Tuesday, April 17, 2007

An Ohman. or a Blessing?

My daughter Ava and I were playing with chalk about six last night. The usual: Flowers, sunsets, the Chicago skyline, our names, and of course the Cubs logo. Below that, I was chalking up the lineup with Soriano at the the top. He was the only one I wrote, Ava crossing him it, being time for pre dinner: Chips and Salsa. Soriano leaves with a strained hamstring, and Will Ohman just can't pitch in the majors. Goodbye Will, have fun with Prior in triple A.
Felix Pie is up and will play centerfield this afternoon. MLB team rosters are max at 25, so I would say Will is a goner. The bullpen, seemingly a strength, has been weak, and the starting pitching has been a surprise so far, with Rich Hill pitching great, Ted Lilly mowing people over, and Marquis hanging in there. Zambrano has been decent, but he's our ace and I'm not worried about him. The fifth starter is a weak spot, and Wade Miller has a chance to make another start after this if he beats Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.
Felix Pie is tearing it up in the minors. .444 batting average, nine walks to four strikeouts. Good on base percentage, and his defense seems to be his strongest point to begin with. He's here, and I'm excited about it. Does this mean "Jock" Jones is being shopped? Perhaps not yet, we'll have to see what Pie can do over a stretch of time. This could be an eventual outfield of Soriano in left, Pie in center, and Murton in right. Maybe.
So the line-up could look like this today:

1. Ryan "The Riot" Theriot 3B
2. Michael Barrett C
3. D. Lee 1B
4. "Jock" Jones RF
5. Matt Murton LF
6. Mark DeRosa 2B
7. Felix Pie CF
8. Cesar Izturis SS
9. Wade Miller P

This lineup is nothing more than a guess at 10 in the morning. I don't believe it is set yet, or any announcement of Pie. Jones could hit two, three or four, depending on where Lou wants to bat Lee, but I can't imagine taking him away from that spot. Jones can hit five and six as well. Barrett can hit just about anywhere. I don't think Pie will lead off against Maddux, but if that's going to be his spot on this team or any other, I think Sweet Uncle Lou will throw him into the fire. You only lead off the game once, and what a better start than to face Maddog. Talk about the knees shivering.
I guess we'll find out everything soon, and I hope the Cubs come out and perform well. The fans should be electric today.

Good Luck Cubbies!

1 comment:

Jerious Norwood said...

Come on guys. April 17th? Its now 5/2. What was the date of the previous post? Maybe you should do the humane thing and just end it. I'm just trying to bring the human side to light. Your blog's suffering, barely a shadow of its former self. Have some decency!