So what would you do?
After today's 4-1 loss to the Sox, Lou said it might be time to make some changes and play "some other people."
Let's see, D-Lee is hitting fine at first base. Geovany Soto will get just his normal days off from behind the plate. Theriot isn't going anywhere at short. We've seen the Miles/Blanco combo at second, and the Cubs don't have much in the way of options there. In right, Milton Bradley is starting to come around, and center field is a platoon between Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson.
As Dusty Baker used to say to us, "you all have been clamoring for Jake Fox to play third base." The Cubs don't seem to agree, or else they would have given him a whole bunch of reps there at Iowa.
That leaves us with left field, where $136 million man Alfonso Soriano saw his OBP drop to .291. His slugging percentage is only .447 for an underwhelming OPS of .738. Soriano's most recent homer came June 7 at Cincy, and Soriano gets paid the big bucks to hit homers.
So do you think Lou will do a Fox-trot and run ol' Jake out to left field tomorrow? All Lou would offer was a "We'll see" when I asked him about his options after today's game.
Fox did replace Sori in left late in today's game after pinch hitting for the pitcher. Jake crushed a ball to center only to see the Sox' Brian Anderson catch it. Soriano certainly looks like he needs a day or two off, and putting Fox in left couldn't hurt things much. You remember Glenallen Hill, Henry Rodriguez and, at times, Moises Alou in left, don't you?
What ideas do you have to shake things up? Hoffpauir somewhere, anywhere? Post 'em here and we'll discuss between tonight and tomorrow.
Best pitching in the NL, they should be running away with things right now.
Soriano could be benched for 2 days. No more than that though. He has to play if the Cubs are going to win anything. But knock him down to 2nd or 5th.
-Why 2nd? Put Theriot at lead off when he gets on, he's a threat to steal. The pitcher will have to either throw fastball to Soriano to help with preventing a stolen base, or throw breaking balls and not worry about Theriot (of course, Theriot would probably just get picked off anyway). 5th because Soriano doesn't have the OBP to hit higher but has the power to knock in runs.
Fontenot has an OK June going with a 360 OBP. Get a 3B, anyone. Get Josh Fields from the South Side to hop on the El and get up here for a minor leaguer and hope the old "change of scenery" does him some good. Doesn't cost ANY money so its probably the ONLY 3B the Cubs can get. Move Fontenot back to 2B where he's actually good defensively.
Soto's been bad, but too early to call a bust. Russell Martin has a worse OPS and he's got a longer history of success. BJ Upton, Howie Kendrick, Garrett Atkins, Jimmy Rollins...ALL guys with OPS down with Soto. It happens, but it needs to be fixed.
I don't think its possible for the Cubs offense to continue being this bad, and even I'm running out of patience, but I think the offense will get on track, then its just a matter of the pitching continuing or not falling completely on their face.
Soriano---No way he can ever bat 2nd. Your 2 hole hitter is your most patient hitter, who isn't afraid to hit with 2 strikes. You are still talking about a guy who swings at the 1st pitch way too often. I could see batting him 5th. He needs a wakeup call. Some time on the bench may light a fire under him.
Soto--I will call him a bust until he shows he can hit consistently. He was very good last year in a stacked lineup. Now that their are gaping holes, he hasn't done anything. He looks lost at the plate, and where the hell is his power? The guys you compared him to are all proven players. Soto isn't here for his OBP, he's here to drive in runs.
Offense SHOULD get going, but it's mid June already. Can't wait forever. Time to make moves and play people who are contributing, not assuming that guys with a track record of one good year, are going to pick it up.
What we say here, or offer for opinions, because this team is a train wreck. It really is.
-Soriano: Said it over and over again. Until he stops gettting himself out and swinging at pitches that are no where close to the strike zone, he'll continue to suck. I'm sure he's banged up, but lets not make excuses for the guy.
-Soto: Maybe the career minor leaguer was a mirage in a very stacked Cubs lineup last year? Now that he's expected to do anything, he;s horrible. Just awful. He looks lost, and if he's really that beat up already, I want to know what he was doing this offseason besides eating himself to death next to his ROY trophy.
What would I do?
1. Get Soriano out of the leadoff spot. Either bench him and wake him up, or bat him 6th or 7th. The he bats 1st, the more it proves to me who's running this team......the players.
2. Anyone who fails to execute a fundamental play gets pulled immediately. You want this crap to stop where they can't bunt, can't move guys over, or can't hit a g-damn ball in the air with less then 2 outs? Take away their playing time. Bobby Cox does it regularly and it works for him. No excuse for any of these supposed mlb players, not to be able to execute any type of play.
