You'd think I would have learned by now
Randy Wells pitched BRILLIANTLY tonight. No hitter through 6 2/3, supremely efficient in getting outs, and he left in the 8th leading 5-1. A Marmol/Gregg meltdown later, it's 5-5 going into extras. I swear, I called the Gregg Meltdown before he even came into the game. Alfon-frickin-seca the second. El Pulpo Dos. In fact, I like that. I think I'll call him Papadeux from here on out. Son of a bitch.
This Cubs team gives frustrating a new name. I think they'd be OK if everyone just pulled their heads out of their asses and played the way they're "supposed" to play. I'm thinking Bradley, Soto, Lee, Soriano and even Fontenot. I'm not sure if I like the new Theriot, the one that hits for power. I like the old one that hit .310 with a .380 OBP and no pop better. At least at the top of the lineup. The new one pops up or hits into DPs before you can say boo.
I'm probably most upset with Soto and Bradley, who of course came up lame tonight. Lee's decline we saw coming for a while, and Soriano's mind-numbing slumps are to be expected. Not too shocking that Fontenot hasn't kept up his excellent pace as a starter, either. What is shocking is Soto turning into Rick Wilkins overnight. I mean, what the hell? Could he really be a one-year flameout like Wilkins? His arm is garbage, too. And I figured Bradley would miss a bunch of games to injury or suspension, but I also figured he'd rake when he was in the lineup to a tune of .300/.400/.500, at a minimum (which, even that, is worse than what he did in all three categories in the AL last year). And don't give me the "it's early" crap. It's freaking June.
What to do to "fix" them? Well, first off, I'd say get Aramis healthy. Not much they can do about that now, though, as I guess that won't happen until July. Then I'd say give Soriano a day or two off to clear his head. Throw Hoff or Fox out there and maybe Sori can shake the stink off and come back hot. He's less than useless right now. Lee has showed some signs, so keep trotting him out there. If he reverts to April form, though, give Hoff some starts at first.
There's also the option of trying Sori at second and going with Fox/Hoff in left to boost the lineup. No doubt the lineup would be much stronger, but the Sori's D and Fox's D would be so horrible as to probably offset any gain with the bat. Worth a look, though.
Is there anything out there that they can trade for? I'm not so sure. I will say this, though. I wish they signed Orlando Hudson in the offseason, who I was interested in. Or kept DeRosa, of course. He would have made the Aramis loss sting a lot less.
Again, why do I bother?