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You have a thing against wife beaters?

It's not like his replacements have done much better. The replacements for Soriano in the lineup by day (including Fontenot replacing Soriano in the first inning when he got hurt): Fontenot/Fontenot/Fontenot/Patterson/Cedeno/Cedeno? (could be either Cedeno or Murton)/Fontenot/Johnson Those are the players who either played LF directly, or played 2B because DeRosa moved to LF to cover for Soriano. And their performances: Fontenot (leadoff) 1 for 5, 1 2B, 2 K Fontenot (leadoff) 1 for 5, 2 K Fontenot (leadoff) 0 for 5 Patterson (leadoff) 0 for 4, 2 K Cedeno (8th) 2 for 4, 1 BB, 1 K Cedeno (8th) 2 for 5, 1 2B, 1 K (if you believe Murton replaced him then it was 1 for 6) Fontenot (2nd) 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K Johnson (leadoff) 1 for 4, 1 BB, 1 K Total numbers with Cedeno's 2nd day: 7 for 35, 2 2B, 3 BB, 10 K, a .200/.263/.257 line Total numbers with Murton's day added: 6 for 36, 1 2B, 3 BB, 9 K, a .167/.231/.194 line Soriano's numbers for the season: .175/.230/.298 Soriano was about the same as the people that replaced him, and 5 of the 8 days so far his replacement has batted leadoff, and another day his replacement batted 2nd. There is no evidence to support that Soriano getting hurt has led to the hot streak of the offense. Oh, by the way. Soriano was striking out every 5.18 at-bats so far this season. His replacements are striking out every 3.5 at-bats. The Cubs strikeouts so far have actually gotten worse because Soriano has not been in the lineup. Nice post. I wish Murton would have gotten the chance to play every day over the likes of Fontenot.

I do. Cedeno has played great and looks good in his ABs. I think he should have more of them.

Soriano is overpriced and always injured. Lugo is probably better than Theriot. I'd trade Soriano for Drew or Soriano/Marquis for Drew/Lugo. Then I'd trade Lugo somewhere. But no one is going to take Soriano's contract. I try not to think of how horrible it's going to look those last 3/4 years.

I can't see Murton hanging around. He never sees the field when Soriano's injured. What's the point of keeping him on the bench as a 6th OF (he's clearly behind Fukudome, Soriano, Pie, Johnson, and DeRosa)? If Pie keeps playing well and Reed is going to be the platoon/4th OF, I think Murton is still back to AAA. Fontenot's bad, but he gives us a lefty and Lou and Jim both want more of those. At least if they send him to AAA and he starts mashing, he might have some trade value.

Wow... :shock: I heard this too. Not sure the Astros would ever deal him to Chicago, but the report was he's happy in Houston but above all wants to win. He'd waive his NTC for a trade to a contender. Of course, ESPN immediately said the Yankees would be happy to hear that news... But what can we offer the Astros for Oswalt? Colvin and the Seans? Realistic trade proposals aren't really my thing, but I hope Hendry is inquiring after Roy.

A lot of it could be attributed to Fukudome and Johnson. Lee has always seen a lot of pitches. Lee + Fukudome + Johnson = seeing a lot more pitches. And Soto. And DeRosa. And Cedeno

He's got a ways to catch Cedeno's .957. doesn't matter... you don't bench a guy OPS'ing .893. lol, you're still holding on to theriot, huh? it has nothing to do with that. teams with a 14-6 record and a SS who is hitting the ball well don't just bench that shortstop and cause problems in the clubhouse. you stick with what's working. i like the idea of allowing cedeno to rotate in more if he continues to produce at a good level. theriot struggled (probably wore down) the last month or two of last season, and derosa has also seen a decline in his numbers after the all-star break in each of the last two years. as long as you've got three relatively productive players, use somewhat of a 3-man rotation (with derosa having the fewest days off probably) and keep them fresh for the whole year. that way you can also get more of a handle on whether cedeno actually is a good player. You think Theriot will be a clubhouse cancer if he's not starting? Ronny's younger, he's more talented, and he's playing better right now (which has always been the 1 thing people have used to justified Theriot starting over Ronny). Given their ages and their expected future performance, it's just crazy not to keep Ronny in the lineup - and not in a weird triangle rotation. Just play Cedeno and DeRosa every day with Theriot getting spot starts. no, i don't know that he will be a clubhouse cancer if he's not starting, but it's possible. plus it sends a bad message to the team. if they're going to start cedeno over theriot based on cedeno's .957 OPS, while ignoring the fact that theriot is hitting .338 (and by the way, the difference in their EqA is .001), then why shouldn't pie be looking over his shoulder? if rich hill has one or two average starts, he should start worrying about whether lieber, marshall or gallagher will take his place if they're throwing well? theriot may play his way out of the lineup at some point, but there's no reason to make a change when he's playing well. Cedeno's the better player. He's playing better now and likely to do so going forward. He gives the Cubs the best chance to win. That isn't true with any replacement for Pie or Hill. Those are the 2 best guys for their particular positions as well. You just have either a weird affinity for Theriot or prejudice against Cedeno. I don't know which, but I don't care. It's not little league. You play the guys that give you the best chance to win. Cedeno is that guy now and also gives us the best chance long term.

