SB Nation User Blog: ambrosiadreams

Done Being Patient With Soriano

ambrosiadreams — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:37:29 -0000

I am fully aware that Alfonso Soriano is an important part of this team, specifially the offense. Why he is penciled into the lineup every day, though, is beyond my understanding. Let's take a look at some numbers, and perhaps you will see why this slump doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

Since May 17th, he has hit 2 HR's, and his batting average has dropped from .280 to .226. 42 games is quite a long "slump", especially when there are other competent players sitting on the bench. All this being said, I do want Soriano as my everyday left fielder, so here's what I'd do:

Put Soriano on the DL effective Monday, when Reed, Aramis, and Guzman are all scheduled to be activated. That would allow the club the ability to option 1 less position player. Send him down to extended Spring Training (or anywhere, really) where he can work on his swing next week and then he'd obviously have the all star break off as well. Once those 15 days are up (only 10 games by my calcuations, though feel free to double check that) we should have a better idea of who the other casualty will be, and Soriano could once again man left field, hopefully refreshed and rejuvenated.

In the meantime, I'd like to see this lineup:

Fuld
Theriot
Lee
Fox
Bradley
Fukudome
Soto
Fontenot
Pitcher

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. But I feel very strongly about not wanting to see Soriano in the lineup tomorrow. At this point, he's a liability both at the plate and in the field. Let's hope he gets straightened out really soon!

Energy Guys Needed - Sam Fuld Anyone??

ambrosiadreams — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:17:49 -0000

OK, so it's no secret that the team has been struggling for the better part of this year, and I've heard many of you share my sentiments that team seems to be lacking energy and fire. (and yes, Lou, you need to be a dragon right now in my opinion) That being said, I have my own opinions about what this team needs right now, and as a fan I'm not shy about sharing said opinions. So, as a shot in the arm to our favorite boys of summer, I offer the following suggestion.

I've heard many of you, including Al in his nice game recap, call for a DL or benching of Soriano. While I would also like to see Fox and Hoffpauir get more playing time (and PLEASE Lou, play Blanco tomorrow instead of Miles), I think this is the perfect time for Sam Fuld to be recalled. Don't get me wrong, I understand he's not Aramis Ramirez or Albert Pujols, but the guy has hit .270 at AAA this year and there hasn't been any mention of him. Keep in mind that if he were hitting .270 at the big league level this would be the third highest BA on the active roster (behind Theriot and DLee). Fuld has also stolen 16 bases so far this year, but more importantly I think he'd bring a certain amount of passion and energy which has sadly disappeared from Wrigley this summer.

Anybody else remember 2007 when he was called up? One game against the Pirates he made an unbelievable catch and he was diving into the ivy, then appeared out of the vines and threw a strike to first to get the double play.
Had this play happened last week, or even tomorrow, I think it would wake a lot of people up. I know it's not going to happen, and I know many of you will disagree, but I'm rooting for you Sam, and I hope to see you in the OF at Wrigley soon.

Blogger Upsets Ibanez Over Steroid Related Post--Thoughts?

ambrosiadreams — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:29:34 -0000

Today on ESPN's Outside The Lines, a blogger from MidwestSportsFans.com was in the studio to discuss this article he had written 2 days prior. The article, while filled with statistics and very well written, brought up the MLB's recent problems over performance enahcing drugs, and therefore argued that Ibanez's great start was going to be subject to speculation that he was using.

The article was brought into the public eye by a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, who wrote this article in today's edition. Apparently, Ibanez was made aware of the blogger's post by a team representative and was quite angry. In addition to the blogger and the journalist, esteemed baseball writer Ken Rosenthal, who I deeply respect, was on the panel. Rosenthal, however, strongly sided against the blogger, and repeatedly called his article "irresponsible" and "unprofessional".

I wanted to get everybody's thoughts on this, as we all write posts on our beloved Cubs each and every day. I'm sure that every member of this year's team (save Ted Lilly, of course) wouldn't be 100% pleased to hear our thoughts about their play at any given time, but did this blogger cross the line? Part of the beauty of this country is our freedom of speech, and I personally didn't find anything wrong with his writings. He argued today that as sports fans we are entitled to be suspicious, considering all of the wrongdoings that have come to light in recent years.

Also, as a side note Al, what would you do in your position as site administrator/founder? Is there an "unwritten rule" about certain subjects that shouldn't be brought up, or are we encouraged to discuss whatever is on our minds as long as we do it in a way that this blogger did, complete with statistical analysis and lengthy research?

Baseball Oddity - June 8th edition

ambrosiadreams — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:29:00 -0000

Randy Johnson, one start after this 300th career win, has made a bit of personal history yet again. In tonight's game against the Marlins, he went 5 innings, giving up 7 hits and 3 earned runs. 3 of those hits were given up to Brett Carroll, who became the first player to ever triple and homer off of Randy Johnson in the same game. Not only is this impressive considering it was Randy Johnson's 598th career start and 608th career appearance, but also considering the fact that it was Brett Carroll's first career home run and only his second career triple.

