Cubs in early season crossroads

[Ivy Walls]

Pie is called up, shows he belongs can and will develop offensively, and play better OF defense than anyone on the team.

 

Theriot is earning a spot in the lineup, the question is where? I say it is SS as Cedeno needs work on his plate discipline. Although I do see improvement on defense. Izturis is the utility man.

 

Soriano is hurt and this could be either a good thing or deepening thing.

 

Floyd is an offensive player but is not everyday...

 

SP: Lilly is good, Hill is very good, Marquis is quieting critics, Z is Z and Miller is on borrowed times....I see Guzman in 3 starts in pinstripes, followed by Marmol being brought up to replace the other weak links

 

A spring April trade is in order for the Cubs as Toronto is willing and needing. It will be interesting as the Cubs could acquire Zaun the switch hitting 36 year old catcher and another prospect for Jones and Ohman from the Blue Jays

 

Relief is okay...

[seanimal]

A spring April trade is in order for the Cubs as Toronto is willing and needing. It will be interesting as the Cubs could acquire Zaun the switch hitting 36 year old catcher and another prospect for Jones and Ohman from the Blue Jays

 

Eww, I think we can do without Zaun. Any other trade that gets rid of Jones sounds good to me.

 

Though, I wouldn't really consider us at a crossroads.

[tkenm356]

We should've hocked off Jones and a prospect off to Pittsburgh when they needed a left handed hitting right fielder when we had the chance

[d_money]

A spring April trade is in order for the Cubs as Toronto is willing and needing. It will be interesting as the Cubs could acquire Zaun the switch hitting 36 year old catcher and another prospect for Jones and Ohman from the Blue Jays

 

Eww, I think we can do without Zaun. Any other trade that gets rid of Jones sounds good to me.

 

Though, I wouldn't really consider us at a crossroads.

 

I don't understand why we would want Zaun if we already have 2 catchers? Whats the reason we get Zaun? The double ZZ battery of Zambrano/Zaun?

[YearofDaCubs]

What in the world would we do with Zaun? No thanks if anything get decent prospect(s).

[rynefan]

I'm glad Aram is back. This team is a mess right now. Today's game made me sick.

[hitamprun]

If Pie shows he can hit major league pitching over the next week or so, it could be interesting what Hendry does.

 

Piniella said it a few days ago, and I agree, this team was not built for cold weather and the wind blowing in. They would have won this game easily on any other day, and it would be nice to have a little more speed in the attack which I think Pie could provide, as long as he hits decently.

 

This team will do some damage over the summer months, but if they were to make the playoffs, you need a little more offensive versatility.

[98navigator]

The thing I don't get is platooning Barrett in LF (as described in Transactions)

 

If the Cubs were to acquire another catcher, it would seem to signal that Barrett will be allowed to leave via free agency.

 

It would cause a log jam at catcher and the OF.

[bobbyd20]

We should've hocked off Jones and a prospect off to Pittsburgh when they needed a left handed hitting right fielder when we had the chance

 

We should have only signed Jones to a one-year deal back in the winter of '06.

[Abe Frohman]

Something has to give.

 

Theriot and Pie are going to make the Cubs a better team. I would like to see how it would work with Theriot at SS. I do like Floyd's bat as I think it will juice up the lineup with a MUCH needed power stick from the left side. I am not opposed to moving Soriano back to 2B to keep our outfield kinda the way it is.

 

CF Pie

SS Theriot

1B Lee

3B Ramirez

LF Floyd/Murton

2B Soriano

RF Jones/DeRosa

CA Barrett

 

That's a freaking winning lineup, my friends.

[liekomgj4ck]

Something has to give.

 

Theriot and Pie are going to make the Cubs a better team. I would like to see how it would work with Theriot at SS. I do like Floyd's bat as I think it will juice up the lineup with a MUCH needed power stick from the left side. I am not opposed to moving Soriano back to 2B to keep our outfield kinda the way it is.

 

CF Pie

SS Theriot

1B Lee

3B Ramirez

LF Floyd/Murton

2B Soriano

RF Jones/DeRosa

CA Barrett

 

That's a freaking winning lineup, my friends.

 

oh yeah this is our year, world series baby :roll:

[OleMissCub]

Something has to give.

 

Theriot and Pie are going to make the Cubs a better team. I would like to see how it would work with Theriot at SS. I do like Floyd's bat as I think it will juice up the lineup with a MUCH needed power stick from the left side. I am not opposed to moving Soriano back to 2B to keep our outfield kinda the way it is.

 

CF Pie

SS Theriot

1B Lee

3B Ramirez

LF Floyd/Murton

2B Soriano

RF Jones/DeRosa

CA Barrett

 

That's a freaking winning lineup, my friends.

 

oh yeah this is our year, world series baby :roll:

 

your snark isn't necessary.

[seanimal]

Piniella said it a few days ago, and I agree, this team was not built for cold weather and the wind blowing in. They would have won this game easily on any other day, and it would be nice to have a little more speed in the attack which I think Pie could provide, as long as he hits decently.

 

If someone has pointed this out before, I missed it, but....

 

What kind of weather does Lou Piniella plan on playing in if the Cubs make the playoffs?

[A New Era]

It's obvious Piniella needs to find out what's working and who's contributing, and that we'll have to make some trades. Because we have a logjam.

 

Theroit should play every day. So far he has consistantly proven that he just gets hits and gets on base. However Izzy IS very good defensively at SS. Then you have the whole Pie ordeal. Pie if playing well should be cemented into CF. LF would be easier for Soriano as he's played there before. But the OF we all want to get rid of is Jones. But can Murton and Floyd share RF? That doesn't make RF very good defensively. We certainly have the sticks in the OF. But it's kind of hard to find the right combo. But Lou needs to do so, soon.

