True value on the field
CUBS 11, ASTROS 4 | Soriano, DeRosa won't win MVP hardware, but they're worth plenty
<!-- Article Publish Date -->August 7, 2008
<!-- Article By Line -->BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
<!-- Article's First Paragraph --><!-- BlogBurst ContentStart -->Most Valuable Player ballots were sent out to voters this week.
Since then, Alfonso Soriano has two home runs and seven RBI in two games. Mark DeRosa has five hits and eight RBI.
Alfonso Soriano stays red-hot, helping the Cubs’ cause with a three-run homer in the third.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
<!-- Fact box starts here -->
<!-- BlogBurst ContentStart -->Coincidence?
Yeah, probably.
But it's also a good conversation starter for the baseball definition of value -- particularly in the case of Soriano.
Neither of these pillars of the Cubs' lineup is likely to get much MVP support. Soriano has played in barely half the games because of two injuries, and DeRosa is a bottom-half-of-the-lineup guy best recognized for his ability to play almost every infield and outfield position.
Yet that all plays into the point of each one's value to the team that not only has the National League's best record (69-46), but also raised its high-water mark to 23 games over .500 on Wednesday with an 11-4 victory over the Houston Astros.
DeRosa, primarily the starting second baseman, was run ragged for six weeks covering the corner outfield spots while Soriano was on the disabled list, and he has the .181 July slump to prove it.
But he also proved in that stretch how valuable his versatility is, while his RBI binge the last two days offered a reminder of another, often-overlooked value. Seven of those eight RBI came with two out, including his grand slam in Wednesday's eight-run third inning.
Only cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez (24) has more two-out RBI for the Cubs than DeRosa's 19, and only Ramirez (75) and No. 3 hitter Derrek Lee (69) have more RBI overall than DeRosa's 63.
''He has a penchant for driving in runs,'' manager Lou Piniella said, ''and he battled out there pretty well [while struggling].''
But even on his big day, DeRosa talked mostly about Soriano's value -- which is underscored by the team's 6.3 runs per game and 11-4 record since he returned from his latest, lengthiest DL stay.
With a .348 average and six home runs in that stretch, a guy who has been booed as often as he has been given curtain calls at Wrigley Field is proving to even his biggest critics how valuable his mere presence is to the lineup.
''When he gets hot, it's pretty unbelievable,'' DeRosa said. ''When most guys get hot, they get a couple knocks. He hits balls in the seats on a daily basis.''
And that speaks only to the value of his sheer production.
Fact is, even when Soriano isn't hitting -- and it certainly can look bad when he isn't -- his value is impressive. At least it is to this team, the way it is built and the way Lou Piniella manages it. And Soriano's recent extended absence might finally be showing measurable evidence of it.
''His presence in the lineup means a lot to us in different ways,'' Piniella said. ''First of all, his offensive presence alone, but other things. We can rest our catcher a little more. We can rotate our outfielders a little more. We build from the one spot in the lineup, so I can go 1-3-4 and do whatever we want in the other spots.''
How does he help the catcher? Soriano is the top power threat with a team-leading 21 homers in his abbreviated season. And catcher Geovany Soto is one of the next-best threats, which means Piniella leaned harder on Soto to play more often when Soriano was out to help balance the lineup.
Piniella also has enough lineup depth this year to put productive hitters in the 7 and 8 spots (along with some decent-hitting pitchers), which provides Soriano more RBI chances in the leadoff spot. That directly led to Soriano's third-inning homer Wednesday being worth three runs after the 7-8-9 hitters all reached base.
Soriano said the praise is great, ''but I cannot see what I bring to the team because I know who I am. What I bring is mostly a happiness or excitement to the game. When they see me, how hard I work, then that maybe gives motivation to them, too. Because that's what I come with every day. The same energy to try to win.''
Bottom line: The Cubs are 44-22 when he plays and one game over .500 when he doesn't.
Now where did that ballot go?
