Full Court Press

who is taking his place in the lineup?

Roman responds: Not sure yet, but Mark DeRosa can play left, or Reed Johnson sure deserves some more ABs.

Matt Murton, anyone?

Well, trying to make a positive out of a negative, at least it happened now and not in late September with the Cubs having a 1/2 game lead with 5 to play. They'll get through this blip on the screen just fine.

Soriano is just another name to be added to the Prior / Woods annual parade to the disabled list.

Prediction: this will not be his last trip to the disabled list in 2008.

No, they will not miss him. To borrow a line from Sun-Times columnist Greg Couch, "Soriano does not know how to play the game of baseball". The guys who replace him(Murton,Fontenot?)will not hit as many solo homers, but they will get on base more, sacrifice bunt more, take more walks, and move runners along more. In my humble opinion I think it's laugable that he is referred to as a "star". Sure, he is payed like a star, but you have to remember Jim Hendry usually doesn't know what he is doing. When or if a new owner takes over and if a new GM is brought in, the first priority of the new GM should be to try to unload his salary. Although that won't be easy.

If he isnt out too long or long enough to where we lose more games than we should, then it could be one of those early blessing in disguise injurys that allows younger guys to get some live reps and for managment to see who we got on the Bench...

??

It seems the Cubs are falling prey to the cramps and strains disease. A by-product of not being hydrated enough?

Where are the Cubs conditioning coach and nutritionist these days? At the new Harry Caray's that everyone with 'a voice' keeps giving free pub to?

Better to have him on the DL now, rather than in September, when the Cubs are expected to be prepping for the playoffs after their 120-season win.

I'd miss him more if he was batting lower in the order, but I certainly will not miss him as a lead-off hitter. I won't miss his impatience at the plate, his unwillingness to (purposely) hit the ball to right field, and his desire to hit homeruns when there's nobody on base. I know Fukudome has been off to a great start in the middle of the lineup, but with that great eye of his, maybe Lou will experiment batting him leadoff?

If he is out for only a couple of weeks, this could be a blessing in disguise. For a short period some combination of Murton/Ward/Johnson or DeRosa out there won't kill the team. And then, upon Soriano's return, they could use the injury as an excuse to move him out of the leadoff role and move Fukudome to either one or two. They need to get Fukufome and his obp skills to the plate as much as possible. Imagine how many more rbi Lee would have right now with Kosuke in front of him in the lineup.

In the long run this could be the good thing for the Cubs. When Soriano comes back Lou might finally put him in the 5th spot in the order because his calf will be "tender" and he won't be able to swipe a bag.

with johnson/ derosa in left or at least playing more often, it seems to me that the upside of soriano being out is more consistent playing time for pie. give him the cf job for a few weeks. if he still is hitting below .200 with that much playing time, send him down and try the other guy. at least we have an opportunity to see what he can do without costing a productive guy like reed playing time.

Alot will depend on how long he is out and how well everyone else plays. Better that it happen now though than in late August in a close play-off race.

Skippy is a bigger HOTDOG then Sosa ... They can win without him ...

Who cares? The guy has been a bust since he arrived. $136 mil. for a 1 tool player who's only talent so far is a great arm in left field (the easiest throw from the outfield I might add). I say dump him if possible along with Soriano Jr. .Pie!! The Cubs have aenough talent to cover for both of these busts and maybe they can pick up a starter for both of them.
Streamwood Frank

Can we be frank here? Soriano has always struck me as a 'roid or HGH user. Sudden and dramatic increase in power in 2002; now this is the second year in a row he's had one of these stupid, nagging muscle injuries that occurs from a seemingly non strenuous activity like running the bases and hopping while catching a fly.
It's a stretch to say they'll be better without him, but maybe they'll actually have someone leading off who can take a pitch, get on base and not strike out at the rate of 160/year.

Soriano will be missed, but I think the team may actually play better. Yes, he has a strong arm that makes up for his not-so-steady defense in left. His baserunning and steals will sorta be missed, but that's never been a Piniella hallmark and wasn't going to be this year. However, his departure from the line up will probably make the Cubs a better team. Depending who they drop into the lead off spot (I'm guessing Theriot), their lineup should be more productive. Theriot is a better lead off hitter -- can hit to all fields, will take pitches, can bunt, etc., etc. It's not that Soriano couldn't, he just didn't. I would drop DeRosa into the second spot and then follow with Ramirez, Lee and Fukudome next. Then some combination of Soto, Fontenot and Johnson/Pie.

Well guess if you're making as many millions as soriano is no one will tell you when you are making a fool of yourself. Makes you wonder if Soriano is not so bright that he can't tell how foolish his hopping around like a bad sosa flashback looks to fans. Course he may just be faking an injury so he can duck the leagues drug testing. Saw joe borowski went on dl yesterday too with strained muscle, what a coinkydink.