[CubColtPacer]

Piniella said it a few days ago, and I agree, this team was not built for cold weather and the wind blowing in. They would have won this game easily on any other day, and it would be nice to have a little more speed in the attack which I think Pie could provide, as long as he hits decently.

 

If someone has pointed this out before, I missed it, but....

 

What kind of weather does Lou Piniella plan on playing in if the Cubs make the playoffs?

 

The average temperature is higher in October than in April, and even more importantly the wind doesn't blow in nearly as much. That allows the Cubs power hitters to hit it out of the ballpark, rather than watching them blast the ball and then watch in blow back onto the field of play like they did multiple times yesterday.

[bukie]

I wake up every morning knowing that the Cubs are a light-hitting 36-year old catcher away from being a contender every year...

[seanimal]

It's obvious Piniella needs to find out what's working and who's contributing, and that we'll have to make some trades. Because we have a logjam.

 

Theroit should play every day. So far he has consistantly proven that he just gets hits and gets on base. However Izzy IS very good defensively at SS. Then you have the whole Pie ordeal. Pie if playing well should be cemented into CF. LF would be easier for Soriano as he's played there before. But the OF we all want to get rid of is Jones. But can Murton and Floyd share RF? That doesn't make RF very good defensively. We certainly have the sticks in the OF. But it's kind of hard to find the right combo. But Lou needs to do so, soon.

 

I agree. There is definately a conundrum of sorts in the OF. We have way too many players battling for at-bats out there, and something needs to be done. Theriot should play everyday. Pie, unless struggling Cedeno-style, should be out there everyday. I think where our opinions may diverge is whether or not Izzy should be our everyday starting SS. I think he shouldn't be. He should be our back-up/late-inning defensive replacement infielder. I'd like to see Theriot at SS, Pie in CF, Soriano in LF, and Murton/Floyd in RF. That limits your predicament to two players, Murton and Floyd. What Lou must figure out is whether Murton full-time would be better than a Murton/Floyd platoon. Something tells me he's not going to come to a definitive conclusion on this issue until sometime in October. That's how I see it anyway.

[Danny82]

We should've hocked off Jones and a prospect off to Pittsburgh when they needed a left handed hitting right fielder when we had the chance

 

We should have only signed Jones to a one-year deal back in the winter of '06.

 

Yes, I'm sure he would have signed to those terms.

[seanimal]

We should've hocked off Jones and a prospect off to Pittsburgh when they needed a left handed hitting right fielder when we had the chance

 

We should have only signed Jones to a one-year deal back in the winter of '06.

 

Yes, I'm sure he would have signed to those terms.

 

Exactly.

[Backtobanks]

We should've hocked off Jones and a prospect off to Pittsburgh when they needed a left handed hitting right fielder when we had the chance

 

We should have only signed Jones to a one-year deal back in the winter of '06.

 

Yes, I'm sure he would have signed to those terms.

 

Hindsight is always 20/20. Jones wouldn't have signed a one year deal, since he had better deals on the table. I'm sure Hendry looked at every opportunity to trade Jones and found all of the offers lacking. Before we offer Jones for the proverbial "bag of balls" because we have this glut of OFs, let's not forget that Floyd has a DL history matching Prior and Wood. Assuming Pie can hold his own in CF for the next week, I agree that a deal needs to be made and let Pie, Soriano, Murton, Floyd, DeRosa, and Theriot cover the OF situation.

[Brendan]

It's obvious Piniella needs to find out what's working and who's contributing, and that we'll have to make some trades. Because we have a logjam.

 

Theroit should play every day. So far he has consistantly proven that he just gets hits and gets on base. However Izzy IS very good defensively at SS. Then you have the whole Pie ordeal. Pie if playing well should be cemented into CF. LF would be easier for Soriano as he's played there before. But the OF we all want to get rid of is Jones. But can Murton and Floyd share RF? That doesn't make RF very good defensively. We certainly have the sticks in the OF. But it's kind of hard to find the right combo. But Lou needs to do so, soon.

 

i've only been able to watch 2 games this year, but from what i've gleaned from reading logs, he's not even living up that end of the deal. he's terrible.

[CubinNY]

In what world universe do the Cubs need Greg Zaun?

 

The Cubs not built for the cold? I've heard a lot of lame excuses for the Cubs sucking but that has to be at the top.

[NomarSammy]

I just posted this in another thread about Izzy defense. It has been very smooth and very good other than 1 game. Last night that play he made up the middle was terrific and turned into a DP that saved lord knows how many runs. You can argue him not being a good enough hitter to justify starting, but he is very good defensively and dont let just one game diminesh that. That is like saying Zambrano is not a good pitcher just because he blew up in one game and has not gotten off to the best start

[jersey cubs fan]

I just posted this in another thread about Izzy defense. It has been very smooth and very good other than 1 game. Last night that play he made up the middle was terrific and turned into a DP that saved lord knows how many runs. You can argue him not being a good enough hitter to justify starting, but he is very good defensively and dont let just one game diminesh that. That is like saying Zambrano is not a good pitcher just because he blew up in one game and has not gotten off to the best start

 

I've seen a lot more than one game where his reputation didn't really hold up.

[Chocolate Milk]

I just posted this in another thread about Izzy defense. It has been very smooth and very good other than 1 game. Last night that play he made up the middle was terrific and turned into a DP that saved lord knows how many runs. You can argue him not being a good enough hitter to justify starting, but he is very good defensively and dont let just one game diminesh that. That is like saying Zambrano is not a good pitcher just because he blew up in one game and has not gotten off to the best start

 

I've seen a lot more than one game where his reputation didn't really hold up.

 

Blowing a routine play yesterday that would have ended the inning comes to mind.