Another Chicago Cub spring, another beginning of the "Where to bat Soriano" saga.
The question was again posed to Lou Piniella, and again he offered little to suggest that Alfonso wouldn't be atop the lineup come opening day. He did, however, mention the names of Aaron Miles, Ryan Theriot, Kosuke Fukudome and Mike Fontenot as guys that could potentially give Soriano a breather from the leadoff spot.
Paul Sullivan chronicled Alfonso Soriano's numbers throughout the lineup card in today's Chicago Tribune. What he found was that Soriano's best average came from the seven hole where in 72 at-bats he has compiled a .306 average with two home runs and 16 RBI. In the leadoff position Soriano has over 3,000 ABs with an average just under .300 (.293). Not too shabby.
Wherever Alfonso hits, whether it is in the leadoff spot of the seven hole or even the sixth or eighth, there is only one place I would like to seen him improve, and that is in the playoffs. For all the talk of where to place him in the regular season, the post-season has been where Alfonso has struggled the most.
Year  Round Tm Opp G  AB R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO  BA  OBP  SLG
2001Â Â ALDSÂ NYYOAKÂ Â 5Â 18Â Â 2Â Â 4 Â 0Â 0Â 0Â Â 3Â Â 1Â Â 5Â .222 .263Â .225
ALCSÂ NYYSEAÂ Â 5Â 15Â Â 5Â Â 6Â 0Â 0Â 1Â Â 2Â Â 3Â Â 3Â .400Â .526Â .600
WSÂ Â Â NYYARIÂ Â 7Â 25Â Â 1Â Â 6Â 0Â 0Â 1Â Â 2Â Â 0Â Â 7Â .240Â .240Â .360
2002Â Â ALDSÂ NYYANAÂ Â 4Â 17Â Â 2Â Â 2Â 1Â 0Â 1Â Â 2Â Â 1Â Â 4Â .118Â .211Â .353
2003Â Â ALDSÂ NYYMINÂ Â 4Â 19 Â Â 2Â Â 7Â 1Â 0Â 0Â Â 4Â Â 0Â Â 6Â .368Â .368Â .421
ALCSÂ NYYBOSÂ Â 7Â 30Â Â 0Â Â 4Â 1Â 0Â 0Â Â 3Â Â 1Â 11Â .133Â .188Â .167
WSÂ Â Â NYYFLAÂ Â 6Â 22Â Â 2Â Â 5Â 0Â 0Â 1Â Â 2Â Â 2Â Â 9Â .227Â .292Â .364
2007Â Â NLDSÂ CHCARIÂ Â 3Â 14Â Â 0Â Â 2Â 0Â 0Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 1 Â Â 4Â .143Â .200Â .143
2008Â Â NLDSÂ CHCLADÂ Â 3Â 14Â Â 0Â Â 1Â 0Â 0Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 4Â .071Â .071Â .071
+------+-----+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+--
5 Lg Div Series     19 82  6 16  2 0 1  9  3 23 .195 .233 .256
2 Lg Champ Series   12 45  5 10 1 0 1  5  4 14 .222 .314 .311
2 World Series      13 47  3 11 0 0 2  4  2 16 .234 .265 .362
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
9 Postseason Series 44 174 14 37 3 0 4 18  9 53 .213 .263 .299
*Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com
That .213 average in the post-season is something that needs to change in order for the Cubs to have any hope of breaking the 100-year streak of no World Series Championships. 2008 was especially dismal for Soriano. Against the Dodgers he went 1-14 (.071), with four strikeouts. There have been only two series in which Soriano has played well behind the plate: in the 2001 ALCS when he was with the Yankees he hit .400 against the Seattle Mariners, a series that the Yankees won. In the World Series that same year he struggled, batting only .240 and striking out seven times. In the 2003 ALDS versus the Minnesota Twins, Soriano went 7-19 (.368) and drove in four runs. But in the next two series he batted .133 and .227 respectively with 20 strikeouts in 55 ABs.
Although Alfonso is not alone on the Cubs when it comes to the post-season disappearing act (Aramis Ramirez is a career .194 playoff hitter) he seems to be the Cubs motor when it comes to success or failure. He has the ability to carry his team for weeks at a time. He just needs to be sure that when he finds his stroke it is in the month of October, not May or June.
It seems that every time you open a sports section, or every time you click on a sports website you will find a story connecting the Chicago Cubs to Jake Peavy. Since the talk began months ago, Cub fans have been inundated with speculation and rumors about the former Cy Young winner joining the North Siders.
So, today I click the link to MLB.com and there it is again: Peavy deal could follow Cubs sale. The details of the deal have been written about and worked over too many times for this guy to write again, but today's article offers some new insight. Or does it?
After stating that a deal is expected to be revived comes this,
"Neither team, however, indicated Monday that the sides are actively re-engaged on the topic. Nevertheless, other highly placed sources suggested the move looks like a matter of when, not if, based on various developments."
After breaking down potential details of a deal comes this,
'"I always say that the closer we get to Spring Training, the less likely it is we'll be moving Jake,'" Padres general manager Kevin Towers said when reached by phone in San Diego on Monday. '"We've got to get ready for our season. I wouldn't say it couldn't happen, but it's going to be more difficult than it was at the Winter Meetings.'"
