It is amazing, Lee hits two homers and his weekly OBP is still lower than his seasonal line this year.

Mike and Ryan were the Cubs two best hitters this week. When was the last time we could ever say that the middle infielders were the best hitters in the lineup over any stretch of time?

Hoff this week pulled a Matt Murton, 3 singles and a walk.

Soto looks to be coming around.

Hill hit three singles

Soriano didn't look pretty at all this week and Fukudome couldn't hit anything this week in the strikezone. He was still selective but it brings up memories of last year when he started his slide. He makes me wonder how long it is going to be until pitchers just start throwing stuff in the strikezone again like they did last year. I already give Lou points for moving Lee and Bradley around in the batting order and I think Lou in the end will manage this corectly.

All in all the bullpen is still a mess the core of hitters still are not hitting or are absent but thankfully the Cubs are above .500.

I don't think Miles is going to be on the team all season long. At some point Hendry is going to go looking for something else. Bradley/Lee/Hoff could become quite an interesting story line this year.

For some odd reason the last few lines of the Soriano paragraph got attached there instead of after the Bradley/Lee/Hoff sentence like they were supposed to.

I don't think Miles is going to be on the team all season long. At some point Hendry is going to go looking for something else.

You think they'll cut him, even though he's signed through next season? Eating Gaudin's and Vizcaino's contracts was a big step for Hendry (even though he'll pay for a guy to play somewhere else - see Sosa and Marquis - he usually likes getting something back for it), but I don't see him cutting a guy signed for next year already. And I don't think there's any team out there that'll want him right now.

Soto looks to be coming around.

I hope so. And making some more contact is promising, but I'm still waiting to see something that reminds me of the guy from last season.

He is signed for 2.7 mil for next year. I don't see Hendry keeping him for a playoff drive this season if he can't hit and he needs the roster spot for something else. Economically it would be foolish to keep him simply because of the contract next year when it might cost 20 million this year. Then strategically it would make no sense if Lou doesn't play him, which he won't if Miles doesn't hit.

I'm thoroughly suprised that the Cubs managed to win all weekend. With the Celtics and the Kentucky Derby, and yesterday filled with day drinking (that lasted well into the night) the Cubs were just something I was checking scores on. That said, Kevin Gregg sucks.

Bad News: Z to the DL. I've seen Bobby Scales name mentioned, which would have to mean moving BPJ back to starter.

So is Scales the possible bench replacement for Miles?

I'm more concerned about Bradley than I am about Soto. Soto's been making some loud outs from what I've seen, whereas Bradley's either striking out or hitting weak grounders when he isn't walking. I really, really, REALLY want this to work out for him, because I think he's become more of a victim of reputation the last couple of years. But he needs to start hitting now if this is to avoiding becoming a pricier Jacque Jones experience.

I don't see Hendry keeping him for a playoff drive this season if he can't hit and he needs the roster spot for something else.

Understandable but what could that "something else" possibly be? The Cubs will always need at least 1 backup MI on the team (and given Ramirez's penchant for short-term owies, could really use two) so even if the Cubs landed something really useful, it's hard to see Miles out of a job. I suppose if the Cubs swung a deadline deal for, ohh, Mark DeRosa :-), Miles might be out of a job (more likely included as part of the package to even out money a bit).

Anyway, there's at least one backup MI spot on every roster and the Cubs paid Miles 2/$5 to fill theirs ... there's little/no incentive to brush him aside for another backup MI. And that's doubly true with Gathright wasting a roster spot.

If Miles stays this putrid then almost anything is better than Miles. Granted it won't last but he is on pace to get well over 400 PA this year with the Cubs. If the injuries continue to occur then Miles is gone. You simply cannot give that many PA to a player like Miles, not unless your name is Baker and you have a fetish for guys named Neifi.

Oh and I forgot,

Last 7 days:
DeRosa: .364/.375/.773 with 2 homers and 3 doubles
Fontenot: .333/.348/.762 with 3 homers.

At least the Hawks look good.

Honestly, I can't think of another team I'd rather be a fan of, right now, than the Blackhawks. They're young, talented, run intelligently, and exceeding expectations. It's really exciting.

Honestly, I can't think of another team I'd rather be a fan of, right now, than the Blackhawks. They're young, talented, run intelligently, and exceeding expectations. It's really exciting.

