Cubs Staying Above Water
Well, this regular season ain't going exactly as expected, is it? I never thought they'd run away with it, of course, but its still a bit frustrating watching the team that won 97 games last year just tread water and look so...ordinary. Lets do a little Three up, Three down. (apologies to wherever I stole this concept from.)
Three Up
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Soriano - playing about as well as he can play. Near MVP level. I shudder to think where they'd be without him.
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Fukudome - playing as well as he did last April, which is All-Star. He started out a bit shaky in the field, but he's really turned it on of late and he's more than competent in Center now.
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Hoffpauir - he's done a nice job filling in, and with every passing day he makes Cubs fans wonder if they really need Derrek Lee. Too bad he can't play third.
Three Down
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Bullpen - Pretty much the whole thing sucks.
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Gregg - he's OK but he's no Kerry Wood, who was no Mariano Rivera. Average at best.
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Marmol - any time he wants to pull his head out of his ass would be fine with me. Dominant in spurts. Horrendous in others.
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Heilman - a couple of horrific appearances hides a few very nice performances. I think he can be pretty solid, but I still don't like the trade. The only worthwhile prospect they got from the Pie deal was sent, with Cedeno, for Heilman. Not good.
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Guzman - He's actually been pretty decent most of the time, and for two innings at a time even. Give the man a promotion!
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Cotts - blows. We need a real lefty.
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Patton - Ugh. Send this Rule 5 guy back to Cincy, or work out a deal and send blondy to the minors. He's not ready. Neither is Samardzija.
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Fox - I saw a headline on ESPN, "Fox done?" Are they serious? He was done in 2005. Why he's here now, I'll never know.
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Ascanio was called up today. He has OK stuff, I remember. Let's see if he's figured out how to pitch.
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Injuries:
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Zambrano - I don't mind that he got hurt beating out a bunt. That's what Carlos does. Hustle all the time.
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Aramis - got injured the exact same way as my dad back in 1987. Sinking liner. Dive. Dislocated shoulder. He probably didn't have to walk home from the park, though. Hopefully he recovers faster, too. My dad was out all summer.
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Lee - Honestly, it hurts to say this but we're doing just fine with Hoffpauir at first. No need to rush back, Derrek. Take your time. We need another true corner infielder on the roster, though.
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Bradley - he's back and starting to hit a little, finally. But he missed some time and the Cubs suffered for it. Not that him missing time was unexpected. His middle name is 15-day DL.
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Baserunning - Ryan Theriot has got some Jacque Jones in him. Ryan Freel, too, it seems. What is it about the Cubs that makes you forget how to run the bases as soon as you put on Cubbie blue? Incidentally, I like the Gathright-for-Freel trade. Freel's not an everyday player, but was pretty versatile and exciting on the Reds a few years ago. He can play anywhere, too. I bet he starts getting the majority of starts at third while Aramis is out. And really, I just can't believe anyone wanted Gathright!
The way I see it, I don't think there's anything wrong with the Cubs that can't be fixed. They just need to get healthy and find a solid reliever or two. Oh, and Geovanny Soto needs to really step up. He's been terrible. No sense belaboring the point. Till next time...