Category: Alfonso Soriano

The Cubs Are Turning Against Milton Bradley

June 26, 2009 by cubsnet

14.4% of the way through $30 million, the Cubs are turning against Milton Bradley (.237/.355/.379 through 70 team games). In the sixth inning of today’s win, Lou Piniella told him to take his uniform off and go home after Bradley started throwing water around in the dugout after Bradley made his third out of the game. Piniella says he will start Bradley tomorrow, but Alfonso Soriano—at least—says that if Bradley does not care about the team, he can stay home:

Soriano Out Six Weeks With Broken Hand

June 11, 2008 by cubsnet

Alfonso Soriano was hit in the left hand by a pitch in tonight's 7-2 win and broke a bone in that hand. He will be out, it appears, at least six weeks. Interesting that it happens on the same day the St. Louis Cardinals lose Albert Pujols to a calf injury for three weeks.

The Cubs will call up Micah Hoffpauir, who went 8-for-19 with 3 doubles in a brief stint in May. He was going to be called up when the Cubs go to Toronto this weekend, anyway. However, Hoffpauir has drawn just 1 walk in 65 plate appearances for Iowa this year.

Meanwhile, two players who thought they were major league players at the beginning of this year, continue on in Iowa. Felix Pie has hit just .171/.223/.333 for Iowa since his demotion in mid-May. And Matt Murton has hit .311 with a .411 OBA, but has just 1 home run in 50 games for Iowa. Newly signed, and old Cub, Jason Dubois already has 5 in 12 games. After Hoffpauir, the position player most likely to be recalled is Eric Patterson, who is hitting .326/.361/.514 for Iowa. Patterson is also 10-for-10 in stolen bases.

Derrek Lee's Slump Continues

May 17, 2008 by cubsnet

Derrek Lee has played in every game this year. It may be time to give him a day off. After his 0-for-5 performance in today's 7-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he is hitting .164/.179/.304 in the past 13 games. Prior to that, he had been hitting .352/.433/.639 over the first 30 games.

Thankfully, Alfonso Soriano has heated up significantly during Lee's slump, including 7 home runs in the past 6 games.

Soriano Errs and Redeems; Fox Returns; & Hill Walks

May 2, 2008 by cubsnet

Soriano to #2 Spot in Order

March 12, 2008 by cubsnet

It's as good of an excuse as any: "Lou Piniella plans to experiment with the Cubs lineup, dropping leadoff man Alfonso Soriano to No. 2 in an attempt to keep him healthy while inserting Kosuke Fukudome fifth," reports MLB.com. Soriano continues to have difficulties with his quadriceps and the move is designed to have him making fewer steal attempts, apparently. Whether that is a valid reason or not, having his free-swinging ways move down in the order is a move in the right direction.

Unfortunately, this now apparently means that the Cubs' worst hitter in the everyday lineup -- Ryan Theriot -- is going to be leading off instead of hitting second.

So who should be in the leadoff spot? Mark DeRosa appears to be the best option, absent doing something radical like putting Derrek Lee there or moving Fukudome to center and placing Matt Murton in right field and the leadoff spot.

All of this is, of course, subject to change, and to change quickly.

And it may change with a trade. As much as the Cubs like Theriot, I believe they would prefer a better hitter in the leadoff spot. Moving Soriano down may make a trade for Brian Roberts or a center fielder even more likely.

Cubs f/x thinks Soriano and Fukudome should switch in Piniella's experimentation. Perhaps. But the idea that Fukudome is an ideal #2 hitter is based on his Japanese numbers. I would like to see a couple of month's worth of performance before handing him the keys to a table-setting position in the order.

Bill James Nuggets on the Cubs

March 6, 2008 by Squib Hits

Joe Aiello at View from the Bleachers presents some interesting bits of information on the Cubs from Bill James' new book. Specifically, Alfonso Soriano's free-swinging ways and Felix Pie's excellent baserunning.

This One Is Over

September 28, 2007 by cubsnet

After Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the 9th inning of the San Diego Padres' 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, radio play-by-play man Bob Uecker went to break with, "This one is over."

When the Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs on June 30, they moved to 7.5 games ahead of the Cubs, the second place team. With the Cubs' 6-0 win tonight over the Cincinnati Reds and the Brewers' loss, the Cubs have clinched the NL Central divisional crown with two games to spare. It is not exactly a 1969 Cubs-style collapse for the Brewers, or even a 2007 Mets-style collapse, but it is a collapse. The Cubs needed help after their slow start and they got it when Milwaukee went 20-34 in July and August.

Carlos Zambrano came up huge tonight, throwing 7 shutout innings. He moved his season record to 18-13 and he is lined up to start Game 1 of the NLDS. Zambrano had decisions in 31 of his 34 starts this season. Zambrano's 31 decisions are the most by a Cubs' pitcher since Greg Maddux went 20-11 in 1992.

Alfonso Soriano also had a big game, leading it off with a home run, doubling, and throwing (another) runner out at the plate. The Cubs have not had a strong-armed outfielder with as an accurate an arm as Soriano since Andre Dawson.

Either Chip Caray or Steve Stone may be broadcasting the Cubs' playoff series.

Good News for the Stretch Drive

August 23, 2007 by cubsnet

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.

Kendall to Hit 2nd?

August 9, 2007 by Squib Hits

Here's a consequence of Alfonso Soriano's injury: With Ryan Theriot moving to the leadoff spot, the Cubs don't have a number 2 hitter: "Piniella said he's considering batting catcher Jason Kendall second when he returns to the lineup during the Colorado series," reports the Sun-Times. "Jacque Jones hit in that spot Wednesday for the first time since April 10."

Soriano Out 2-4 Weeks

August 5, 2007 by cubsnet

This is a tough break. The AP reports that Alfonso Soriano's strained right quadriceps, an injury he sustained Sunday night against the Mets, will keep him out of the lineup 2-4 weeks. The Cubs have some options, but none of them as good as Soriano.

Matt Murton should see increased playing time. Mike Fontenot and Ronny Cedeno might also see more time, with Mark DeRosa playing the outfield.

The Cubs have a number of players in Iowa who can play the outfield. Felix Pie is the most obvious call-up, but there is also Buck Coats (819 OPS for Iowa). Additionally, Eric Patterson (829), Jake Fox (978 OPS in 8 games since his demotion), and Scott Moore (890 OPS) could also play a corner outfield spot.