With Soriano out we'll get a chance to see what our team is made of.  The psychological impact is probably worse.   Yet, this incident could also set a few players on fire.  Murton wanted a chance and he's gonna get it. D-Lee has his leadership role returned to him. Floyd has to produce along with JJ.  Any word on Ward ?  With Wood back will Marmol move to closer and Dempster back to starting such that was rumored earlier in the year?  I keep thinking about what is going through Lou's head right now.   One thing is for sure, I don't get the impression he's giving up.

But the ESPN crew hit a new all-time low last night.  Very little game action.  The amount of camera time to what was happening on the field could not have been much more than 50%.  No talk about the Cubs, except as a sidenote.  You'd think that the Mets were playing themselves.  A lot of discussion on the fantastic New York Mets, Glavine, Glavine's wife (a lot of nice shots of her which were btw nice on the eyes), two hundred shots of Glavine's kids, three hundred shots of Glavine's parents, a boring and too-long phone call with John Smoltz of the Braves, talk of Joe Morgan's fantastic big league history, discussion of who Joe Morgan played with and against during his rookie season, yada yada yada.  I had to turn off the sound, something which I never do.

in Marquis last night. The thought of him starting ten or so more times this season gives me hives. Ohman makes me nauseous. I don't understand why Lou leaves him in there when he obviously doesn't have it.

One thing I have noticed about this team this year is when there is an injury the others step up and they go on. I don't think they will miss Soriano much. I hope Murton gets a chance to play in left field.

It was nice to see Wood get the ovations he got last night. It would have been nice to have CSN or WGN do the game. At least they would have known the ovation was for Wood and not for Glavine.

I have been a big supporter of Len & Bob all season and after having to listen to ESPN last night I appreciate L&B so much. If either of you are reading this site I love you guys.

we get to see what a month of Theriot and Fontenot going 1-2 in the lineup looks like...a contemporary Daily Double? I'd also like to see a bit of Murton in the two-hole vs. LHP. If he can get back to making contact, he types as a nice no. 2 hitter, IMO.

Agreed that losing Soriano is a huge blow, but this will allow others to step it up a little. Hopefull Pie will be recalled (a no-brainer) and the other OF's will get an opportunity to play.

...can we send Murton back down to Iowa and get the 13 man bullpen we so desperately need?

And I really wish I knew how serious I was about that idea.

I know he's batting somewhere around .300 (didn't check), but it seems like he gets all his hits in one game, then goes hitless the next two or three.

Soriano's injury makes it even more necessary for every position player to step up the offense.  Thankfully, Jason Kendall has found his swing lately, hitting .316/.435/.474 in the last 6 games.  I imagine, though, that he will not play every game.  And as it seems like Koyie Hill is no longer necessarily Z's personal catcher, is it worth replacing him with Geovany Soto?  

Soto continued his tear in Iowa last night, going 3-5 with a HR, 4 RBI and 2 runs.  His season line is now .345/.417/.631 with 19 HR and 76 RBI.

I'll be at the Juice Box with spectacular seats - Section 212, Row 1.  Still in San Antonio right now and will make the drive this afternoon.  While I'm disappointed I won't get to see Soriano in the game, I remember the last Cubs/Astros game I attended, where the Cubs were forced to make a short notice call-up from AAA, albeight for a totally different reason.  

The result of that game of course was Ryan O'Malley making a spectacular major league debut and Michael Barrett providing the only run of the game, a left field home run.

Here's to making Wandy Rodriguez look like Jason Jennings!!!

Soto along with Pie, and send Koyie Hill down.  The Cubs need hitting to replace Soriano's bat, and Soto has nothing more to prove in AAA.  I like Hill's defense and pitch calling, but he's another pitcher at the plate.  Kendall can help bring Soto along.  He looked very good defensively in the two games he caught as a Cub.

I am absolutly upset that I saw "history" last night.  I, for one, am of the opinion that if the player isn't wearing Cubbie Blue, I don't root for him in any way shape or form.  I have had some discussions of this matter with Jessica in the past, her calling me very cold hearted, but thats just how I feel.  

I have been asked in the past that if the Cubs are losing and there is a perfect game being thrown, wouldn't you like to see "history"?  I say a resounding NO!  I root for the Cubs and I always hope the other team is terrible.  I don't ever want to see "history" at the expense of the Cubs.  In the 40 years I have been going to games, I have always felt this way and I will not change my feelings on this.

