Alfonso Soriano now will take his cuts from the No. 3 spot in the batting order.
OK, this is what you've all been waiting for, right? Seems "Sweet Lou" finally has wised up and decided to move Alfonso Soriano out of the leadoff spot.Partly due to Milton Bradley's injuries and ineffectiveness, the Cubs have been lacking punch in the middle of the lineup. So Piniella decided Friday to slide Soriano down to the No. 3 spot in the batting order (for the first time since a brief stay there in May of 2007), with Aramis Ramirez hitting cleanup and struggling Derrek Lee moving down to the fifth slot.
Ramirez proceeded to strain his left calf during a 4-3 loss in St. Louis, removing another big bat from the middle of the order (he is listed as day-to-day).
How did the new lineup look Friday? Not so hot. Ryan Theriot went 0-for-5 as the new leadoff man, hitting into a double play with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh inning, and flying out to center with the tying run on first to end the game. Soriano went 1-for-4, stroking a double when -- perhaps not coincidentally -- he led off in the eighth inning.
On Saturday, Soriano went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, ending his 10-game hitting streak. More telling, he left three runners on base and is now 0-for-13 batting with runners in scoring position. Theriot went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .344, but the Cubs' offense sputtered again in an 8-2 loss to the Cardinals. They have lost four straight games to fall to 8-8 and scored only six runs in those four losses.
The Soriano move clearly makes sense on paper, but the big question is how will he take to hitting third? A notorious free-swinger, Soriano loved the leadoff spot because he saw a lot of fastballs. Hitting in the No. 3 hole (ideally with men on base), Soriano figures to see more breaking balls and will be expected to work deeper into the count, rather than hacking away at the first decent pitch he sees.
''Whatever they want to do to try to make the team better, I'm open,'' Soriano told reporters Friday. ''The lineup looks good like that, so we'll see. It depends if we win.''
Soriano is off to a hot start, and the big risk is that moving him down in the order will throw him off. But given the Cubs' injuries and difficulties scoring runs, did Lou have any other choice?
Presuming Piniella sticks with the new battting order for more than just a few games, how do you think moving Soriano out of the leadoff spot will turn out?
Cubs fans I need your help!!! I am befuddled, confused and unable to come up with answers to the questions I will pose to you in this blog.......somebody please help!! Why didn't the Cubs try to sign Orlando Hudson? Why didn't the Cubs attempt to trade for a left-handed hitting center fielder ala Nate McClouth? They sure could have gotten Hudson and McClouth for less money than they signed Milton Bradley for, they wouldn't have needed Aaron Miles, Fukodome could be in right field where he belongs and they could have used the money they would have saved here to make a serious run at Jake Peavy. Even as a DH Bradley has never played in more than 140 games in any season which leaves no reason to believe that in the NL where there is no DH, he would be in the line-up more than he would be out of the line-up. Last year the Cubs did not have a left-handed reliever with any ability in the bullpen. Why is that situation exactly the same this year? Why haven't the Cubs tried to move Derrick Lee and let Micah play first base. The offensive stats of D-Lee continue to deteriorate with each passing season so move him while you can still get some value in return. There are plenty of holes that need filling.....a catcher that cannot throw, no clear cut starting 2nd baseman, a starting center fielder that is better suited for a corner outfield spot, a shortstop that is only adequate defensively, an average at best closer and lots of issues in middle relief. Sorry, folks, but this is not a good team, has not improved over last year and I really don't think the Cubs' GM has any concept of evaluating player talent...he has thrown a ton of money at Soriano, Fukodome and Bradley, to name a few and has gotten little if any return on those investments......Thank you for your responses and observations.
Soriano will be back in the leadoff spot where he belongs before long. Loved it that in the 8th, we had Sori/Miles/Lee coming up looking very much like a 1/2/3 order. The Cubs have much more punch when we have Soriano coming up after the bottom of the lineup. The old conventional wisdom is to have a Juan Pierre-type of leadoff man who bunts, steals, bloops, maybe even walks, but rarely stands in and rips a shot. The season we had Pierre atop the lineup was a boring disaster. Here's an idea: let's put Joey Gathright in the leadoff role. He can run. He can't hit a lick and had the worst power stats in the past 98 seasons last year, but he "looks" like a leadoff man. How he has a space on a major league roster baffles me.
