Alfonso Soriano Is Hurt (2-4 Weeks)

[Sammy Sofa]

Lou just said minimum 2 weeks, most likely a month.

 

Ouch! :!:

 

Yeah, I think this is a disaster. I do. This lineup is so severely underpowered now. It's incredible.

 

I think we'll start seeing the results in the W/L column at some point, sooner or later. And also, if they say Sori's out for a month, he'll probably barely make it back in for the end of September. That means he won't possibly be really ready for the playoffs if we did go.

 

This is huge IMO.

 

Is it? His hitting, especially for power, came in fits and spurts. This team, for better or for worse, has been mostly winning without a ton of home run power. I think the main key is still getting people on base out of the leadoff spot, and I don't think that's gonna be too difficult to beat THAT production from Soriano so long as they use Theriot and Murton or even Pie in the top 2 spots.

[rocket]

how come a good cubs season taking a nosedive always begins with the mets?

[BCVM22]

how come a good cubs season taking a nosedive always begins with the mets?

 

Because they're that one non-Central team that just comes in and destroys everything good about the Cubs. I hate them.

[IWU_CUBS_FAN]

you know i dont think this is as bad....if guys in front of lee and ramirez are input there with better OBP's i think you will see them , especially Lee, start to get really hot...it never seems that soriano is on anyways when Lee and Ram are up.

 

I think this could have been far worse losing any of Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, Lilly, or Marmol tonight.....

 

plus, they dont play the really tough teams until the end of the month...a lot of Astros, Reds, Cardinals to deal with

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

I see it as very bad. Anytime you lose your all-star left fielder and lead off hitter, it's not a good thing. Can the Cubs still win? I think so, but I'm curious to see who Lou is going to bat leadoff now.

[Lockes Eye Scar]

how come a good cubs season taking a nosedive always begins with the mets?

 

probably the Mets organization's pact with Satan

[ChiCubsFan]

you know i dont think this is as bad....if guys in front of lee and ramirez are input there with better OBP's i think you will see them , especially Lee, start to get really hot...it never seems that soriano is on anyways when Lee and Ram are up.

 

I think this could have been far worse losing any of Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, Lilly, or Marmol tonight.....

 

plus, they dont play the really tough teams until the end of the month...a lot of Astros, Reds, Cardinals to deal with

 

This is true. Losing just about any of the SPs or Lee/Ramirez would have hurt more. Maybe this will cause Hendry to panic and make a trade for Griffey, Dunn, or someone else that can hit.

[ChiCubsFan]

I see it as very bad. Anytime you lose your all-star left fielder and lead off hitter, it's not a good thing. Can the Cubs still win? I think so, but I'm curious to see who Lou is going to bat leadoff now.

 

Soriano isn't really that good of a leadoff hitter anyways. Losing him sucks, but sadly, it doesn't hurt as much as you would think losing a player making as much as he does would.

[rickrolled]

I just don't see Murton and/or Pie (if he's brought up) getting a lot of AB's with Sori out. I see a lot of Jacque, Floyd and Pagan being used in the OF which is going to lead to a lot of pathetic offensive performances.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

I see it as very bad. Anytime you lose your all-star left fielder and lead off hitter, it's not a good thing. Can the Cubs still win? I think so, but I'm curious to see who Lou is going to bat leadoff now.

 

Soriano isn't really that good of a leadoff hitter anyways. Losing him sucks, but sadly, it doesn't hurt as much as you would think losing a player making as much as he does would.

I know. It's just another hurdle the Cubs will have to clear while trying to win the central. I'm just in a bad mood about it all. Outside of Wood's inning tonight, there wasn't much to cheer for on the Cubs side, and the entire game had an ominous feel to it that was kind of frightening.

[AlwaysaCub]

you know i dont think this is as bad....if guys in front of lee and ramirez are input there with better OBP's i think you will see them , especially Lee, start to get really hot...it never seems that soriano is on anyways when Lee and Ram are up.

 

I think this could have been far worse losing any of Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, Lilly, or Marmol tonight.....

