Abe Frohman

You guys know where I stand on Ryan Theriot. If I'm making the lineup today, I start Cedeno. He has impressed me the past couple games, and I think he deserves the chance to keep his ball rolling.

That's an fictitious system. Theriot showed he could handle SS and the bat last year. Everyone knows Pie is great in CF, but he hasn't shown any kind of idea at the plate so far in his ML career. In addition, Theriot was benched a few times last year, and this year. I don't think Piniella has acted unprudently at all, or treated them any differently.

Vance - you are HARDCORE when it comes to autograph seeking! I can vouch. You get some cool stuff, though.

If clogging the bases is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

I just wonder why every MLB player hasn't read the book "The Science of Hitting" written by Ted Williams. Make the pitcher throw you something to hit. If he doesn't, take your base. Don't help him out. Eventually, you run out of room on the bases and people score. Rocket Science.

I guess he forgot about Soriano's big HR in the 2001 World Series, and last year's All-Star game. I'm sure there is a million reasons to the contrary, but I have seen some big hits from him. His clutch numbers do suck, though. I like to contradict myself.

Well, I hope you are wrong. I remember wondering why it took so long for Lou to bench Theriot last fall. I am not really feeling that Pie lost his job, though. I think the game plan has been to let him hit against RHP, and Reed against LHP. I can live with a temporary platoon until Pie starts hitting his stride, but I am not a fan of the yearlong platoon with him. I just hope he starts hitting soon. It's just a matter of time.

So are you thinking that Lou has found favor with Reed Johnson over Pie? With Soriano and Ramirez relatively cold as ice, I can see him looking for a little more production. I seriously doubt you have anything to worry about concerning Pie's grasp on CF.

I'm pretty confident that Pie is going to get at least 400 AB's this year. I'm also pretty sure he'll be the Cubs CF for quite a while. We have a decent bench, I just think it should be used. You guys know I'm a fan of Theriot, and I am all for Ronny getting a few starts. Especially right now. I just want the Cubs to have their best 9 on the field and win.

absolutely not here -- Pie already has enough motivation to succeed, he should be given the chance I don't think starting Johnson for a spell is going to take the chance to start away from Pie. He may need a little breather from time to time. Especially if he is being overmatched. A little break may do a player like him good.

In baseball? Badminton.

You guys don't believe in the "fire under the ass" technique? Let me be clear, because I don't think I have been: in no way should Reed Johnson (or anyone for that matter) take Pie's playing time, because he Pie is our CFer - but play Johnson while he's contributing (which he has) and let Pie know that there are other options. Pie is going to be good, and he will get his AB's. He needs to.

This is a meaningless statement. It's like saying, "if the Cubs are winning with yellow shoelaces, they should keep wearing yellow shoelaces." Just because they've won some games WITH Johnson in the lineup in no way means they've won BECAUSE of him, and they haven't, and that argument shouldn't be used to yet again bench Pie when he should be playing as much as possible. What the hell are you talking about? If a guy is producing (Johnson), why should a guy who is not producing (Pie) play? I play the hot hand. Pie will get his AB's and on the job training.

No; Pie needs regular playing time. He's not going to improve by sitting on the bench or going back to AAA. I would never prefer helping a player over helping a team. If the Cubs win with Reed, they should go with Reed. At least until a change is needed. I agree - I'm not worried about Soriano's overall production. But is the #1 spot in the order where he belongs right now? I am just really starting to conform to the idea that you may want your best hitters getting the most at bats - and why not have Fukudome bat leadoff? Soriano would definately be protection for the slumping Aramis Ramirez while Fukudome is getting on base more than half the time. I really like the idea of this lineup: RF Fukudome 2B DeRosa 1B Lee 3B Ramirez LF Soriano CA Soto SS Theriot CF Reed/Pie

Agreed. Use more Cedeno/Fontenot at SS too, as it seems Theriot is most productive when his back is against the wall. By "most" I mean "somewhat."

Yeah, he slugs .857 in April/May for his career. OPS.

Alf is off to a really slow start (2-26 as of April 7th) for the second year in a row - which is kinda strange for him as April/May are his best months during his career (.309/.346/.857). Last year, he was well below his par as well in the first few weeks. Of course, only 7 games have been played, but I have noticed a few things..... * Soriano's stance is different. * He seems to have closed up a lot. Has anyone else noticed this? * Plus, his spread is wider. * Has he always crowded the plate this much? It's easy to see that when Soriano is slumping/struggling, he has a significant amount of head movement during his swing. When he is going strong and hot at the plate, his head stays more fixed/still. I know it is baseball 101, but check it out throughout the season.

Awesome! Extra innings today!

Henry Blanco. *All-Hair Team.

RF Fukudome 2B DeRosa 1B Lee 3B Ramirez LF Soriano CA Soto CF Pie SS Cedeno/Theriot

If he isn't hitting in June, that's a different story. I think he'll be fine if he backs off the plate. His swing is longer than Dustin Hoffman's nose.

I don't know if you guys noticed the walk in the 1st inning to Rickie Weeks, but that 3-2 pitch could have gone either way. It was a cut fastball or a slider that backdoored him, and was maybe a couple inches off the black - at most. If he had his strike zone established and threw that pitch later in the game, it would be strike 3 and the Brewers' first inning would have been a lot different.

Ryan Dempster is going to be a big surprise for the Cubs this year. His stuff looked very impressive, and his hard work was evident today. EVERYTHING was moving.

Why is that? Why shouldn't everyone know? Canseco is very clear when he says that he either jammed a needle into someone's glute, or if he 'believes' someone shows all the traits of using. He doesn't accuse, only connects the dots. I guess sometimes the truth just hurts too much.

Disagree. It is an interesting read, especially if you love the game. So far, everything has been pretty interesting. One point of interest concerning Roger Clemens.... Canseco and his editor were told by the Publisher that his information on Roger Clemens had to be pulled from his first book for reasons that no one could explain. His theory is that since Clemens is close to the Bush family, either George or W had him protected from being in the book by pulling some strings with the Publisher. Look, we all know that Jose is a creep. He is ratting out all of his former peers and MLB. So what? It is an insight that you won't get from members of the MLBPA, and Canseco's anger and vendetta against MLB for blackballing him is nothing short of entertaining. I have seen zero evidence of Canseco lying. The worst he does is contradict himself, as I stated above. So far, the above example with the "cussing/family book" claim was one of two examples. The other was that he stated early in the book that his motivation to write the books was to stick it to the MLB and MLB Players Association. A few chapters later, he says his motivation is that he loves baseball and feels compelled to "out" the "bosses" to right the ship and expose the rampant use of drugs and PED's (despite the fact that he boasts to be the "Godfather" of steroids, and how he was blackballed to give MLB the image of trying to punish those who use drugs/PEDs).