How would you fix the offense?

[bukie]

Over the past three weeks or so, the offense has been just abysmal. So much, in fact, that the Cubs canned the hitting coach yesterday, despite the fact that he practically turned the offense from the worst in the NL to the best in 2 years.

 

So, how can the Cubs fix it? Is patience the right prescription? Will Soriano, Soto, Bradley, Fontenot and Lee be better than they've shown? Will Ramirez be able to come back strong enough to carry the offense over the last two months? Will Theriot and Fukudome be able to keep up the production they've shown in the early part of the year? Is the bench a huge part of the problem?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Combined weighted runs above average for Cubs hitters, from fangraphs:

 

Fukudome +7.1

Ramirez +6.3

Lee +3.5

Theriot +1.1

Fox +1.1

Scales +1.1

Johnson +1.0

Hill +0.5

Hoffpauir -0.7

Soriano -0.8

Bradley -0.9

Gathright -1.9

Fontenot -2.0

Blacno -2.3

Freel -2.5

Soto -6.4

Miles -9.7

 

So it looks to me like you have three things you can do:

 

1) Pray that Bradley, Soriano and Soto suddenly remember how to hit.

2) Get Aaron Miles the all-holy-heck out of the lineup.

3) Tattoo on your arm "I will not build a lineup where almost all of my key hitters are 31+ ever again"

 

Realistically, there's just not much they can do but hope guys hit.

[rynefan]

It's complicated, but my personal opinion is that a big key at this point is Soriano. First, he's the leadoff hitter and sets a tone. Beyond that, there's something electric about him when he's on, and it seems contagious. He's nothing short of amazing when he's in the zone.

 

Obviously, getting Aram back is huge, but we know that's not going to happen anytime soon, so we have to just move on for now. At this point I can't even remember him being in the lineup, so it's just gonna be that much sweeter when he does come back. That'll be a big shot in the arm. I just hope they hang in there until then.

[DiamondMind]

I think a lot of it starts with Soriano, honestly.

[17 Seconds]

Will Soriano, Soto, Bradley, Fontenot and Lee be better than they've shown?

 

Lee has been outstanding over the last month and a half.

[Guest]

Realistically, there's just not much they can do but hope guys hit.

 

Yeah, I just don't see much the Cubs can do.

 

I'd like to see Soriano given a couple days off but that's about it.

[third eye]

Realistically, there's just not much they can do but hope guys hit.

 

Yeah, I just don't see much the Cubs can do.

 

I'd like to see Soriano given a couple days off but that's about it.

 

Yeah, has he completely gotten over the nagging leg injury from earlier this year? Even if it is not a physical issue, he just needs to step away for a day or two.

[Bote McBoteface]

I would not trade away superior hitters for the sake of adding crappy hitters to our lineup just because they happen to bat from the other side of the plate.

 

But I mean, that's just me.

[CubmanPi]

I would not trade away superior hitters for the sake of adding crappy hitters to our lineup just because they happen to bat from the other side of the plate.

 

But I mean, that's just me.

That's crazy talk, man. You're crazy.

[soapy]

Lee has been hot for a while now. People should really stop including him in the list of problem children.

 

Soriano is a huge problem right now, compounded by the fact that he's hitting 1st. Fontenot seems to be coming around (296/354/437 in the last 28 days) and Bradley and Soto have shown some improvement lately. Soto is one of the few guys I'm hopeful that Von Joshua will be able to help, as he's done in the past.

 

I guess don't have an answer to the original question. Guys like Soriano and Bradley aren't going to be outright benched unless they are injured (which may be likely for both). They're going to have to hope these guys come around. The only spot where I think they can realistically add to the offense is through a platoon partner for Fontenot (preferably someone who can play 3B as well).

[Little Slide Rooter]

Soriano should not be hitting leadoff until he pulls it together. Weve all heard the story about Soriano and his hot and cold streaks and as Len says almost every time he strikes out on 3 bad pitches that when hes hot, he can carry the team on his back for weeks at a time. Well this is ridiculous. This cold streak has lasted for over a month now. Its not a case of a slump or a cold streak, its a case of pitchers figuring him out. Thats right, theyve figured out that if they throw him bad pitches he'll swing at them. We dont have that typical leadoff hitter, so Id plug Theriot in that spot for now. Maybe Kosuke can be moved to the 2 spot. Say what you will, but he really seems to be moving back toward his 2008 form. Lee, Bradley, Soto is the closest thing to a heart of a lineup that we have, so you may as well keep them there, and put Soriano at 6th with Fontenot at 7th. We really have nothing to work with for the 8 spot unless Hoffpauir or Reed miraculously learn to play 2nd or 3rd, so between Miles, Blanco, and Freel when he returns, sometimes you just have to pick your poison. Maybe even take the LaRussa rout and plug one of those gus in at 9 and bat the pitcher 8th.

