Russ Dorsey

And from where I was sitting, it just looked like, oh, that's going to be a fly out.

Ball kept carrying, kept carrying, kept carrying, and carried out the yard.

And it's one of those things where...

Ian's being rewarded right now.

You're swinging a hot bat.

Those balls end up carrying.

Even though the best ball he's hit so far was not a home run.

The ball that ended up being a fly out in the series against the Nationals was absolutely crushed.

But he still has three homers right now.

And you're seeing a guy that looks like he belongs in that three hole where he's been hitting.

Yes, you have.

Yeah, I think when you have these athletic players in your lineup...

they wreak havoc, and you're seeing that PCA Niko.

Who, by the way, I didn't know how I felt about Niko and where he would hit in this Cubs lineup.

Obviously, you don't know until the lineup card comes out.

I actually really like him in that 5-hole because most people would say, oh, you want Niko in the leadoff spot or hitting in the 2-hole, but I think having him hit 5th

It adds a guy when you have runners on base that has back control and can just shoot the ball somewhere, throw something to the gap, and now you're really cooking.

And that adds another one of those athletic guys on the bases to swipe a bag, to score from first on a ball in the gap, all those different things.

And I think that's going to add another dynamic to this lineup.

Now, against left-handed pitching, if you want Niko to be the leadoff hitter, I fully understand that.