Neil - great pre-game summary! Thank you.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Hill pitches in this game. Will he shake off the ST cobwebs? Will he dominate? Will we see Lieber for the first time?

Innuendos and Outuendos: Hoffpauir, injured and reportedly out for a few weeks, is a heartbreaker. Micah just keeps getting screwed over by fate.

Shawn and Brian remind us on the podcast that Soriano will hit, and that his critics should back off. We all agree he will hit--especially when batting leadoff, and that's good enough for me. The criticism is directed toward taking time off from the hustle plays. Whomever does that and can't be ready to play from the first inning on needs to be reminded that we want to win this year and be playing in October.

For future reference, Burnett shut out the Yanks for 6 innings giving up 3 hits. He did allow a 2 run HR in the 7th to ARod--but was the winning pitcher.

If the Cubs can score 5 or 6 today, we win. I look for Hill to give up 3 or 4 runs in 5 + innings.

I was looking at Tejada's stats on ESPN and it shows a batting average of .200 and an OBP of .188 so far this year. I looked at his stats on CBS Sportsline also and it showed the same.

Can some one help me, I don't see how you can have an OBP lower than your batting average. Maybe trying to stretch a single into a double and getting thrown out?

Brian & Shaun - nice podcast this morning. Very funny.

I'm ready for a Friday win. Which hopefully will lead to a Saturday and Sunday win....

Today's lineup is the same as Thursday.

Soriano
Theriot
Lee
Ramirez
Fukudome
DeRosa
Soto
Pie
Hill

Hill's curveball looks good early

I think we may lead the league in hit batsmen already.

Nice handstand clown.

Fukudome, the man is a machine.

I feel good with Hill on the mound. Even with that slight jam.

Yea, he hasn't looked too bad at all, now lets get teh offense going.

These walks are gonna kill us though..

Dang it, those damn walks just kill, now it is time for the offense to get moving.

Nice catch. Dammit.

1 freakin hit, at least Fukudome is coming up soon.

Only 4 games in, but the Cubs are 5th from bottom in MLB in batting average (.201)

.067, .188, .188 -- Soriano, Theriot, Lee

Where is the offense?

Hill has a good outing, we need to get him some runs.

Man, you can't tell me Sampson is better than Bush.

The story of Hill's Cub tenure, Nick.

Fukudome is wasted in the 5 hole. He has decent speed too... He should be hitting 2nd... Slot Theriot in front of Pie 7 and 8... If they click they click, if not who cares..

That is very true Matt. Maybe the stro's will bring in a reliever soon.

I wouldnt mind seeing Aramis face Francisco Cordero. =)

Lou will change things up.

Gotta do something here Soto.

"ALRIGHT! Nice going Soto!" - Ron Santo

Beautiful!!

YEAH SOTO!!! BRAND NEW BALL GAME!!!

Go Cubbies!!!

GEO!

SOTO!

GEO!

SOTO!

Yeh, Lou should do something. Like K-Fuk near the top of the order and table set for the big guns.

There we go, now let's keep it going now!!

Matt....right there with you.

SOTO!!!

Wow? Really?

Soriano deserves to be benched on that one much akin to the Billy Martin/Reggie Jackson gig. No excuses.

This whole ordeal is on Soriano.

Nothing better than giving it right back

that was a real crappy fielding effort by Soriano there...

ARRRGGGGGG!!!!
Well, today would be a great day for Soriano to hit is first HR.

Im a Soriano guy, but today would be a good day to let Soriano sit out the rest of the game.

That was hideous. Ugly.

After the first games, is it as obvious to everyone (INCLUDING JIM HENDRY) that this team needs Brian Roberts? We don't have a catalyst, except Fukudome, and this is the exact reason we lost the D'Backs.

Cordero signed with the Reds, not the Stros. My bad. =)

Damn..

...So put Soriano in a position where hes apt to make another blunder.

Okay, Lou.

Chad....I agree 110%.

Let's here from those Soriano supporters/fans today. That truly had to be one of the worst defensive efforts that we've seen in a long time. Pretty good for $14 million. Geez!

The offense was what killed us last year, and its starting off in the same vein.

1 single addition was made in the off-season -- Fukudome --

Jim Hendry is a doofus

Sori was plain Sorry. No arguments here.

I want to see Sori benched tomorrow. I dont like seeing goofs like that in LF.

Im typically a Soriano fan, but even I have to admit. He is playing like a rookie lately. Swinging at everything, that "play" off the wall......
Im really beginning to think that we could use a spark. Especially if that spark's initials are B.R.

Im typically a Soriano fan, but even I have to admit. He is playing like a rookie lately. Swinging at everything, that "play" off the wall......
Im really beginning to think that we could use a spark. Especially if that spark's initials are B.R.