I did not stand to give Glavine an ovation when he walked off the field...hell, thats the pitcher who was shutting down the Cubs.   I left after the ump was hit because a)I had a very long ride home and I get up very early and b)who needs to see the Mets of all teams celebrate on our field.  So I say, witness to history???  Count me among the ones who were upset to see it happen at Wrigley last night.

Kasey

I could see

Floyd LF
Pie CF
Jones RF

That really isn't a bad lineup really if all of those guys could start hitting for power (except Pie). I still think Murton should be platooning in both RF and LF if that is what will happen..

don't mind a swift kick in anyone's nuts if they can't earn their keep.  I would rather Pie get some more AB's but hell, screw the Dusty "don't want to hurt their feelings" Baker approach.

Why put one of your best prospect in this sitation? Pie has been here and has a clearly defined role and postion?

that doesn't make any sense. He is a natural 2B and hasn't played much OF in Iowa. Why not call up Pie, Coats, Kroeger?

first morgan is terrible, did anyone notice that on any close play he had to bring up the only reason the cubs won saturday was from a blown call.

why do we due poorly against lefties. well many that we have dont throw very hard. so why are we standing so far back in the box just helps to pitcher to get more late movement on the ball.  next look at floyd and fontenot they basically stand in the vistors dugout when they hit against a lefty.

most good lefty hitters crowd the plate against a left handed hitter, as a lefty who pitched in college, i can tell you its as awkward for a pitcher to face a left hitter and it is for the batter.  plus most lefties throw a ball that moves to the left, like a screw ball so it hard to throw inside to a lefty plus when throwing breaking stuff most again throw it so it curves into a right hander, its hard to start it at a left handed batter to break inside if a guy is crowding the plate, it just looks small to your eye.

most batters stand back in the box to get as much time to judge a pitch, if a guy is throwing 84/85 you have to move up a little to get your reaction time the same. most of the pitches we missed last night look like they needed a 9 iron to hit.

But then again it does help when the ump calls most every thing 6 inches off the plate, i almost got the feeling that he was wanting to part of the history as well, part of the reason he did not come out last night

says:

--Soriano looking at a month on DL, maybe more

--Levine says E-Pat, not Pie being called up to play in the OF, not to play 2B

--Derosa likely to get bulk of RF playing time

--None of the Cubs options in RF have the "second gear" speed to get to balls in the gaps.

--Wavier deal unlikely because Levine says there's a lot of blocking going on right now. Apparently, the Orioles put Tejada on waviers, the Sox claimed him, but were blocked by someone.

--Gallagher Cubs' only option to add to the rotation. Says Hendry will try, but there are no starters to be had.

Pie should be the one called up -- not EPat. EPat has been tried in the outfield because the Cubs think that Fontenot and DeRosa are the answer at 2B right now and probably next year.
With Cliff and JJ and DeRo roaming the outfield, we really need someone to go after the ball. EPat is not a centerfielder and we definitely need one with the current OF situation.
The best one-two combination is Theriot and Fontenot. Two guys who are decent hitters and will work the count and get on base. That is something that Fonzie definitely did not do on a regular basis. As we all well know, Fonzie is definitely suited for the middle of the lineup.
Soto should be with the club. Why are we worried if Hill is picked up? If Lou is going to play Kendall five days a week, Soto will be fine. He has caught Hill, Marshall, Wuertz, and Marmol at Iowa. It's not as if he is coming in completely unprepared. He is definitely an upgrade over Hill at the plate and can play defense. He also has played a little 1B and could give Lee a day off if necessary.
Finally -- the pitching. If we had a long guy in the pen and did some tinkering with ineffective short guys, we would not have to even think about carrying 13 pitchers. First of all, bring back Gallagher. Use him in long relief. If Marquis continues to struggle, put Gallagher in his spot and move Marquis to long relief.
Then pleeeeezzzz get rid of Ohman. The "good" and "bad" Ohman both have to go. He is totally unreliable. It does not make a difference if he starts an inning or comes in to stop the bleeding, he does not get the job done on a consistent basis. His replacement does not have to be a lefthander -- I just want a guy who can get people out at least 75% of the time.
And after watching Eyre enter the game last night with a guy on base and letting him score after a hit and a SF, I would move him as well. Once again, too inconsistent just about all season long. With 8 weeks to go in the season, Eyre just does not make me believe that he will ever return to form of last year and the one before. We cannot continue to rely on him and Ohman. If we do, last night was only an OMEN of what will happen again.