3. Bench Mike Fontenot. Another guy who was a mirage and lived off a great supporting cast. The guy looks lost and comfortable, knowing he's got a job. What he has done to earn it? Put Fox at 3b and when he gets Aaron Miles knees busted, tell Hendry you had no other choice. That's not Piniella's fault, that's Hendry's.
4. The lineup is day to day. Nobody is promised anything. They want to play tomorrow, you better perform today.
5. Play Reed Johnson. The Fukudome experiment is over. The guy is back to swinging like a fool, and when idiot Joe Morgan can point out that UNLESS everything is going 100% correctly for Kosuke, he isn't going to make any contact. Why don't the Cubs get it? Try to trade him, and admit that they made a mistake and move on. He's horrible. Offer the sheep who wear his headbands and bow to him, a complimentary Jake Fox t-shirt jersey. Should avoid a potential riot.
The sooner the Brewers catch fire and burry this team, or the Cubs wake up the better it will be for all of us. This horrible team doesn't deserve to be within a few games of first. They are awful, gutless, and unable of mentally stepping up when they have to. Piniella looks defeated, and has been left out to dry by Hendry and his over valuing of 1 yr wonders. THe madness of being right there and having played so badly only lasts so long. Your record says who you are, and this team is a mediocre pile of crap at best.
On a side note, how the hell can the Cubs be looking at Pedro Martinez, when they have no money to spend? IF he signs for any decent amount, then the story Hendry told about DeRosa being moved to free up payroll to sign Bradley, was complete BS.
You prefer Aaron Miles or Blanco to Fontenot?? I'd like to see Fontenot in the same role he was in last year too, but considering the alternatives, I think you at least need the pop he's capable of providing as well as the occasional walk that you don't get with the other guys.
Yeah, it's a travesty that they are limited to those options, but as far as dealing with what we have, I certainly would prefer Fontenot to the other two.
Blanco is a better defender, and what is Fontenot hitting? I agree about him being in a bench/utility role that he succeeded so great with last year. I think you have to give Blanco a chance.
Aaron Miles may be worse then Neifi Perez. I never thought I would see the day, but that may go down as the worst free agent signing.
Hired. When can you start?
Anxiously waiting for Tallon to do something.
1. Everyone in the lineup needs to remember the approach that helped them last year. The walked a ton. As a result, they scored a ton of runs and ended up driving extra base hits due to their approach. This year, they don't. Theriot used to be a very patient hitter who worked the count. He's not doing that anymore. I'm very glad he's begun to swing with authority this year to keep people honest, but he has to remember that his first job is to get on base.
2. I think everyone needs to realize that Soriano is a terrible baseball player. He is an outstanding athelete whose athleticism and physical gifts make him effective at times, but he is really a poor baseball player...no instincts, no plan at the plate, etc. As his physical tools begin to erode as he gets older, it's only going to get worse. Hopefully he'll get blistering hot at some point and return to competence, but he's probably the biggest problem on this team right now.
3. You can't keep trotting Aaron Miles out there. When your max potential is a random event like a single and you refuse to draw a walk, you are worthless. His value is 100% tied up in how many of his singles sneak through. When he's extremely lucky, like last year, he hits .300. When he isn't, he hits .230. Truthfully, a guy like him has to hit about .340 to be truly helpful, since he never walks. If you can't crack .300 in even OBP or God forbid SLG, you need to be relegated to pinch runner status.
4. Hopefully when Ramirez comes back(if he can perform at 100% of his capacity, which remains to be seen) Fontenot can return to a more secondary role for which he is best suited. I like Mike, but I was afraid he might be exposed with too much playing time. I agreed with the DeRosa trade at the time because it was a very rare case where Hendry actually sold high, and Stevens and Gaub are going to be above average MLB releivers, but DeRosa would be perfect for the Cubs right now. Their biggest need is an effective utility guy who can play second for Fontenot, fill in for Ramirez at third, and most importantly, keep the Aaron Mileses of the world off the field.
The Cubs aren't out of it yet, because they've played to about 40% of their potential, but they need to get going pretty soon.
If I where Lou I'd give Fox a shot at 3rd base and move Soriano to 5th or 6th in the line-up.
1. pitching: 6th/7th inning: Shmardija-Marshall-Gregg
8th inning: Guzman
9th: Marmol as closer
Tell Jim, Lou & Larry to quit holding their grudge against Marmol
for plaing in the WBC over soring training. Carlos doesn't want
the 8th inning because his success is based on confidence with
a closer mentality. Gregg looks scared & nervous in the bullpen
so take the pressure off him....he is not the closer & most cub
fans know it.
