All of us who saw the game know how well Alfonso Soriano played in the outfield today. So does Uncle Lou, apparently; In his post game comments to the press he said, "Obviously if we're not scoring runs we'll have to put our best defense out there, that's for sure." Get ready for the possibility of a heavy dose of Tyler Colvin, and/or Xavier Nady in the days ahead.
That's if it's not just Lou's frustration talking, although he didn't appear to be angry when he said it.
Soriano's defense? It's self explanatory. This guy's defense has been killing the Cubs for a while now. And the fact that he can't hit anymore is the worst of all.
People are saying he has to stay healthy for him and the Cubs to have a chance. I'm saying the opposite: Please, feel free to pull a hammy, Sori. Something season-ending would be beneficial for the team's chances.
As horrible as that sounds, it's the unfortunate truth. Because he's not getting benched at $18 million a year forever.
Too bad we didn't have his old batting coach Jara...oh wait a minute. Never mind.
I know people will blame the bullpen. They did contribute to the problems, but this offense is putting too much pressure on the young pitchers. It's not like they're getting killed. Any way you slice it, surrendering walks so often can't continue.
We really need to make sure Sean Marshall stays healthy. Man, what a curveball he got going early this season. He's one of the best values out there. I don't know what he's making, but I think its safe to say he'll be due for a raise soon.
Of course I can't write about this game without mentioning Tom Gorzelanny. Now I'm not going to get too excited about Carlos Silva and Gorzelanny this early, because it's still against the Reds who have yet to prove themselves. But if these two continue to pitch like this? Well, just like Soriano's defense, that's something that speaks for itself.
Especially if our top three pitchers continue to play like they have. Minus Carlos Zambrano's first game, of course.
But when your offense has innings like the first two by the Cubs, they're not doing our pitchers any favors. Just like last season, the staff feels like every pitch could be the difference in the game.
To let rookie pitcher Mike Leake off the hook two innings in a row like that was disgraceful. The game could have well been over by the second inning; if the guys we're paying to come through in those situations weren't over anxious, and swung at anything that was thrown at them. One Soriano on the team is enough.
So we continue on with the 2009 season: Part Two, it seems. If this first week wasn't classic deja vu, nothing is. The only good thing right now with that is at least we'll have 83 wins, which seems optimistic at this point.
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