Lou Hints Soriano May Not Lead Off, Cubs Fans Thank Their Respective Gods

Lou Pinella seems like an intelligent man to most of us. Though he is a bit stubborn at times, he clearly has an understanding of the game of baseball. While not exactly a sabermetrician, he does not make retarded Dusty Baker-esque comments like "we don't want to draw a lot of walks, it clogs up the basepaths."

Even though he seems to understand baseball, there are still a few questionable moves he has made. Foremost among those was his insistence that Soriano lead off. It appears that he is finally starting to budge on that one:

Cubs manager Lou Piniella has stuck by Alfonso Soriano as his leadoff man the last two seasons but on Monday said he may drop the left fielder down in the order. Piniella said he talked to Soriano at the Cubs Convention about it. One reason for the switch is that Soriano doesn't run as much as he used to.

I will just ignore that comment about how he doesn't run like he used to (running is overrated and in fact can be detrimental to the team if the success rate is not very high, it is also almost completely irrelevant to the effectiveness of a leadoff man). While he is not a terrible leadoff man, his numbers are clearly not conducive to getting on base, the most important thing from a leadoff man. It's not that he is bad at it, he actually had a .344 OBP last season. The thing is that he has a high slugging percentage at .532 which makes him far better suited to the 3, 4, 5, or even 6 spot in the lineup. On top of that, there are 7 everyday players that have a higher OBP than Soriano: Johnson, Lee, Soto, Ramirez, Theriot, Fontenot and...the player everyone loves to hate...Fukudome! Yes all 7 of those players had better OBPs. I don't hate Soriano, but I do hate him in the leadoff spot. Hit him 5th or 6th and have a Theriot, Fontenot, Johnson, or, dare I say it, Kosuke, lead off. Make it happen Lou.

And yes, I'm just as excited as you that baseball is almost here.

Today's Links

• Hey it's already Thursday of Super Bowl week! Here is the highlight from media day.
• Chris Berman is receiving the Pat Summerall Award for demonstrating, get this: character, integrity, and leadership. Like in the video.
• Stormin' Norman tried putting a voodoo curse on Eric Gordon before the game last night. Not sure if it worked, but the Bulls still beat up the Clippers to start their road trip.
  
• Blackhawks also start their road trip off with a win, besting the Ducks 3-2. Take that Charlie Conway!
  
• Derrick Rose will lead the Rookies against the Sophomores on All-Star Weekend. D-Wade will coach Rooks and Dwight Howard will run the Sophomores, while Lebron James will provide color commentary for the game. Oh sure, because he's black?!!
• The White Sox are making an Obama-themed hat, and the invite to throw out the first pitch stands. Make as many hats as you want, the Secret Service is not allowing an acceptance to that invitation.
• Soriano says he will hit anywhere in the lineup. Why do I feel like he misunderstood and really thought he was confirming that he would try to hit anything?

Chicago's Worst Contracts

In honor of Larry Hughes and his terrible contract, I decided to write about the worst sports contracts that currently exist in Chicago. I didn't include any Bears contracts since none of the money is guaranteed, so the team can cut a bad contract pretty much anytime. God willing Hughes and all these people will be gone soon, but until then, here goes:

Almost Over
Larry Hughes ($13 million a year through 2010): The issues with Larry Hughes have been well-documented here. While his numbers haven't been horrendous this year, he is a notorious team cancer and he steals minutes from a team that is trying to develop it's young backcourt. Are we really better off with Hughes than we were with Ben Wallace? I think its a wash.

Jose Contreras ($10 million a year through 2009): Ok, so Contreras had an unbelievable 2005 season that was key to the Sox title run. He had a decent year in 2006 and was then rewarded with this 3 year deal which made some sense at the time. His numbers have slid since then, however, posting a 5.57 ERA in 2007 and a 4.54 in an injury-riddled 2008. 2009 remains to be seen, but his contract is up after this season, so he won't be a problem for long.


Too Early to Tell
Kirk Hinrich ($9.5 million a year through 2012): Kirk Hinrich seemed like he would be a solid contributor on the Bulls for years. He may have reached his ceiling, but the Bulls were willing to pay him a 4 year deal based on that ceiling. Unfortunately he had an awful awful year last season (along with the rest of the Bulls). With the acquisition of Rose, it now looks like even if he gets back to his former 16ppg and 6apg lines, there may not be a place for him in the lineup. It remains to be seen if he can play next to Rose.

Alfonso Soriano ($17 million a year through 2014): Obviously he has the potential to be great. Even without the steals that he used to put up in New York, his bat can still sing and carry the Cubs offense for long stretches. If he can stay healthy, this contract may not be that terrible. That being said, he claims that he is 33, but the truth is he is probably more like 35 or 36. That would make him 39 and 40 in the final years of his contract. Very few players production gets better or even stays the same at that age, excluding Barry Bonds of course.

