The defense, unfortunately, rests

It's an underrated facet of baseball, something that's often overlooked when analyzing a team. But when it comes to the 2010 Cubs, it can't be ignored. As the title suggests, I'm talking about defense.

The Cubs lead the majors with 103 errors; they had 105 all of last season. They've turned 102 double plays after turning 144 last year because most of their double play chances are ruined by a bobble or a throw that sails into the outfield. The Cubs have exhibited a scary combination of lack of focus and just plain bad glovework, resulting in more unearned runs allowed than any other team, by far. It's strange that Zambrano chose to lash out at Derrek Lee after a play he probably couldn't have made anyways, given that he's probably had a lot of more legitimate opportunities to complain about one of his defenders' handiwork.

Nearly 20 percent of the team's errors have been committed by Starlin Castro (20)--only Ian Desmond (28) has more errors among shortstops. Aramis Ramirez is only four off the major league-worst pace at third base despite having played fewer than 100 games. Ryan Theriot had six before being shipped to LA, and Blake DeWitt has 11 between the Dodgers and Cubs. Even Derrek Lee has six errors this season, more than 13 other first basemen.

Soriano has five--just one away from the major league-worst in left--while Byrd and Fukudome have actually played well. Colvin has four errors in right field, none in left.

It should go without saying, but the next Cubs manager and his army of coaches will have to do a better job preparing the team defensively. The lazy throws, the missed cutoff men, the slow-to-develop double play attempts ... these are not qualities commonly seen in playoff teams.

Errors are going to happen, quite obviously, but not 103 of them. Earlier this week Blake Dewitt managed to bobble a grounder and walk lazily towards it, unaware that the runner got a slow start out of the box. The bobble's going to happen sometimes, though the Cubs have exceeded their fair share this season. The second part should never happen, but it seems like just about every Cub has done something similar this season: Castro didn't hustle over the weekend and allowed a runner to score from third; Bob Brenly just criticized Ramirez the other day for not getting in front of a grounder down the line; Soriano exerts effort like Drew Barrymore makes good movies--I don't think it's ever happened.

Most of the position players will return in 2011, which means the gloves themselves may not improve much. In fact, the Cubs' best defender--Derrek Lee--is gone. But hopefully the mental mistakes and lapses can be reduced, and clearly Castro has more potential defensively than he has exhibited in his rookie season. Defense can be one of those things you don't think about until you don't have it. Unfortunately, it's been a glaring problem with this year's team. I just hope that whomever's in charge next season realizes that defense must not be left off the list of things that need to be improved upon in 2011.

P.S. I have to commend Marlon Byrd for his superb defense this season. He's in the top ten in assists for center fielders, has just two errors on the season, and has made countless highlight reel catches. The Cubs have a number of players who have been defensive liabilities this season, but Byrd has been nothing but a strength. As Len and Bob have pointed out, he absolutely deserves Gold Glove consideration.

Week 18 awards: If you're going to lose, lose to the Reds. That's what I always say.

"Psst. Thomas. Hey Thomas. Stop letting them hit the ball so hard."

(José M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune)

And, clearly, the Cubs are going to lose. A lot. They already have lost a lot, and they're going to keep losing a lot. But I really don't mind it as much when it helps the Reds keep pace with those dastardly Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Cubs' 1-5 week means they're not even keeping pace with the Astros. Or the Nationals. They do have the same record as the Royals, though. You can't pull away from us, Royals! NEVER!

Yeah, it's sad. It's a sad, sad season, and the main thing that's made fans want to grab a Kleenex (or a fork to simply gouge the eyes right out) has been the bullpen. 28th in the league with a 4.91 relief ERA. That ain't right. But at least Zambrano's coming back tonight, and he can definitely go, what, five innings? So that's good.

Ryno of the Week: Despite going hitless Friday and Sunday, Starlin Castro went 9-for-25 this week with three doubles, a triple, four runs and an RBI. His OBP since July 1 is over .400. He did make some poor defensive plays and needs to work on his focus in the field, in my opinion, but the range is there and he obviously has an arm--he just needs to harness it.

Honorable mentions: Blake DeWitt, Ryan Dempster

Goat of the Week: After hitting .250 in June and .253 in July, Tyler Colvin is just 2-for-22 in August (2-for-18 this week). He can smash a mistake fastball, but right now he can't hit much else.

Dishonorable mentions: Brian Schlitter, Casey Coleman, Randy Wells

Youth movement leads to a fun day at Wrigley

The Cubs have hit 24 home runs since the All-Star break, tied for most in the NL.

(Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune)

I can't resist the temptation to write about the Cubs after a rare win, and a blowout one at that. The Cubs dished out a tiny bit of revenge yesterday, scoring 14 runs in a three-inning span and slamming three three-run homers en route to a 15-3 win that gave the Brewers a small taste of their own medicine after their 18-1 shellacking of the Cubs on Monday. The Cubs still, you know, suck, and they remain in fifth place in the division, but nevertheless: Take that, Brewers!