[soapy]

Soriano should not be hitting leadoff until he pulls it together. Weve all heard the story about Soriano and his hot and cold streaks and as Len says almost every time he strikes out on 3 bad pitches that when hes hot, he can carry the team on his back for weeks at a time. Well this is ridiculous. This cold streak has lasted for over a month now. Its not a case of a slump or a cold streak, its a case of pitchers figuring him out. Thats right, theyve figured out that if they throw him bad pitches he'll swing at them. We dont have that typical leadoff hitter, so Id plug Theriot in that spot for now. Maybe Kosuke can be moved to the 2 spot. Say what you will, but he really seems to be moving back toward his 2008 form. Lee, Bradley, Soto is the closest thing to a heart of a lineup that we have, so you may as well keep them there, and put Soriano at 6th with Fontenot at 7th. We really have nothing to work with for the 8 spot unless Hoffpauir or Reed miraculously learn to play 2nd or 3rd, so between Miles, Blanco, and Freel when he returns, sometimes you just have to pick your poison. Maybe even take the LaRussa rout and plug one of those gus in at 9 and bat the pitcher 8th.

 

Soriano has been the same player his entire career. I don't see why you think pitchers all of the sudden figured him out in his 11th season.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Soriano should not be hitting leadoff until he pulls it together. Weve all heard the story about Soriano and his hot and cold streaks and as Len says almost every time he strikes out on 3 bad pitches that when hes hot, he can carry the team on his back for weeks at a time. Well this is ridiculous. This cold streak has lasted for over a month now. Its not a case of a slump or a cold streak, its a case of pitchers figuring him out. Thats right, theyve figured out that if they throw him bad pitches he'll swing at them. We dont have that typical leadoff hitter, so Id plug Theriot in that spot for now. Maybe Kosuke can be moved to the 2 spot. Say what you will, but he really seems to be moving back toward his 2008 form. Lee, Bradley, Soto is the closest thing to a heart of a lineup that we have, so you may as well keep them there, and put Soriano at 6th with Fontenot at 7th. We really have nothing to work with for the 8 spot unless Hoffpauir or Reed miraculously learn to play 2nd or 3rd, so between Miles, Blanco, and Freel when he returns, sometimes you just have to pick your poison. Maybe even take the LaRussa rout and plug one of those gus in at 9 and bat the pitcher 8th.

 

Soriano has been the same player his entire career. I don't see why you think pitchers all of the sudden figured him out in his 11th season.

 

That was somewhat of a tongue in cheek comment. But seriosuly, this cold streak has been beyond brutal.

[illiniguy]

Soriano should not be hitting leadoff until he pulls it together. Weve all heard the story about Soriano and his hot and cold streaks and as Len says almost every time he strikes out on 3 bad pitches that when hes hot, he can carry the team on his back for weeks at a time. Well this is ridiculous. This cold streak has lasted for over a month now. Its not a case of a slump or a cold streak, its a case of pitchers figuring him out. Thats right, theyve figured out that if they throw him bad pitches he'll swing at them. We dont have that typical leadoff hitter, so Id plug Theriot in that spot for now. Maybe Kosuke can be moved to the 2 spot. Say what you will, but he really seems to be moving back toward his 2008 form. Lee, Bradley, Soto is the closest thing to a heart of a lineup that we have, so you may as well keep them there, and put Soriano at 6th with Fontenot at 7th. We really have nothing to work with for the 8 spot unless Hoffpauir or Reed miraculously learn to play 2nd or 3rd, so between Miles, Blanco, and Freel when he returns, sometimes you just have to pick your poison. Maybe even take the LaRussa rout and plug one of those gus in at 9 and bat the pitcher 8th.

 

Soriano has been the same player his entire career. I don't see why you think pitchers all of the sudden figured him out in his 11th season.

 

That was somewhat of a tongue in cheek comment. But seriosuly, this cold streak has been beyond brutal.

That's because it is compounded with his injury.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

It's one thing to have a stupid goal. It's another thing to have a stupid goal and fail at it.

 

From the "entirely predicable" department.

 

Our right-handed hitters are more or less holding their own with the league average, though not keeping up with last year's Cubs. Our left-handed hitters are completely failing the team. It's hard to put together a collection of MLB hitters that fail to take advantage of the platoon advantage that badly.

