Soul

I'd prefer Soriano in RF because he's got a much better arm. I get the distinct sense that the sooner the Cubs put Soriano in left and leave him there for good, and quit trying to make him into something he's not, the better off everyone will be. Maybe I'm wrong (and hopefully I am), and this whole CF thing will work out, but if it doesn't, my next move is not to try him in yet another unfamiliar spot like RF. The phrase, "out of the frying pan and into the fire" races to mind. To me the issue is not what to do with Soriano, I think you have it completely right, its what to do with Jones and Floyd, how to play them where and when I mean, if we had an OF of Murton, Pie and Soriano with Soriano in Left (or right...) Murton in the other corner and Pie in C, I would be REALLY happy with that, but what to do with Floyd and Jones? To me those are 2 wasted roster spots. Especially when you have Pagan and the Riot as very capable occasional replacements. Pagan is total junk. Floyd and Jones, if used off the bench, can provide some power. Theriot should be starting in at least some games. No, going back to a wimpy, no power bench is a *terrible* idea. Allright, so bench Floyd/jones. It won't be appreciated, but who cares? I just don't see the value of those 2 on this team. Pie/Murton/Soriano OF. Let them develop, let them stick to the same position. Get the riot a few games out there and have Floyd/Jones as situational guys off the bench and against pitchers they have a proven record against. I just don't see the value of either of those players on this team. If they disappeared today, how much worse would we be? I think they are comparable but no valueless. I would be for trading Jones and bringing up Pie. I still think Floyd should be kept though. I dont want Ward playing substantial 1b time if Lee goes out. I also would still like to see Floyd get 2 starts a week in the OF against tough RHers. Actually after thinking this whole thing over, I would like to see the Cubs just cut Ward or trade him for spare change and bring up Pie. Ward is of no use whatsoever on this team. I can definitely see how Ward has little value. Floyd though -- I'm not sure why all the ire over this guy. If used off the bench, he's lefty power we haven't had off the bench since Glenallen Hill. He definitely has a very solid bench role to play on this club. Just not as primary starter over Murton, that's all.

I think it was Jon Stewart who had Shatner on his show and said "Just hold me, Bill", and he jumped into Shatner's lap. This hyper-critical and unfounded crticism, IMO. Its not the worst thread ever. Alright, you've got me. The worst thread ever was the White Sox WS game thread.

Wow, worst thread ever. I love Lou, but the way he checks his tire pressure. What's up with that?

I'd prefer Soriano in RF because he's got a much better arm. I get the distinct sense that the sooner the Cubs put Soriano in left and leave him there for good, and quit trying to make him into something he's not, the better off everyone will be. Maybe I'm wrong (and hopefully I am), and this whole CF thing will work out, but if it doesn't, my next move is not to try him in yet another unfamiliar spot like RF. The phrase, "out of the frying pan and into the fire" races to mind. To me the issue is not what to do with Soriano, I think you have it completely right, its what to do with Jones and Floyd, how to play them where and when I mean, if we had an OF of Murton, Pie and Soriano with Soriano in Left (or right...) Murton in the other corner and Pie in C, I would be REALLY happy with that, but what to do with Floyd and Jones? To me those are 2 wasted roster spots. Especially when you have Pagan and the Riot as very capable occasional replacements. Pagan is total junk. Floyd and Jones, if used off the bench, can provide some power. Theriot should be starting in at least some games. No, going back to a wimpy, no power bench is a *terrible* idea.

Len & Bob say day to day. ESPN is openly hoping he hits the DL.

See? Kid's ready to break out, just needs the shot.

..and you find this amusing why, exactly? Because he (and I) would bet the first born that Soriano is not going to the DL. I'd bet the first born that he'll be back by Wednesday. Well I hope you're right then.

..and you find this amusing why, exactly?

For those of us who just got done watching 24, what's the deal with Soriano?

