Glad to be Here… Now Let’s Get Down to Business

Hi, my name is Jacob…and I’m a Chicago Cubs fan.   (Crowd: “Hi Jacob”)

I’ve been a fan for almost 20 years, ever since I had the opportunity to go onto Wrigley Field when I was younger.  I’ve tried my best to quit, and just when I thought I had hit rock bottom (2006), the team manages to turn it around, only to disappoint once again when it matters most (2007-2008).

All jokes comparing being a Cubs fan to having alcoholism aside, I am a Chicago native and I bleed Cubbie blue.  I am a diehard Bears fan and current season ticket holder, I’ve loved the Bulls since Jordan arrived, and now that the Blackhawks games are back on TV I’ve become a fan once again.

Basically, you can expect the majority of my posts to surround my favorite Chicago teams and their divisional foes.  My “expertise” lies in football and baseball, so expect the majority of what I have to say to be about those two wonderful games.  And, starting next week, I’ll be delivering the CubicleGM Weekly Power Rankings, which will be available in both baseball and football format during their respective seasons.

All that being said, I’d like to start off with a quick rant about my favorite baseball team that keeps driving me to drink…

I know manager Lou Piniella is sick of everyone bugging him about the batting order.  He’s said over and over again that he doesn’t want to hear about it and doesn’t want to talk about it.  Sorry Lou, but something needs to be done.  And it needs to start at the top.

I don’t care how comfortable Alfonso Soriano is in the leadoff spot, he has to be moved.  Soriano is a very dangerous leadoff hitter, but only when he makes contact with the ball.  The Cubs leadoff hitter needs to have a batting average near .291, which is Soriano’s current OBP.

The last month has just been absolutely pitiful for Soriano.  Some of it may be attributed to his “knee injury”, but he has just been bad any way you look at it.  In his last 28 games, Soriano has exactly 1 multi-hit game.  That was this past Thursday against the White Sox, where his 2^nd hit was a walk-off bloop single.

Over that span Soriano has a total of 7 extra base hits, comprised of 5 doubles and 2 HR.  He has driven in just 5 runs, which would not be so terrible for a leadoff hitter if he was scoring runs instead.  Soriano of course is not, touching home plate just 10 times in those 28 games.

His pitiful .155 average (19-for-122) over that span is only topped by a horrendous OBP of .226 (30-for-133) during that time.  To sum it all up, get the guy out of the leadoff spot until he rights himself, or maybe even for good.

While many would think the ideal candidate to replace Soriano at the top is frequent #2 hitter Ryan Theriot, I’m putting my vote in for Kosuke Fukudome (against right-handed pitching only of course).  Fukudome leads the team with a .397 OBP, and is a solid contact hitter.  Fukudome has walked 41 times this season, 12 more than anyone on the team, and showed on Saturday that he can steal bases when he needs to, coming up with a huge swipe with the Cubs down by 1 in the bottom of the 13^th inning.

I say all of this for the benefit of the team and for the hopes that Soriano can straighten himself out.  It is definitely not because he is killing my fantasy team as a wasted 2^nd round pick or anything of that nature.

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