With two lefties ahead in the Pirates series, it would seem almost certain that Felix Pie will get a start today, right?  

Assuming Soriano will be in left field all three games, here's what I suspect will happen in centerfield and rightfield.

5/8
CF: Pie
RF: Jones

5/9
CF: Pie
RF: Murton

5/10
CF: Jones
RF: Murton

This would give Pie some at-bats consecutively and would give Jones a day off against a lefty.  

This whole outfield thing has to be extremely difficult for Lou to manage, but getting Pie some consistent ABs is a must.  I think it is almost a given that Pie will be in the lineup today.

So, I have a layover in Phoenix on Friday next week, and I'm pretty sure the Spring Training facilities are pretty close to the Phoenix airport.

Anyone know how the public transport is?  Should I opt for a cab?  I'll be getting in around 9 AM local time and should be in the area for 3 or 4 hours, will there be much to see then?  Should I go to Fitch park? or somewhere else?

Any info you might have would be extremely helpful!

InsideTheIvy.com says Mateo will get the call to pitch in relief with the departure of Greg Maddux.  

This would lead me to believe that Glendon Rusch is back in the rotation, right?  It was my hope we'd see Jerome Williams, Angel Guzman, or Jae Kuk Ryu back in the rotation, but it appears this isn't the case.

As I posted on my site, Ryan Harvey had a fabulous game tonight.  Going 4-5 with 4 HRs and 6 RBIs ain't too bad is it?  It's a good way to give a boost to your numbers.  Harvey is still just hitting .234 but now has 16 HRs with 66 RBIs on the season now.

Here's the box score

I hate reading fillers, but this has to be posted as a new diary...

With OBP and OPS the new trend in valuing players, Jeff Francoeur is quite an interesting player to discuss.  Francoeur is now hitting 261/283/441 with an OPS of 724, which is down from the 884 from last season.  This season is probably closer to what you will actually get from Francoeur, but it is interesting to notice that his OBP is pretty putrid.  So, my question to you, without taking into account his age (and further player development), would you want a player in right field hitting 261/283/441 with 17 HRs and 64 RBIs at this point in the season.  

The reason I ask is that Ryan Harvey, now at Daytona, may one day end up being that player.  Harvey struggled early in the season, but is now starting to hit, but he doesn't walk, strikes out a ton, but does produce HRs and RBIs.

Discuss.

Check out my Cubs Minor League Website, Top Cubs Prospects!

As some of you know from my blog, with the season going on like it is, I look at the minors as a diversion.  

A prospect that some have overlooked is Donald Veal, who I recently rated the Cubs top prospect in my July top 10.  Veal has pitched 18 2/3 scoreless innings after his callup to Daytona.  

Typically there is a learning curve when being promoted, but Veal has jumped the curve.  Veal was taken in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft and was rated the 2nd best prospect in the Northwest League last season by the managers there.  

Anyway, when the Chicago Cubs get hard to watch, don't forget there a guys down in the minors that are working their tails off (for the most part) trying to get a taste of the big leagues.  

Rich Hill had another stellar performance for Iowa last night going 7 shutout innings in which he gave up just 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 9.  This drops his ERA to 1.91 at Iowa and he has a WHIP of around .8 which is pretty much stellar.

I believe I'm in the minority in regards to Rich Hill, in the thinking he should be given another chance as a starter, but I have posted some thoughts over at my Cubs Minor League Blog.

Let me know what you think.

According to Baseball America, Sean Gallagher has been promoted to AA West Tennessee.  Gallagher was 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA for Daytona in 78 innings this year.  

Interesting to see if Gallagher has continued success in AA.  If so, Gallagher's ETA may be moved up dramatically to possibly contending for a starting spot in the rotation as early as mid-next year.

BA has a Q & A with Gallagher which notes that he has picked up some velocity where he reports that he now sits in the 90-93 range as opposed to 89-91 that he was at last season.  

Here is the Q & A with BA...
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/261701.html

According to BA, Josh Hamilton is back and going to make another attempt at playing baseball again.  He will be reporting to extended spring training for the Devil Rays.

I hope Hamilton can still put his talent to good use, and wrote an article about him over at my site:

Top Cubs Prospects

So what do you project he will do this year?  As with his career thus far, I truely have no idea what to expect.

Forgive me if I don't talk about Gaius or Monty Python for a moment, but I started my own blog today, so check it out:

http://www.topcubsprospects.blogspot.com

The blog is about the Cubs minor league system which I follow very closely and most likely with a little about my life mixed in.  

So check it out, and enjoy.