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ryno4ever

May 15th 2007, 9:15 pm

1. Soriano has gotten on base in every one of the 31 games he has played in. The power will come. He seems to be getting more comfortable, and his assists from left field have been HUGE!

2. When Lee returns, he'll go back into the No. 3 spot in the Cubs lineup. Soriano started there for the second straight game Tuesday. The question is, will Soriano return to the leadoff spot? Piniella wouldn't provide a direct answer.

"All I said was D-Lee was going to hit third," Piniella said. "I didn't say anything else."

So, what happens to Soriano?

"Well, we're going to find out," Piniella said.

Ryan Theriot could lead off, and Soriano could be inserted into the No. 2 spot so the team can take advantage of both his speed and power. Soriano has been hitting a lot of doubles with nobody on base.

3. IF that is the case, imagine this lineup, Theriot-Soriano-Lee-Ram-Barrett-Jones-Murton/Floyd-DeRosa/Izturis-pitcher (which 2 of our 5 pitchers are awesome hitters).... get The Riot on base to lead off, let Soriano drive him over, and Lee/Ram move them in! OR The Riot gets on base, and Soriano makes the game 2-0 with one swing of the bat and no outs! I really like this idea! Get em on...Get em over... Get em in! It would be really hard for opposing pitchers to pitch around anyone in the top to middle of the order.

4. Ward...how big has it been that he stepped with Lee out??? Welcome to the Cubs, Big Boy!

5. Floyd was huge tonight too... and against his own team. It was nice to see the Mets fans show him love...

6. Zambrano... kudos to Rothschild on this one. He worked with Z on Saturday and pointed out his mechanical issues and fixed how Z was tipping his pitches. Zambrano looked a little shaky after he gave up the homer to Green...but regained the composure and came close to a complete game. The fact he got a 123 inning in the first, I had a good feeling about him today.

7. Ram's Grand Slam...absolutely, positively, beautiful. Even he had to stand back and admire that one. And what a boost to the offense and help to Big Z. The rest of the lineup seemed to relax and just let the hits come.

8. Barrett found his swing tonight. He even said on the post game show that he felt like for the first time tonight, he felt as if he was able to drive the ball to where he wanted to drive it. He said that he had been hitting the ball hard before, but just couldn't find that spot where he could just lean back and drive it to where he wanted it to go...

9. With the rain out tonight in Chicago, we may see a rotation change for the Sox for this weekend's Crosstown Classic....

10. The Brewers lost, but Houston won in extras, but we still gained a game on the brew crew
11. And the Bulls won a good one.... a good night for Chicago sports!

This was a team win tonight. This is what we have been waiting for. The offense, the pitching, the defense....Let's keep it rolling.

ryno4ever

May 15th 2007, 9:36 pm

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/ryno4ever/051507ramgrandslam.jpg

gRAMd Slam! This may be the turning point we have been waiting for!

ARamfan

May 15th 2007, 9:37 pm

1. Soriano has gotten on base in every one of the 31 games he has played in. The power will come. He seems to be getting more comfortable, and his assists from left field have been HUGE!

2. When Lee returns, he'll go back into the No. 3 spot in the Cubs lineup. Soriano started there for the second straight game Tuesday. The question is, will Soriano return to the leadoff spot? Piniella wouldn't provide a direct answer.

"All I said was D-Lee was going to hit third," Piniella said. "I didn't say anything else."

So, what happens to Soriano?

"Well, we're going to find out,"

Ryan Theriot could lead off, and Soriano could be inserted into the No. 2 spot so the team can take advantage of both his speed and power. Soriano has been hitting a lot of doubles with nobody on base.

3. IF that is the case, imagine this lineup, Theriot-Soriano-Lee-Ram-Barrett-Jones-Murton/Floyd-DeRosa/Izturis-pitcher (which 2 of our 5 pitchers are awesome hitters).... get The Riot on base to lead off, let Soriano drive him over, and Lee/Ram move them in! OR The Riot gets on base, and Soriano makes the game 2-0 with one swing of the bat and no outs! I really like this idea! Get em on...Get em over... Get em in! It would be really hard for opposing pitchers to pitch around anyone in the top to middle of the order.

4. Ward...how big has it been that he stepped with Lee out??? Welcome to the Cubs, Big Boy!

5. Floyd was huge tonight too... and against his own team. It was nice to see the Mets fans show him love...

6. Zambrano... kudos to Rothschild on this one. He worked with Z on Saturday and pointed out his mechanical issues and fixed how Z was tipping his pitches. Zambrano looked a little shaky after he gave up the homer to Green...but regained the composure and came close to a complete game. The fact he got a 123 inning in the first, I had a good feeling about him today.

7. Ram's Grand Slam...absolutely, positively, beautiful. Even he had to stand back and admire that one. And what a boost to the offense and help to Big Z. The rest of the lineup seemed to relax and just let the hits come.

8. Barrett found his swing tonight. He even said on the post game show that he felt like for the first time tonight, he felt as if he was able to drive the ball to where he wanted to drive it. He said that he had been hitting the ball hard before, but just couldn't find that spot where he could just lean back and drive it to where he wanted it to go...

