Alfonso Soriano hit his seventh home run of the season last night.
It is somewhat surprising to see Soriano do so well out of the gates considering that very few people expected much from him this season.
We're we completely wrong on Soriano?
Maybe, but such a hot start really isn't that surprising. It is, however, unsustainable.
Through 82 at-bats this season: .338 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB
Through 82 at-bats last season: .305 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI, 3 SB
The rest of the 2009 season: .234 AVG, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 6 SB (393 AB)
Soriano fell victim to injuries as well as some ...
Look, it’s early but then again it’s not that early. We’re into May and the slash line from Aramis Ramirez looks like a pitcher's (not named Zambrano): .149/.214/.267/.482.
Perhaps as troubling as his struggles at the plate is the word going around that Rami isn’t seeking help from Rudy Jaramillo. He apparently feels he is a professional hitter who can figure things out for himself.
If that’s true, then that mindset is stupid. I don’t care what you’ve accomplished in life, everyone needs help sometimes.
Lou Piniella says that he may move Ramirez down in the order and move Soriano up. Personally, I ...
Like many eight year old boys born in the mid-80s, I had a passion for three things: Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles, and collecting baseball cards. Everything else was just details.
Collecting baseball cards were a cause/effect type of reward. I would receive them if I didn’t hit babysitter, Lisa Nelson, in the face with a Nerf gun, or I went a whole week without a teacher calling home. Both were improbable feats.
Baseball card collecting at that age was fun because there was no discernible difference in getting a Barry Larkin or Jose Vizcaino picture.
There were four criteria I used to determine the ...
There's a saying that goes you should "strike while the iron is hot." Well right now, Alfonso Soriano is incendiary, and I say this is the best time to explore trade options for the Cubs mercurial left fielder.
In his last three games, Soriano has slammed four homers and driven in 10 runs.
On the season, he's batting .325 with 6 HR, 17 RBI, and (for you stats geeks out there) an incredible .1057 OPS.
Both the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves are struggling right now and could use a big bat in the lineup. Both teams also have money to spend, especially the ...
Death, taxes and a losing record for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those are the only certainties in life. Okay, so it’s not a total guarantee, but the Buccos have failed to produce a winning record the past 18 seasons and 2010 doesn’t appear to be a winner either. The Cubs had a .714 winning percentage (10-4) against Pittsburgh in ‘09, which was tied for the team’s highest winning percentage against a single opponent. Under Lou Piniella, the Cubs are 32-15 against the Pirates. One reason the Pirates (10-15) aren’t going anywhere again this year is because ...
It sounds a little sappy, but I believe that I was meant to write “Public Bonehead, Private Hero: The Real Legacy of Baseball’s Fred Merkle,” which is available at: www.sportingchancepress.com
To this day, many baseball fans still call Fred Merkle a “bonehead.” I won’t rest until that stops.
The truth is the complete opposite in every respect. Merkle was one of the smartest players ever to wear a big-league uniform. Within the context of how the game was played and officiated at the time, he did nothing wrong on the famous play in 1908.
Merkle is ...
The Cubs begin May 3 with an average—at best—record of 13-13 and find themselves 4.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals (17-8) in the National League Central. Starting pitching remains the team’s strong suit. But if you haven’t noticed, the Cubs—outside of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez—are starting to hit. Chicago spent the first two weeks of the season at the bottom of nearly every major offensive category, but the team is now second in the National League in hitting at .278. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks (.476) have a higher slugging percentage than the Cubs (.445). There’s no reason to believe the Cubs will ...
When the Ricketts family started the process of deciding between sites in Naples, FL and Mesa, AZ for the Cubs' new spring training site, it really didn't matter to me which one they chose.
I've spent most of my life living in the Tampa Bay area (about 150 miles north of Naples), but I was born in Mesa and return there every year to watch the Cubs in spring training.
To me, it was a win-win scenario.
Either the Cubs stay in my native land or I swap out airfare for gas money.
Then the process began to unfold:
There was unnecessary tension from ...
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