As I mentioned last night, it looks like the Cubs are headed towards this line-up
Soriano
Theriot
Fukudome
Lee
Ramirez
DeRosa
Soto
Pie
Sam Fuld, of course, still has a shot at the 8th spot as centerfielder, but I think the odds heavily favor Pie.
Today's news out of camp goes back over the story, this time after talking to the 3-4-5 guys.
Fukudome, Lee and Ramirez were all agreeable to the projected order
The top 5 slots are comprised of the 4-corner hitters plus Theriot. Yes, Theriot is not a guy who should be at the top of the line-up, but we do have a very impressive looking bunch of guys getting a lot of AB's. Aramis should drive in a lot of runs, and ground into a lot of double-play's, too.
Take a look a the projected OPS+ for the Big 4 from this earlier post. Projects amongst the best groups all-time for the Cubs. Hopefully actual performance will match.
Alfonso Soriano 112
Kosuke Fukudome 109
Aramis Ramirez 122
Derrek Lee 126
I hope Lou sticks with this direction, with the exception of Theriot. I'd like to see if DeRosa, or even Pie, can make the move to the top of the order. I do like Kosuke as a 2nd spot guy, and Soriano a 5-er, but it is hard to argue with the 3-4-5 Lou has in mind. But Maddog ran some line-up projections, and isn't up for taking any chances.
2 comments:
Seems foolish to put Theriot in the 2-hole. I doubt it lasts very long, but I'd be happier if it wasn't happening at all.
On the other hand, I'm now slowly beginning to think acquiring Roberts might be a good idea. It would give the Cubs an outstanding top 5 in the lineup and they'd be stacked in terms of OBP 2-6 or 7. As a bonus, it would ensure that Ryan Theriot never sees the 2-hole on a regular basis and that might be worth more than we realize.
Acquiring BR is clearly a good idea, paying for him is another. The cost may be prohibitive, and we appear to have a stacked team as it is. I just finished 100 sim runs of ZiPS, which will be covered in my next post
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