Game Threads

ambrosiadreams — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:33:27 -0000

Since I joined BCB last year, I've enjoyed very much meeting fellow Cubs fanatics and sharing insights, ideas, and concerns. Recently, I wanted to try enhancing my BCB experience by joining in-game discussions in the game threads. It didn't take me long to realize this was the "dark side" of BCB, and what a difference it is.

Presumabely, we are all here because we share passion for our team. While I realize that everybody handles wins and losses differently, we should all be on the same team, seeing as how we are in fact all here in support of one team, and one ultimate goal.

I, for one, will be staying out of the game threads and stick with just the fanposts/fanshots for a while. While there are *MANY* nice people that I see in there (Sue, Allie, Drew, Dan, Jessica, just to name a few), I see far too much insulting, name-calling, and downright rudeness towards others that detracts from not only my BCB experience but ultimately by game experience. Hopefully we can all realize that we were brought together by this fine site because we share a common bond, time for us all to be friends not enemies!

Maybe Neal Cotts isn't so bad after all!

ambrosiadreams — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:36:18 -0000

Maybe Neal Cotts isn't so bad after all!

120 games left: what I'd do

ambrosiadreams — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:32:13 -0000

After our current 7 game losing streak, we sit at 21-21 with 120 games left, and only 4.5 games behind the Brewers pending tonight's game. While I am not one of the many "ledge jumpers" here, I do think some changes need to be made, and here's what I'd do to try and help improve this team.

1) David Patton. I was really rooting for this guy, but he really doesn't have a spot on this roster. He hasn't pitched in nearly two weeks, and therefore he is just taking up a roster spot. Considering our offensive woes, I think this would be a good time to call up Jake Fox, who is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA.

2) Neal Cotts. Yes, he did throw a 1-2-3 inning today, but it was a blowout game. In pressure situations, and against lefties specifically, he has not come through this year. I don't trust him to get that big out that a LOOGY is called upon to get, and I'd like to see Jason Wadell called up to be given a chance.

3) Aramis Ramirez. While Rammy is out, I don't like our lineup's chances with Miles/Fontenot/Scales. As a matter of fact, Bobby Scales has shown the best at bats of the three, and he would seemingly be the first one out. Aaron Miles has to go, period. He provides essentially no value to this team right now. I have read, and it was poster here last week, that Cleveland might be shopping DeRo. Let's work some magic to get him back. As Al posted earlier, his 30 RBI's would be leading the team right now. Plugging him in at 3B and allowing Scales and Fontenot to platoon at 2B would improve this roster dramatically.

4) Carlos Marmol. Marmol should be this team's closer. Kevin Gregg has been hit hard consistently this year, and while Marmol has shown control issues in the past, his stuff is untouchable when he finds it. He's the ideal closer type, and his time is due.

5) Koyie Hill. Hill, when given the chance to play, has done nothing but hit. I love Geo (he's my favorite Cub, in fact), and he plays great defense and calls a hell of a game behind the plate. Hill, however, is more than sufficient behind the plate, and I think if he were to be given more playing time it would be nothing but helpful to him, Geo, and the rest of the team. Geo, as great as he is, is a second year player, and I fear that he feels his position is safe after his ROY campaign. Healthy competition is sometimes the best motivational tool you can give a player, and I'd just like to see this explored a bit more.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 120 games left, 5 (at most) to make up. It's not time to panic, but it is time to analyze what has happened and make the necessary adjustments!

Odd Man Out?

ambrosiadreams — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:22:44 -0000

This was discussed briefly today in Al's postgame recap, and he seemed to have the same thoughts as I did about Scales possibly staying on the roster and Gathright being optioned (or released, or bought out, or whatever the correct term is) on Friday to Iowa when Randy Wells is called up (or selected, or...well, you get the idea) to replace Big Z while he is on the DL. The more I got to thinking about it, however, I get the concerned feeling that Gathright is safe on the roster for now.

With a normal starting infield of DLee, Fontenot, Theriot, and Ramirez, you have backups of Aaron Miles at SS and 2B and Hoffpauir at 1B. As we have seen, LBR can play 3B when Rammy is out. I do believe that Bobby Scales is listed as an IF/OF, but his IF skills probably won't be needed. In addition, Gathright has speed which Lou covets.

That being said, "the kid" really impressed me today. Not to mention the guys in the dugout seemed to really like him, and he is a great story. I'd really like to see him stay, and Gathright I'd just assume never see in a Cub uniform again, but sadly I don't think that the club will share my opinion on this.

Cotts DFA Pool

ambrosiadreams — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:11:23 -0000

While tonight's game was relatively stress free, it was not ideal to have to use Marmol with a fairly comfortable 5 run lead. Marmol was brought in, of course, because our L(n)OOGY put 2 of little Dusty's soldiers on base. Since Neal seems to be catching Lou's evil eye lately, I thought it would be fun to start a pool or hear your thoughts as to when you think he will be on a bus to Iowa. Anybody else think that we'll hear the news tomorrow morning?

Cubs 30 in 30 on MLB Network 3/10 5:30pm Eastern

ambrosiadreams — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:59:08 -0000

Cubs 30 in 30 on MLB Network 3/10 5:30pm Eastern

Just in case anybody wanted to watch this and didn't see that it was on tomorrow. Let's see where the new network predicts our Cubbies to finish in 09!