After detailing the potential benefits of a deal comes this,
"Towers said he last spoke with Cubs GM Jim Hendry on the phone about a week ago, but he added that there had been no substantive trade talks since a four-way deal that included the Phillies and Orioles broke down in December as the Winter Meetings closed."
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="226" caption="Kerry Wood"][/caption]
With the trade of Jose Ceda to the Florida Marlins for Kevin Gregg, it appears that the Kerry Wood era has ended. Today is a day that Cubs fans should remember, not in sadness, but with respect. Respect for a player that gave his all for a team that supported him and for a player that did everything he could to make this team a winner.
Wood was the 1998 Rookie of the Year, going 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA. Although he never won more than 14 games in one single season with the Cubs, as he was often injured, he always managed to give the team everything he had, despite his ailments. In his fifth career star with the Cubs, Wood struck out 20 Astros, tying Roger Clemens' record for strikeouts in a 9-inning game and breaking Bill Gullickson's single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980. According to statistician Bill James' Game Score system, which attempts to assign a numerical value to a start, Wood's performance scored 105, the highest in the history of baseball. He finished the 2008 season with a 3.26 ERA and 34 saves.
With his long history of injuries and inability to stay in the starting rotation, Wood accepted the Cubs offer to join their bullpen in 2007, signing an incentive laden one-year contract for $1.75 million. Wood explained at the time he felt he owed both the Cubs' Organization and their devoted fans for all the time missed due to his injury plagued past.
Wood will be remembered by this Cubs fan as a player who fought through injury and sacrificed all he could for the betterment of his team. It was a pleasure to watch him in a Cub uniform, and I only wish I had had more opportunities to do so.
Thanks for the memories Kerry.
Kerry Wood's MLB records
Fastest to reach 1000 strikeouts in MLB history (in appearances): 134 games
Fastest to reach 1000 strikeouts in MLB history (in innings pitched): 853 IP
Strikeouts in a 9-inning game: 20 on May 6, 1998 (tied record then held by Roger Clemens)
After the Cubs second consecutive post season exit via the sweep, I listened to countless fans call into radio shows on 670 The Score and rant about how they were "done." They weren't going to set themselves up for the heartache of another season of dashed hopes and shattered World Series dreams. The time and money they poured into this franchise was a poor investment, they weren't going to make the mistake again.Terry Boers and Dan Bernstein listened. And with every caller who shed their allegiance via the comfort of the radio airwaves, they responded with same answers; "you're lying!," said Dan. Terry proclaimed, "I know you better than you know you, you'll be back."And how quickly have we proven them correct? How about in 24 minutes. Yes Cubs fans, 24 minutes was all it took to sell out the Cubs Convention, at $60 a pop. Paul Sullivan points out in today's Chicago Tribune that 24 minutes is about the time it took for Ryan Dempster to load the bases in Game 1 of the NLDS and serve up a James Loney grand slam. Twenty four minutes.Maybe it's the sign of a remarkable fan base that we continue to support this organization through all the heartache and heartbreak. Maybe we enjoy the pain. It's hard to tell, but I am reminded of a line from the movie Swingers,
"You know how it is, man. It's like, you wake up every day and it hurts a little bit less, and then you wake up one day and it doesn't hurt at all. And the funny thing is, is that, this is kinda weird, but it's like you almost miss that pain."
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It seems that every time you open a sports section, or every time you click on a sports website you will find a story connecting the Chicago Cubs to Jake Peavy. Since the talk began months ago, Cub fans have been inundated with speculation and rumors about the former Cy Young winner joining the North Siders.
So, today I click the link to MLB.com and there it is again: 
[/caption]
With the trade of Jose Ceda to the Florida Marlins for Kevin Gregg, it appears that the Kerry Wood era has ended. Today is a day that Cubs fans should remember, not in sadness, but with respect. Respect for a player that gave his all for a team that supported him and for a player that did everything he could to make this team a winner.
Wood was the 1998 Rookie of the Year, going 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA. Although he never won more than 14 games in one single season with the Cubs, as he was often injured, he always managed to give the team everything he had, despite his ailments. In his fifth career star with the Cubs, Wood struck out 20 Astros, tying Roger Clemens' record for strikeouts in a 9-inning game and breaking Bill Gullickson's single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980. According to statistician Bill James' Game Score system, which attempts to assign a numerical value to a start, Wood's performance scored 105, the highest in the history of baseball. He finished the 2008 season with a 3.26 ERA and 34 saves.
With his long history of injuries and inability to stay in the starting rotation, Wood accepted the Cubs offer to join their bullpen in 2007, signing an incentive laden one-year contract for $1.75 million. Wood explained at the time he felt he owed both the Cubs' Organization and their devoted fans for all the time missed due to his injury plagued past.
Wood will be remembered by this Cubs fan as a player who fought through injury and sacrificed all he could for the betterment of his team. It was a pleasure to watch him in a Cub uniform, and I only wish I had had more opportunities to do so.
Thanks for the memories Kerry.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 