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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. 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My friends, it looks like this team is making a strong push for the "Worst Team Money Can Buy" Championship. But hey, at least the stuff off the field is fun to watch. Quickly the awards: Carlos Zambrano gets today's Glendon Rusch Player of the Game award as he held his own for six innings. That and there is not much else to be happy about here. There was a three way tie for the "Hang Your Head" award. Three 0-4, 2 strikeout performances out there. In the event of a tie, the win goes to the worst cumulative effort so far on the year. Therefore (and this is long overdue) Aramis Ramirez gets it. Any day now he will come around, but right now he just looks horrible. Today's real story centers around Bob Brenly's candid comments about your favorite $19 million salaried player and mine, Alfonso Soriano. Brenly made comments many comments. One in which he compared Soriano's hustle (unfavorably) to Ted Lilly. Another where he pretty much flat out said Soriano's contract was the only thing keeping him on the field. The final blow came when Brenly said he would have yanked Soriano "long ago" for his lack of hustle. All in all, it brought back memories of the 2004 season. The first thing to mention about Bob's points is that point 2 (Soriano's salary) would handcuff him from exercising point 3 (pulling his Cadillacing butt) even if he were the manager. There is too much invested in Sori, and he still has some potential to be that offensive force. The second thing to mention is that Soriano has been in the big leagues for about a decade now. He is what he is. The Cubs knew (or should have known) what he was before baseball-marrying the man. I admit I get angry too when he does that crap, but it isn't worth this distraction yet. The Cubs have much bigger fish to fry. (Off the top of my head: 1) bullpen, 2) bullpen, 3) relief pitching, 4) the entire offense, 5) a proposal to shorten games to six innings thus eliminating the bullpen.) For the record, I think Brenly is right (and is a good commentator to boot). It is pathetic that the man is given the moon by the Cubs and he can't sprint for up to 270 feet. My worry is that there is already a ton of problems here, and distractions from the organization can't be good. Soriano is not going to change. This is the same man who said he would stop hopping in left, and the next day he was hopping all over again. The Cubs have shown they are a very unstable team two weeks into this season, and this little issue could be a spark. Now the question going forward is will that spark ignite a run, or will it send this season down in flames?* * That is probably a tad bit dramatic. Only a group of weak-minded, pathetic excuses for grown adults would let something like this adversely affect their play that much. Oh, much like the 2004 team. Posted in: Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Bob Brenly It has come to a point where you almost have to expect Aramis Ramirez to end the game when it is extra innings at Wrigley Field. That man seems to live for those moments, and it is almost as if everyone expected. Pat Hughes didn't even sound as excited as he has in past walk-offs. Heck, even Santo almost seemed calm and collected about it. The bottom line is its another win in what is such a good rivalry. It is even getting the Cubs another Sunday night game on ESPN. Can you say Midwestern bias? Neal Cotts does exactly what he seems to think his job is, avoid giving up a big hit. So instead he will walk the world. That dude owes Carlos Marmol his first-born for getting out of that. And an inning later, Carlos Marmol owes Robo Cop that very same first-born for getting out of that jam. I give Marmol a pass though. He's already working a ton for this early in the season. It is inevitible that he will hit troubles. But kudos to Gregg. He will win Wrigleyville over quickly if he can do what he did today. The walks have to be concerning though. That isn't an earth-shattering observation, but doing some quick, and probably faulty, addition, the bullpen has now pitched 40 innings and thrown 25 walks, including Marshall's relief numbers. That is 5.625 walks per 9 inning, and that is WAY too high. Oddly enough, the one reliever who hasn't thrown a walk is Luis Vizcaino, who apparently is on the Scott Eyre usage plan. Disclaimer: I am not advocating more Luis Vizcaino. That could be even more hazardous to Cubs fans with heart conditions. Still, you know it is a good day when your best reliever blows the game, but gets picked up by the rest of the bullpen. That is a sign that this team is still going to be aces for 2009. Kudos to Angel Guzman on his first win, 4 years in the making. Next time I'll try to talk about something other than the bullpen. Posted in: Aramis Ramirez, Neal Cotts, Bullpen, Walks, Cubs-Cardinals Rivalry, Carlos Marmol, Midwestern Bias | ||