Soriano out, and other moves
Word coming out of New York is that the Cubs are shutting down left fielder Alfonso Soriano for the foreseeable future so he can rest his troublesome left knee. It's the right thing. With the Cubs having about a 2 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus (and don't let that "only 6 games out of the wild card" business fool you), they might as well let Soriano heel and see if he can come back at 100 percent next year.
The Cubs might as well try to make the best of this because they’re stuck with Sori over the next five years. They thought they could ride him to a World Series sooner rather than later and that if that happened, the contract would have been worth it. This window is closing. We’ll see if they can open another starting next year, maybe with some new players.
Lou said this to Chicago reporters in New York: "The crux of it is his knee is not strong. He's having trouble playing on it. There is no timetable...This is not a rest."
The Cubs also brought Bobby Scales back from Iowa and claimed right-handed pitcher Thomas Diamond off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Diamond will join Iowa.
D-Lee also isn't in the lineup, as his wife gave birth yesterday. Sam Fuld replaces Sori in left.
The lineup was delivered to me by a couple of New York longshoremen, whom I hope are getting overtime for making the long trip:
Fukudome, CF
Theriot, SS
Bradley, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Hoffpauir, 1B
Baker, 2B
Soto, C
Fuld, LF
Zambrano, P
There is a Cubs connection with Diamond. He played for assistant GM Randy Bush when Randy was the baseball coach at the University of New Orleans. He was the Rangers' top pick (10th overall) in the 2004 draft. After that season, he was named the Rangers' top prospect. Tommy John surgery in March 2007 slowed Diamond's career, and command has been a big issue. This year, he's 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA and 1 save in 38 games (1 start) at Class AA Frisco and Class AAA Oklahoma City.
It'll be good to see Scales again when the Cubs get back to town and I rejoin them. He outperformed Aaron Miles, whom the Cubs overpaid for two years.
In 25 games with the Cubs this year, Scales has batted .241 (14-for-58) with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs and 7 RBI. With Iowa, Scales batted .278 (85-for-306) with 15 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs and 39 RBI in 91 games this season.
The 31-year-old Scales made his major-league debut with the Cubs earlier this year and joins the club for his third big-league stint this season.
The Cubs are carrying 30 players. The 40-man roster stands at 39.
Looks like Theriot is none the worse for wear after A.J. barreled into him yesterday after Sean Marshall delivered a high throw on what should have been a double-play grounder. I got my copy of Sports Illustrated today, and it mentioned Florida second baseman Dan Uggla as a potential trade candidate. Do you do try that if you’re the Cubs and leave Theriot at short, or do you move Theriot to second and go after a shortstop? One thing is certain. Theriot’s .338 OBP is not good, especially since he put up a .387 OBP last year.
I know he wants to play, he said it again yesterday, but he still looks to be in pain. I think earlier he said that he wasn't going to have offseason surgery, is that still the case? Is he opting not to have surgery or are the doctors saying that it's unnecessary?
If the doctors are recommending surgery in the offseason then the Cubs and Jim Hendry need to sit Aramis down and have a serious talk with him about getting it done now. If he's not 100% by the beginning of next year then we're in trouble.
...He's not having surgery.
So are the going to DL Soriano, or are they not going to worry about it since the rosters have expanded?
The rosters can go up to 40, and they won't go that high. They can use Soriano to pinch hit, if they want to do that.
Bruce,
I realize they don't know what the budget is yet, but have you heard any scuttle about improvements being made?
This game is hard to stay awake for . . . another sleepy Cub offensive effort.
You won't hear a lot until after the org meetings in late October, early November. If someone like Uggla is made available, I can see them making an offer. I would keep an eye on Starlin Castro next year. I'm sure he'll start at Double-A, and if he continues to improve, he'd be in the picture at short before too long.
It would be immensely helpful if Theriot were back at 2B and the team was able to upgrade at SS. Heck, even playing Blanco as an everyday SS w/Theriot at 2B might be better next year.
With that said, how come Theriot isn't taking shots from the print and TV media and getting booed? The Cubs were still in 1st in the beginning of August, but Theriot has been execrable since the ASB. Bradley, meanwhile, has been pretty good and he absolutely CRUSHED opposing pitchers in August to the tune of .308/.427/.484 for an OPS of .911.
Since the All-Star Break:
Milton Bradley- 143 AB's, .301 avg, .416 obp, .476 slg%, .892 ops with 6 HR's and 7 doubles.
Theriot- 179 AB's, .268 avg, .309(!) obp, .318 slg%, .627 ops, no homers, 3 doubles, 3 triples.
And actually those numbers don't even include today's game where Milton went 2-5 with a double and Theriot 1-5. Worse, Lou keeps putting Theriot at the top of the lineup. Where's all of the articles from some of Bruce's colleagues calling for the Cubs to outright release Ryan Theriot and/or trade him for a "bag of balls???"
The first play in the bottom of the 8th showed again why Theriot isn't a shortstop. Played back on the ball with a fast runner and did his double-pump thing. Not really a surprise that Castillo was safe.
...With Andres Blanco in there. He has more range and a better arm than any Cubs middle infielder. Theriot's OBP is plummeting into the .330s, and he is not taking walks anymore. That's why it'll be interesting to see what Hendry does about the middle infield this winter.
Hendry has a tendency to fall in love with his "guys". Does he realize that Theriot isn't good?
We're talking Jim Hendry here. The guy knows nothing about fielding a great team at this level. It's a sad day when you have to admit that Kenny Williams is not the worst GM in town.