geovany soto | The Baseball Zealot

Slow Starters: NL edition

A couple days ago, I posted my list of slow starters in the AL. Now it’s the NL’s turn.

Stats as of 4/27.

Dan Uggla, Atl	.188, 8 rbis	Those eight rbis come on 5 HR. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing.
Geovany Soto, Chi	.227, 1 HR	I’m thinking that unless Geo starts shaping up, his time is running out with the Cubs.
Ryan Dempster, Chi	1-2, 7.63 ERA	Eight HR in 30 2/3 IP. Yikes!
Hanley Ramirez, Fla	.211, 3 SB	hitting the same as John Buck
Carlos Lee, Hou	.207	…but does have 13 rbis
J.A. Happ, Hou	1-3, 6.94 ERA	lack of control isn’t helping
Jonathon Niese, NY	1-3, 5.10 ERA	workhorse is leading Mets in IP, though
Albert Pujols, StL	.250, 8 EBH	I know he’s got 17 rbis but have you noticed? He’s got more Ks than walks so far.
Madison Bumgarner, SF	0-3, 7.79 ERA	I think a lot was expected from this Giant hurler

Gorzelanny, Baker battle the Bucs for win

Tom Gorzelanny just did what was needed by his team.

Last night, I checked on Zach Duke’s stats, in particular, how he did against the Cubs. Going into today’s game, he had a 4-6 record against Chicago. Yet his 3.09 ERA against them was still pretty tasty. So I figured it was going to be up to Gorzelanny.

Well, Duke pitched pretty close to his status quo, allowing three runs in 7 plus frames. But Gorzelanny was up for the task. The Pirates only scored one run off him in five innings. Cubs win 3-1!

The big miracle in today’s win was that the Cubs’ bullpen didn’t implode. Rather, they pitched pretty dang well allowing two hits over the course of four innings with Gregg getting his 23rd save of the season.

Jeff Baker continues to produce for the Cubbies. Today, he went 2 for 4 with his second homer of the year. This one was a solo shot off Duke in the sixth inning. In the last six games, the Germany-born Baker has fourteen hits.

Hopefully, Geovany Soto is getting back in the groove. Soto was 1 for 19 in the first two series back from his month-long DL stint (albeit that one hit WAS a homerun). In the last two games against Pittsburgh, Soto has collected three hits, two of them doubles. Let’s hope he can find what he had last year.

Tomorrow: Rich Harden vs Pirates’ Ross Ohlendorf

Does Triple-A Cub catcher Robinson have a chance to make it to the bigs soon?

I’m trying to find a silver lining in the dark cloud that surrounds the catcher situation in the Cubs’ clubhouse. Piniella’s quote, "We’re not scared of using Fox.", does not inspire confidence.

If there is indeed a silver lining, it would be that perhaps it might give Triple-A Chris Robinson a shot at the majors.

Robinson, who plays for the Iowa Cubs and hails from my alum, the University of Illinois, would certainly be qualified. He just was named to the PCL All-Star team and is hitting the ball well (.317). Robbie is known as a very good defensive catcher.

I’ve seen Robinson play. Yes, he can hit (not a lot of HR but plenty of gap power) but what I was impressed with in his college days was his leadership skills, how he took charge of a game and how he handled the pitchers.

And the Cubs certainly could use a catcher like that at least in the interim while Soto is on the DL however long THAT will be.

Bleacher Nation has some thoughts on the Cubs’ catcher situation. Their coming away with the idea that the Cubs are probably going to look elsewhere to solve their backstop problems in the meantime.

But Robinson was always noted as a defensive catcher, and he just happens to be hitting this year. Certainly the Cubs aren’t expecting a great deal of offense out of a backup catcher (see the current starter, Koyie Hill), so why the diss of Robinson? It’s really hard to figure.

Perhaps the answer is that the Cubs aren’t just looking for a temporary backup catcher. Maybe they’re hoping to land a temporary starting catcher who can become a backup when Soto returns. That would explain the looking around, though it, too, would be a bit strange given Hill’s excellent handling of the staff, if not excellent hitting.

Time will tell. Most importantly, we’ll need to find just how bad Soto’s oblique strain really is and how long he’ll be out for. No doubt, those who really need to know, probably already have a good idea.

And more than likely, Robbie will get some more time to season in Triple-A before Chicago decides what to do with him.

Soto tested positive for pot at WBC games

So Geovany Soto has been found tested positive for marijuana earlier this year at the World Baseball Classic.

Great. I drafted a stoner with my first pick in my APBA league last year.

