6. Will Geo Soto turn it around or is he a one-year wonder? To what do you attribute his rough start?
TAB Bamford: I think Soto will turn it around, but I think the reality of the Cubs situation is that Soto peaked last year. He busted his butt his entire life to get to the bigs, went huge last year, got himself onto a deep WBC team that he probably didn't deserve to be on because of the other catchers they had, and now he's trying to remember how hard he worked to get to the ROY. I think he just took the winter off and he's regretting it now. After the break he'll be back to hitting .285 with mid-level power.
Jacob Nitzberg: I believe Soto will turn it around. He is still doing a great job calling the game and appears to be trying to hit the ball the opposite way more often. Besides the so-called sophomore slump, I have no idea what to attribute the slow start to.
Ryan Winn: I was afraid entering this year about Soto faltering, and it looks like my fear is being proven. He really fell off at the end of last year, and he has continued into this season. He has struck out and grounded out more often than the Cubs need, and I would label him a one-year wonder. Meanwhile, Koyie Hill has performed just as well, if not better. I would attribute his struggles t pitchers knowing how to get him out this year, and I do not expect Soto to turn it around this year.
Kane Simmons: It is difficult to tell whether he will ever turn it around, but I would like to think so. It doesn't look too promising. I don't know why some blame the WBC, maybe it's that when he was a rookie there wasn't much in the scouting report on him and now the book is bigger on him? Or, maybe it is just a bad year. What isn't too promising, though, is that what goes up must come down, but what goes down doesn't always come up.
Brian Livingston: Geovany Soto will turn it around, when remains the million dollar question. A lot people have attributed his poor start to his weight. He does seem a bit chunkier then last season. Perhaps forgoing Spring Training for the World Baseball Classic didn’t help him any.
I’m not singling out the WBC as the sole reason, but I’d prefer if guys who are going to play a key role in the season would stay away from this event. Granted, injuries can injuries can happen anywhere, anytime, but it becomes magnified to extremes during this event. He did have the shoulder injury at the beginning of the season and that could be contributing to his lack of production.
7. Which team in the NL Central concerns you the most?
TAB Bamford: Milwaukee... rumors are starting to pop up that they're in buy mode again. I don't like St. Louis' starters ability to keep winning like they are or stay healthy, and Cincinnati is going to fall apart w/out Votto. The Brewers might show the same killer instinct that got them Sabathia last year, but they won't waste their future on a guy in a walk year again.
Jacob Nitzberg: The Cardinals. St. Louis has good pitching, especially if Carpenter can stay healthy, but the surprise has been the success of their offense, save Pujols of course. If this team can continue their NL-Central leading +31 run differential, they will be difficult to catch.
Ryan Winn: St. Louis Cardinals—Although the Brewers were in first place as June started, the Cardinals have a much better pitching rotation and batting order than anyone in the division. Last year, they were ravaged by injuries and still almost made the playoffs. Now, with their best pitchers healthy, it will be very hard for anyone, especially an inconsistent team like the Cubs, to catch up.
Kane Simmons: The Cardinals are my biggest concern because I am surrounded by Cardinals fans and also because they are a solid team. They have the best player in baseball at first base, and if they decide to make a move for a big name pitcher before the deadline, they would have a great team capable of the World Series. But, if recent history means anything, then a big trade is unlikely from the Redbirds.
Brian Livingston: I would have to say the Cardinals simply for the fact that any Tony LaRussa managed team seems to hang around longer then other teams would like especially if they are not that good of a team to begin with. I still don’t know if the Brewers have what it takes because their rotation still doesn’t impress me.
8. Who should close—Carlos Marmol, Kevin Gregg or someone else?
TAB Bamford: Marmol's good in the swing role because he doesn't have to pitch once he gets up...Gregg is a waste of a roster spot. This needs to be addressed...but then so does the entire roster, so you just keep what you have until something else appears. How about we bring back Aardsma or Ceda?
Jacob Nitzberg: As much as it pains me to say it, of the available options on the roster, the Cubs should stick with Gregg. Marmol is too valuable to remove from the setup role, as he can enter the game in the middle of a jam and/or pitch more than one inning if necessary.
Gregg’s K/9 ratio is just shy of Marmol’s, and his WHIP is higher because of the one awful outing against Houston where he didn’t get anyone out. While Marmol might be more effective in the role, it doesn’t matter if the Cubs don’t have anyone to get him the ball with the lead.
Ryan Winn: Carlos Marmol—As I had made clear in one of my previous articles, I do not see Gregg as the fit in Chicago. Although he has performed better as of late, I strongly feel that it is just luck. Case in point, in a save against Pittsburgh, Gregg got a save thanks to a ball that was luckily not driven out of the park turned into a double-play thanks to a baserunning gaffe. Had Nyjer Morgan not gotten under the ball, we would have scratched another blown save up for him. Marmol is obviously the better talent, and the excuse that he is better in the 8th is ludicrous.