Holy crap ... is it 1960 again?

If Miles stays this putrid then almost anything is better than Miles. Granted it won't last but he is on pace to get well over 400 PA this year with the Cubs. If the injuries continue to occur then Miles is gone. You simply cannot give that many PA to a player like Miles, not unless your name is Baker and you have a fetish for guys named Neifi.

That's a problem with having Miles as the only backup MI on a team that has ARAM ... and might want to rest/platoon Fontenot (he's 1 for 14 this year and has a 605 career OPS vs. LHP). It's a flaw in the construction of the team, but there just aren't many backup MI who can hit (and "handle" SS) ... and if they find one (or somebody who can play 3B and maybe hit a little), the easiest solution to that problem is still to cut Gathright (who's also overpaid), not dump Miles.

I hope (and even expect) the Cubs won't sit idly by and watch Miles pile up 400 PA. But the team was constructed to give Miles about 400 PA so I'm not certain -- somebody has to Anyway, not giving Miles 400 PA and cutting Miles are not synonymous.

Last year wasn't typical due to DeRosa playing so much in RF, but Fontenot, Cedeno, Patterson and even McGehee combined for 113 starts last year and that in a year when ARam managed 147 starts. Even if you take out Fontenot's starts, that's 64 starts for Miles (or his AAA equivalent). I'd think you have to expect your starting 2B/SS/3B to miss about 60 starts a year. Add in mid-game replacements, PH, etc. and you've got to be looking at 300 PA minimum for your backup MIs. The Cubs decided to give all those PA to Miles (at least for now) so they could carry Gathright (rather than, say, Cedeno who's also stinking things up in 25 PA).

In a million years I will never understand signing Gathright. And DeRosa is still exactly what this team needs (2B/3B/LF/RF with decent bat).

I don't see Miles staying this bad. He seems a good bet for a .650ish OPS, which is bad, but not this bad. To the extent he has any skill, it's against LHP whom the Cubs haven't faced all that much. So now that Aramis is back, I think Miles will get at least a 3:2 ratio of RHP:LHP faced as opposed to his current 5:1 ratio, which should increase his numbers. That and he'll probably improve a bit vs. RHP.

However, if he is cooked & OPSing in the .500s in June, then I think he'll get buried behind a new acquisition. I agree with Walt that Gathright's probably the first to go, but I don't think Hendry will hesitate to cut bait on Miles if Miles really sucks and an opportunity arises. It's tough to know what that opportunity might be. Not that he's hitting at all, but maybe Hendry'll go to the Nomar well again?

I think Gathright will be gone too. I don't think this is an either or proposition. I think they will both be gone I just didn't see the need to bring up a guy who has only gotten 10 PA so far when somebody as dreadful as Miles was getting so many more PA's. Hopefully Scales gets a shot and he stays hot. I know he won't but if he does and he does come through somewhat then Lou won't hesitate to use him.

I don't know if Scales is going to get a single PA before he's sent back down for Randy Wells. I'm guessing he's here in case of emergency, but with Ramirez back the likelihood of them using him is pretty slim.

I guess I do agree that Gathright is going to be released before Miles. If he couldn't get a single start with Bradley out, he's just not going to be used often enough to keep around.

You wonder if Lou had any input on the Gathright signing (Joey played for him in Tampa) or if Lou didn't decide he wasn't going to use him until after he'd seen him in ST.

Lou clearly wants nothing to do with him. He's only had 10 PA! That's incredibly low, even for a bad bench player.

J. Gathright cf
A. Miles ss
K. Fukudome rf
D. Lee 1b
M. Hoffpauir lf
M. Fontenot 3b
B. Scales 2b
K. Hill c
S. Marshall p

Somehow I just don't see the streak continuing.

Well, I'll be! A good old-fashioned Dusty get away day lineup. Could Lincecum throw a no-no today?

My prediction

Gathright hits two homers, Aaron Miles hits for the cycle, Hoff has two assists, and Lee and Fukudome go 1 for 10.

Pretty close, McCoy. Hits for Miles, Gathright, Scales and Marshall. Lee, Bradley, Fontenot, Bradley, hoffpauir and Fukudome went a combined 1-14.

Cubs Secondbasemen: .631 OPS
Mark DeRosa: .788 OPS

Hmmm. . . Mark DeRosa or Miles and Freel?