Friends Of Lollygaggers, I Mean Kerry!

Hey Dudes and Dudesses. I want to thank all of you that visit and post here because of the sparkling wit and insight provided by your humble host Clute. Ok,Ok, I know you really come here because of Lollyagger Girl Kerry, but I would be remiss if I didn't say thanks to all of you for your support.

I'm sure most of you have noticed that I'm not able to post as regularly as I would like or you deserve, but time constraints with starting a new business and my family have made it difficult to find the time.

I'm sure you can all understand and hope you still check back from time to time with us as I'll do my best to post when there are some major events shaking up Cub Nation.

I'd like to invite all of you to visit the outstanding site 1060 West, as I'll be contributing there. This will allow me the opportunity to still spout off on the state of affairs concerning our beloved men in blue without the obligation of posting regularly.

1060 West is really one of the most well written Cub sites and quite frankly, I can't figure why in the hell they'd welcome this bricklayer of a writer into their fold. I feel privileged to be associated with 1060 West and can only believe it will provide a larger audience to view my rants and ravings.

I just hope the gang over at 1060 West motivation to bring me on board wasn't based on getting Kerry's phone number? Hah!

Anyway, thanks again everyone and "Go Cubs!"

Clute aka Tony Almeida RIP

It's Starting To Get Old...

Watching our Ace acting like a rookie. I have been as big an advocate of Zambrano as anyone, but his temper tantrums are wearing thin on me. What about you.

It's not like he is a rookie anymore. Though he's only 26, this is his 5th full season and his emotions are getting the best of him. Much to his credit, he righted the ship today, but is this the way we expect an Ace to act on the mound?

I know his stuff is filthy, but would you feel comfortable with him on the mound in the seventh game of a playoff series? If this continues, Piniells should suspend his ass and send a message. GROW UP you clown.

I've heard now for two years how he's going to win the Cy Young award. I'm not saying he doesn't have the stuff to do the job, but shut the fuck up already. If you're going to blow a gasket every time an umpire squeezes you a little you can forget the Cy Young and eventually the respect of your teammates as well.

Don't get me wrong, I want Zambrano to do well and I don't want to trade him but, Piniella has to knock some sense into this hothead or he'll never be as good as he thinks he is or be the type of guy we want to tie up for the next 5 years.

I hope Zambrano will finally grow up soon, otherwise it's Addios MF, at the end of the season and it'll be another major miscalculation by our crack front office.

The Two Hole!

Now that The Riot, has been inserted into the lineup as a much of a regular as any other player besides the Big Three of Lee, A-Ram and The Fonz, it's time to look at who really belongs in that two hole. First clue, it's not The Riot.

Our fearless LSU alum deserves the leadoff spot. If Piniella can get over his man crush of Soriano, which I think he just might, the lineup would fall into place quicker than Rosie O'Donnell can say Gulf of Tonkin, Google it!

The Cubs are loaded with run producing hitters but are a little thin on high OBP guys.

I don't know of any successful lineup that is configured without it's most disciplined hitters at the top of the order. So who deserves to be in that two hole following The Riot?

Well first let's look at a couple of factors that are unique to the two spot in the order. First, besides a high OBP is the ability to advance the runner on base in front of you. Not usually a quality of a free swinging power hitter. Next, the ability to hit down in the count so as to allow the leadoff man an opportunity to steal. Again not usually a quality of a free swinging power hitter. Let's face it, when you have the team's best hitter on deck, a free swinger in the two hole just doesn't make any sense.

We now have to examine what is lost in the way of run production by placing an extra base hitting machine in the two hole. First, you weaken the bottom of the order's ability to drive in runs with fewer men on base in front of him. For example, even with Soriano's recent surge in hitting his OBP is still no higher than DeRosa's, Murton's or even Jones. It would appear that more RBI potential is lost with Soriano hitting second than having either of the aforementioned three, not to mention Soriano's lack of patience that doesn't allow him to advance the leadoff man or even allow him a chance to steal a base.

