Break Out

The Cubs have put a whuppin' on Dusty's team in the first two games of the series. The team has scored 21 runs in the past two days with 27 hits (including 8 doubles and 4 home runs) and 10 walks. They did manage to strike out 22 times and leave 34 men on base, but the run production was still there.

Big Z had a monster game, pitching 7 innings and giving up just 2 earned runs, 1 walk and notching 5 strike outs. Not to mention that he racked up a single batting from each side of the plate (including an RBI) and added a double batting for himself in the seventh inning.

The bad news was Soriano injured his right calf on Monday night and is on the 15-day DL. Eric Patterson got the call up in his absence. Soriano insists that the problem was there prior to Monday night and his signature "hop" on fly outs was not the cause of it. I don't really care what caused it. The "hop" isn't a spectacular athletic maneuver that needs to be avoided such as back flips on the infield dirt and he didn't get hurt in a bar fight or doing 120 mph down LSD on a motorcycle.

Discussing Soriano prior to this injury and now in the wake of it, I always get the feeling that people just want him to play badly. There is a communal need to have a whipping boy. In the days of Sammy Sosa, there was always a group that would deride every misstep, forever ignoring spectacular performances. I hear similar grumbling about Soriano.

I don't know if it's due to the money, the language (though Bears LB Brian Urlacher gets a similar treatment here at times, particularly from the experts in the media), or a "grass is always greener" phenomenon. I am willing to hear arguments that the fair value isn't there versus another similarly paid athlete. That is another argument entirely than claiming the Cubs will be better off without Soriano. This is exactly what I heard from the radio yesterday. That and a smug, self-righteous "I told you so" from every detractor. I can tell you that losing one of your regular starters is not an improvement to a team (please don't regale me with tales of Wally Pipp).

In other News of the Negative, Dusty Baker got a less than friendly welcome in his return to Chicago. I'll admit, I never liked the guy and was glad to see him go. However, I don't think much else about it and am rather amused that anyone could still harbor such ill will to a baseball manager. Even one that was bad. Let it go.