He's got a ways to catch Cedeno's .957. doesn't matter... you don't bench a guy OPS'ing .893. lol, you're still holding on to theriot, huh? it has nothing to do with that. teams with a 14-6 record and a SS who is hitting the ball well don't just bench that shortstop and cause problems in the clubhouse. you stick with what's working. i like the idea of allowing cedeno to rotate in more if he continues to produce at a good level. theriot struggled (probably wore down) the last month or two of last season, and derosa has also seen a decline in his numbers after the all-star break in each of the last two years. as long as you've got three relatively productive players, use somewhat of a 3-man rotation (with derosa having the fewest days off probably) and keep them fresh for the whole year. that way you can also get more of a handle on whether cedeno actually is a good player. You think Theriot will be a clubhouse cancer if he's not starting? Ronny's younger, he's more talented, and he's playing better right now (which has always been the 1 thing people have used to justified Theriot starting over Ronny). Given their ages and their expected future performance, it's just crazy not to keep Ronny in the lineup - and not in a weird triangle rotation. Just play Cedeno and DeRosa every day with Theriot getting spot starts.

He's got a ways to catch Cedeno's .957. doesn't matter... you don't bench a guy OPS'ing .893. lol, you're still holding on to theriot, huh? it has nothing to do with that. teams with a 14-6 record and a SS who is hitting the ball well don't just bench that shortstop and cause problems in the clubhouse. you stick with what's working. i like the idea of allowing cedeno to rotate in more if he continues to produce at a good level. theriot struggled (probably wore down) the last month or two of last season, and derosa has also seen a decline in his numbers after the all-star break in each of the last two years. as long as you've got three relatively productive players, use somewhat of a 3-man rotation (with derosa having the fewest days off probably) and keep them fresh for the whole year. that way you can also get more of a handle on whether cedeno actually is a good player. I like the rotation of Cedeno in and out with DeRo and Theriot. Because by the time DeRo contract is up, then the Cubs should no for a FACT what kind of player Cedeno is, and will be comfortable giving him a starting spot in 2010, prolly at SS with Theriot moving to 2B. I hope not. If Theriot is starting anywhere for this team in 2010, I'm going to be very pissed off.

It's head-to-head and I don't believe there's no IP max but there is a 23 IP/week minimum. Out of his four that are available (Hoffman, Ryan, Sherrill, Wilson) are there any you would stay away from? It's H2H? Screw closers. I certainly wouldn't trade solid SP for a mediocre closer in H2H. If you have 1/2 closers, you'll be fine. You'll get that 1 point for saves some weeks and you won't other weeks. Not worth losing sleep over.

Cedeno for ARod. But the Yanks are going to have to pick up some of that cash.

That's right, Ronny. Damn you for having goals.

Team has 8 BBs and 14 hits today. We're not used to seeing LOB totals b/c we're not used to having so many base runners. If Cedeno goes 2/5 every day with 5 RBI, he can leave 7 guys on base and I won't give a rip.

The first 3 IP were great. 4 H and 4 BB in 3 IP is bad.

It's too bad for Ryan, but if Ronny keeps putting together good ABs and can actually take the everyday job, I think it's better for the team this year and the future.

huh. High OBPs, score a ton of runs, win a bunch of games. Whodda thunk?

That don't make no sense.

Chuckywang and snood are neck and neck, but I'm giving snood the nod for truth. No men love to go deep on Paris anymore. That's just fishing for STDs.

Not that I would expect you to recall this, but at least one person has argued that Lou is determined to ruin Pie's career. This thread implies that the Cubs have ended his career. Patently ridiculous notions, all. The kid is 23 and is learning. Let's give him and the coaching staff some time. Yeah, I don't recall seeing that post - certainly not in the last few pages where a bunch of posters have been trying (I think unnecessarily) to prove that Lou wants Pie to succeed. But the OP already said that this thread title was a joke. I thought everyone picked up on that.

It wasn't mentioned because it isn't true. Theriot has been better so far this year. Theriot: .338/.408/.485 Cedeno: .333/.407/.417 You are right though that it is a very good problem to have. It's nice to know that right now they're both good bets to be productive if started on any given day, and hopefully it continues for at least one of them (I honestly don't care which one). Given that Cedeno is playing well and having good ABs, I'd much prefer him to Theriot. It's certainly possible that the .800 OPS Cedeno we're seeing is the Ronny Cedeno we'll get for the next several year (how likely? who knows). But the chances that Theriot will maintain an .800 OPS (let alone near .900) for an entire season are so slim, given his age and past production, that I think you have to give Cedeno more ABs.

next year

There you go, Felix. Just hit a 3-run HR in every AB, and you'll get more ABs.

Amazing. Was it not 3 days ago that you were posting that Dusty hadn't screwed up yet?

Well of course not. But in Pie's case, his playing time depends heavily on how he looks at the plate. He's not going to get more at bats by striking out. Sure. And my point is - making decision based on 1 AB (whether a K or a HR) is stupid. If you give him 1 pr 2 ABs every 3/4 games and he looks bad sometimes, you shouldn't be shocked.