Murton and DeRosa have shown as RH sticks, the ability to hit behind the runner, there power isn't prodigious, therefore you're not sacrificing an RBI machine in the two hole who could produce more runs scored lower in the lineup, and you'd probably help them both with their batting average hitting immediately in front of Lee.

The 3, 4 & 5 hitters of Lee, A-Ram and The Fonz, would be as potent as any in baseball providing plenty of run scoring opportunities with high OBP hitters on base in front of them. You also still have a solid bottom of the order with Barrett and the Jones/Floyd/Murton/DeRosa revolving door depending on who's starting, therefore taking most of the pressure off Pie to contribute offensively.

The starting rotation has been more than solid enough for the Cubs to be at least be a 500 team, but the lack of runs scored is the sticking point even taking into account the bullpen has given up a few games. The Cubs just need more base cloggers on base before the middle of the lineup and the runs will come.

Piniella has to get Soriano out of the top of the order.

Questions Answered!

After watching tonight's 3-2 loss to the Pirates, I hope you can all see why The Riot should be hitting leadoff. Only one stat I really need to give you, 3BB's. Now don't give me this shit he's hitting at the top of the order in the 2 hole, because what he gives you is negated by the whiff machine hitting in front of him, unless Soriano makes the last out of the prior inning.

The Cubs have to get the free swinging Soriano out of the top of the order and get anybody that understands that when you bat one or two in the order, your main job is to get on base, anyway you can, period! Top of the order guys usually have good speed but they also have good plate discipline, which results in a high OBP.

Let me use the example of another power hitting left fielder to illustrate my point. If the Cubs had Adam Dunn in left field instead of Soriano, it would probably be a wash in the power department and strikeouts. Soriano has tons of speed but Dunn is a plow horse. However, Soriano has an OBP of 301 and Dunn has a OBP of 363.

Now you certainly wouldn't put Dunn in the leadoff spot just because he has an excellent OBP and the Cubs shouldn't put Soriano in the leadoff spot just because he has speed.

Question Time!

Piniella's starting to really shake things up, which is a good thing. Gone are the days of complacency under Baker and it looks as though Piniella has served notice to most everybody. Perform or ride the pine.

Of course I said most everybody, and I'm specifically referring to The Fonz, as being the exception.

So I have a few questions for you.

Does anyone think Soriano is an effective leadoff man?

A leadoff man's primary responsibility is to get on base, correct? Steal bases second, correct? Hitting home runs, is kind of down the list on requirements, correct?

Do you think that the primary reason Soriano was obtained this offseason was because of his speed or power?

If it was his speed, he's not using it much as his 301 OBP is lower than any other regular other than Izturis.

Soriano's career numbers shows he will steal bases and hit for power to be sure, but they also show his OBP is around 320.

So again I ask you, did the Cubs acquire Soriano primarily for his speed or power?

Piniella has to evaluate Soriano just like everybody else. The Riot has shown he can do the job at leadoff and we have Murton, DeRosa and even Barrett for goodness sake that have solid OBP and can do a credible job in the two hole. Who knows, a move of Soriano to a run producing spot in the order might even take a little pressure off him and get his bat going.

The Cubs would then have a devasting 3,4 5 punch with Soriano following Lee and Ramirez.

It's About Time For...

Piniella to start making some moves that are in the long term interest of the Cubs. The club is 7-11 and that's not a winner anywhere but at the craps tables.

I've been saying this forever, but Piniella has to start looking at the long term ramifications of his lineup, even if Hendry didn't. It's early in the season, but it is becoming more apparent day in and day out, that the vaunted offensive Juggernaut is not all it's cracked up to be. The best offensive performers so far are Lee and Ramirez, and they were here last year. The problem, as it's always been, is having anybody on base in front of them.

Piniella has to forget this fantasy that Soriano is a lead off man and put him down in the order where he can do some real damage. Soriano's speed is just an extra asset to his game, not the key part of it.

The Riot has more than enough speed to lead off, not to mention a decent OBP and keen eye at the plate.

What the Cubs need in their lineup is more speed and better defense. Why? Because speed and defense never go in a slump.