Luol Deng ($11.5 million a year through 2014): It's way too soon to tell with Luol. I was reluctant to put him on this list at first, but if he cannot find his place in this offense, it may turn out being a bad contract. At this point it seems his best may be a second option, which is definitely not worth the $71 million he got. He is also coming off an injury and learning his place in a new offense. Only time will tell.

Cristobal Huet (4 years, $22.5 Mil): Huet's contract didn't look bad at all with Khabibulin struggling last year. Khabibulin's deal would have come close to topping this list a year ago actually. The Hawks signed Nikolai to a four year, $27 million deal when he was 32. Huet was also 32 when the Hawks inked him for $4.5 million less. However, with Khabibulin playing well, the Hawks have two goaltenders taking up two of their four biggest contracts. It's great to have a dependable backup, and it was nice of him to push Khabibulin to be decent, but that's a lot of money for a backup. Obviously the deal could end up being okay if Huet emerges as a starter when Bulin leaves, or the Hawks can use him as trade bait to get another defender or veteran scorer for the playoffs. Remember the Hawks still have promising youngster Corey Crawford waiting for his turn. (Thanks to StevieY19 for contributing on this one)

Just Plain Awful
Andres Nocioni ($7 million a year through 2012): This guy is terrible. Somehow his +/- is high, but that statistic is very misleading. He is not worth this money, but could be at least somewhat useful if used as a SMALL FORWARD (stop playing him at pf and c Vinny, we get killed on the glass!) in short bursts to bring energy off the bench. He can't guard anyone on defense and he is a black hole on offense. The one great thing about Nocioni is that someone somewhere will probably think he is a good piece to add to their team. But will Pax pull the trigger if he gets the chance? Probably not.

Kosuke Fukudome ($12 million a year through 2011): This one is painful for me. I bought a Kosuke jersey tee 2 days after they signed him last winter. He was unstoppable in April and May and even though I felt like a douche wearing a trendy Fukudome shirt, at least he was playing well. We all know what happened next. The bottom completely fell out. His performance from May onwards was horrendous. He is very good defensively and extremely patient at the plate, which makes him useful as a late inning defensive replacement and a pinch hitter; the highest-paid defensive replacement/pinch hitter in the National League. There is a slim chance he can adjust to major league pitching. Very slim.

Cubs Convention Recap

I wasn't at the Cubs convention myself, but there are a few tidbits of news that came out of it which might be interesting. Here's a little recap of the highlights (and lowlights):

• Zambrano thinks Lasik surgery will fix his subpar numbers from the second half of the season last year. Seems unlikely that fixing his eyes will fix the fatigue in his arm.



• Speaking of tired arms, it appears that Harden has a minor tear in his shoulder. It's unclear how serious it is, but the coaching staff assures us its no big deal. Hmmm.



• Apparently Soriano is willing to bat in whichever position Lou puts him. Lou says he likes Fonzy in the leadoff but will consider other options. Same old same old.



• Apparently there will be a competition between Gregg and Marmol for closer. I'm on board with that, but we all know Marmol is the guy. As I've said a hundred times, Gregg is Bobby Howry 2.0.



• Hendry was booed on Friday. I presume it had to do with dealing DeRosa, but who knows with Cubs fans. Apparently when Aaron Miles was introduced, the fans chanted "De-Ro, De-Ro" so there you have it.



• Apparently Samardijza was told to report to spring training "ready to start". Obviously injuries and other circumstances may change that, but the question becomes; Who does he start over? With Harden, Z, Lilly, Dempster, Marshall, there's not much room. I guess Marshall would be the obvious one to lose his spot if Samardijza has a good spring.



• Improvements to Wrigley were discussed. The new Friendly Confines Cafe by right field will be opening. Also the new triangle building across the street should be ready around 2012-2013.



• Soto was MIA from the convention. Probably not a big deal.



• Day 3 was much of the same as day 1 and 2. Repeated assurances from Hendry all weekend that the dealing was far from over. Numerous questions about the order of the lineup.



• Were you wondering why Bradley was given Sosa's number 21? So were a lot of fans, since there are some expectations that his number may be retired.



• A lot of discussion had on Day 3 revolved around the Cubs farm system. I'm not too familiar with it, but apparently there is a push for "more athletic pitchers". Hopefully that means pitchers not made of glass.

All in all the biggest news to come out of the convention wasn't related to it at all. That was the deal that sent Pie to Baltimore for spare parts. Otherwise there was nothing especially interesting. Hendry was very coy in responding to all questions about Jake Peavy, which would lead one to believe a deal is still possible. Pitchers and catchers report soon, so stay tuned...

Cubs Not Built for a Short Series?

I'm not a fan of the five game series to start the baseball playoffs. It's too wacky; too many things can happen to the best teams that knock them out in three to five games after a 162 game season. I would be in favor of shortening the season by a few weeks and extending the first round to seven games. That's a different topic for another time.

A short series had nothing to do with the Cubs loss. While I was concerned the short series could mean a fluky early exit for the Cubs, that just isn't how it went down. Alfonso Soriano has a different idea.

