Arlington Daily Herald reporter Bruce Miles has a series in which he answers various questions about the Cubs. In his most recent piece, he asks and answers the following:

Q. What happened to Felix Pie the last few years? Think he'll blossom in Baltimore?

Miles: Felix could not make the necessary adjustments at the plate. On top of that, he failed to do one of the most important things you can do for Lou Piniella: make a good first impression.

Mike Fontenot made a good first impression a couple of years ago with a double in New York. He got sent down to the minors after that, but Lou remembered and rewarded him with playing time when he got back. Now, he's a starter. Micah Hoffpauir is off to a great start in Arizona. That'll go a long way with Lou.

Basically, Miles thinks Piniella will base his personnel decisions on whether Mike Fontenot hit a double in his first game for him. And that there would be nothing wrong with it if he did.

Incidentally, Pie got a couple extended looks (260 at-bats) as the team's center fielder - the Cubs wanted him to work out, but he was clearly overmatched. That's far different than Micah Hoffpauir hitting well a week into spring training, or Fontenot hitting a double.