I am always sorry to see a player get hurt, but it sort of smacks of Major League or Bull Durham. Now the team has to hope that the GM doesn't panic and trade away pitchers for another outfielder.

I'd like to see the Cubs bring back Murton to the lineup in some form. This is a guy that can truly hit, he deserves a role on this club. Another viable option is to keep DeRosa in left and keep Fontenot's bat in the lineup playing 2nd.

Soriano is possibly the most overrated MLB player on any active roster today. They should send him and Hendry packing. The lineup Lou had on the field last night (except for PIE...put Johnson in CF and leave it alone) will be just fine. At least they make contact (except for PIE). Better team without Skippy

who cares? go brew crew!

ERIC PATTERSON?!??!!?! What the hell are they thinking? He's not even everyday in Iowa?!?! Enough with the Patterson's of the world! This club never learns!

French's doesn't make enough mustard to cover Soriano. His antics show how much he really cares about his team and fans. Did Hendry ever wonder why he had been on so many teams before he signed him?

Yes Sorian is impatient and isn't fundamentally sound. But who in the heck made Matt Murton a world beater. He's too slow, no defense and an occasional double. Whuppee!

Send Alfanso Sorryassiano packing!!!!!!!! 136 million$$$$$$ What was Hendry thinking?

I understand that DeRosa and Fontenot have started the season hitting reasonably well. But this sends a strong message that there is no real place for Matt Murton. Too bad Micah Hoffpauir is injured...he would have provided a left-handed bat with some serious pop.

Bringing up Murton would be stupid unless you were ready to make him your everyday LF (he is running out of options) and with Soriano not leaving anytime soon, Murton is best suited as trade bate in triple-a where he can showcase his hitting abilities against weaker pitching. The move to bring up Patterson is the right one. Patterson can play all outfield pos. and 2B. With The Font moving to second full-time (for now) the bench is weakened and Patterson fills in the need for a versatile role player. Plus, his speed adds to a generally slow team/bench.

since lou not smart enough to get fonso out of the leadoff spot and cant figure out what everyone on the planet knows pie is corry paterson part 2 then cubs fans have to rely on injuries to get the guys who desrve to play in the line up trade pie and marshall 4 roberts who leads off johnson 2nd fuko 3rd lee 4 ram 5 soto 6 deroso 7 riot 8 murton font and ward main bench guys and trade hill and veal
with gallager and try to get cain or kazmir then we should be set and lou needs to bunt and hit and run more lou and dusty are horible in close games because they dont take chances to help manufacture runs

So the Cubs will not miss a guy who hit .300 and 33 HRs last year?
This is not a "Cute Cubby" contest here. It is baseball and you do not turn your nose up at .300 and 30+ HRs by anyone.
Then again.... is baseball EVER the #1 priority with Cub fans?
If it were up to them Bill Murray would be managing the team.

Soriano is not worth the money that they are paying him but he is better than anyone that you are going to pencil in while he is sidelined.

Just have Zambrano hit lead off!!

My belief is this, Soriano hasn't even come close to playing the way he did with other clubs. The stats he put up were very similar to Sosa stats. Tell me,other than that right center ball in extra's last year against the Rockies,when has he actually came through in the cluth? He has a fantastic and accurate arm, No doubt, But he dogs plays in Left, over his head, by him on the ground. I'm A Die Hard Cub Fan!! I wanted them to sign Carlos (the RBI Machine)Lee!!
They have scored more runs in the 2 games without him then they have in almost 8 games with him!! I have never seen him move runners to third with less then 1 or 2 outs, he can't drive in the runner from third with less than 2 outs. I could be wrong but when I watch the Cubs (EVERY GAME)I see a player that basically plays for himself!! They have enough power they need a legitimate #1 hitter who can set the table for 3,4,5 and now with Soto 6!!
Thank You the Muledog #1 Cub Fan. JUST KEEPING IT REAL!!

Soriano needs to bat clean up...

at least the middle of the infield is finally correct...here, let me do this for ya..

1. Cajun
2. Fukudome
3. Lee
4. Soriano
5. Ramirez
6. Cajun
7. Soto
8. R. Johnson

IT'S APPARENT THAT SORIANO ISN'T DOING ALOT OF RUNNING IN THE
OFF SEASON!
MONEY IN HIS POCKET APPEARS TO HAVE GOTTEN THE BEST OF HIM, NOT
AGGRESSIVE LIKE HE ONCE WAS!
I HOPE HE GETS HIS ACT TOGETHER OR MAYBE THE CUBS SHOULD CUT HIM
LOOSE, WITH PIE IF HE DOESN'T LEARN HOW TO HIT BIG LEAGUE PITCHING!

