Soriano to DL-fracture of the left metacarpal

[Little Slide Rooter]

The Cubs will use Reed Johnson in left and could call up some players from Triple-A.

 

This according to the CBS.Sportsline article. But I think they can change the "could" to "will."

 

 

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20080611_ATL@CHC

 

You cant have a full time starter who cant hit righties.

[CubColtPacer]

It sounds like they're going to call up two players:

 

The team was expected to call up outfielder Micah Hoffpauir from Triple-A Iowa to take Soriano's spot on the roster, and will likely add another player this weekend for the Interleague series in Toronto, rather than continue to carry 13 pitchers.

 

"We'll probably have to get two kids up here now," Piniella said.

 

We will see on the Reed Johnson thing. My only worry on that is that if Lou doesn't feel comfortable putting Theriot in the leadoff spot, he'll make sure that Reed Johnson or Fontenot are in there everyday to fill that spot. That won't be quite so bad if Fontenot leads off against right-handers and Johnson leads off playing CF against left-handers, but we will see what they do.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I suppsoe Johnson/Edmonds/Fukudome would give us one of the best defensive outfields in the game, and Johnson would still be one of the better 8 hitters out there. Still, I go my my Edmonds in center, Hoff/Johnson LF platoon unless Hoff proves he cant cut it.

[biittner77]

Ideally, against RH:

 

Fukudome

Derosa/ Theriot

Lee

Ramirez

Hoffpauir

Soto

Edmonds

Theriot/ Derosa

 

aginst LH:

 

Theriot

Derosa

Lee

Ramirez

Soto

Fukudome

Cedeno

Johnson

 

I don't believe we'll see a lot of Johnson at the top of the order against RHP. Even Piniella must have noticed that Johnson's hot start is a distant memory.

[Schwarber Fan]

It's really just not fair. Pujols goes down, the Cards don't even flounder. Soriano goes down for even longer now, and the Cubs will probably take a nosedive.

[Tracer Bullet]

Ideally, against RH:

 

Fukudome

Derosa/ Theriot

Lee

Ramirez

Hoffpauir

Soto

Edmonds

Theriot/ Derosa

 

aginst LH:

 

Theriot

Derosa

Lee

Ramirez

Soto

Fukudome

Cedeno

Johnson

 

I don't believe we'll see a lot of Johnson at the top of the order against RHP. Even Piniella must have noticed that Johnson's hot start is a distant memory.

 

Why would you want Cedeno in against LHP? Far as I know, he still has crazy reverse splits, albeit in a really small sample size this year.

[soapy]

calling up Hoffpauir and Murton seems like the obvious choice, but they'll probably call up Patterson again. the two best option are probably the Murtonot (Murton LF, Derosa 2B against lefties with Derosa in LF, Fontenot at 2B against righties) suggestion, or just a strict platoon in LF betweem Murton and Hoffpauir.

[soapy]

It's really just not fair. Pujols goes down, the Cards don't even flounder. Soriano goes down for even longer now, and the Cubs will probably take a nosedive.

they've played one game without him...

[soapy]

how has wrigley23 not come here and called Soriano a baby yet? i'm so sick of the Cubs treating this guy with kid gloves. ohhhhhhhhhh...poor guy broke his fragile little hand so he has to sit out for six weeks like a selfish baby.

[C.C.]

Man, this sucks! At least he'll have plenty of time to heal his legs. Meh!

[hawkeyecub]

I've seen a couple of sources that say Soriano may not be out as long as ESPN reported. CBS Sportsline is reporting that he'll be out 4 to 6 weeks (as opposed to ESPN's "at least" 6 weeks). And Yahoo says he "could" miss 6 weeks.

 

Eh, I think that 6 weeks is probably the right estimate.

Still better than ESPN's "at least" 6 weeks, which could mean even longer.

 

None of them know any more than the other sources. 4-6 weeks is just standard with a fracture like this so that's what gets reported. I would be very surprised if he is back in uniform in 4 weeks.

[Banedon]

The Cubs played great when Soriano was on the DL earlier this season. I'm not sure why anyone thinks this time will be different.

[rawaction]

Looks like a timetable of anywhere from AS break to trade deadline. Not really worried about the offense with Soriano out. The pitchers are only giving up 3.66 ERs per game. And the Cubs still have enough offense to beat teams. Lee and Soto are starting to look a lot better at the plate and hopefully can make up for the lack of Soriano's bat in the lineup.

 

I think this is a great opportunity for a guy that likes to tinker (Piniella) to do a lot of daily tinkering. I think you will see several scenarios in the next 4-6 weeks. Lou will be able to mix and match combos of Derosa, Fontenot, Johnson, Hoffpauir, Murton, Patterson, and Cedeno at LF and 2B. The 6 AL games coming up will allow him to possibly get 3 of those guys in the lineup at the same time and be able to determine pretty quickly who is going to be the hot hand.

[Tracer Bullet]

The Cubs played great when Soriano was on the DL earlier this season. I'm not sure why anyone thinks this time will be different.

 

Probably b/c he was playing like crap when he went on the DL before, so it was unlikely his replacement couldn't match his .577 OPS.