With this particular lineup, Soriano belongs in the leadoff spot. It's not like him leading off has been the problem this season. Before Aramis Ramirez got hurt last night, I've always felt that he should be the one hitting at #3, not Derrek Lee. He is by far, the best clutch hitter on the team. The 3 guys who have disappointed the most this season so far have been Lee, Soto and Fontenot. If Lee's struggles continue at the plate, I would consider platooning him with Hoffpauir. The problem with Theriot leading off is that he doesn't take enough walks/pitches. Plus, he's mostly a "singles" hitter and he doesn't steal a whole lot of bases because he's not exactly the smartest baserunner either in terms of wreaking havoc on the basepaths. Man, Brian Roberts would have been nice to have on this team because the Fontenot/Miles experiment hasn't been good, but I understand he carried a high price tag. Bottom line with Soriano though, keep him in the leadoff spot. He's absolutely horrible hitting with runners in scoring position.
Come on Edgar, Theriot is much more suitable hitting leadoff than Soriano. Theriot doesn't take enough walks? He had 30 more than Soriano last year! Sure, he may not be the best baserunner, but don't criticize him for not stealing many bases because he still stole more than Soriano did. Soriano isn't the prolific basestealer he used to be in Texas and Washington, where he was a legit 40/40 threat every year. Now he steals less than 20 every year, yet Lou puts him in leadoff simply because of what he used to do.
Regardless of speed, bunting ability, etc., the job of a leadoff hitter is to get on base. Therefore, On Base Percentage is the most important stat. Theriot's was significantly higher last year than Soriano's. Not to mention the fact that Soriano whiffs many more times than he walks, unlike Theriot.
I'm not saying that Theriot is a great leadoff man, because he's not. He's best in the two hole. But Soriano is NOT a leadoff hitter. Theriot is the best option until a better one comes around.
None of this matters.
When I said that if the Cubs had a couple pitchers and a couple of key hitters injured or have an off year then a team like like the Cardinals can step right in and win this division I was called crazy.
Just a bitter White Sox fan hating on the Cubs and wishing the worst on the beloved Cubbies.
The regular season was just a waste of time and we should all just move right to the post season and get it over with.
After all... this was going to be a "special" season. Someone even worte a song for it and everyone knows that this is the kind of stuff that puts you in the World Series.
Songs and banners and really cute t-shirts.... this is what makes the difference.
Not actual baseball games played between April and September right?
Prodigy, yeah Theriot may have more walks than Soriano, but the point was Theriot in general doesn't take walks very well for a prototypical leadoff hitter and yes, Soriano is not that guy either, but the point with him is that leadoff slot is where Soriano hits best, get it? Soriano can't hit anywhere else in the lineup. You can't bat him second, third, fourth... maybe fifth, but even then, he's a poor hitter anywhere else but leadoff. He's just not flexible so you gotta play him to his strengths, at leadoff.
Now he's back as lead off. Does it matter? The team still can't score more than a couple runs a game. Shades of 2007. Mr. Bradley hasn't helped too much yet but the season's still early. And Edgar, how about Milton being included as a big disappointment so far or was he signed with the full knowledge that he'd still be a divisive head case, out every day with one ailment or another and contribute next to nothing?
Garry, give me a few weeks more after Milton finally heals up and gets back into the lineup consistently and then I'll see if I can include him on the disappointing list, but outside of injuries, I'm talking about the guys who have been playing regularly since the season started. I know Soto missed a couple of games, but he's been in there for almost 2 weeks now and still hasn't broken out of his slump. The bullpen relief corps have also been horrible, but even dating back to the Winter meetings before Spring Training started, I wrote down that the Cubs didn't address their need for a solid left handed reliever and that's killing us right now. You know what though, I don't know man. I know it's early early early, but before you know it, it's already June and then the team might be 10+ games out of first. I think there a lot of concerns here. It's not panic time yet, but that "it's early in the season" excuse won't hold much water that much longer. We'll see.