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Alfonso Soriano's roller coaster season took another plunge on yesterday when Atlanta Brave Jeff Bennett's 0-2 pitch hit the Cubs outfielder in the hand, breaking it.
Soriano left the game and was taken to Northwestern Hospital, where x-rays revealed a "minimally displaced fracture of the left fourth metacarpal." [Ed note: Metacarpals are the bones that make up your palm. The...non-finger portion of your hand.]
At the time of the injury, Soriano was leading the team in home runs and was just three RBI's off the pace for the team lead -- all in spite of missing 15 games following his calf injury earlier this year.
The Cubs star is expected to land on the disabled list for the next six weeks with the injury, meaning he'll return just before the trading deadline at the end of July. Will the Cubs still be cruising along with the best record in baseball then? Or is this unfortunate incident the beginning of the wheels coming off the Cubs Express? Where the team sits as the end of July approaches will determine if they add the missing pieces to try and overcome a century of futility or they begin dumping salary to clean up the books for their new owner.
AP Photo/Jerry Lai
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Braves run a terrible pitcher out there who has absolutely no control and we pay for it. They had better retaliate today if they wanna have any respect for their team. They should be alright without Soriano. He has been so great at the plate and he needs that time on the field to make sure he is playing good defense when the end of the season rolls around, really unfortunate.
Why in the hell would they dump salary because of one injury? That's one of the dumbest things you've ever written. They have the best record in baseball. Plus, a winning (and possibly playoff-bound) team will get more money than one stripped of its star players.
The whole conclusion is weak and Batman-esque: will they win? or will they lose? tune in next week. And thanks for the "century of futility" note. It's like listening to an ESPN broadcast of a Cubs game.
Seriously, dump salary? Its quite clear the Cubs are in this race. Now whether or not we win the race is an entirely different situation. But there is no way we will be dumping salary. Period. The division is very winnable, as well as the wild card. So keep your dumping salary comments to yourself Benjy.
Given the Cubs historical performance following playoff years, high hopes have usually been derailed by a rash of injuries. This one injury, if the Cubs continue to win, clearly wouldn't result in a salary dump. But if the curse rears its ugly head yet again and the Cubs fade between now and the end of July, they may choose to cut costs ahead of a sale.
They'll survive without his bat. I worry that it will hurt morale but I think they're strong enough. They're just a damn strong team all around. Of course they'll miss Sori, any team would miss him.
Bud...you have to remember that Benjy is a Sox fan so he's used to salary dumps and white flag sales. It's an asinine comment. Teams with huge payrolls in large markets don't usually dump salaries. Even if the Cubs did tank it the rest of the way, they're not going to suddenly trade Lee, Ramirez and Zambrano for some young prospects.
Do you actually like sports Benjy or is it something that you're into, on a mechanical level, to make you feel more manly? Because someone who likes and knows sports wouldn't have written something like that.
Let me get this straight...Soriano is injured for 6 weeks, so the Cubs should start a fire-sale if they start to lose a few more games than they have so far? I'm just completely stunned...you're the "sports" guy around here, right? Every single radio show, sportscaster, broadcaster, and general hot-stove commenter talks about what the Cubs will ADD at the deadline.
Tell me Benjy, who would you trade? This team made the playoffs last year, and have the BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL so far this year, so how are you going to improve this team by trading away anyone of significant value?
I'd rather have Soriano in the lineup, but the Cubs did alright when he was out for a week or so earlier this year.
Even if they tank, they're not dumping salary! We're not talking about the Minnesota Twins here. This is a large market team with a national fan base and a giant payroll. teams like that don't dump salaries and hold white flag sales. just look at the history. I'm not saying they won't tank or they will tank but either way they're not going to sell off their big guns. why would someone want to buy the Cubs if half of their stars are gone? the cubs could have 9 guys getting 20 times what they're worth, vastly underperforming and Zell would still be able to sell this team for $1 billion.
You are just not looking at the reality of this season Benjy. There is absolutely no way the Cubs will be in a dumping situation by the end of the July. Period.
Reality check: they'd have to go 12-30 over their next 42 games just to be at .500 going into the trade deadline. Even .500 teams usually aren't sellers at the deadline.
And Soriano sure as hell isn't the difference between a .636 team and a .286 team.
I fully expect to see Chipper Jones get drilled in the thigh -- you hurt our star, we'll hurt yours. (Dempster's hit batter last night was clearly not retribution.)
Hope he got nice and drugged up before they tried to take off the glove......ouch.