With Soriano in the 5 hole in the lineup, imagine the fear the Cubs would strike in opposing pitchers hearts. The Riot and Murton at the top of the order puts the two highest OBP hitters in the lineup where they belong, in front of the Mashers.

The three kids, Murton, Pie and The Riot, have to be given an opportunity to play most everyday, regardless who's kicking and screaming for playing time. It's not like the team is going gangbusters with the veterans anyway.

Let the kids play their way out of a starting job. They just have to much potential to sit around and platoon. You already know what kind of player Jones, Floyd and DeRosa are. They all have some power it's true, but have horrible OBP's and are suspect at best defensively. An MO like that screams bench player, bench player, bench player.

Murton can play defensively on a par with Jones, Floyd and DeRosa. The Riot plays as good as defense as DeRosa and more importantly, because of his speed and OBP is more suited as a lead off man and allows for Soriano to move down in the order. Pie's defense alone, no matter what he hits, anchors a stinko of an outfield without him. I for the life of me can't figure out why it's ok to not worry about Izturis hitting but Cubs management gets their underwear all bunched up about Pie's. Who has a future with this team, Izturis or Pie. Case closed.

Piniella has to find out what these kids can do on an everyday basis as it's become quite apparent, the status quo isn't getting the job done.

Hendry Tied Piniella's Hands!

It seems more clear to me that Hendry will lose his job because of this year. Not that any but the best of GM's would have much of a chance with a new owner coming in, but Hendry this off season, in his kid in the candy store approach to spend the twenty dollar bill he found, has brought in players with no thought to how they help the team.

Piniella is now faced with this absurd surplus of outfielder's of which none can actually field their position. If we look at this team objectively, you understand how Piniella's hands are tied.

Backup player's are the type player who brings something to the table the starter doesn't. Like Blanco for instance. When we look at the Cubs outfield personnel, that's not the case.

I'm sure Piniella would have felt comfortable going to war after spring training with Pie in CF, but how many damn outfielder's was he going to carry?

Hendry dropped the ball by not trading Jones and eating some salary if need be. Pie is the LH bat that replaces Jones and his superior defense, as evidenced in yesterday's game where at least Ohman wasn't brought in until Piniella had no one left, demonstrated that superior defense can help the offense just like a HR or RBI.

As Cubs fans we just don't see great defensive play very often. When was the last time you saw a Cubs outfielder defensively intimidate the opposition's base runners?

Pie's defensive play yesterday demonstrates how numb we've become and how clueless Hendry is realizing how great defensive play can help the team. When Soriano comes back are you going to tell me he belongs in CF after seeing Pie play there? Why should Pie be sent back down? Is it money? My answer is yes and I'll tell you why. Outside of Soriano, Jones is the biggest contract in the outfield. If it wasn't a matter of money, why wasn't Jones traded when Floyd was acquired? You guessed it, the Cubs would rather eat their children than eat part of a contract. Unless of course they are trading away a HOF pitcher. Don't you think the Cubs would've received a player like Izturis for Jones? Of course they could have.

Hendry's dumb moves go even further with the signing of DeRosa. Now don't get me wrong, I like the way DeRosa has performed, but why would you pay a career utility man starters money when you had The Riot on the team? The organizational scouting department is clueless.

There was a study done by one of these Baseball America type organizations that showed a player's stats on what percentage of the time he scored per plate appearance. This list included Pujols, Seizmore, Utley, Beltran and players of that stature as scoring with the greatest frequency per plate appearance. Do you know who was #1 on that list last year? Ryan Theriot aka The Riot.

The Riot has speed and more importantly knows how to steal bases, doesn't strike out much, good OBP, seems to play at least average defense, and cost what, $600,000?

Want more great Hendry moves? Ok let me ask you this. How does Guzman get sent down to bring up Pie and not Ohman? I'm waiting? Cat got your tongue? Let me share with you this little nugget. Do you know San Diego has zero LHRP's and they are leading the league in ERA? What good is a LHRP if he sucks? Guzman was sent down because he has options but Ohman should be released. It's to bad because we could've made a deal with the Indians this off season as their bullpen was and is still a mess. Come on, the Indians have 42 year old Roberto Hernandez as a setup man and 38 year old Borowski closing. But once again, Hendry's failure to make a trade and move Ohman in the off season means that after his showing during the regular season, the only option is to release him. Will Hendry do that? Ohman makes only a couple of million a year but that's still no guarantee they'll eat even that paltry sum. Enough said as I could go on and on.

