In so many words
Before we get to what Lou said about the fifth spot in the batting order, one quick roster note: Angel Guzman has not pitched since last Tuesday at Pittsburgh because Lou says he's been suffering from the "lat problem" he had earlier this year. Guzman spent time on the DL in late June and early July because of what was termed a right triceps injury. Back then, Guzman said he needed just a few days, but the Cubs put him on the DL to be safe. Lou says Guzman could be back during the upcoming Milwaukee series.
Lineup
Fukudome, CF
Bradley, RF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Hoffpauir, LF
Baker, 2B
Hill, C
Blanco, SS
Lilly, P
Notice that Bradley is back in the second spot. The Cubs weren't thrilled that when Bradley hit fifth yesterday, he grounded out with two men on base and two outs in the first inning. He flied out with men on first and second and no outs in the sixth, advancing a runner. In the seventh, he came up with runners on and struck out.
The Cubs are all fine with Bradley's .384 OBP, but they are disillusioned with his 39 RBI in 120 games. With runners in scoring position, Bradley is batting .217. There are those who believe he should be looking to drive the ball when he comes up with men on base.
So it was interesting to hear Lou talk of the off-season priorities.
“That’s the spot we need to solve more than anything else," Lou said of the fifth spot. "There’s no question about. That’s the spot that needs to be filled here this winter more than anything else. It’s been a problem for us...The fifth spot is a real nice spot in the lineup to drive in a lot of runs.”
Looking at the lineup breakdowns, Bradley has batted fifth 30 times, Hoffpauir 23, Fukudome 20, Ramirez 16, Soto 14, Fox 14, Johnson 10, Fontenot 6, Baker 4, Soriano 2 and Lee 1.
The Bradley breakdowns:
Batting fifth: .220/.358/.320 for an OPS of .678, with 3 homers and 9 RBI
Batting: second: .345/.441/.563 for an OPS of 1.004, with 4 homers and 11 RBI
Batting third: .277/.348/.386 for an OPS of .734 with 1 homer and 8 RBI
Cubs No. 5 hitters last year were 14th in RBI, with 83. They used Fukudome, Soto, Edmonds, DeRosa, Johnson, Fontenot, Hoffpauir, Ward, Murton and Ramirez in that spot.
This year, Cubs No. 5 hitters rank 9th in RBI, with 77.
Anyway, it's going to take some fancy maneuvering by GM Jim Hendry if he's going to land Chone Figgins or Orlando Hudson to play second base and get Lou his No. 5 hitter.
In the minors, Class AA Tennessee took a 2-1 lead in its Southern League playoff series over Huntsville yesterday with a 5-2 win. Andrew Cashner started and worked 4 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs before being pinch hit for. David Cales, another pitcher to watch, earned the win in relief, striking out two in 2.1 perfect innings. Park Ridge's Brian Schlitter earned his second save of the series. James Adduci recorded his second multihit game, going 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Adduci, son of former big leaguer Jim Adduci, could wind up fitting with the big-league club as a fourth outfielder someday.
Soriano or Soto will bounce back to end up being the #5 hitter - unless Lou has the requirement that this batter needs to be left-handed. I'd bet on Soriano. The biggest if for next year is if Soriano can be the player he was before this season.
Basically he's saying he wants Lee and Ramirez to stay in the 3/4 slots, and that Fukudome, Bradley, Soriano and Soto are not productive enough to be in the 5 hole.
And since you figure Soriano and Soto aren't going anywhere this offseason, they will be placed in the 6 and 7 spots.
That leaves only CF, RF, 2B or SS. 1 of those positions will bat #5, and the other three will bat #1, #2 and #8.
So, I think it comes down to trading either Fukudome (no trade clause, although I still think he makes sense for Seattle, and Seattle makes sense for him) or Bradley (can be traded without his approval, but can Hendry find a trading partner - maybe the Mets or Tigers). I say that because I think it's doubtful Hendry can find a #5 hitter, who plays 2B or SS unless Miguel Tejeda is on the free agent radar or Dan Uggla is on the trade/non-tender radar. I see good reasons to get neither. I also think it would be difficult to sign or trade for a slugging CF, and I think Lou likes Fukudome in that #2 hole.
Therefore, the Cubs need to trade Bradley and find a RF, who can slug. Bobby Abreu could be a free agent, and is slightly better slugger (and much better teammate) than Milton. Jermaine Dye is a free agent assuming the Sox pass on his option. Dye has looked bad at the plate since the ASB, so you have to wonder if decline is setting in. One intriguing choice on the trade market could be JD Drew. What do the Cubs have that might entice Boston to trade Drew? Maybe Carlos Zambrano.
Hoops
Fukudome doesn't fit in Seattle. Gutierrez and Ichiro are guaranteed to be back in their outfield. Zambrano for Drew doesn't make any sense. Drew is only a marginal upgrade over Bradley and the Cubs would also be losing their 2nd best starting pitcher in the deal.
What stats are you looking at? Drew's OBP is the same as Bradley's OBP, but Drew's slugging % is nearly 100 points higher than Bradley's and at least JD knocks in runs when they matter. You may not like Drew, or maybe you think trading Zambrano for Drew is not a good deal, but don't tell me Drew is a marginal upgrade.
If you caught the Channel 9 pregame show, you saw that Len Kasper was gracious enough to interview Hal McCoy, the Reds beat writer for the Dayton Daily News. Hal is reluctantly retiring at the end of this season. Do yourself a favor in the last month of the season and read Hal every day, if for no other reason to see how a beat writer's beat writer does it. The Cubs and the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA held a little ceremony on on the field for Hal today, and that's how I described him: the beat writer's beat writer.
Hal is completing his 37th consecutive season on the beat, and he's covered it all from the Big Red Machine Days to the Marge Schott banishment to Pete Rose's suspension.
Nobody does it better, and nobody's a nicer guy. Check out Hal's blog of today:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/cin...
He has definitely written some great stuff over the years!