2. Hitting: Let Joshua & Class A Richie Zisk combine to work with hitters.
An ex-Cubs exec from the minor league system told me Richie
was the best batting coach in the Cubs organization
3. Lineup: Move Soriano to the 3rd or 5th slot after his short rest & play him
at 2b.....Let Fox play LF...Fukodome in RF because he makes great
plays there & let him learn to bunt & not do his circle dance. Let
Micah play CF some. Live with Fontenot at 3b til Ramy gets back
& teach him how to bunt.
4. Next Move: New owners.....New GM: Steve Stone...New Mgr: Bob Brenley
New Pitching coach: Greg Maddux
I really hope we find out you are nine years old.
Micah in CF? He can hardly play a corner OF position.
Not much you can do other than what has been already mentioned. It's time to sit Soriano for a few days and put Fox/Hoff in left field. I'd also put Andres Blanco in at 2nd in place of Miles. Neither of them can hit, but at least Blanco isn't on a ridiculous multi-year deal.
There really aren't any minor leaguers they can call up to help the offense. Tony Thomas got off to a great start in AA but he's cooled off to the point where he probably isn't a legitimate option until next year. When you have underperforming players on big contracts (Soriano, Fukudome, even Miles to a lesser extent) it ties your hands.
It's obvious he's injured. He's hitting .152 over the past 100AB. Put him on the DL and let him heal without a day to day battle over sitting him. His defense has suffered like his offense. Look at his right foot when he's hitting. It's constantly bailing out and not allowing him to keep his weight back.
By benching him we put Fox in LF and it also allows us to install a new lead off man. One other thing. Look at what Wells can get us in a trade. I love him but I think his 15 minutes of glory are over. Let's not wait until he has no value aka Pie and Patterson.
Put DeRosa at 3b(Randy Wells and more), platoon Fontenot and Miles. Rest Derrek Lee, Soriano, and Bradley regularly and give Fox and Hoffpauir MORE at bats. Put Theriot at leadoff, Soriano hitting 6th. Soto bats 8th til he gets his head out of his hiney.
DL Soriano. I think he needs a couple weeks off to rest his sore knee. Put Huffpauir in LF, Fox at 3B (I know his defense is suspect but I say let's give it a shot) and move Fontenot back to 2B. My new line-up vs. RHPs would be:
SS Theriot
CF Fukudome
1B Lee
LF Hoffpauir
RF Bradley
3B Fox
2B Fontenot
C Soto
Any comments on Hoffpauir's defensive abilities in LF? I have not seen him play LF. I have heard from Cub fans that Hoffpauir is not a good fielder, but IIRC they were talking about his RF abilities.
You line-up may be good offensively, but I suspect that it's below average to bad at LF, RF, 3B, 2B.
If a guy can play right, he can usually play left. Hoffpauir is a decent enough first baseman who is passable in the outfield.
I posted my line-up above with Soriano on the DL. Here's what I'd try if they don't put Soriano on the DL, which I still think would greatly benefit him in the long run.
CF Fukudome (maybe this shakes him out of his slump?)
SS Theriot
RF Bradley
1B Lee
LF Soriano
2B Fontenot
3B Fox
C Soto
Have Bradley lead off. He is supposed to be a high on base percentage hitter and that's what lead off is all about.
Do a lefty/righty platoon with Soriano and Hofpaiur in left field. Go through the stats and determine what pitchers Soriano has trouble with and sit him down.
When Zambrano pitches bat him ahead of Soto until Soto gets it together.
Unload Fukodome before his average tanks even more. Even if the Cubs have to eat a large portion of his salary.
I love Lou but he has to go out there on a bang, bang call against the Cubs and do his tantrum act. Otherwise after the All Star break we might see a Piniella Brenly flip flop.
Yes, I think it's time to sit Sori for a few and play Fox in left. Other than that, I'm not sure. They're taking on the lackluster look that was all too often commonplace when Dusty was here. It's tough to watch.
I keep a blog of my own and was ready to rattle off lineup shake-up options, but you clearly point out here that there's not much that can be changed. Other than Fox spelling Sori for a few games, a batting order shuffle might be Lou's only recourse right now. The biggest thing that bothered me today was Ozzie sticking it to the Cubs and showing exactly how managing can jump start a team: he put on steal signs, called and had his players successfully execute a squeeze, and called for a hit-and-run which succeeded in textbook fashion. Take note, Lou; you're not completely powerless.