So now what? Well if I had Hendry's ear, the first thing I'd tell him is that his only chance of keeping his job is to Win or at least be in the World Series. Then for him to make these moves.

Pie's defense has to be in the starting lineup even if he hits 240.

Jones needs to be traded immediately, even if it means eating some of the contract which they may not have to do anyway.

Option Ohman to the minors, he probably won't clear waivers but who gives a shit. His contract is peanuts.

If Miller struggles after a couple of more starts, option him as well and slide Guzman into the fifth spot and bring up Rocky Cherry.

This team is definitely a work in progress but Pinella seems more than willing to play his best people. If Hendry would clear some of the dead weight that ties Piniella's hands, the team will be in much better shape.

Quade Is Qlueless!

Is Mike Quade the next Wendell Kim? You bet your ass he is!

You started to wonder in spring training when Quade held up runners but I tended to give him the benefit of the doubt as he might not be that familiar with his players.

Unfortunately it was a precursor of thing to come.

After the gaff in the Cubs 1-0 loss to Cincinnati, when he didn't send Soriano from 2B on a single to CF late in the game, I started to realize my previous doubts were confirmed. Soriano is our $138 million dollar speedster that is batting leadoff and single handedly creating at least a 5 degree wind chill drop in the temperature every time he whiffs. Now we finally have Soriano on base and he's held up at 3B? I don't want to here all this bullshit that you never make the first or third out taking the extra base. The Cubs are struggling mightily at the plate against Lohse that day and Soriano is after all, our $138 million dollar stud.

Now again today Quade shows how inept he is when in extra innings he calls time out in a critical stage of the game when The Riot was at the plate with a 3-1 count. When the camera panned around, after The Riot was called back into the batters box, it showed Quade raising his palms upward and shrugging his shoulders as if to say, sorry Ryan, I was trying to get the umpires attention as I just remembered the punch line to the joke I was telling him between innings.

Quade, you're the joke. You and that meathead Ohman. How the both of you are on this team and not riding a bus in Iowa is beyond me.

Well I'm pretty sure the Ohman situation will handled quickly, as the most likely reason he was retained when Pie was called up and Guzman was sent down, was because of Guzman's long relief appearance last night.

5 Games & Counting!

It Looks as though Piniella is going to shake things up with the Cubs lineup. The lack of production can be directly linked to the lack of base cloggers in front of the middle of the lineup.

It's true they've faced some credible pitching, but when you give up a 5 run lead in the 5th inning and can't scratch across one run to take the game into extra innings, there is something wrong.

Hopefully The Riot is showing what a gamer he is and Piniella will move the kid into the lineup regularly. The Riot belongs in the leadoff spot followed by Murton. When Murton sits Piniella should insert Barrett into the 2 hole. Those three hitters, Murton, Barrett and The Riot, have the best OBP on the team without sacrificing much power in RBI situations.

Don't get me wrong, I like on how DeRosa is playing but not at the expense of sitting The Riot. The point is DeRosa doesn't have enough speed to move Soriano out of the leadoff spot, The Riot does. DeRosa can get plenty of AB's in RF platooning with Jones. If Murton and Floyd can platoon, so can DeRosa and Jones. DeRosa also can pick up AB's at 3B and 2B. It might be worth it to experiment with Soriano in the 2 hole where he would have the protection of Lee following him. Otherwise, whiff machines like Soriano and Jones belong down in the order where their lack of OBP won't hurt the middle of the lineup's production.

Uncle Lou says he breaks the season down into 10-16 game intervals, then he evaluates his players based on that 16 game stretch. Well the Cubs are 4-7 and the clock is ticking. 5 games to go for Piniella's shakeup if he doesn't get into a fist fight first.

You the man Lou, you the man!
Lou Piniella's 1st Cubs tirade on ChicagoSports.com