Though both Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro remain just shy of the necessary number of plate appearances to qualify for things such as the race for the batting title, here are some interesting stats put up by the Cubs' youngsters:

• Colvin leads all rookies with 17 home runs.
• Among rookies with at least 200 at-bats, Castro has the second-highest average (.318), behind only Buster Posey.
• Castro's average would rank him third in the NL if he qualified.
• Castro's OPS (.823) is third-highest among rookies.
• Castro has five triples, the most for a Cub since Juan Pierre had 13 in 2006.

You can never really assume anything in sports; just because Colvin and Castro have displayed impressive potential does not mean they're guaranteed to improve every year and serve as the team's offensive backbone for years to come. But isn't it nice to see a couple of rookies actually showing their stuff rather than being forced to rely on scouts in order to have hope for the future?

There was another youngster who continued to impress yesterday as well: Geovany Soto. His poor 2009 season was an example of that last point--even being the Rookie of the Year doesn't guarantee consistent success. But here in 2010, Soto is proving that 2008 wasn't an illusion: among NL catchers, he is first in home runs, slugging and OPS, second in OBP and third in RBI. Not too shabby.

The average age of Soto, Castro and Colvin? Twenty-four.

Oh, Blake DeWitt hit a home run yesterday as well--he too is 24.

Week 16 awards: Cubs go 1-2 on unjustified three-week ESPN run

Does ESPN not have access to the MLB standings? Despite being in fourth place, the Cubs found themselves in prime time the last three Sundays. They actually made ESPN's decision look good the last two weeks, beating Roy Halladay and then engaging in an exciting duel against Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals. Unfortunately they couldn't quite pull it out last night to finish off what would have been their first home sweep since a two-gamer against the Rockies back in May.

The 3-3 week went according to script with the Cubs playing down to a bad team and getting their act together against a good one; they're now 7-17 against the Astros, Pirates and Nationals but are 9-5 against the Cardinals, Phillies and Rockies.

Overall the offense fared well yet again, sparked by the solid play of the two sub-25-year-olds at the top of the order. The team is third in the majors in runs during the month of July (guess who's first, I dare you ... nope, it's the Giants) and second in home runs. If only the young guys in the bullpen were half as good as the Cubs' young hitters.

Ryno of the Week: Starlin Castro has been raking. He hit nearly .500 this week and is batting over .380 this month. He's over .300 for the season, in fact, and piled up stats this week like Nicolas Cage piles up painfully bad movies--six RBI, four runs, four doubles and two stolen bases over the last seven days.

Honorable mentions: Aramis Ramirez (who leads the majors in HR and RBI this month), Geovany Soto, Derrek Lee, Randy Wells

Goat of the Week: Oh, Carlos Silva. I haven't completely turned on you yet, but I'm definitely worried. In Silva's last two starts, his ERA has almost gone up more than his innings pitched (ERA up 0.9, innings pitched = 2.1). He'll get another shot against the Astros tonight after lasting just one inning against them last Monday.

Week 15 awards: Cancel that shipment of new bats--these actually seem to be working now

It was a short week in the baseball world (and therefore a long week for fans). The Cubs were one Marmol-implosion away from a four-game sweep to begin the second half, and they've been a lot more fun to watch lately--they've scored 67 runs in their last 11 games. Even Roy Halladay had to bow down to the offensive juggernaut that is the Chicago Cubs. You are no match for our muscles and legendary hitting prowess, Roy.

Marlon Byrd may have had the best week of any Cub given the impact he had in the NL's first All-Star Game win in 14 years. And Joey Votto can freakin' suck it. Since when are the Cubs and Reds arch rivals? And it's the All-Star Game, Joey! I understand that fans have a tough time rooting for players they normally root against, but you really can't set that aside for a night and get into the spirit of things? Your team is in the playoff hunt and may need that home field advantage Byrd just earned you, you jackass. Your goal in the All-Star Game is to win the All-Star Game, and if Byrd helps you do that, you should feel free to congratulate him.

Ryno of the Week: This is hard, in a good way. (That's what she said.) Aramis Ramirez had five hits in the series and five RBI. Trevor Sierra, Brian Brennan and I were debating less than two weeks ago what Ramirez's average will be at season's end. He was in the .170s at the time, and we settled on .212 as the over/under. Eleven games later, he's up to .213.

Geovany Soto hit a home run to each side of the park in the series and had four hits overall. Soriano had a couple dingers and five hits. All four Cub starters posted a quality start.

But I'm going with Starlin Castro. He batted .600 in the series with two doubles, a triple and three runs scored, and also stole home.

Honorable mention: Randy Wells hasn't been the beneficiary of the Cubs' recent offensive improvement--they've scored just 11 runs in his last six starts. His last four have all been quality starts and his ERA has dropped nearly a point since late June.

Goat of the Week: Again, not easy. Even Ryan Theriot had three hits, but he was still just 3-for-17. Plus his overall .311 OBP just angers me.

