... and nothing overly exciting or positive has happened quite yet. Alfonso Soriano has a broken finger and Mark DeRosa just had heart surgery. Same old, same old.
The whole Soriano thing has been quite bothersome to me. I was jacked up beyond belief when the cubs signed him last year, but like most people, I was mostly let down by him last year. It's hard not to look at that mammoth contract he signed and to think that he is past his prime. He was playing with a bum hamstring last year and his ability to be a base stealing threat was diminished. And now this year, his hamstring supposedly is still not 100%, and now the broken finger. I hate to ask, "What's next?" but I'm sure we'll find that out eventually.
It's not that I'm overly worried about Soriano producing this year, but more that I don't like his role with the team. He came here and was promised to be the leadoff hitter, but quite frankly he's awful at it. I want a leadoff hitter who is going to scrap and fight to take pitches and get on base however he can, and to steal bases to get into scoring pitches for the big boppers behind him. Soriano is the complete opposite of this. The main reason why he wants to lead off is so he can swing at first pitch fastballs and drive the ball over the fence. There no reason why he should have 33 home runs and only 70 RBIs in a season. It's a complete waste of his offensive abilities. I would just make too much sense to bat him lower in the lineup where he could knock in some runs. And as for "only being able to hit fastballs", that is just stubborn. He's an annual all-star and should be able to be more patient at the plate in order to be more helpful to his team.
And as for a replacement in the leadoff spot, I realize the other options are not really obvious right now. When Theriot is in the zone, he makes a great leadoff hitter and a base stealing threat, but he needs to prove to be more consistent first. And the neverending Brian Roberts trade rumors are still hanging out there. Roberts coming to the Cubs seems to be the only thing that can solve this whole Soriano mess. He is a proven leadoff hitter and base stealer and would give the Cubs a solid reason to finally put Soriano where he belongs in the lineup.
It's a strange situation. The cubs are going after a second baseman, not because they need a second baseman, but only so he can leadoff and move Soriano down in the lineup. There's still a lot of time left before the start of the season. I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see when all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Keywords: Alfonso Soriano, Brian Roberts, Chicago Cubs, Cubbies, Mark DeRosa, Ryan Theriot., Spring Training
