Chicago Cubs Report: Two Weeks and Many More to Go

The Chicago Cubs are now two weeks into their 2008 season and currently sit at 7-5 and third place in what so far has been the super strong NL Central Division. 

The Cubs just completed a 4-2 road trip after salvaging game three in the three game set with the Philadelphia Phillies.  During the first two weeks of the season, we have seen the best of the Chicago Cubs and also the very worst. 

The Best of the Chicago Cubs- 

The Cubs have shown that they are capable of having a very potent offense and very effective starting pitching.  Zambrano's first two starts were absolutely terrific.  However, he came back to earth during the fifth inning of his last start against Philly.

Ryan Dempster, so far, has been a pleasant surprise and is actually receiving praise from much of the Cub Nation.  This is a far cry from the press given to Dempster at this time last season.

Kerry Wood has been very solid out of the bullpen since opening day.  His only dark spot has been Jason Bay's leadoff homer in the ninth during the Pirate series.

Offensively, Derek Lee, Derosa, Reed Johnson, and Fukudome have been on a tear during the first two weeks of the season.  Lee may have finally returned to some of his 2005 form, which cannot be a bad thing for the Cubs. 

However, Lee is on pace to once again lead the league in solo homeruns because the top of the order, particularly the leadoff spot, has been a disaster.

The Worst of the Chicago Cubs-

Though the Cubs are two games over .500 so far, there are several things that one must be concerned with. 

They rank from Alfonso Soriano to the terrific left-handed pitching we are getting from our starters to the bullpen, which for the most part has been the Chicago Bullpen of past infamy.

Alfonso Soriano, what a bust this guy is starting to turn into!  Now, to his credit, his not quite 100 percent, but just his general play or lack there of, has been very disturbing this year. 

He went into yesterday’s game hitting a robust .182.    .182 from a lead-off hitter! Are you kidding me? That average looks bad even for a No. 8 hitter in Tee Ball! 

However, the average will probably or at least hopefully rebound, and a healthy Soriano can still be a valuable offensive weapon as the season progresses.

Yet, the more disturbing thing as a fan is Soriano's inability to play defense.  Yes, he has a great arm, but most of his outfield assists come from a defense miscue that he made.  He looks completely lost in the outfield, which can be forgiven.

Wrigley, to his defense, is a tough outfield to learn, but that does not excuse Soriano's lack of hustle.  He allows flyballs to drop that could be caught, and he constantly misjudges flyballs (especially the one in Sunday's ninth inning against Philadelphia). 

If he boots a ball or lets one get past him in the outfield, instead of sprinting to recover from his mistake, he lightly jogs after the ball like he is playing kickball in the Sunday afternoon beer league. 

All a Cub fan asks is for an outfielder to pretend that he cares and play hard.  Soriano can be an amazing player, but right now, he is tough to watch.

Ted Lilly and Rich Hill- These two have been, to put it mildly, awful or maybe that word is not strong enough.  These two have been horrendous!  Where are the Ted Lilly and Rich Hill from last year? 

Left-handed starting pitching was suppose to be a strength this year, but so far it has made every other day an adventure, and that is usually a job reserved for the bullpen (which will be discussed next). 

Rich Hill has already been sent to the bullpen to work out his problems, and if Lilly continues to struggle, then Jason Marquis will be the No. 3 starter followed by Sean Marshall and Jon Lieber. 

My only comment there is "Oh My!"

Now time for the wonderful bullpen.  For the most part the bullpen has been solid, anchored by Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood.  Yet, the bullpen has already thrown 50+ innings, while starters have been in just over 60 innings.  In a word, the bullpen has been overworked. 

Yesterday the Cubs bullpen, Michael Wuertz, showed all of its potential to blow games.  Wuertz's line yesterday was zero innings pitched, four hits, and three earned runs—stellar! 

The bullpen other than Wood, Marmol, and Lieber has been very shaky, and though the Cubs have prevailed in three extra inning games so far, a fan has to be very nervous every time Lou makes his slow walk to the mound to make a call to the pen.

Finally, the defense has been awful, and that is all I have to say about that.  The numbers speak for themselves.  10 real errors and many mental errors. 

The defense has been atrocious, and it could really hamper the Cubs if they are going to make a run at the Central Division title.

The Cubs are 7-5 in the early season, and most of the problems the Cubs have so far could and should be solved. 

Hopefully, most of them are just early season problems, like Zambrano was last year.  If not this could be a very long and extremely stressful season because the first two weeks has already aged me considerably!