 

Some split stats:

 

as RH batter vs. RH pitcher

2009 NL .253 .317 .395

2009 Cubs .257 .315 .422

2008 Cubs .281 .352 .443

 

as RH batter vs. LH pitcher

2009 NL .266 .343 .425

2009 Cubs .260 .359 .418

2008 Cubs .300 .377 .469

 

as LH batter vs. RH pitcher

2009 NL .261 .347 .408

2009 Cubs .235 .327 .370

2008 Cubs .259 .346 .443

 

as LH batter vs. LH pitcher

2009 NL .238 .313 .384

2009 Cubs .167 .230 .318

2008 Cubs .233 .315 .320

[champaignchris]

This team has only scored 76 runs in their last 25 games. It's been beyond brutal. Soriano, Fontenot, Soto, Bradley, and Miles are all just horrible right now.

 

Bringing in a bat to replace Miles in the lineup would be a good start. Giving Hill, Fox, and Hoff a few more at-bats would be another step. (Sending Fox down so we could carry 13 pitchers was pure madness.)

 

But eventually, Soriano, Soto, and Bradley are just going to have to start hitting.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Soriano should not be hitting leadoff until he pulls it together. Weve all heard the story about Soriano and his hot and cold streaks and as Len says almost every time he strikes out on 3 bad pitches that when hes hot, he can carry the team on his back for weeks at a time. Well this is ridiculous. This cold streak has lasted for over a month now. Its not a case of a slump or a cold streak, its a case of pitchers figuring him out. Thats right, theyve figured out that if they throw him bad pitches he'll swing at them. We dont have that typical leadoff hitter, so Id plug Theriot in that spot for now. Maybe Kosuke can be moved to the 2 spot. Say what you will, but he really seems to be moving back toward his 2008 form. Lee, Bradley, Soto is the closest thing to a heart of a lineup that we have, so you may as well keep them there, and put Soriano at 6th with Fontenot at 7th. We really have nothing to work with for the 8 spot unless Hoffpauir or Reed miraculously learn to play 2nd or 3rd, so between Miles, Blanco, and Freel when he returns, sometimes you just have to pick your poison. Maybe even take the LaRussa rout and plug one of those gus in at 9 and bat the pitcher 8th.

 

Soriano has been the same player his entire career. I don't see why you think pitchers all of the sudden figured him out in his 11th season.

 

That was somewhat of a tongue in cheek comment. But seriosuly, this cold streak has been beyond brutal.

That's because it is compounded with his injury.

 

Which is why he shouldnt be playing in every single game. I know the offense is struggling as of now, but the guy needs a break here and there.

[wastra]

Well...when guys liek Andres Blanco, Bobby Scales, and Aaron Miles get significant at bats over the course of a month or so on a team that thinks it's a contender, you're edging dangerously close to Neifi/Macias territory.

 

This team is just flawed from a roster standpoint.

 

Too many guys past their prime. Too many guys with injury concerns. Too many guys kept aroudn as "defensive" backups with very little history of being able to cut it at the plate.

 

What that leads to is a bad offense when one or two of your guys are injured or slumping because there's no one to pick up the slack.

 

What we have now is the double whammy of injury PLUS slumping with guys who really aren't even good minor league hitters trying to take up the slack for that. Our minor league position players are lacking, to say the least. the only one we had who was really an offensive threat is defensively abysmal (Fox). the others are not even prospects- they're career minor leaguers who were cast-offs from other teams.

 

 

Jim Hendry has proven time and again he cannot build a roster. Short of just dumping money at the biggest name free agents, he has very little insight into the number behind players. He's STILL too concerned with "versatility" even when that means guys can play multiple positions poorly. he's STILL too concerned with what hand a guy signs his autograph with regardless of whether there are just better hitters who use the other hand. he's STILL too concerned about "tools" guys instead of consistant producers. he's far too enamoured of "what they did last year" as well, completely unable to spot career abnormalities.

 

And without Aramis, he's put together a lineup that is bereft of any serious power. There are a lot of guys with "live bats," but no actual major power threats on the roster. I'm not going to be over-awed by the homerun, but when your roster is all line-drives and singles, it requires MULTIPLE people in the lineup to produce in the same inning to score a run. So to rally from 1 or 2 down, we're generally going to need more 3-4 hit innings than if we had 1 or 2 guys who could more consistantly put us on the board with one swing. And really no one on our roster is likely to hit for a really high average, either. there are a lot of guys who should, in normal seasons, hit that .270-.295 range, but few of them would normally have a high OBP to go with that average. In other words, we have a lineup of good, but not 'great' hitters. That might work in a crappy division, but the Central has some players now, and "good" doesn't cut it.

