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The Cubs sent Felix Pie down to Triple-A Iowa before opening the second half of the season after the All-Star break. The writing was on the wall: manager Lou Piniella had been favoring Angel Pagan of late in center field. Pie was hitting only .216 with two homers and 18 runs batted in, while Pagan was hitting .267 with three homers and 13 RBI in fewer at-bats. Yet, as Paul Sullivan pointed out today in the Tribune, the Cubs were 32-16 in games Pie appeared in. Some of that was no doubt padded slightly by games where Pie was inserted late as a defensive replacement with the Cubs ahead, but a .667 winning percentage speaks for itself, especially on a team only one game over .500 overall. Pie had six stolen bases to Pagan’s three, and also had shown progress in plate discipline, with 11 walks against 139 at-bats, for an on-base percentage of .272 — not great by any means, but not abysmal. Most important, the Cubs simply looked better with Pie in center field. He has great range and had yet to make an error, and that played a factor in the team’s improved pitching since his arrival. If the Cubs sent him down because they think he was overmatched and needs more seasoning, fine, but if they think the team is better without him, they’re wrong. A sharp-fielding center fielder brings a lot of intangibles to a team, and those intangibes are made tangible when a record of 32-16 turns up in games a center fielder plays. That’s no accident.