Whoever was the poster that recently got crucified for suggesting a Roberts for Soriano deal (and then move DeRosa to left). I'd take that deal in a heartbeat (4 games or not into the season). 7 more years of Soriano??? Yikes!

I don't post often, but I'm amazed at the Soriano supporters on this site. I believe he had 30 HR's with just a total of 70 some RBI's. The guy can't hit with runners on...and as we've seen, he's now in "doggin' it" mode in the field. This is the same reputation he got in all the prior places.

While only 4 games into the season, the tone has been set by this guy, who now has almost $100m left on a contract. We all know that the leadoff man needs to be the table setter, momentum grabber, and energy spark. Truly, what do you Soriano fans see in this guy (without building your defense on last September). C'mon. While DeRosa made the initial error blunder (but atleast hit the HR to somewhat atone), Soriano wasn't even close to touching that ball, and then jogged to the wall. This is the problem the Cubs have every year...they can never beat up on the bottom tier clubs.

Fundamentally pathetic, with a head-case in left. Move DeRosa to left, and bring Patterson up/or let Fontenot play. A clear message needs to be sent to our megamillion mistake named Soriano.

I hope the Cubs don't give up on Pie. Like i've said before Pedroia was horrible last year in April and into May but ended up rookie of the year and a big part of a World Series. However I don't like the fact that Soriano is his mentor. Please somebody start having him hang with DeLee! Sori was horrible today and I really wish they could trade him for BR.
Also PLEASE put Fukudome in the 2 hole!!!!!

I too am a Soriano supporter, and I agree Soriano played a horrible game today.

I agree with everyone that says Fukudome needs to be 2nd in the lineup. Please, Please, Please, Sweet Lou Can we see a lineup of
Soriano
Fukudome
Lee
Ramirez
DeRosa
Soto
Pie
Theriot

Kids enjoy your deeply flawed Soriano. He's yours for the next seven years...long after Gentleman Jim and the Tribune are gone. I shouldn't be so harsh, he probably can be traded (if the Cubs eat about 10mm a year) for a few low A prospects. The Cubs could also just eat the 10mm a year and accept the poor defense... bat him sixth and be done with it. He does have freaky Guerro like hot streaks.

This isn't the only problem...how about your so called big guns Lee and Ramirez who don't scare anyone. Pie should be left alone for six weeks. Right or wrong they've decided to go with him. If he shows nothing by then he can't continue to be a hole at the end of the order.

So obviously jw you are not a Cubs fan.

That was ugly and the players should be embarressed for the way they have started the season. Only exception is one of my new fav's Fukudome. Losing to Sampson is inexcuseable. The guy went 7-8 and 4.59 era. with a .299 BA. last year. Honestly, 2 runs is all we get. I am so sick and tired of watching these guys come out dead and have to wait 3 weeks for them to start playing some baseball. We have faced ONE good pitcher so far.

man, as much as I love the Cubs....I love good baseball even more....and good baseball is not the Cubs game right now. Soriano embarrassed the entire organization with his effort today. That was pathetic. Yes, Tejada would've been at second....maybe...or maybe he would've been thrown out by Soriano's good arm. But watching him dog after the ball after it got by, and watching DeRosa boot that routine ground ball, totally made me queazy and made me long for a trade.

I caught highlights of the Brewers game, and while it was against the Giants....man, you gotta love that team and all the homegrown talent: Braun, Hardy, Hall, Weeks, Fielder, Hart, Braun, Gwynn, Sheets, etc. WOW!!! Pretty much all their position players have excellent OBP's as well, and power to boot.

We have aging superstars....big deal. We have aging and ineffective pitchers.....

I'm going to pose an unpopular solution (or perhaps it is popular, who knows?)

1) trade Soriano, and get all we can get in return, especially starting pitching and an OF power prospect

2) option Fontenot to the minors, put Theriot on the bench, and give Cedeno every opportunity (30 -40 straight games of starting) to prove us all wrong

3) trade for Roberts, send DeRosa to bench as utility or trade him, and call up Eric Patterson

4) do NOT give up on Pie...have him work overtime with Joshua (if we can get him to come in town on occasion from Iowa) on shortening his swing, and put Reed Johnson in if he struggles mightily

5) trade Marquis for whatever you can get, transfer Lieber to the rotation, and bring up Petrick to the pen

6) look into what we can get for Howry and possibly Eyre if he gets healthy, and see how much interest other teams have in Lilly. See if we can get a groundball pitcher to replace Lilly, as his fastball has lost a lot of life this year, and he's been hit extremely hard. Replace him with Gallagher or Hart, as Hart throws a lot of ground balls.

