Year of surprises

[SKIPPER 11]

We are at the midpoint of the season and I was wonderin g what you guys/gals thiought was opur biggest surprise so far?


1. Silva- 9-2 under 3 era

2. Ram and Lee's crappy yrs

3. Z starting as ace then to 8th inning guy then back to a starter- then suspended

4. Soto still hitting 7th or 8th daily

5. Marshall's dominance in the pen

6. That Lou is still here

[Banks]

The most surprising aspect of the Cubs for me...

The decline of Aramis, defensively. Of course his offensive slump is suprising...but I see him bouncing back from that. His defense has been bad! The Cubs should consider trading Lee, moving Aramis to 1B, and signing him to a 4 year deal on the heels of a sub-par season.

The great production from Carlos Silva has to be the most surprising aspect of the Cubs for me. Who saw a 2.96 ERA, 1.066 WHIP, 6.3 SO/9, and a 70/16 K to BB ratio? Amazing! Further that with the fact we were able to unload Milton Bradley for him, and save money! Bradley's line this season: .211/.295/.368...64 K's in 238 PA's! Awful! And the Cubs avoided yet another Bradley meltdown, which they were able to hawk on Seattle...oh, and Milton has missed a bunch of games to injury.

[SKIPPER 11]

Its real hard to argue against Silva, considering just about every start he has had we have been in the game. I watched him in spring training one game and he was shelled for about 6 runs in two innings. I never expected this. With that being said, I still dont trust him- meaning Im just waiting for the collapse. I get the same feeling with him pitching almost as I did with Marquis. There is a big difference though- Silva's control is amazing and he rarely ever hurts himself with a walk. I think Lou has done a great job managing Silva as well. He seems to get him out at the right time.

[Banks]

With that being said, I still dont trust him- meaning Im just waiting for the collapse. I get the same feeling with him pitching almost as I did with Marquis. Great analogy...and I completely feel the same way. No matter how well Marquis pitched(and he didn't get the credit he deserved for his production with the Cubs)I was always waiting for him to implode. I find myself doing the same thing with Silva. However, in how we were able to save money and unload a problem by trading for Silva...the Cubs already came out way ahead in the Silva/Bradley trade. Whatever we get from Silva here on out is gravy!