DC is about 4-5 hours from there. Are you implying I didn't know where Virgina Tech is in relation to DC? The Nationals market serves the state of Virgina. Hopefully you were just making a blanket statement. Whether for you, or for anyone else who may have read it and assumed it was closer than that. If something happens at Eastern Illinois, should the Cubs/Sox wear a patch? The commutes, TV rights, are the same. U of I is about that far from Chicago. I could see the Cubs putting a patch on if 32 students were gunned down @ U of I. Not saying it would definitely happen, of course.

IMO, it lends more legitimacy to the attacker if you let his/her actions cause the cancelation of unrelated events. Other wackos then look at it and go "see how much additional havoc I can cause?" Don't let them have that power. Play the games.

Soriano should be moved out of the leadoff role regardless of what's going on with Ramirez. And he never should have been there in teh first place. Trade Cesar, put Theriot at SS and let him leadoff. In my mind, either Murton or Theriot should be playing on any given day, and should be hitting leadoff. Either of those 2 guys are better than the leadoff hitters we've had for the majority of our past 10 seasons anyway. The only thing Soriano's been doing at the plate that's positive is hitting a few doubles, and those aren't going to be RBI-producing doubles nearly as often with him hitting leadoff. But regardless, moving forward we're going to be leaving runs on the table. The problem will be even worse once he starts getting his legs under him.

Not sure about Rocky. Hopefully Hill's 90MPH fastball will keep his arm under less stress than a 98MPH fireballer. After Woody and Prior, I'm into pitchers who can take the ball every time out over guys who shred their arms trying to break the land-speed record on their fastballs. If I'm not mistaken, Zito' fastball isn't much faster than 90 MPH, if it is at all, yet, he's been able to have some major league success. A little bit :) Hill's pitch speed is fine. It's all about where and when that curve is coming, not where & when he's going to blow the fastball by someone. There was a guy named Maddux once who relied on pitch selection and location over pitch speed. I hear he did alright.

I think it's still plenty of rest if we win in 5. Besides, I like the idea of having a token loss in there......just to keep it in the back of everyone's mind that they need to play 100% every game.

Not sure about Rocky. Hopefully Hill's 90MPH fastball will keep his arm under less stress than a 98MPH fireballer. After Woody and Prior, I'm into pitchers who can take the ball every time out over guys who shred their arms trying to break the land-speed record on their fastballs.

Soriano should be moved out of the leadoff role regardless of what's going on with Ramirez.

We need ARam back immediately. I hope he can play today.

Oh you can bet your bottom dollar the Bulls will be actively rooted against by the national media. Anyone who threatens their chance to funnel James and/or Wade into the finals is the enemy.

dunno why, this made me laugh. I have 3 words for our Cubs: Please stop sucking.

Lohse: "My stuff seemed about average today in warmups." ...yet still good enough to completely punk, thrash, and chop into little pieces our pathetic offense. *walks away, kicks stone.......mumbles obscenities to self*

Z's agent might also wish to delay any further contract talks until his client stops sucking. That's my grand contribution to this thread, thanks.

All going to come down to this last game against NJ. Bulls must seal the deal -- CLE isn't going to lose again. Not a must win, but man it's pretty important to slip into that weak side of the Eastern Conference bracket.

Padres with an extra late night on the west coast tonight because of the extended celebrations for Jackie. Then a long jaunt across country to play the next day in Chi town. Would be nice to jump on what will obviously be a slightly worn out ballclub.

It should be noted Murton lined out after a good AB in which he worked the count. He still is up there with DLee and Aram in having good ABs, and he tagged the ball right at Freel. It happens sometimes, but still a good, solid AB. Hopefully he'll average more than 0.9 PA/game next week. Somehow, I doubt it. I like his approach. He *should* start getting more AB once ARam returns. If not then I have no problem predicting that Floyd will break down, thus forcing it to happen anyway. And if that happens, then it's bad management by Lou. I don't believe Lou thinks Floyd's his every day guy for the season. Everyone can see Cliff grimacing when he hobbles around out there. Those legs aren't right, and everything I've read says they aren't likely to magically heal up perfect. If I'm wrong, then yeah I'll be upset. But I can't go there on April 15th, with ARam out.

I'll worry about lack of power if it shows staying power past the first few series of the season.