****I just want to make sure you all realize this, as I also overlooked it....While Soriano had a HUGE September, he was also a MAJOR reason why we sucked so bad to begin the season last year, and why we're sucking again.
******Also, when we started bringing up guys from the minors, it DIRECTLY impacted our performance on the field, and pressured the veterans to play better or be benched in favor of the young guys. Guys like Fontenot, Hart, Petrick, Soto, Marshall, etc. really pushed the other guys to perform better, and we saw the improvement firsthand. But let's keep in mind that it was NOT because of our veterans...it was in SPITE of the veterans.

I think if this continues, we'll definitely see Piniella make some changes. If Hoffpauir starts well, I think we'll see him soon. If Patterson continues to improve, we'll probably see him. If Lilly struggles, and Veal starts off well, we'll probably see him, and I feel he'll really turn some heads. If Marquis is traded, or struggles, we'll probably see Gallagher or Hart in the rotation, or even Lieber. If Pie struggles big time, we'll probably see Eric Patterson in his place.

I just pray that we start to see a lot more power out of our system this year. I really hope that Harvey turns the corner and makes the organization realize why they drafted him in the first round, because other than Harvey and Hoffpauir, we have NOTHING in terms of extra base power in the minors, and that's pathetic..

Yes, I know the Tigers are struggling big time this year with an ass load of talent on their team, but it doesn't make a difference to me. We have the players, we have the coaching staff, and we have a better playing surface this year...there's no reason why we should be playing this poorly.

One more thing, as I've said this numerous times before-----Almost all of the recent World Series champs have had an element of young, homegrown talent to their deep runs in the playoffs. I believe a lot of it has to do with other teams not having scouting reports on these guys (Soto, Murton, Cedeno, Fontenot, Marshall, Hill, Hart----ring a bell, anyone?). I believe that my suggestion would vault us very deep into the playoffs. Soto was basically our only offense in last year's playoffs. Correlation? If I recall correctly, Hill had one of our best starts in the series as well. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I believe there's always a correlation with pitchers switching leagues as well....and even hitters as well. Usually, they'll have great success in their first year, then a drop-off when team's have more complete scouting reports on them.

Soriano had HUGE success in Washington, and arguably the best season of his career there...In his sophomore season in the NL, he came back to earth when teams figured out that you could pitch him like Sosa in the day, throwing 55 foot curveballs in the dirt, and outside, and have him swing wildly. They've figured that DeRosa almost always swings at the first pitch, so they throw it out of the zone. They've figured out that Lilly likes to nibble, and if you're patient with him, you'll hammer him. They've figured that Lee expands his zone when he's down in the count, so they throw him a first pitch strike, knowing that he almost always takes.....which is precisely the same strategy teams used with the definition of first-pitch taker---Frank Thomas, a few years back, and greatly affected his stats.

It's not rocket science...teams just have us figured out...which is precisely why you don't get free swinging, high strikeout guys, hoping you can turn them into patient hitters. You have to develop their patience in the minors, which is why homegrown talent is so effective.

The issue surrounding Soriano is the contract (that candidly we gave). And from my perspective, no athlete should receive anywhere near an 8 year duration. Not A-Rod, not Soriano, because once you do that, expectations (as they should) become sky high...and there's no way Soriano will live up to that since he just doesn't have that leadership makeup. He's not a Michael Jordan or Urlacher who will lift the team on their shoulder and "will" the team to victory...or atleast leave nothing on the table in trying.

So this is really "shame on Cubs management". While the market I know dictates moves like Soriano, the escape route becomes somewhat prohibitive.

Overall, you can live with 1-3 if the team played with heart and purpose. How can a team be so bad fundamentally so early....again!

Aaron, this group will probably crush you because many maintain this "win now with the vets" mentality. Though Hoffpauer is now on the shelf for several weeks, I like your thought process. This teams needs to get an uncomfortable message early on, and moves may need to get made earlier than any of us ever would like.

And, Kevin, I couldn't have said it better. Very well stated.

You look at the Royals, Rays, and Brewers and they play with youth, hustle and energy...with some of the lowest payrolls out there. While they likely won't win pennants this year, you gotta love the way these teams play...and you love watching great effort (regardless of the outcomes).

Candidly the best franchise is the Red Sox who under Epstein's own youth has learned the proper balance between "team" veterans and the injection of youth to build the right formula for success.

So for the Cubs,

Derrick Lee is lost and clearly has lost his bat speed from 2 years ago.
Aramis is seeing little to hit
Soriano is overpaid and lazy, and playing as such
Howry continues to plague the team with his lack of pre-spring preparation

But you gotta love Soto and Marmol!! Bring more kids!

I did not get to see the game. Could someone please explain what Sori did to piss off the entire Cubs nation.

I was early criticising Soriano, and took some heat. Now, after S has embarassed himself two days running (at least) I offer an unexpected idea. S is going to start fielding the ball and hustling for three reasons. He has embarassed himself (the most important one), Lou will rip him a new bodily opening if he doesn't play the game at a high level and the usually quiet D. Lee and Aram (hopefully) have had enough.