[Backtobanks]

This team has only scored 76 runs in their last 25 games. It's been beyond brutal. Soriano, Fontenot, Soto, Bradley, and Miles are all just horrible right now.

 

Bringing in a bat to replace Miles in the lineup would be a good start. Giving Hill, Fox, and Hoff a few more at-bats would be another step. (Sending Fox down so we could carry 13 pitchers was pure madness.)

 

But eventually, Soriano, Soto, and Bradley are just going to have to start hitting.

 

The keys are Soriano and Bradley. If they can get their groove back things would be much better. Soto and Fukudome need to get more consistent. I'm not sure where you're going to get a bat to replace Miles. I suggested a while ago going after Freddy Sanchez or Jorge Cantu to fill in at 3B and then slide over to 2B when Ramirez returned, but many posters shot down the idea. We were saving our prospects to get Peavy, but now that he's injured we ought to use some of them for offense.

[Little Slide Rooter]

This team has only scored 76 runs in their last 25 games. It's been beyond brutal. Soriano, Fontenot, Soto, Bradley, and Miles are all just horrible right now.

 

Bringing in a bat to replace Miles in the lineup would be a good start. Giving Hill, Fox, and Hoff a few more at-bats would be another step. (Sending Fox down so we could carry 13 pitchers was pure madness.)

 

But eventually, Soriano, Soto, and Bradley are just going to have to start hitting.

 

The keys are Soriano and Bradley. If they can get their groove back things would be much better. Soto and Fukudome need to get more consistent. I'm not sure where you're going to get a bat to replace Miles. I suggested a while ago going after Freddy Sanchez or Jorge Cantu to fill in at 3B and then slide over to 2B when Ramirez returned, but many posters shot down the idea. We were saving our prospects to get Peavy, but now that he's injured we ought to use some of them for offense.

 

The dumpster.

[Little Slide Rooter]

It would appear as though there are no plans to move Soriano out of leadoff

 

Alfonso Soriano-OF-Cubs Jun. 15 - 11:08 am et

 

Despite an ugly .296 on-base percentage, Alfonso Soriano will remain the Cubs' leadoff hitter.

 

"We've been through this many times," Cubs manager Lou Piniella sighed. "When we signed Alfonso, he was a leadoff hitter. We've won two divisions with him being a leadoff hitter. What else can I say? He's struggling. We just got to hope he gets hot." Soriano is 14-for-95 (.147) in his last 22 games and has 66 strikeouts on the season.

[jersey cubs fan]

There is really only one way to fix the offense.

 

More Cutler.

[Banedon]

There is really only one way to fix the offense.

 

More Cutler.

 

The Cubs would be a Super Bowl favorite.

[dew1679666265]

It would appear as though there are no plans to move Soriano out of leadoff

 

Alfonso Soriano-OF-Cubs Jun. 15 - 11:08 am et

 

Despite an ugly .296 on-base percentage, Alfonso Soriano will remain the Cubs' leadoff hitter.

 

"We've been through this many times," Cubs manager Lou Piniella sighed. "When we signed Alfonso, he was a leadoff hitter. We've won two divisions with him being a leadoff hitter. What else can I say? He's struggling. We just got to hope he gets hot." Soriano is 14-for-95 (.147) in his last 22 games and has 66 strikeouts on the season.

 

I'm fine with that. With the entire lineup struggling, I don't have a problem leaving him where he's most comfortable. Even if it's just a mental thing for him, it could help him out of his slump.

 

There are no other good candidates for more ABs at the moment (maybe DLee).

[jersey cubs fan]

It would appear as though there are no plans to move Soriano out of leadoff

 

Alfonso Soriano-OF-Cubs Jun. 15 - 11:08 am et

 

Despite an ugly .296 on-base percentage, Alfonso Soriano will remain the Cubs' leadoff hitter.

 

"We've been through this many times," Cubs manager Lou Piniella sighed. "When we signed Alfonso, he was a leadoff hitter. We've won two divisions with him being a leadoff hitter. What else can I say? He's struggling. We just got to hope he gets hot." Soriano is 14-for-95 (.147) in his last 22 games and has 66 strikeouts on the season.

 

I'm fine with that. With the entire lineup struggling, I don't have a problem leaving him where he's most comfortable. Even if it's just a mental thing for him, it could help him out of his slump.

 

There are no other good candidates for more ABs at the moment (maybe DLee).

 

Leaving Soriano at leadoff wouldn't "help him come out of his slump" anymore than moving him to 6th would help him come out of his slump. If you want to leave him there because there's no better option, fine. But if/when he does come out of his slump, let's not pretend it was because of the comforts of leadoff. If that were true, then you could say he went into the slump because of the comforts of leadoff.