My point had nothing to do with his hitting. If he catches the ball, there will be nobody on second base to throw out at home. And if you have the lead, you should not assume your closer will blow the save, that's loser thinking.
Reed Johnson or Edmonds makes those catches, and no comeback needed or blown save for the day. The problem is he can't be trusted on any fly ball hit over his head, and his leg bothers him so much he can't really get to much. This is like Steve Sax syndrome. I say take him out, and lets get the win.

_________________
Nothing to fear but fear itself, and me.

of course it has to do with his hitting. if it didnt, he wouldnt be out there in the first place.

as far as his fielding goes, if you dont think ahead that someone could get on base, that is blatently unrealistic thinking. i would hope lou piniella would be thinking further ahead than banking on a 1-2-3 every time out. any closer in baseball could walk a guy or give up a hit, a sac bunt and you have a guy on 2nd, 1 out, and a base hit ties the game, or wins it. that isnt loser thinking, that is rational thought. if i have a guy on 2nd and less than 2 outs, i want an arm in left field that will stop the guy at 3rd. yeah, soriano has his issues on fly balls, but even as bad as it has been, im still taking my chances he will catch a fly ball, because on a routine base hit to left nobody will try to score on him, or they stand a good chance of getting tossed out.

MOFO-You don't seem to get his point-Yes, Soriano is in the lineup because of his bat. Thats plain to everyone. But in the 9th inning, when the Cub's are leading and the closer is in the game to get the last 3 outs and clinch the win, that's where Soriano should be replaced. He should not have another opportunity to bat in the game again anyway. But he may well have an opportunity to make-or not make, a key play in the outfield. Get maximum value from him, while minimizing your losses. That's all that this is about.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

I like Fukudome's attitude. I guess he's going up against a fellow Japanese player and apparently they have a friendship that goes back a bit. When asked if he was gonna be going out to dinner or if he has talked about the game with the pitcher, Fuku said he would go out with him later this week but till the game is over they are enemies.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

i understand completely, i just disagree. i want sorianos arm in the outfield, and i will take my chances on his terrible outfield play, as i elaborated on in my last post. i feel his arm is a weapon out there, and it is a valuable weapon in a tight situation, where there could be a play at the plate.

Erin Andrews is at Wrigley Field!!!!!

Unfortunately, so is Chris Berman.

Great defense by the Cubs here in the 4th. Soto is having a great rookie season. Without a doubt a legit contender for ROY.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Cubs struggling to score tonight. They have to many outs in the lineup tonight, with Fontenot, Edmonds, and the pitcher spot.

Lasorda sounds like a blundering idiot.
Wow, who would have thought that having a "baseball man" would be so bloomin awful.
Yeah, and great hustle by Soriano on that "single".

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Soriano's running is a joke, sure he maybe hurt, but you need to try a little harder. He should have had a triple over the weekend, but he took the double, and then got picked off. Also, horrible sac bunt from Theriot. You can't bunt it back to the pitcher, it needs to be at one of the corners, common sense.

With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Edmonds makes another out. He has what? 4 hits and none with runners in scoring position. He has been good in the field, but so was Pie. Time to pull the plug on this experiment. Great catches tonight by Fukudome, as well as a nice 2 out hit to bring home the 3rd run.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

Cubs should let Erin Andrews sit in the Cubs bullpen.

She would give Kerry wood before he goes out to close the game.

Good thing they don't put style points on these Ws. Yeesh.

_________________
Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

How much did The Tiny One charge you for that little number.

What good is a strong arm if you can't catch the ball, or throw accurately? Bottom line: he is a defensive liability and should be replaced in late inning situations.

_________________
"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Fook had a nice sprinting catch yesterday, shading toward center right center. It was a great catch but what really got me about that ball was how badly out of position Edmonds was. That ball was way past him, since he plays so damn shallow. If he were playing center where he should be, that ball was much more catchable and wouldn't have required Fukudome to sprint it out.
Basically, Edmonds isn't all that great in center. Speed has masked someof his bad routes, but we see that speed isn't forever.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yeah, Tommy was horrible. His ass kissing of Piazza's was bad, knowing hes probably on the "list".

i cant think of any instances where his throwing has been especially wild to the point where he is missing cutoff men, or costing the team.

for the record, his fielding percentage this year is higher this year in the outfield than it has ever been in his career. strange, but true. his hustle out there has been lethargic to say the least. i hate it, it drives me crazy, just like everyone else.

i understand the argument, i just disagree, and will continue to take my chances with him catching fly balls. he unfortunately has had a couple games this year where his poor play on fly balls has led directly to losses, but saying to bench him late in games is a knee-jerk reaction in my opinion. his arm is too much of a weapon to pull it out at the end of the game, when he may be the difference between a guy taking an extra base or not. what good is reed johnson catching a medium depth routine fly ball, if he likely isnt going to throw the guy out or stop the guy from trying when the game is on the line? sure, he made the catch, but so what, the winning run just tagged up and scored. great, he fielded the base hit cleanly, but the runner scored from 2nd anyway. soriano is likely going to catch 95 out of 100 catchable balls hit his way, which is a lousy percentage. when the game is on the line, i want my best arms in the field.

Irony.

Soriano makes a tough catch, with a fan reaching out, by the Bartman seats!!!!!

That probably means the curse is over.

That had to have been one of the itchiest, sweatiest sweeps ever. But, before the end of May, the Cubs have swept the Mets, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers. I wish their road records and record against Central teams that aren't the Pirates was a little better, but hey, I'll take the best record in the majors. I still don't believe in either the Cardinals or the Astros.

What a perfect way to sweep the Dodgers. Games like this give me hope that this could be a great year.

That ninth inning was definiton of small ball. Two walks, an infield hit and a sac fly. Had some great at bats vs a good closer.

I didn't think the Cubs would win yesterday or today but they way they came from behind late was great. The Cubs have won 3 games in a row when they have scored 3 runs or fewer. They had struggled earlier in the season winning this type of ballgames.

Great win, though I thought they would do a lot better hitting this series.

_________________

Credit some clutch pitching by the Cub's, as well as some awful at bats by a depleated Dodger club (Without Garciaparra, Jones, and Furcal), but whatever the circumstances, the Cub's swept em. The offense sputtered somewhat, but some of that was due in part to some very good pitching from the Dodgers too. But when the Cub's needed the key hits/walks they got them. This was a very good series. Hope they can keep the momentum.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

The Cubs patience at the plate this year is a very good thing, especially late in the games. They are putting pressure on the pitchers to throw strikes and then when they do they are hitting em.

Great win and sweep!

I wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case. They may have dug too deep a hole though. I really don't believe in the Astros.

Soriano got mauled at the end of the game, but IMO, the Pocket-Rocket had the key hit.

_________________
You can't see me because of internet.

The landowner effectively owns part shares in millions of part-time slaves called, "taxpayers." -Roy L
A Personal Relationship with Jesus?

I think it was moreso taking advantage of a pitcher who clearly had nothing last nite. In all honesty, the Cub probably should have won in the 9th. 2 walks, then Saito missed the bag on Fukudome's hit. He doesn't get the loss in the boxscore, but he was clearly the reason the Dodgers lost last nite.

_________________

Yeah, but there have been Cub teams in the past that would have swung for the fences and not allowed the opposing pitcher to lose the game. The closer did not have it and the Cubs, like good teams do, took advantage.

They were patient and the only "hit" was in part caused by Fukodome busting down the line. They manufactured a run without needing 3 singles.