Hitman:

I agree with most of your lineup (particularly like the "Cajun" addition), but Soriano in the #4 spot? If I was the opposing team, he would never see a fastball, just low and away curves, sliders and change ups. He would lead the league in strikeouts and slow saunters back to the dugout.

Of course, this is the major leagues and teams don't concentrate on a batter's weaknesses until the playoffs. That explains why Shawon Dunston could play 13+ seasons even though he could never lay off the low and away (insert pitch name here). Same is true of Soriano, but he cashed in before it became widely known.

It's hard to tell pure God given talent like Frank Thomas vs roid talent like Sosa but I would say Soriano's not a roider. I've been following him his whole career & the body's pretty much the same.

If you want to get the best out of Soriano, make him unhappy. I know it sounds wierd but it's true. His best year's are those where his future was uncertain & his status was unsettled.

Physically, Soriano is as good as it gets. A 5 tooler (power, avg, throw, run, catch) if there ever was one. Mentally, Soriano is as bad as it gets. You will rarely find a day his head is completely in the game. He's an MVP in the making with the proper motivation.

Under Ozzie Soriano would be an MVP because Ozzie would be challenging him day in & day out. There would be no coddling there. That's what Pinella's got to do. He needs to tell Soriano "we need this from you or I need to make changes." If he does that, he'll see the MVP emerge.

Seedy..if opposing teams want to pitch around Soriano to get to Ramirez...I'm fine with it....

Soriano can sight a ball, man...he just has a problem with having to do more than one thing.... he should be put in the position to do one thing at the plate ...that's all he can handle, but he's pretty freaking good at it...

He can hit 40

and I love the Cajuns...they're interchangable at the plate...that's awesome...I feel better about the 6-4-3, too

Hitman, the King of Obscure References.

Hitman:

Come on. Just about anyone can hit 40 dingers in wind dominated Wrigley. Heck, Mike Schmidt nearly hit 40 homers each season at Wrigley and he only played 8 games there each year. However, I do see your logic. Batting Sore-iano 4th ensures he sees more fastballs, which is the one pitch he can hit. I would still pitch him outside and low, followed by one under the chin every third pitch. But I'm an advocate of the Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan and Don Drysdale pitch mentality... if you dare dig in on me, I will put one in your ear and your ass in the dirt.

Sadly, pitchers don't pitch anymore. They just throw.

I too like the cajuns and also agree that they are interchangeable. It's about time that Piniella finally gets clued in.

I think that Eric Patterson has the 'make things happen' mentality.Hitman, your homerun thread just made your lineup thread moot. You know, with the Cajuns.......are we looking for homers or homos? I'll admit, one is a 'riot', and the other is 'fun to know', but they are both a little light in the roundhouse. They are more suited for W-MLB.

Captain 'make things happen' just got a job de-tasseling, stuck

The Cajuns will be playing all year...Rex, on the other hand..will not..

leave the talent evaluating to me...

Anyone can hit 40 HRs at Wrigley? Then why don't they?

Get off of this myth that Wrigley Field is a bandbox and home of the cheap HR.
The dimensions down the lines are probably the longest in the majors, center field is still 400 feet away and having a 13-foot high wall negates the shorter power alleys.
Take a look at the ballparks around the league.
Most of the fences look to be no more than 8 feet high.
On top of that the wind blows in far more often then it blows out.

There are plenty of parks that are more suited for the long ball than Wrigley is.

Hitstreak..the Draft is next week....

start evaluating already....

lets hear it...

who should we take?

who are this years Hesters? Lil' Adrian Peterson Jrs (or as I will call him all year..APII)?

Come on lets go Mel...your on the clock!

culzie, not in this thread...but I will...Kiper has playdough barbershop hair...and for that alone...bleh

and I have never seen anyone with a burst like Hester's...except for maybe me back in the day when I was asleep and dreaming..

and if this thread is any indication...the answer to the question is No...Soriano is an All Star, tho...AND..It's still April

I disagree that the cajuns are interchangeable. IMO, Theriot is clearly head and shoulders above Fontenot in terms of being ready for the big leagues. Theriot reminds me of a young Ryne Sandburg. He's patient at the plate and gives you a solid at bat every time. He keeps his head in the game on defense and on the bases and rarely makes a mistake. He seems to be a team player that doesn't get wrapped up in personal glory. I think with the right coaching, this could be his break-out year. Fontenot seems likely to continue struggling before getting sent down to the minors. You don't see silly baserunning mistakes like Fontenot made yesterday from The Riot. If the game is on the line, are you really just as comfortable with Fontenot at the plate as Theriot?

Hitman..your a one trick poney...

Mendenhal..Mendenhal...

is that all you got?