S has a lot of Barry in him. He plays for "Me" and not "Us". "Me" now sees that S/Me has been stinking up the joint, and he will be something close to a consistently strong performer going ahead--because it's required to be a "Me" and S has the tools to perform very well.

We likely lost some momementum/sense of responsibility when we added "Star 3" to our complementary field-position-twosome of D. Lee and Aram. Lee, especially, shows some signs of deferring to Soriano and thus performing below his capabilities--even with his injury and his daughter's health issues. I look for both Lee and Aram to step up on the field and in the clubhouse to convince Soriano that He Ain't the Alpha Dog in Our Pack. He'll get the point that he is not to disrespect the game and his teammates.

And yes, we would be a better team with Roberts in the mix--probably batting second behind the "new Alphonso".

The one guy missing from this picture is Jim Hendry...

To me, outside of Brian Sabean and a few others, is the most incompetant imbecile out there.....

He realized the huge heat that him and Dusty were under after the 2006 season. Dusty got canned (rightly so!) and he realized that he had to do something to make amends.....

Think... Think... Why would the New York Yankees, the most successful sports franchise in the world, get rid of Soriano to developer Robinson Cano????

I truly think, that Hendry is a total moron.. Yes, A-Ram and D. Lee have done enough to titillate Cub fans... but the average cub fans giddiness threshold is very low...

but the rest of the moves, JJ, Randall Simon, the faith in HEE SOP CHOI and some guy called DUBOIS

and PIE... good god.. this guy looks like a Corey Patterson re-incarnate, with LESS SPEED and LESS POWER.

JimK,

You were right on before, but you regressed...Why?

Are you the eternal optimist Cubs fan that we all have been/still are?

I don't get the love fest. I was on board with the Soriano signing at the time, simply because he was the best out there...But the "best" out there is not necessarily the "right" fit. In September of last year, I was in love with the Soriano signing, but for too much of the year he was non-existent. I don't even think Albert Pujols makes as much as he does, and his OBP is 80 points higher than Soriano's. WOW!!!!!! Even though I hate Barry Bonds, I'd much rather have him than Soriano right now.

I think it's a tragedy that the Cubs' marketing brass has brainwashed us all into buying into the "star power" thing that we fail to realize the "good fit" thing.

Everyone loves to hate on Dunn for the strikeouts, but look at how many times he gets on base----he averages a .400 clip (.381 career to be exact) This year, he's at .417, and guess what his average is? .125....And Soriano? He's sitting at a....errrr...robust.... .143 OBP.........hmmmmmm. So what this means is Dunn gives his team a lot more RBI, and more importantly---opportunities to win than Soriano does, and Soriano is the table setter. His career OBP is .326 Juan Pierre isn't an effective lead-off man, and lost his job in LA, because of his OBP deficiencies. His OBP average is .348, but only 3 of 8 seasons have been above .330 OBP, and the last 3 seasons he's regressed considerably.

Our answer to Soriano's OBP deficiencies apparently is Theriot's .326 OBP.....

IN case most of you aren't mathemeticians, here's how important 5-6% more on a OBP is:

.326 vs .380 is equal to approximately 38 more times on base, which could potentially be equal to 25% more runs than you would've scored.

Everyone, including ESPN and other media outlets are decrying how deficient we are at scoring runs...on here, it's how little we score with Hill on the mound....Imagine two more guys that get on base at a .380 clip, and we could potentially score 50% more runs. Obviously, it's improbable that EVERY time you get on base, you score, but hopefully you get the picture.

My recommendation would be to trade Soriano at the deadline for a starting pitcher and power prospects, then, in the off-season, or in the improbable situation that Dunn is available at the deadline---you go after him to fill LF. If that happens, we'd have Dunn, ARAM, Lee, and Fukodome that'd be pushing .370 OBP and higher

Anyway, that's the scientific, and probably most proven way of solving our problems, but as you all know, Cubs' management is highly inept when it comes to logic and what it takes to win championships.

good point Aaron..

fact of the matter is -- our farm system is like the worst in the country...

Felix Pie, Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot -- these are our position playing prospects...

lets compare them to some other farm hands -- Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia here in Boston, Robinson Cano, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Tulowitzki, Holliday, Braun, Fielder, Alex Rios, Stephen Drew, Rusell Martin, Brian Mcann, Jeff Francouer, Josh Hamilton.......

and we got Theriot, Fontenot and Pie? -- Are you kidding? Our guys would never be mentioned on the same page as those guys I mentioned above and many others...

All this proves is that Hendry is a dolt.. Outside of Marmol and MAYBE Rich Hill -- I cannot think of a single prospect that has proven to be top-notch...