Our bullpen totally collapsed. Ohman and Eyre continue to suck, and Dempster still doesn't know how to pitch in a non-save situation. It should be in his head that every time he enters a game (no matter the score) it's a save situation. Doesn't matter if we're up 1, or 10, or down 1 or tied. It's  always a save situation.

1. Woody looked great last night. And it was great to be there in the stands when he took the field.
2. The Soriano injury might fix the line-up and give us a real lead-off hitter (Pie, Theriot, or even E-Pat). If things are clicking with one of those guys at the top, Soriano might be moved down in the order when he returns.

as mentioned above, he's done for the year...this 2-4 week thing is a silly PR thing by the Cubs..

doesn't mean that the team will be better off without him. That's faulty logic. Those of us who believed that Soriano should not have led off envisioned him as a productive power hitter down in the lineup. Now we won't have him there either. That's a loss for the team anyway you look at it. We just lost the leading HR hitter for this team.

Now, Al, you're right that this season, a different player always picks up the slack. But to replace Soriano for a month or so is too much to ask now of the available players. Just remember how the team sank when Soriano got injured in the beginning of the season. His injury wasn't the only reason for the team's funk but it contributed to it.

Someone posted the other day that Soriano needed a rest. If he had only taken it last night. Sigh!

So he knows how many outs there are in an inning? This has happened for the 3rd game this week.  It's inexcusable.  And although it might be a little far fetched I really think E-Pat can be a spark plug for this team.

A good team is supposed to win at home against good teams in the middle of a pennant run. (Against bad teams, it's suppose to sweep or almost sweep.) At least we didn't lose too much ground in the standings.

Several things worth noting:

1. The starting pitchers performed badly and forced the bullpen to overwork. Only Lilly did his job this week.
2. The bullpen is strong, but:

a. Will Ohman is finished.
b. Scott Eyre isn't.
c. Ryan Dempster is not a good closer.
d. Bob Howry did a better job closing during our winning stretch.
e. Carlos Mármol is doing his job well. Lou better not overwork him.
f. There is hope about what Kerry Wood can do for this team. We still need to see if he can be consistently good.

3. The worst news this week was Soriano's injury. This is serious. We lost our biggest HR threat during a pennant run. There is no player currently in the roster or the minors who can provide what we miss with Soriano out for a month. The Cubs will probably call Pie up but the guy hasn't shown that he can hit in the major leagues. And remember, the Cubs didn't do well the last time Soriano missed playing time.
4. Cliff Floyd is just a shadow of his former self.
5. On the positive side, Jacque Jones and Jason Kendall improved their offense. I like the idea floated around about Kendall batting 2nd in the lineup.
6. The Cubs have serious trouble against left-handed pitchers. A steady diet of them could eliminate the Cubs from contention, if Soriano's absence doesn't do it first.
7. The lack of power in this lineup hampered the Cubs this week. With Soriano's absence that deficiency is magnified. I like Al's idea of signing José Cruz, Jr. The guy can hit and play a solid RF although he won't wow anyone. He should have more power than anyone who's played RF this season for the Cubs.
8. Obviously, Matt Murton is in Lou's doghouse. Lou says he'll play him but if he didn't send Murton to RF last night after Soriano was injured, I don't think Lou ever will.

Many people posted here last night that if Soriano's injury costs the Cubs the pennant then this team wasn't that good after all. Well, maybe it never was that good. Many of us warned about the lack of power, even during the good times. Slapping singles can only get you so far. We're going to miss now the big bat we didn't try to get before the trade deadline.

Is the season over? Of course not. After all, the Cubs are only a game back in the standings and the other teams have weaknesses too. It all depends on how management and the players react. However, Soriano's absence just when the schedule gets tougher, the inconsistency of our starters and our closer, and a losing homestand against good teams aren't good signs.

Regardless, let's hope for the best and cheer our team.