Bump in the Road

By: Jon Kerr

The wheels are certainly not off the tracks on the Cubs season. The optimist in me says they are hitting a bump in the road on their way to a division championship, but four losses in five games provides plenty of reasons to gnaw at the fingernails.

This team misses Alfonso Soriano. The eight wins in nine games right after he left the lineup was deceiving, as it was a streak more a function of adrenaline. The Cubs inability to hit with runners in scoring position over the past week is the best indication of what a Soriano-less lineup will do. Stick him anywhere and it creates another match up problem for opposing managers.

Reed Johnson is a nice player - his catch in Washington last weekend might be on of the best I’ve seen - but whom would you rather face, a guy who Toronto didn’t think was good enough, or a guy who two seasons ago went 40-40? With a threat like Soriano, it forces pitchers to throw a more steady diet of fastballs to Derrick Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome. Major league hitters like fastballs. They have a tendency to hit them, and hit them far.

I’ve seen enough of Kevin Hart to understand he’s not major league ready. Tuesday night, with the Cubs down 5-4 and the game well within reach, manager Lou Pinella trotted Hart out to start the sixth inning. By the time he was relieved by Sean Marshall in the seventh, that one-run deficit was extended to four. When Jason Marquis starts, the Cubs can expect to be in slugfests. Having long relievers who can hold leads, or in the case of Tuesday night, hold deficits, is huge. The offense is too good, even with Soriano out. Why Pinella went with Hart over the reliable Jon Lieber in this situation is a bit puzzling. Lieber proceeded to pitch a scoreless eighth and ninth, but at that point, the game was out of reach. I understand a manager’s need to get the inexperienced Hart work in tight game situations, but in this case, it had a significant impact on the outcome of a game.

Sure it’s only April, but the Brewers will be the Cubs biggest obstacle towards winning the Central. A young, fast, free-swinging club, Milwaukee is not going anywhere unless their pitching completely blows up. Corey Hart might be the best unknown player in the National League. He had a couple of really good hit songs in the 80’s and it’s nice to see him make a smooth transition to baseball.

My only other cause for concern this week? Fukudome fever is official. Sports Illustrated has made our right fielder its cover boy this week.

If Kosuke hits .200 this home stand, I’ll know who to blame.

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Jon Kerr is a freelance writer. A graduate of Michigan State University, he is a former sportscaster at CLTV. He is also a Cubs season ticket holder and lifelong Chicagoan. Jon can be reached at jkerr1970@hotmail.com. He's got a blog, too.

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