Hart settling back in to batting second

MILWAUKEE Corey Hart is familiar with hitting second in the batting order. During the Brewers' four-game west coast swing last week, the 29-year-old right fielder was placed back in the spot that he occupied for 86 games in 2010. Although Ron Roenicke said Hart is "not your ideal second guy," the Milwaukee manager and his staff believes it's the best place for him. "He is not your ideal second guy, but when he's in there at second, the pitcher that's throwing through those first few guys, they really have to be careful," Roenicke said following Tuesday's win over Colorado. "I think when (Hart) is on, and I think he's been kind of streaky, but when he's on, he is really good in that second spot." Throughout Hart's career, he has been slotted as the fifth batter 187 times, more than any other spot in the order. But the second most common spot for Hart is to bat second, which he's done 139 times. "The only thing I'll do different (batting second) is I'll try to move the guy over a little more," Hart said. "I do that a lot more in the 2-hole trying to make sure I hit the ball to the right fielder, bunt the guy over. But outside of that, it's mainly the same thing." However, Roenicke said he's cautious to use Hart in bunting situations if leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks gets on base. "Sometimes a guy that drives the ball, we get Rickie on first base and I don't necessarily want to bunt him over," Roenicke said. "If Corey wants to bunt on his own sometimes, fine. But he's not a guy I want to give up an out to get to Ryan (Braun) and then Prince (Fielder)." Carlos Gomez had been occupying the second spot in the order for most of this season, but with a .232 batting average and .289 on-base percentage, Roenicke decided to make the change to Hart. "Once Corey started swinging better, we thought he was ready to go second," Roenicke said. Hart began the season on the disabled list with a left oblique strain. After beginning a rehab assignment in mid-April, he was on the major league roster by the end of that month. Through 21 games this season, Hart has struggled to produce offensively. He is batting .237, has not hit a home run and has only batted one runner in. But Hart said he is now back to 100 percent health. "I'm just working through things, trying to find a consistent swing," Hart said. "My body is fine. Right now it's just trying to find a consistent swing and a consistent approach. Hopefully it gets there soon, but it's a daily work. "(Roenicke) knows that I'm still a process. I'm a streaky guy and it's one of those things that he knows. I've felt better, but it comes and goes and I'm still trying to find that swing that drives the ball. Whether it's in the 2 or 6 (spot in the order), I'm here." Hart agrees with his manager that he doesn't match all of the criteria for a typical second hitter in the order, but with a career .282 average in that spot, it may be where he stays given Milwaukee's current roster. "I don't think it was the exact plan that we had (to bat Hart second), but we talked about where we should hit Corey before the season," Roenicke added. "There were a lot of guys that thought that second was a good slot for him because he had succeeded real well in that role last year. Looking at numbers, he had done well." Hart's career average is best while batting sixth in the order, hitting .291. His strikeouts are also less in that spot. However, Hart's career on-base percentage as a two-hole hitter is .343, higher than in any other spot in the lineup.