Given the following information, who do you bat second in the lineup?

Of all the Cubs' players having big Septembers, Matt Murton's has probably been the quietest. Yet, since I wrote that Murton was continuing to have a disappointing season on August 23, Murton is hitting .428/.478/.652 in 16 games after today's 3-for-4 with 2 doubles performance. The Cubs have been seeing more lefthanded pitchers, Piniella has put Murton in opportunities to succeed, and Murton is delivering in a big way. I believe the Cubs' refusal to trade him earlier this year after his demotion will pay long-term dividends.

Aramis Ramirez will no longer get, and apparently no longer needs, days off to rest his knee, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Ramirez has been remarkably consistent the past four seasons, each time posting an adjusted OPS+ between 126 and 136. This year, he and Derrek Lee are tied for the team lead at 131. Ramirez has not played in 28 of the Cubs' games this year.

Additionally, "Alfonso Soriano (quadriceps) ran through a series of trainer-supervised tests before the game, including full batting practice and base-running. He appeared to fare well but is not expected back for a week to 10 days." Soriano's return is important. For whatever reason, Matt Murton has continued to have a disappointing season. He has hit .240/.296/.440 in 54 plate appearances since Soriano went down on August 5.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Cubs "flatly refused to consider trade scenarios that involved [Matt] Murton during discussions with the Padres that eventually sent Michael Barrett to San Diego a week after Murton's demotion." Murton is hitting .280/.368/.467 for Iowa since his demotion. He has two home runs in 75 at-bats.

It wasn't the return of one of Henry Blanco, Daryle Ward, or Aramis Ramirez that did Matt Murton in. It was the need for a thirteenth pitcher, Clay Rapada. (Though Sean Marshall sure made that need disappear tonight.) Murton has a good attitude about the demotion, saying, "I don't think that 100 at-bats dictates what a player is capable of doing, especially after what they've done in their previous at-bats. At the same time, in the market we're in here, and the team we have, and the un-met expectations at this point, there are going to be moves made, and I'm the move."

The 6'5" 26-year-old lefthanded throwing Rapada, meanwhile, had a 3.77 ERA in 28.2 innings for Iowa. He was 9-for-9 in save opportunities. Last year, Rapada split time between double-A West Tenn and Iowa. At West Tenn, he had a 0.82 ERA in 43.2 innings, striking out 45 and walking just 10. He had a 3.04 ERA for Iowa last year in 23.2 innings, as he last some control, walking 15. As Lou Piniella commented, the Cubs won't need 13 pitchers for long, so Rapada doesn't have much time to make a mark.

Arizona Phil runs through the roster possibilities once Henry Blanco, Daryle Ward, and Aramis Ramirez return from the disabled list. I think he's right: there is a very good chance that Matt Murton will be headed to Des Moines soon. Coming into tonight's 0-for-3 with a double-play performance, Murton was hitting .259/.338/.345, "good" for an adjusted OPS 9.5% below league average. After Murton hit 319/.390/.522 after the All-Star Break last year, those are disappointing numbers indeed. And it is not as if Murton is providing much of a lift against lefthanded pitching either, posting a 743 OPS against lefties, less than Cliff Floyd's career 796. Angel Pagan will benefit from a Murton demotion. The Cubs will need some outfielder other than Alfonso Soriano who can hit from the right side.

The Daily Herald's Bruce Miles writes in today's paper that "there have been rumblings that Piniella is growing impatient with the roster given to him by Hendry." I'd be curious to know what Piniella wants.

The Cubs are currently 6th in the National League in runs scored, but there are certainly problems on offense. Three of the top four outfielders have slugging percentages below .400. Jacque Jones, Matt Murton, and Cliff Floyd have just four home runs between them. None of them have ever had slugging percentages that low over a full season, excepting Floyd's rookie year as a 21-year-old in 1994. Jones is hitting .245/.302/.335 as the starting centerfielder. Much more of that and the Cubs will be compelled to replace him with Felix Pie for good. The trouble is that Jones is signed through next season, and for $6.3M.

PECOTA projects Floyd at .265/.344/.461 next season. Those numbers could be even better if Lou Piniella severely limits Floyd's at-bats against left handed pitching. For each of the past five seasons, Floyd's OPS against righties has been at least 100 points higher than his OPS against lefties.

UPDATE (9:20pm): Contract details, courtesy of the AP:

The Daily Herald's Bruce Miles reports that Lou Piniella said yesterday that Alfonso Soriano will not be playing center field in 2007, but will play one of the corner outfield spots. That means one of three things: the Cubs will either 1) sign a stopgap center fielder like Kenny Lofton; 2) move Jacque Jones to center field; or 3) let Felix Pie, Eric Patterson, and Angel Pagan fight it out in spring training. (On Patterson playing center, see View from the Bleachers.)

ESPN.com's Keith Law doesn't think (sub. req'd) the Alfonso Soriano signing was a smart move. He makes some good points, though I'm going to qualify them a bit (my comments in italics):

The Cubs have a number of areas in which they need to improve upon their 15th ranked offense: second base, shortstop, centerfield, the bench. As Chris Sprow wrote in the Chicago Sports Review: "[F]or all the aplomb a hire like Piniella creates, the work that must be done with a messy roster is where Hendry will have to concentrate now, and the way he and Piniella can work together will tell a lot more about the future than a press conference, much less spring training."

So what about leftfield? What should the Cubs do with Matt Murton? It's one of the biggest -- or, at least, one of the most not immediately obvious -- decisions the Cubs face this winter. Do they go into spring training 2007, as they did spring training 2006, with Murton as their starter, or do they sign or trade for someone with a more established track record (e.g., Carlos Lee or Alfonso Soriano)?

We can go through the numbers, but here's the short of it: Murton was an average offensive player in 2006, which means he was below average for a leftfielder. The Cubs need better production out of their leftfielder in 2007, especially when the St. Louis Cardinals had a fellow first round draft pick and leftfielder -- Chris Duncan -- emerge this year to the tune of .293/.363/.589.

(Courtesy of The Sports Xchange) Aramis Ramirez is not looking back. He is looking ahead.

Ramirez opened a three-game series at Philadelphia on Monday night with a two-homer, seven-RBI night, bringing his season totals to 35 homers and 110 RBIs.

Those numbers are respectable, and with an "out" clause in his four-year contract this winter, he could find some huge money on the free agent market.