 

plus, they dont play the really tough teams until the end of the month...a lot of Astros, Reds, Cardinals to deal with

 

Yeah, but Soriano makes up practically a quarter of our power and we now only have two guys who are any threat to homer anymore in Ramirez and perhaps Lee. It takes an awful lot of singles every night to score enough to win.

[CubColtPacer]

With Sori being so hot and cold, losing him right now during the middle of a cold streak isn't so bad. Hopefully he can come back and start to hit another hot streak (as I believe he did the first time he was hurt). His numbers have been absolutely atrocious since the All-Star Break anyway, so the player who is going to replace him does not have large shoes to fill in that regard, and the offense has done well during that time even with Sori struggling.

 

If it is somebody like Murton that gets a majority of the starts with Soriano out, that would make this lineup have very little power, but the OBP in the lineup would be higher then I may have ever seen a Cubs lineup, especially with Jacque and Kendall being hot and providing very good OBP's at the bottom of the lineup to add to all the other guys who are known as good OBP guys (Lee, Ramirez, Murton, Floyd, Theriot, DeRosa probably are all 350 or above OBP guys (at least 340 or above) and if Jones and Kendall or even just one of them continues to join them-wow).

[NCCubFan]

Bad, yes. Devastating, no. It's not like Soriano has been the primary reason for the Cubs' recent surge. The other players just need to step it up a notch, and Lou needs to make the right moves by playing Pie or Muron (preferably both) rather than Pagan.

[OleMissCub]

Murton in left, Pie in center, DeRosa/Jacque in right, Fontenot/DeRosa at 2nd

 

I'm tired of seeing Cliff Floyd running like Barroid out there

[IWU_CUBS_FAN]

Bad, yes. Devastating, no. It's not like Soriano has been the primary reason for the Cubs' recent surge. The other players just need to step it up a notch, and Lou needs to make the right moves by playing Pie or Muron (preferably both) rather than Pagan.

i agree...i think we need pie big time because he is a defensive force....bat him low in the lineup and with kendall's bat comin around he can be like koyie hill in there...but in all seriousness...the cubs can hopefully play through this..especially with milwaukee goin on a road trip

[Flames24Rulz]

Murton in left, Pie in center, DeRosa/Jacque in right, Fontenot/DeRosa at 2nd

 

I'm tired of seeing Cliff Floyd running like Barroid out there

 

That's about as good as it will get.

[ConstableRabbit]

I'm beginning to think that either Lou is completely blind, or Murton did something to piss him off (I seriously think it's the latter).

 

Not starting tonight vs a lefty, then not getting put in when soriano gets hurt, then JJ comes in?

 

Lou just can't be that clueless. I can only hope that Soriano's injury gives Matt some more playing time.

[Andy]

Damn it. This is not what I needed.

 

Pie needs to come up and play CF everyday, or at least against RHPs. Floyd needs to be used less and Murton more. And it probably also means more Fontenot because DeRosa will play more outfield leaving a spot at 2B.

 

This won't kill us, but it sure as hell doesn't make it any easier.

[chuckywang]

Ewing Theory anyone?

[Guest]

Well, Soriano posted a .701 OPS in July, it's not like he's been great outside of his fantastic June. What the Cubs would miss is his potential to get hot and his ability to hit HRs, which the rest of the outfield lacks.

[OleMissCub]

Ewing Theory anyone?

 

Oh god I hope so.

[Brian]

What the Cubs would miss is his potential to get hot and his ability to hit HRs, which the rest of the outfield lacks.

 

One can only hope Pie gets called up and gets hot and stays hot

[Rob]

Just for a little bit of perspective...

 

Murton's 2nd half line last year - .319/.390/.522

Soriano's line this year - .296/.335/.511

 

If Murton inherited 100% of the playing time, there's a decent enough chance it could actually help our team.

[inari]

Ouch. Not much else to say then that. I know Soriano is massively overrated, but I doubt we'll survive his loss.

[Alfonso Soriano]

Alfonso will miss 2-4 weeks

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs star left fielder Alfonso Soriano strained his right quadriceps during Sunday's 8-3 loss to the New York Mets and will be sidelined two-to-four weeks, a major loss for a team trying to make the playoffs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2962552