Kane Simmons: Marmol should be the closer. Both Marmol and Gregg have been equally unreliable, but Marmol has the better stuff. That being said, he seems more comfortable as a setup man, and, as you know, being a closer is as much about the pitchers' mindset as it is his stuff.
Brian Livingston: Kevin Gregg is the closer he won the job end of story. Some people still want Kerry Wood as the closer, but Gregg and Wood have almost identical records this year. Each has a few blown saves and high era. It is more of a sentimental thing then it is a performance thing it comes to Wood. I wouldn’t mind having him either but the fact is he’s gone and that is it. Marmol will eventually be the closer, but it is Gregg’s job for now.
9. Who should be the starting first baseman—Derrek Lee, Micah Hoffpaur, or someone else (Jake Fox, trade?)
TAB Bamford: Hoffpauir. He bats left handed and actually hits the ball. Lee needs to find the bench or a new home; I honestly think he's six months from where David Ortiz is now.
Jacob Nitzberg: Derrek Lee should still be the starting first baseman. His offense can only get better (fingers crossed), and his defense is too valuable to take away right now. With players like Fontenot playing out of position, we need a gold-glover like Lee at first. It is important to get Hoffpauir playing time, and once a week or more against righties would be the opportune time to put him at first and give Lee a bit of rest.
Ryan Winn: Derek Lee—He seemed to be getting his swing back in May, and his defense at first far exceeds that of Hoffpauir and Fox combined. If the right offer comes around (Peavy? Oswalt? Any middle reliever?), I fully believe both players could fill the gap, but while he is here, Lee is by far the best everyday option at first base.
Kane Simmons: D-Lee should be on first because of his defense, but Hoffpauir and Fox need ABs and more than just a pinch hitting role. Micah is a nice left handed bat in the lineup, and Fox was great at Triple-A, so they really need to be on the field more often. Possible solutions" try Fox at third to begin the game, then Fontenot as a defensive replacement. Now with Bradley out, Hoffpauir could get some starts in right. Long-term solution would be to try to trade Lee if Hoffpauir is the future.
Brian Livingston: Derrek Lee is the starting first baseman unless he is seriously injured. Hoffpauir or Fox will get that start on the rare day that Lee is given a day off. My pipe dream would be having Adrian Gonzalez at first. If Lee didn’t have that break out season in ’05 there wouldn’t be an outcry of him to perform like that every year. He plays solid defense and when he is hitting like he’s capable I don’t know if I want any other one anchoring first.
10. Should Jim Hendry try and re-acquire Mark DeRosa?
TAB Bamford: Yes, and sign him for three more seasons. This was the biggest mistake of Hendry's winter, and it was magnified by Ramirez getting hurt
Jacob Nitzberg: I love DeRosa, but the answer right now is no. DeRosa is the most valuable trading chip that the Indians have, and there are a number of teams looking at him for the same reasons the Cubs are. He would be a great fit, but the price would likely be too high.
Ryan Winn: No—DeRose was a fan favorite while in Chicago, but Hendry has dug a mighty big grave with the current team. The question is not whether or not he would fit with the Cubs, but what would have to be given up for him?
If you are trading away your future prospects for a utility player, you have to be pretty sure that player gives you a great chance at a championship. DeRosa was already on a team that fell flat in last year's playoffs, so what tells Hendry that he would be the player to push them over the edge this season?
Because the offense will HAVE to turn around eventually, Hendry should turn his concentration to acquiring pitching and pray A-Ram stays healthy the second half of the season and Milton Bradley returns to his '08 form. Swapping Aaron Miles for Mark DeRosa would be nice, but probably too far-fetched.
Kane Simmons: I don't think so, that ship has sailed and where would he fit in? From what I've seen in Cleveland, he's played third and right. When Ramirez and Bradley are healthy, that puts DeRosa at second, where he had eight errors last year for the Cubs. If Bradely's injury is long-term, then maybe, but he should have never left. I don't think Hendry will (trade for him) though, since it would put a capper on his bad offseason moves. Gathright gone; Viszcaino gone; Gregg not having a good year; Bradley hurt again; Freel hurt.
Brian Livingston: One of the few mistakes Hendry has made in his career as Cubs GM is trading Mark DeRosa. Yeah we’ve heard the reasons money and the possibility of him asking for big dollars at the end of his contract.
All legitimate gripes, but I’m not convinced for the simple fact that the money he wasted on signing Aaron Miles he could’ve used for D-Ro. If they need him so badly now why in the hell did they trade him in the first place?
As much as I’d welcome D-Ro back, I almost wish he had a no trade clause, just so he could stick to Hendry for trading him in the first place.
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