Dunn not likely to play Coors' spacious left field

DENVER -- Starting Adam Dunn in left field Wednesday would give manager Robin Ventura another left-handed hitter in his White Sox lineup against Rockies right-hander Juan Nicasio. But putting Dunn, a below-average defensive player, in left field at Coors Field is risky.

Without naming his left fielder for Wednesday, Ventura indicated it would not be Dunn.

"It's a pretty big yard," Ventura said. "I think there were some plays last night where you had to have a fast guy to run them down. It's a big outfield."

The alley in left-center measures 390 feet. From there, the wall slants out until it meets the center-field wall, forming a small triangle in deep left-center.

"Left field here is like center field anywhere [else]," said Rockies left fielder Carlos Gonzalez, who won a Gold Glove in left field last season and has extensive experience playing center field. "Whenever the ball's hit to that corner [in left-center], it's almost impossible to prevent a triple. When you go all the way out there and cut the ball and throw it to the cutoff man and the guy doesn't make third base, that's a successful play.

"It's definitely one of the hardest places to play left field. Whenever you go to a different field, it's a piece of candy when you have to play here every day."