9. With the rain out tonight in Chicago, we may see a rotation change for the Sox for this weekend's Crosstown Classic....

10. The Brewers, but Houston won in extras, but we gained a game on the brew crew.

11. And the Bulls won a good one.... a good night for Chicago sports!

This was a team win tonight. This is what we have been waiting for. The offense, the pitching, the defense....Let's keep it rolling.

Naturally, I agree with all of these points. Ward has been great since ST. I would like to see him play as much as possible. You can count on Ward. And tonight, Z was able to regain his composure after the homer by Green. That was a big step for Z. Usually he gets so wrapped up in anger and disappointment, that he has a hard time focusing any further into the game.

And of course, Ram's grand slam was special to me! Like I said before in the game thread, he's just getting started! Usually, he has a slow start and doesn't do things like this until June. But he's been blasting HRs since ST.

I hope things will continue like this. But, we didn't have to rely on the bullpen for anything tonight.

ARamfan

May 15th 2007, 9:39 pm

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/ryno4ever/051507ramgrandslam.jpg

gRAMd Slam! This may be the turning point we have been waiting for!

Thank you for the pic! ;)

ryno4ever

May 15th 2007, 9:44 pm

You're welcome!

I just realized something else....THE CUBS DIDN'T GROUND INTO ONE DOUBLE PLAY AT ALL TONIGHT!!!!!!!

ryno4ever

May 15th 2007, 9:48 pm

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/ryno4ever/051507slam3.jpg

Just found this one, too! Nice swing!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/ryno4ever/051507slam4.jpg

ARamfan

May 15th 2007, 9:48 pm

You're welcome!

I just realized something else....THE CUBS DIDN'T GROUND INTO ONE DOUBLE PLAY AT ALL TONIGHT!!!!!!!

WOW, you're right. That's what made it so easy to watch! This just shows the kind of team they can be. We know it, and it's frustrating when it gets snuffed out at the end by the bullpen or the lack of clutch hitting.

ARamfan

May 15th 2007, 9:51 pm

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/ryno4ever/051507slam3.jpg

Just found this one, too!

I'm losing it, Heather. These are great. I'm considering this grand slam tonight as my b-day present, even though it's still a month away! :cool:

SkullKey

May 15th 2007, 9:54 pm

And thank you for the thread - nicely done and good reading.

Good picture

ChinMusic22

May 16th 2007, 4:45 am

ryno4ever

May 16th 2007, 7:09 am

Let's not forget Eyre didn't give up a hit in he 9th... We played good last night. Hopefully it can carry over t tonight and we can build on it.

The Brewers are on a little slide, it's time to take advantage of it...

I did notice Eyre, and I did realize he didn't give up a hit, but he was still having issues trying to locate his spots. The last batter, it just seemed like he couldn't find the strike zone at all. Maybe that was intentional trying to get him to chase one, but three balls in a row went into the dirt on the outside of the plate. With such a good team win, I didn't want to bring up the bullpen, because he did get it done, but he didn't look all that sharp either. If we hadn't had a 9 run lead, I would have been concerned.

roenick99

May 16th 2007, 8:52 am

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/ryno4ever/051507ramgrandslam.jpg

gRAMd Slam! This may be the turning point we have been waiting for!

Is this photo condensed? Aram looks a little skinny here. Not that he is fat by any means, but he has always seemed a little pudgy. Great pics all the same. I watched the video on cubs.com and it just amazes me that they would even dare to pitch him inside at all let alone with the bases full. I don't think anyone in the league turns on inside pitches as well as Ramirez. Mets scouts missed that one big time...

roenick99

May 16th 2007, 8:56 am

I did notice Eyre, and I did realize he didn't give up a hit, but he was still having issues trying to locate his spots. The last batter, it just seemed like he couldn't find the strike zone at all. Maybe that was intentional trying to get him to chase one, but three balls in a row went into the dirt on the outside of the plate. With such a good team win, I didn't want to bring up the bullpen, because he did get it done, but he didn't look all that sharp either. If we hadn't had a 9 run lead, I would have been concerned.

With the way our bullpen has been, I was still concerned with a 9 run lead...

CubsFan23

May 17th 2007, 9:19 am

Jack Cobra

May 17th 2007, 12:09 pm

Ryan Theriot could lead off, and Soriano could be inserted into the No. 2 spot so the team can take advantage of both his speed and power. Soriano has been hitting a lot of doubles with nobody on base.

The thing about a #2 hitter is that when there is a base stealer in front of them they are supposed to be patient enough to take pitches and let them steal. This isn't exactly Sori's forte. It would be nice to have all that power there but I'm afraid it could lead to a lot of strike em out/throw em out double plays. Then, if Sori gets on right in front of Lee you have Lee needing to take pitches; which you don't want to force him to do. That's why you would want a buffer in between Sori and Lee. You could move Sori down to the five hole maybe but I'd hate to see him miss out on ab's