<!-- BlogBurst ContentEnd --><!-- Start Bottom Story --><!--text-->
CUBS 11, ASTROS 4 | Soriano, DeRosa won't win MVP hardware, but they're worth plenty
<!-- Article Publish Date -->August 7, 2008
<!-- Article By Line -->BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
<!-- Article's First Paragraph --><!-- BlogBurst ContentStart -->Most Valuable Player ballots were sent out to voters this week.
Since then, Alfonso Soriano has two home runs and seven RBI in two games. Mark DeRosa has five hits and eight RBI.
Alfonso Soriano stays red-hot, helping the Cubs’ cause with a three-run homer in the third. (John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
<!-- Fact box starts here -->
<!-- BlogBurst ContentStart -->Coincidence?
Yeah, probably.
But it's also a good conversation starter for the baseball definition of value -- particularly in the case of Soriano.
Neither of these pillars of the Cubs' lineup is likely to get much MVP support. Soriano has played in barely half the games because of two injuries, and DeRosa is a bottom-half-of-the-lineup guy best recognized for his ability to play almost every infield and outfield position.
Yet that all plays into the point of each one's value to the team that not only has the National League's best record (69-46), but also raised its high-water mark to 23 games over .500 on Wednesday with an 11-4 victory over the Houston Astros.
DeRosa, primarily the starting second baseman, was run ragged for six weeks covering the corner outfield spots while Soriano was on the disabled list, and he has the .181 July slump to prove it.
But he also proved in that stretch how valuable his versatility is, while his RBI binge the last two days offered a reminder of another, often-overlooked value. Seven of those eight RBI came with two out, including his grand slam in Wednesday's eight-run third inning.
Only cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez (24) has more two-out RBI for the Cubs than DeRosa's 19, and only Ramirez (75) and No. 3 hitter Derrek Lee (69) have more RBI overall than DeRosa's 63.
''He has a penchant for driving in runs,'' manager Lou Piniella said, ''and he battled out there pretty well [while struggling].''
But even on his big day, DeRosa talked mostly about Soriano's value -- which is underscored by the team's 6.3 runs per game and 11-4 record since he returned from his latest, lengthiest DL stay.
With a .348 average and six home runs in that stretch, a guy who has been booed as often as he has been given curtain calls at Wrigley Field is proving to even his biggest critics how valuable his mere presence is to the lineup.
''When he gets hot, it's pretty unbelievable,'' DeRosa said. ''When most guys get hot, they get a couple knocks. He hits balls in the seats on a daily basis.''
And that speaks only to the value of his sheer production.
Fact is, even when Soriano isn't hitting -- and it certainly can look bad when he isn't -- his value is impressive. At least it is to this team, the way it is built and the way Lou Piniella manages it. And Soriano's recent extended absence might finally be showing measurable evidence of it.
''His presence in the lineup means a lot to us in different ways,'' Piniella said. ''First of all, his offensive presence alone, but other things. We can rest our catcher a little more. We can rotate our outfielders a little more. We build from the one spot in the lineup, so I can go 1-3-4 and do whatever we want in the other spots.''
How does he help the catcher? Soriano is the top power threat with a team-leading 21 homers in his abbreviated season. And catcher Geovany Soto is one of the next-best threats, which means Piniella leaned harder on Soto to play more often when Soriano was out to help balance the lineup.
Piniella also has enough lineup depth this year to put productive hitters in the 7 and 8 spots (along with some decent-hitting pitchers), which provides Soriano more RBI chances in the leadoff spot. That directly led to Soriano's third-inning homer Wednesday being worth three runs after the 7-8-9 hitters all reached base.
Soriano said the praise is great, ''but I cannot see what I bring to the team because I know who I am. What I bring is mostly a happiness or excitement to the game. When they see me, how hard I work, then that maybe gives motivation to them, too. Because that's what I come with every day. The same energy to try to win.''
Bottom line: The Cubs are 44-22 when he plays and one game over .500 when he doesn't.
Now where did that ballot go?
<!-- BlogBurst ContentEnd --><!-- Start Bottom Story --><!--text-->
