
