"We're a very good team for [162] games, but we don't do nothing after that," Soriano said. "That's the difference. We're not put together for [a short series]."

I'm not an expert, but isn't the baseball season made up of short series? They seemed to do fine then. Maybe he meant this team wasn't put together for the playoffs. Maybe he meant he wasn't put together for the playoffs, because it demands players have an elevated sense of urgency, and maybe even some effort. Although Soriano made a catch within ten feet of the wall in Wrigley for the first time ever, I didn't see anything from him this series.

I hope this was either a misquote or Fonzy didn't have a straight face when he gave it, because it is ridiculous. I'm sure if it were a longer series Soriano and the Cubs would have been right in their element. But really, are we sure "playoffs" isn't what belongs in that last set of brackets in the quote?

Everyone Knows Ballplayers Never Cheat on Their Wives, So Who is This Young Lady?

Deadspin is reporting that Alfonso Soriano has a little squeeze on the side, even though he's married. Apparently her name is Keri Wiesen and she has a facebook page visible to people in the Chicago network.

She's a looker. Way to go Fonzy.

Soriano Is Upset By Questions About His Fielding; Thousands Of North Siders Share His Sentiments

Soriano's fielding has reached (and surpassed) the point where it needs to be addressed. I know that the media has covered this ad nauseum in Chicago, but after last night's game where he let a single drop in front of him in a tight ballgame, I feel the need to address the issue. Well apparently so does Fonzy:

Soriano does take pride in his defense and doesn't want to be considered a liability. He has a strong arm but can't afford to look lackadaisical on routine plays."I feel very comfortable in left field," he said. "I just made a couple of mistakes, I know. But it's not like I don't feel comfortable."

Great, he feels comfortable. Well I don't feel comfortable, do you? Why not switch him out late in games as a defensive replacement? Well he doesn't think that's a good idea:

"I want to play nine innings," he said. "That's why they brought me here—to play nine innings and play hard every day. I don't like to come out of the game if the game is not over. That's me."

Normally I love guys that say those types of things when they back up the talk on the field! What is so frustrating about it is that when Fonzi is in the lineup, his bat can change a game, if he's hot of course. We all remember the stretches where it seems like he can't hit a grapefruit. Anyways, for 20 million a year the man should be concentrating EVERY PLAY! Please!? (I'm not even going to address him watching his "home runs" only to find that they were in fact doubles, which ended up being singles because he was admiring them instead of running)

UPDATE: Soriano hit a go-ahead home run to lead the Cubs to a 3-2 victory not 2 hours after this post went up. He's making me crazy! It's a magical year. (StevieY19 has the copyright on the word 'magic' when applied to the 2008 Chicago Cubs season)

Today's Links

• Zambrano hits, pitches, cracks molar, eats baby, and wins. Cubs have won 7 straight series. Wow.
• Apparently Kenny Williams "knew" the Sox would make a run this year. Ummm...good prediction I guess.
• Cubs reactions to the new MLB instant replay rule.
• Soriano apologizes for being a bitch, but does it again anyways? What is this guys deal?
• Good analysis of the Bears game last night by position. What happened to the defense?
  

Today's Links

Hester looks downfield, hits Booker right between the numbers! Touchdown!!! Apparently the Bear have been practicing plays with Hester as QB. Interesting.

Ex-Chicago Bears wide receivers insulting the offense? Your turn Justin Gage. Because I really give a shit what you think. You suck.

Cubs win early game, Harden pitches gem in late game to win two. Huge.

Anybody notice the Brewers are winning a lot since they got swept?

Should Soriano be punished for not trying? (not running out of the batters box). Some angry fans at Bleed Cubbie Blue think he should. I agree.

Deadspin randomly insults Pete Myers. Why pick on Pete? Though in a way comparing him to Kobe is sort of a compliment, right?

Favre's arm is tired. Really? He's been throwing rockets for 30 years, imagine that.

Quick summary of why Lance Broadway sucks from a Sox fan.

Samardzija may start Sunday. This guy is working out really well. (Update: Marshall is starting over Samardzija, but he's still doing well. Thanks Flossmoron)

Sox win to stay in first. The starters are turning it on here.

Today's Links

• White Sox win, Vazquez goes 8 shutout innings with 10 k's. When he's good he's good. Sox are gonna need it with Contreras all gimped out.
  
• Hilarious pictures of Cubs fans. Embarassingly hilarious.
  
• Soriano knows Japanese, and he's going to talk to Fukudome about consistency. Uh-oh.
  
• This Beekman guy is filling in nicely at guard for the Bears. We could use some pleasant surprises.
• Interview with Luol Deng. Not really about basketball, but its still interesting.
• Cubs Game rained out last night. Doubleheader today!
• Iguodala signs for 80 million. The Deng deal looks pretty good now. BG has got to be pissed though, he's the only "premier" restricted free agent left unsigned.