Author: The Baseball Zealot

…but given the lineup the Cards used, the Cubs actually had a fighting chance.  Rolen, of course is out with a sore shoulder, Pujols was taking the day off due to a shoulder strain, Yadier Molina is out with a broken hand and Walker has a sore neck.  It’s gotta be one of the weakest lineups the Birds have used all year.

Unfortunately, brand spankin’ new John Rodriguez was in the lineup.  Rodriguez, who has 2 taters in the last six games, continued his tear, hitting 2 doubles before injuring himself by tripping over a nail in the Cardinals dugout.  Don’t worry Cardinals fans.  He thinks he’ll be back soon.

But the ultimate result is that the Cubs won and that the two teams will play the rubber game tomorrow. 

Derrek Lee hit his 32nd homerun today.  That ties his career high from last year.  And he’s got some 65 games to build on that.  For those wondering, he is 17 rbis away from is career high also from last year. 

I don’t yet know what to think of the Cubs trade of Jason Dubois for Cleveland OF Jody Gerut.  On the face of it, it looks like a good deal and that’s what I’m hearing from a lot of people. 

My take on Gerut… He is solid defensively and can play both corners.  He is fast but not really known as a base stealer.  With the bat, he is perhaps above average at best.  He had a good rookie season but hasn’t reached his potential and slipped a bit in subsequent years.  He has a bit of pop in his bat and isn’t afraid to take a walk.  After being out due to injury the first part of the season, he came back and is hitting a solid .275 with a decent OBP (but surpisingly only 1 homerun). 

But a trade is much more than how much you can get for what you give up.  Those who say that Gerut is a good deal for Dubois may be right in one sense but Cub fans need to ask, “How does this help the team?” 

It’s possible that the Cubs see Gerut as their leadoff man of 05.  This bears out since they have lead him off in his first game with the Cubs.  Are they going to platoon him with Hairston?  I guess we’ll see. 

I just know that the people who are saying this a good deal are probably the same people who earlier this year, wrote Jason Dubois in as the Cubs’ leftfielder for the next few years.  I guess a few dropped fly balls can change some minds.

A couple side notes:

Gerut had a blog when he was with the Indians.  Whether it was ghost-written, I don’t know but it’s worth a look.

Gerut, who grew up in the Chicago area, was a Sox fan.