Chocolate Milk

I like the Steltz pick too. I also liked the trades. Very pleased with what the Bears are doing thus far.

Booty or Johnson, I hope we don't even touch Dixon or Brennan with a 10 foot pole. dixon, no. i wouldn't be upset with brennan, though. Reverse this for me. Brennan really brings nothing to the table.

I'm a Michigan fan and i can tell you he is insanely talented, yet he doesn't work very hard and won't go over the middle. If you have a coach who can get in his head he's worth a 3rd rnder. I heard an interview with him on NFL Radio and I think he's functioning at around a 4th grade level. I was in awe. Guy's head is full of rocks.

The Bears need to take the best available guard at 90.

You are probably giving Brennan too much credit here. Your're right. I was thinking along the lines of QB's who put up huge numbers in shotgun offenses and then have to learn to take a snap under ceneter, drop back and read defenses. I see what you did there. IMO, Brennan doesn't have an NFL caliber arm. I'd be surprised if he was drafted, to be honest.

Jerry said something like, "I'm not going to say we aren't going to take any defensive players, but we are concentrating on improving the offense." So far so good.

You are probably giving Brennan too much credit here.

I'm quite please with what the Bears have done thus far. I was hoping for Doucet there, but I really like Bennett as well. Kudos to Jerry so far. Bold Prediction: Look for Dennis Dixon in the 5th!

lol, is that what happened? You're taking a hell of a beating in this thread, that's for sure. The ref might need to stop this fight before you get hurt.

Cedeno is still outplaying him.

Does he get paychecks with option #1? This is important.

Its absurd? Isn't the best statistical lineup in baseball that which puts your OBPs in descending order? Isn't Soriano's OBP lower than Lee, Fuku, and Ramirez at least? I believe Theriot, Fontenot, and Soto have higher OBPs right now, as well. How about this: Why does Aramis bat fourth? Is it because he's a "RBI-guy" that hits for power and doesn't do much running? Sounds feasible so far. So how much running should the hamstring of Soriano be put through? Didn't he just tweak it on a hop? Why not just have him hit taters with people on base, or is that absurd? I think its far more absurd to have him batting first, right behind the pitcher, when his power dictates that hitting safely can advance runners to home more often than other players with lower SLG%, while at the same time putting good OBP guys ahead of him to make this "runners on base" a reality. Maybe I'm not headed to the asylum, after all. You are way way too concerned with lineup construction. Considering there is almost no chance the lineup will ever be constructed by highest OBP to lowest OBP, I wouldn't get too worked up. Of all the realistic options for leadoff, I think Soriano is one of the better choices.

That's a really sexy lineup. Too bad it will never happen.

Yes, but who are you proposing lead off instead? Lee, Ramirez and Dome aren't going to budge from their spot in the lineup. No way Lou uses Soto or DeRosa as a leadoff hitter. So you're really talking about using Theriot, Johnson or Pie as the leadoff hitter. Theriot had a lower OBP than Soriano did last season; Pie isn't exactly an on-base machine either. And Johnson, at BEST, is a league average OBP sort of hitter. Over the course of a full season, we're not talking about such a huge difference. Obviously, it's not optimal to have Soriano hitting leadoff for a variety of reasons. But it's probably not in the top five of things that could be changed to improve this team. Exactly. 99% of the people here would probably prefer if Soriano didn't lead off. The rub is that the realisitc alternatives are worse. If Soriano isn't leading off, then who is? Colin's right, it's likely to be either Theriot, Johnson, or Pie. Moving Soriano down to replace him with a vastly inferior hitter isn't improving the team. Soriano is one of the more productive hitters on the team. If the back of the order continues to get on base, he'll have his opportunities. Batting him in the leadoff slot really isn't worth getting your panties in a bunch over. His name is Kosuke Fukudome, and he's in his first season with the Cubs. He plays LF and he's third in the MLB in OBP. He can also steal a base. He is from Japan. And he won't get a single at bat in the leadoff spot the entire season.

