CUBS - 6/27/02

Team Record – 41-36, First Place in the National League Central, tied with St Louis.

After several weeks of blissful, free-spirited play, the Chicago Cubs have been through a lot since then: The ineffective three-headed third baseman; Sammy Sosa’s toe injury that kept him out of action for 17 games; Sosa’s seven-game suspension for an illegal bat; Hee Seop Choi’s serious collision and concussion that has led him to miss 10 games thus far; and Kyle Farnsworth’s textbook shoulder-in-the-chest tackle of the weakly-charging Paul Wilson, which will possibly net him a suspension as well.

Despite all of this, the Cubs are still over .500. They are still in first place in the final week of June, with no swoon in sight. And Dusty Baker has worked magic with the line-up over the last couple of weeks to keep the Cubs afloat. That began during the first week of the season as Baker displayed his knack of funneling his bench players into the line-up on a regular basis to keep them fresh, and, in some cases with some fantastic results.

FIRST BASE

With Choi out, the much-maligned name of Eric Karros was etched into the starting line-up every day of late. The former Dodger was considered a wasted acquisition over the off-season, but he has proven invaluable in Choi’s absence. He made his presence known immediately in the game Choi was injured in, as he hit a three-run home run in the game. His stats over the last two weeks have taken a dive over the weekend due the Sox series, but he still has had solid numbers over the season

Choi was continuing his impressive rookie season when he collided with Kerry Wood on a pop-up and his head slammed against the hard dirt along the foul line. Ten days after the collision, Choi rejoined the Cubs and resumed workouts, during which he has to wear a helmet on the field (not in games, though). After several days of batting practice and much needed leg work, Choi is expected to go on rehab assignment to Triple-A Iowa early this week. He is expected to play in 4-5 games before returning to Chicago.

SECOND BASE

Mark Grudzielanek continues to play above expectations this season at second base and as the team’s leadoff hitter, playing a strong defense and hitting in the .280s this season. The last couple of weeks have seen a drop off, but that possibly due to becoming a new father a couple of weeks ago.

SHORTSTOP

Alex Gonzalez cooled off from his hot start, but he has proven to be a timely extra-base hitter. He had trouble with a sore hamstring over the first half of the month, but he has had an improved last two weeks. He has been a very flexible hitter for the Cubs, as he hit in the second, sixth and seventh spot in the order with equal success.

THIRD BASE

The third-base situation has been a hideous mess. The three-headed third baseman (Mark Bellhorn, Ramon Martinez and Lenny Harris) just hasn’t worked at all – offensively OR defensively. Cub fans are foaming at the mouth at the idea of Florida’s Mike Lowell manning the hot corner as soon as the two teams find the right balance in trade negotiations.

Well, a trade was made, but not the one anybody expected. Last week, the Cubs traded infielder Mark Bellhorn and minor league pitcher Travis Anderson to the Rockies for infielder Jose Hernandez. Hernandez played for the Cubs from 1994-99, then after roaming the league and becoming an All-Star for Milwaukee, he signed with Colorado as a free agent in the off-season to play third base and was moved to shortstop when Juan Uribe started the year on the disabled list. Instead of flourishing in Colorado, more of Hernandez’s flaws were exposed as he hit .237 with eight homers and 27 RBIs, as well as having fanned 95 times in 69 games with the Rockies.

Hernandez has taken over the everyday job at third base. He is far from the ideal 3B, and this could be just the tip of the iceberg as far as future trades go (but it never is with the Tribune Co.), but chances are, the Cubs are going to be stuck with him.

So, what are the best conclusions from this deal? Well, Hernandez is better with the glove and has a better arm than his predecessors. He has a little more proven pop than Bellhorn did. When Hernandez doesn’t strikeout, he’s a .300 hitter. And he has two of the best students of hitting as his coaches – manager Baker and batting coach Gary Matthews. Plus, the best of them all, Billy Williams, hanging around in the front office. With this guidance, possibly the Cubs can turn Hernandez from a high-risk, high-reward hitter into a consistent hitter that can put the ball into play. Strikeouts, compared to groundouts or fly outs, are wasted at-bats. By putting the ball into play, that increases the chance of a positive outcome infinitesimally. If Hernandez is willing to change, he could be a very good pick up for the Cubs, for practically nothing. But don’t expect him to be Mike Lowell.

Martinez is known as a defensive specialist, but he has benefited from the increased playing time during the first three months due to Bellhorn’s struggles.. Martinez isn't great everyday option for fantasy leagues, but his versatility at 2B, SS and 3B is quite welcome and he could find space on your bench in NL-only leagues.

Harris, pinch-hitter extraordinaire, has played in A LOT of games this season, which goes against his No. 1 attribute, but with the arrival of Hernandez, the return of Sosa and the return soon of Choi, hopefully Harris will be back to almost strictly pinch-hitting duties and gets his stroke back.

