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I am going to write a new article about the Cubs every month of the 2007 Cubs season. May 2007 |
Ace
For the first month of the season, Rich Hill has been the ace of the
staff. Where is Zambrano? Big Z also had a bad start a year ago so
hopefully he will heat it up as the weather heats up. Rich Hill has
been really fun to watch. His control has been good in all but one of
his starts and the big breaking ball looks unhittable. By the end of
the year, Z and Hill might be a nice 1-2 punch for the Cubs 2007
playoff run.
Lilly Marquis 5th Starter
The staff has been solid for the most part this year. Well actually, I
should say that Lilly and Marquis have been pleasant surprises so far.
Both of them are in the top ten in the National League in ERA so far.
The Cubs have had little need for a 5th starter so far so that has no
been a huge issue. I think Wade Miller had 2 starts and it sounds like
he will be gone with Angel Guzman taking his place soon. As I mentioned
before I think that Zambrano will be fine and I hope that Hill
continues his success.
Bats Heating Up
It seems like the bats are heating up. Lee and Aramis are hitting real
well which is great because they used to be slow starters. Even though
it seems like Soriano hasn't been hitting so well since he doesn't have
a homer, and has a low number of RBIs, he does have a 10 game hitting
streak. The Riot is having a great start. It looks like the Cubs are
trying to keep him on the field as much as possible. The Cubs outfield
needs to pick it up. All of the Cubs outfielders have a combined total
of 2 homers.
Pie
I love to watch Pie play. I also love eating Pie especially Lemon
Meringue and French silk but let's stick with the Cubs. Pie can run.
He can cover a ton of ground in the outfield. He is impatient at the
plate but I hope that improves. I am wavering what they need to do with
the outfield. I think they should try playing Pie every day for a while
and see what happens. But I agree with Cubs management that they do
want him playing every day whether it is in the big leagues or AAA. Pie
is the best defensive outfielder the Cubs have.
Outfield Logjam
I have alluded to it above but the Cubs have a big problem with their
outfield. They have 5 guys fighting for playing time in the 3 spots. It
is actually more like 4 guys fighting for 2 spots because Soriano will
get most of the playing time in left field. I would typically think
that this would be a good problem to have except that all 5 of these
guys have a total of 2 homers and their RBI production is also pretty
bad: Murton 2, Soriano 1, Floyd 9, Jones 7, and Pie 3. Hopefully the
bats will come around soon but they better before the Cubs slip even
more under .500.