Ideally, Id like: Fukudome DeRosa Lee Ramirez Soriano Soto Pie Cedeno

Yes, but who are you proposing lead off instead? Lee, Ramirez and Dome aren't going to budge from their spot in the lineup. No way Lou uses Soto or DeRosa as a leadoff hitter. So you're really talking about using Theriot, Johnson or Pie as the leadoff hitter. Theriot had a lower OBP than Soriano did last season; Pie isn't exactly an on-base machine either. And Johnson, at BEST, is a league average OBP sort of hitter. Over the course of a full season, we're not talking about such a huge difference. Obviously, it's not optimal to have Soriano hitting leadoff for a variety of reasons. But it's probably not in the top five of things that could be changed to improve this team. Exactly. 99% of the people here would probably prefer if Soriano didn't lead off. The rub is that the realisitc alternatives are worse. If Soriano isn't leading off, then who is? Colin's right, it's likely to be either Theriot, Johnson, or Pie. Moving Soriano down to replace him with a vastly inferior hitter isn't improving the team. Soriano is one of the more productive hitters on the team. If the back of the order continues to get on base, he'll have his opportunities. Batting him in the leadoff slot really isn't worth getting your panties in a bunch over.

I'm skeptical. I do not like what Soriano brings to the table, and he doesn't get on base enough for me. I hope Lou finds his balls and banishes him to be the best 5-7 hitter in the MLB. I agree. Getting a guy who will hit you 30-40 HR's a year less AB's is exactly what this team needs. Better than giving more to a guy who makes an out around 67% of the time he comes up. Soriano has his warts but let's not try and pretend he's not a very valuable player. Guy put up a 42.1 VORP last year and a 7.6 WARP. Advocating that he get fewer at bats is more than a little silly. So you think he should get the most ABs of anyone on the team? Where are you getting that from? I'm just saying limiting his at bats is stupid. The argument started with the suggestion that Soriano be moved from the top spot to lower in the order. You said "advocating that he get fewer at bats is more than a little silly." In the top spot, he'll get the most ABs. Anywhere else, he'll get fewer than he otherwise would. You can connect the logical dots yourself, I think. Guilty as charged I guess. I didn't really read the entire thread. I was just responding to the "giving more [atbats] to a guy who makes an out around 67% of the time he comes up" which I thought was overly simplistic and selling Soriano short. Regulus did say that he should be batting 5-7 in the lineup, which is absurd. I also don't really mind him leading off.

We're all glad you're here to set us straight. Let's face it: The lineup construction is never going to be ideal. Take a gander at the lineup today. Fontenot and Theriot are batting 1-2. It's either going to be Soriano or Theriot/Speedy guy leading off. I'll take Soriano, thanks.

I'm skeptical. I do not like what Soriano brings to the table, and he doesn't get on base enough for me. I hope Lou finds his balls and banishes him to be the best 5-7 hitter in the MLB. I agree. Getting a guy who will hit you 30-40 HR's a year less AB's is exactly what this team needs. Better than giving more to a guy who makes an out around 67% of the time he comes up. Soriano has his warts but let's not try and pretend he's not a very valuable player. Guy put up a 42.1 VORP last year and a 7.6 WARP. Advocating that he get fewer at bats is more than a little silly. So you think he should get the most ABs of anyone on the team? Where are you getting that from? I'm just saying limiting his at bats is stupid.

I'm skeptical. I do not like what Soriano brings to the table, and he doesn't get on base enough for me. I hope Lou finds his balls and banishes him to be the best 5-7 hitter in the MLB. I agree. Getting a guy who will hit you 30-40 HR's a year less AB's is exactly what this team needs. Better than giving more to a guy who makes an out around 67% of the time he comes up. Soriano has his warts but let's not try and pretend he's not a very valuable player. Guy put up a 42.1 VORP last year and a 7.6 WARP. Advocating that he get fewer at bats is more than a little silly.

I want to punch that kid in the face.

lol @ all the pinch running.

It's like the bizarro Cubs this year.

Lou stop

Damn, that humps.