Of course, the media is handling the way they always do. They trot out their trite template they use for articles in these situations. Such articles include the apology from the player (“I fully understand the ramifications of my actions. I have and will accept any and all consequences”.. blah blah), how disappointed the team and league is in the player but they will support him and meaningless accolades in this inappropriate time (Asst GM Randy Bush: "I think he would never make excuses. That’s the kind of guy he is…").

Of course in this situation we can’t neglect the over-analyzation by countless journalists and bloggers of Soto. Jjust maybe this all might have to do with his year long slump, right??.

ESPN’s Nick Friedell seems to think so.

In all seriousness, though, this news is embarrassing for everyone involved, most notably Soto. The Cubs’ catcher is hitting just .228 on the year and looks like a shell of the player that was the NL Rookie of the Year last season. He doesn’t look nearly as powerful, or as fit, as he did when he clubbed 23 homers and 86 RBIs in 2008. In short, he’s been a disappointment, and now with this news being public plenty of fans will wonder if all the adulation got to his head.

A little over two years ago we had a similar situation when then White Sox pitcher Freddie Garcia was found to have been found to have tested positive for pot at the WBC. We all know what happened to Garcia’s effectiveness after that.

Maybe Friedell has a point.

Cubs News Bits

-Curt Schilling says he’s not sure he’s coming back but if does, the Cubs are on his short list.

-“I’m going to strike him out. I’m going to try. He’ll be the enemy out there.” Marmol said this with a smile about Geovany Soto. The two of them may face each other in the World Baseball Classic.

-Carlos Zambrano pitched a near perfect two innings Monday in his first appearance in 2009. Big Z only sin was giving up a walk and he struck out three. Lou Piniella is still debating the Opening Day starter issue, though. It’s ok, Lou. You still have about a month.

-Finally, Lou Piniella supports Carlos Marmol’s decision to attend the WBC.

“It’s an honor to represent your country. He’s here competing for a job, and he was a little concerned. I said, ‘Lay your fears to rest. We’ll let you compete for that job when you get back and we’ll make a decision then.’ No decision will be made without Marmol being here.”

Now, just stay healthy, Carlos.

Volquez tries to sneak in the NL ROY voting

The Rookie of the Year voting this year was pretty much a shoo-in for both the National League with the Cubs’ Geovany Soto winning it all and the American League with Tampa’s Evan Longoria taking it. I don’t know of anyone who predicted otherwise.

That didn’t stop Cincinnati pitcher Edison Volquez, who wasn’t even officially a rookie, from getting some votes from the the baseball writers. By doing so, Cincinnati performed a hat trick by getting Volquez, Joey Votto, and Jay Bruce in the top five.

Under baseball rules, if a player spends more than 45 days on a team’s active roster in a previous year, he is not considered a rookie.

Five Ribbies and 3 HR for Alfonso (and a tense moment for Jason Marquis)

Linescore of the Day:

Alfonso Soriano: 4 for 5, 3 HR, 4 runs, 5 rbi (and no errors)

Soriano came though for the Cubs in a big way for the Cubs Saturday against the Reds in a game they quite honestly needed to win. They needed all of Alfonso’s production as the Reds made a comeback against the Cubs beleaguered bullpen scoring 8 runs in the last two innings. Final score: 14-9.

Much kudos to starter Jason Marquis who not only pitched a good game (2 runs in 7 plus innings though with five walks… more on that later), he had a good day at the plate. He hit two nicely hit flyballs for outs the first two times he was up but the third time was a charm. That one reached the right field seats for a solo homer.

The day wasn’t without a little controversy, though. The situation with umpire Brian Runge was just plain weird. With the bases loaded and a 3-0 count, Marquis threw one that looked like a strike to me. Regardless, Runge didn’t call it. Even stranger, batter Chris Dickerson didn’t make a move to first thinking it was a strike himself. It took a long while before anyone did anything. Finally, Runge made the call, Ball Four. Boy, that got Marquis upset and he got yelling and gesturing the shape of the strike zone.

The Play of the Game?

The best play of the game wasn’t a hit or a play in the field. It was a simple gesture made by catcher Geovany Soto to Runge that could have saved the game. While Marquis was yelling at Runge and things were getting tense, Runge started to move to go toward the mound. Soto touched Runge’s arm as if to say, "Don’t worry. I’ll handle it." and went out to the mound. Runge turned back to his spot behind home plate.

In my opinion, Soto prevented Marquis from getting ejected from the game. It may have been obvious and simple but it worked. Marquis pitched pretty well the rest of his outing, allowing one more run in the eighth (don’t forget about his homerun too). Had he been ejected, who knows what could have happened. We saw what happened in the 8th and 9th inning.

Soto has been showing this kind of maturity and presence of mind all year. I will most likely have the first pick in the rookie draft in the Ilowa APBA League next year.

I think I have made my decision.