Clark & Addison Blog - CubHub.net

The Cubs diminutive (listed at 5 foot, 8 inches) reserve second baseman Mike Fontenot has found some power lately.  Maybe manager Lou Piniella will begin to take note as he has homered in 3 of his last 8 games - and Lou pinch hit for him immediately following two of those home runs!

On June 21 Fontenot went back-to-back with Jim Edmonds. Later that same inning Edmonds homered again, but mysteriously Lou pinch hit for Fontenot!  Lou later referred to it as a ’senior moment’, admitting his mistake. 

 Then on June 27 Fontenot homered in the 5th inning against the White Sox.  His next turn at bat, Lou pinch hit with Matt Murton who flied out.  Fontenot stayed in the game last night but did not come to bat again.  I wonder if Lou will sit him or play him in tonight’s finale in San Francisco?

Mike Fontenot is quietly hitting .321 over the past two weeks, going 9 for 28 with 3 doubles, 3 HRs and a .750 slugging percentage.

Lou Piniella has apparently anointed Reed Johnson for his lead-off batter in Alfonso Soriano’s absence.  Of course Lou is apt to change his mind on occasion, but for now that’s the way it is.  Reed provides some spark and has a gamer attitude, but he’s far from the prototypical #1 slot hitter based on his numbers.

Johnson has a .342 on-base percentage which is actually ten points higher than Soriano. But the entire world knows Soriano is a free-swinger and OBP is not his claim to fame.  Johnson is batting just .267 this year and has 13 walks in 176 at bats. He doesn’t steal bases with just 4 bags all year. So why then does Lou want him in the leadoff spot? 

Ryan Theriot is batting .310 with a .388 OBP. He leads the team with 13 steals and has 32 walks. He, too, is a gamer who can work the count and makes contact with just 23 strikeouts as compared to Johnson’s 28 k’s in 76 fewer at bats.  So why is Lou not comfortable with Theriot batting lead-off with Fukudome 2nd, followed by Lee, Ramirez, Soto…?  This was the lineup I advocated in March (with the exception of Soriano in the 5th spot).  Statistcally, this lineup matches the modern day thinking of ideal hitters for each slot.  You want an on-base guy who can run leading off, a contact guy who can hit situationally second, your best overall hitter third, your power guy in cleanup, and a big bat in the 5th hole to protect your cleanup guy.  That’s how you draw it up on paper and if you have the personnel, its a winning formula. 

So tell me why Lou doesn’t buy into this?  Sure, hard to argue with the manager of a team 20 games over .500 in June, but surely worth discussion…

With Soriano on the shelf until late July, looks like the team will call up Micah Hoffpauir again. This will give them a corner outfielder with (so far) a decent stick. I think we will see plenty of Mark DeRosain Left with Mike Fontenot at second, and Reed Johnson in Left with Jim Edmonds in Center.  This injury pretty much assures Edmonds will stick with the Cubs at least a few more weeks.  As I’ve written in the past, I want to see what Edmonds will do against the Cardinals when we play them July 4th weekend in St. Louis - now without Pujols or Soriano.

What will be interesting to see is how this may affect Jim Hendry’s trade deadline (July 31) strategy. While the Soriano injury shouldn’t be the kind that lingers or will dampen his abilities later in the season, it does thin out the depth of bench and minor leaguer options for the Cubs GM.  This could impact Hendry’s ability to make a deal late in July when some high-salary players will become available and the Cubs will have to move some young talent to get them.

No doubt the Cubs will try to fill some needs through trade deadline dealing. Starting pitching is a concern; the patchwork center field position could benefit from a legit everyday player; and always a left handed bat off the bench is on the shopping list.  Plus, if there are more injuries…there could be other needs not apparent right now.  The Cubs can trade from a place of strength right now with some major league ready young arms. As usual they have few if any position players that would interest many teams.  But with Soriano’s absence, Hendry will have to take another look at where he is and what’s available.

Making his major league debut pinch hitting on Sunday, Micah Hoffpauir was literally shaking in his shoes. In an interview following the game, he said he was trying hard to stop his back foot from shaking in the batters box. He struck out in this at bat, then drew a walk pinch hitting Tuesday in Houston. Wednesday was his first start and he went 2 for 4 with both hits being doubles. The guy had a great spring and could be among the rarest of the rare for the Cubs: a home-grown position player with the ability to be an everyday starter. 

Its still very early to tell, but Hoffpauir has shown signs of being able to drive the ball. Seems like the Cubs farm system can produce a lot of prospects and getting them to the big leagues is not a problem. They often arrive with a lot of hype, then sort of fizzle out. Maybe this happens with most clubs, but it just seems rare to me to have a non-pitcher come up and deliver right away. 

I wouldn’t anticipate him being with the big club for very long right now. Since he really doesn’t have a place to play I guess the brass wanted to give him a taste of the bigs, give D Lee a day off, and maybe come off the bench a few times before they send him back down. Then if there is an injury to a corner outfielder or first base, Hoffpauir will be better prepared to step up and give Hendry an option other than Matty Murton.

For now, Micah, enjoy the big leagues but don’t get too comfortable. You’re only here for a cup of coffee…

Aramis Ramirez has 17 career at-bats against Randy Johnson, with 12 strikeouts.  I hope Lou is aware of this and plans accordingly. 

Lou Pinella said yesterday ”filling out a Major League lineup card is not as hard as the New York Times crossword puzzle”… Ya gotta like Sweet Lou.

Alfonso Soriano spent exactly 1 day so far this season batting other than lead-off. Looking only at the numbers, he is the anti-leadoff hitter.  However, when he bats anywhere else in the lineup, one might think Neifi Perez was back in the league. <sigh> I guess leave him in the lead-off position if that’s what makes him happy - and productive. 

I liked Lou’s flip-flop of Soraino and Fukudome yesterday in the final preseason game for the Cubs. We don’t have a legit leadoff man, but Fukudome second, followed by Lee, Ramirez, Soriano makes a mighty powerful middle of the order. Here is what I would write on the 2008 opening day Cubs lineup card:

1. Ryan Theriot
2. Kosuke Fukudome
3. Derrek Lee
4. Aramis Ramirez
5. Alfonso Soriano
6. Mark DeRosa
7. Geovany Soto
8. Felix Pie
9. Carlos Zambrano