[Tracer Bullet]

Looks like a timetable of anywhere from AS break to trade deadline. Not really worried about the offense with Soriano out. The pitchers are only giving up 3.66 ERs per game. And the Cubs still have enough offense to beat teams. Lee and Soto are starting to look a lot better at the plate and hopefully can make up for the lack of Soriano's bat in the lineup.

 

I think this is a great opportunity for a guy that likes to tinker (Piniella) to do a lot of daily tinkering. I think you will see several scenarios in the next 4-6 weeks. Lou will be able to mix and match combos of Derosa, Fontenot, Johnson, Hoffpauir, Murton, Patterson, and Cedeno at LF and 2B. The 6 AL games coming up will allow him to possibly get 3 of those guys in the lineup at the same time and be able to determine pretty quickly who is going to be the hot hand.

 

I don't like scenarios that give a tinkerer more chances to tinker. Chasing the hot hand is a pretty risky strategy.

[rawaction]

Looks like a timetable of anywhere from AS break to trade deadline. Not really worried about the offense with Soriano out. The pitchers are only giving up 3.66 ERs per game. And the Cubs still have enough offense to beat teams. Lee and Soto are starting to look a lot better at the plate and hopefully can make up for the lack of Soriano's bat in the lineup.

 

I think this is a great opportunity for a guy that likes to tinker (Piniella) to do a lot of daily tinkering. I think you will see several scenarios in the next 4-6 weeks. Lou will be able to mix and match combos of Derosa, Fontenot, Johnson, Hoffpauir, Murton, Patterson, and Cedeno at LF and 2B. The 6 AL games coming up will allow him to possibly get 3 of those guys in the lineup at the same time and be able to determine pretty quickly who is going to be the hot hand.

 

I don't like scenarios that give a tinkerer more chances to tinker. Chasing the hot hand is a pretty risky strategy.

 

It's not risky in the short-term, though. If the Cubs were trying to finish the season this way, that would be different. But this will keep the bench guys fresh and give a chance for guys like Derosa and Fukudome to move around in the lineup.

[Backtobanks]

Barry Bonds, your table is ready.

 

yes, please.

 

Its interesting. Can Hoff play LF?

 

Can Bonds play LF?

 

Can Dunn play LF?

 

The answer is that any of the three would be standing in LF waiting to bat.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Part of the success of this team has been the fact that there are no easy outs in the lineup. Add Fontenot, Cedeno, or Johnson against righties, that changes. Just give Hoff a week or 2 in a platoon with Johnson.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

1. Bonds. He only costs money and not players. On the other hand, he comes with lots of baggage and hasn't swung a bat since last season. He might be worth kicking the tires on, but it's a long shot.

ESPN had an article up saying that Bonds can't even get signed anywhere for the league minimum. His agent thinks there's collusion because he got a deal for 19 mil the previous year and had worse numbers than he did last year, and now he can't even get signed for 390,000. I don't want Bonds here, but he would probably come cheap at this point. He'd get on base, but do we really need that type of circus/ego in LF? Besides, there's no room in the clubhouse for his leather recliner and personal trainer.

[apete6]

I hope people are kidding with the Bonds stuff. That would be the one way I would drop the Cubs. I will not support a team that knowly signs a cheater even if that is the Cubs.

 

LOL. You're telling me every player the Cubs have ever signed was clean? Hell, that minor league pitcher (Hernandez?) in the system was suspended for 50 games earlier this season. Should we release him?

 

SIGN BONDS!!!

[Guest]

It's really just not fair. Pujols goes down, the Cards don't even flounder. Soriano goes down for even longer now, and the Cubs will probably take a nosedive.

 

Please, the Cardinals have played 1 game w/o Pujols.

[CuseCubFan69]

Well...I hope whoever gets called up seizes the opportunity and plays well enough to make it a tough decision when Soriano comes off the DL.

 

What did Johnson hit when Soriano was out?

[Banghart]

The Cubs played great when Soriano was on the DL earlier this season. I'm not sure why anyone thinks this time will be different.

 

Probably b/c he was playing like crap when he went on the DL before, so it was unlikely his replacement couldn't match his .577 OPS.

To add onto that thought, not only was Soriano not producing but DLee and Soto were hitting much better than they are now. I still think we are okay, man when was the last time that you could even think that the Cubs offense was fine after losing their HR leader. This certainly doesn't help us though, but I agree this is a chance to see if we can get lucky with a Hoffpauir that we can ride for a month or two.

[17 Seconds]

I hope people are kidding with the Bonds stuff. That would be the one way I would drop the Cubs. I will not support a team that knowly signs a cheater even if that is the Cubs.

 

LOL. You're telling me every player the Cubs have ever signed was clean? Hell, that minor league pitcher (Hernandez?) in the system was suspended for 50 games earlier this season. Should we release him?

 

SIGN BONDS!!!

 

Yeah, because that's the exact same thing.

[17 Seconds]

The Cubs played great when Soriano was on the DL earlier this season. I'm not sure why anyone thinks this time will be different.

 

Probably b/c he was playing like crap when he went on the DL before, so it was unlikely his replacement couldn't match his .577 OPS.

 

That doesn't really make any sense, unless you're suggesting the mental impact will play a big role. What Soriano was doing at the time of his 2 injuries is irrelevant when discussing how they'll be without him. They'll be playing with the same team they played with last time he got injured, the same team they did fine with.