CATCHER

Damian Miller has put up a strong OPS this season, hovering near the .700 mark, which is a better example of his success that his BA that has been in the .260s, down near .200 and is now in the .230s. He’s been a solid catcher for NL-only leagues and can find a spot in some mixed leagues.

After his six-RBI day in Cincinnati in the first week of the season, the year has been a quiet one for Paul Bako. But, if we had seen a lot from him thus far this season, that would have meant that Miller was injured (outside of Miller’s bruised foot of the last couple of days). So, a quiet back-up catcher is not too bad.

OUTFIELD

In a way, it’s really not that surprising. Corey Patterson didn’t know which way was up last season, and all he needed was a little guidance and some patience. That has led Patterson into being one of the top centerfielders in the game this season. Patterson had 22 RBI, batting from the six-hole, in the month of April – more than any Cub player in the previous three decades. Batting sixth allowed him to use his power and line-drive ability to drive in runs.

During Sosa’s absence, Patterson was moved into the three-hole, and during those three weeks, he hit .341 with seven 2B, three 3B, three HR and 11 RBI. He also dropped his strikeout-to-walk ratio from the 35-to-1 it was last year to about 14-to-1 this year. Not great, but a definite improvement.

With Sosa’s return, Patterson has remained in the No. 3 spot, and should continue to flourish in the second half.

Moises Alou can still get as hot as any hitter in the major leagues, sometimes carrying the team through the week. He has remained healthy, has played through some dents and dings and has had a solid year.

What else can be said about Sosa – the man under the microscope. He had the simple, but devastating-for-a-power-hitter toe injury that hampered him at the end of last season and through the start of this season. Then the surgery. And The Bat. Now, it’s up to Sosa to show baseball what it took to get him into the position he held with such high esteem. Here’s expecting a great second half for Sosa.

Tom Goodwin is far from being an everyday player anymore, but he has provided some spark when the Cubs have needed it June, mainly with his legs. He’s an awful hitter, but when he gets on base, he still is a stealing machine.

Troy O’Leary had a great spring, and started off strong in place of Sosa during his injury, but dropped off dramatically, with his BA having dropped to near .200 at the time. Now, back in his fourth OF role, the BA is back up in the mid-.220s, but neither he nor Goodwin are good candidates for fantasy rosters.

STARTING PITCHING

Mark Prior has gone from scarily inhuman to just short of perfect. His ERA and WHIP have gone from 1.70 and 0.84 in April to 3.86 and 1.34 in May to 2.10 and 1.32 in June, for a 2.61 and 1.11 total for the season. He’s allowed two runs or less in 13 of his 16 starts this season, but he also has topped 110 pitches nine times and has an average pitch count of nearly 120 per game. It appears that Baker has everything under control. With Prior at age 22, let’s hope so.

Everyone thought Kerry Wood was getting some sort of complex about not being considered the “No. 1 starter” any more, that he was being a jerk, a prima donna, unruly, etc. What really was going on was that he has gone out on the mound every fifth day and done his job – actually, a slightly more consistent job than Prior. He has posted an ERA/WHIP each month of 2.65/1.24 in April, 2.78/1.18 in May and 3.28 / 1.01 in June for a 2.94/1.13 mark overall.

Wood has averaged 112 pitches per game, with five over 120, but this count is a little safer for him than for Prior. Wood appears to get stronger and stronger as the season wears on. In just the last three weeks, he showed up Roger Clemens in one start, and had a perfect game going into the seventh inning, and finished with a three-hitter, in another. The only problem is that he hasn’t had particularly strong run support. Hopefully, that will improve as the season goes on.

Carlos Zambrano is only 6-6, but he has pitched some outstanding games this season, and has maintained a 2.95 ERA throughout the year. He has a great fastball and sinker to complement it. Not to harp on it, but there is some good news regarding pitch counts for Zambrano. He was averaging over 110 a game, including 120+ in back-to-back games, but that average has dropped to 105, so that’s much better. He had a couple of rough outings to start June, including a loss to the Yankees, but he has followed that up with a pair of stellar performances against Cincinnati and the White Sox. Expect Zambrano to keep up the excellent work.

Matt Clement's ERA has climbed from 2.59 to 5.06 since the middle of May, and his WHIP is at 1.39. Shawn Estes’ ERA has NEVER been low, standing at 5.40 with a hideous 1.79 WHIP. Thankfully, Juan Cruz just got called back up.

RELIEF PITCHING

The strong point of the team, the group has been a little shaky of late. Joe Borowski, who was 15-of-17 in save situations blew the save Thursday against Milwaukee when he allowed a three-run homer in the ninth inning. Such a loss could begin to change closer situation. But Antonio Alfonseca cost the team a win Wednesday, so he isn’t pressuring too hard. However, you should start your Cubs closer watch again if this becomes a trend with Borowski.

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