Dishonorable mention: Carlos Marmol (though in Friday's appearance he was absolutely nasty in striking out Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard and Ben Francisco)

Cubs shut out Dodgers for second time in three days

Ted Lilly hasn't won in over a month, and even seven scoreless innings couldn't get him back in the win column yesterday. But a late RBI by Tyler Colvin did put the Cubs back in the win column, and Sean Marshall took home the victory. Despite being a reliever, Marshall has more wins (5) than any Cub pitcher except for Carlos Silva.

Lilly has continued to look better and better with each start, and yesterday's outing was his best since his first of the year when he tossed six shutout innings against the Brewers. The performance gave the Cubs another series win and brings them to 8-3 in their last 11.

Their recent success hasn't been the result of the offense getting into gear--they haven't scored more than six runs since May 7 when they beat the Reds 14-7. Granted, you obviously don't have to score seven runs or more to win, but it's interesting that the Cubs' recent surge has not been a function of good hitting, but rather adequate hitting combined with great pitching.

Certainly that was the case yesterday as the offense mustered only four hits and one run, but Lilly, Marshall and strike-out-the-side Marmol held the Dodgers to the minimum. Brian Brennan said that the broadcast mentioned it was the Cubs' first 1-0 win in over three years; if memory serves, that was a complete game gem by Jason Marquis in Pittsburgh back in 2007.

Derrek Lee is really coming around--he's now 7-for-9 with three walks in his last three games. Starlin Castro, on the other hand, is 0-for his last-12 and saw his average dip under .300 for the first time this season.

By the way, did anyone else see Reed Johnson making nice catches out in left and wish that he was in the outfield in the top of each inning rather than the bottom? His Cub replacement, Xavier Nady, isn't even allowed to throw the ball farther than my one-year-old niece for fear that his elbow will, like, explode or something. Johnson is also batting .303 to Nady's .229. Oh well.

The Cubs face the Cardinals this weekend, who are just 9-13 in their last 22 games. They have struggled to score at times, and have actually scored seven fewer runs than the Cubs this season. They've also recently lost Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse to the DL, which means Adam Ottavino will make his major league debut against the Cubs tomorrow (Lohse may even be out for the year). But sandwiched around him will be Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright, so the Cubs will have their work cut out for them. Go get those Redbirds!

Note: Jeff Baker left the game after losing vision in his right eye. I'm not even sure what to say about that. Hopefully he'll be all right.

Lilly victimized by shabby offense and shoddy defense

After a miserable six-game road trip on which they struggled to score runs, played poor defense and didn't have enough pitching, the Cubs finally got back to Wrigley Field ... and had the exact same problems.

Ted Lilly held the Marlins hitless and walkless through five innings, but Starlin Castro's second error of the game opened the sixth inning and opened the door for the Marlins' first run. Lilly allowed three runs of the earned variety in the seventh after the Cubs had re-taken the lead, and that, as they say, was that. Though the Cubs outhit the Marlins, runs were hard to come by. Soriano had the team's only real good day at the plate with three hits--all of them line drives to left field--and both runs batted in. In the Cubs' last eight homes games, Soriano is 11-for-24 with 12 RBI.

But in the team's last six games overall, taking out the 14-run outburst on Friday, the run totals look like this: 2, 2, 1, 2, 3. Ouch. Unless you're the 1995 Braves, that's not going to win you a lot of games.

And neither is a shortstop who makes three errors per game. What the heck got into Kid Castro yesterday? He made bad throws on two routine grounders and booted another one. He was so upset about the fielding error that he decided to let Hanley Ramirez run to second, adding a mental error to his physical one. Castro now has four errors to go along with his four hits. I thought the defense was already part of the package! I know there's a step up involved in the transition to the major leagues, but routine throws aren't a whole lot different at Wrigley as opposed to Tennessee.

But, even if that unearned run doesn't cross the plate, the Cubs still lose 3-2. You know how sometimes people say "There's just no quit in this team"? Well, there doesn't appear to be any start in this Cubs team. Or at least no consistency. They're like that 1972 Ford Ranchero out back--it'll start every now and then, but when you need to get your pregnant wife to the hospital because she just went into labor, that better not be your only option because chances are it's not going to start, and you're probably going to be delivering that baby yourself.

The Cubs' record of 14-19 is starting to look kinda, you know ... bad. I know what will make us feel better: Let's make fun of all the NL teams with records worse than the Cubs'. Like the Houston Astros. Ha, those stupid Astros, they're so terrible.

Damn, that's it. The Astros are the only team in the National League worse than the Cubs.

Well, the offense can't keep this up, right? After all, they're fifth in the league in average and fourth in OBP. They're 10th in average with runners in scoring position, however. Not only do the Cubs have too much talent to keep playing this way, they're also hitting too well to keep scoring such low run totals. All it takes is a few clutch hits or a long ball every now and then.

Week five awards

Well, that's as bad as it gets. At least, I hope that's as bad as it gets. A 1-5 road trip against the Pirates and Reds in which the Cubs got outscored by 20 runs despite winning a game by seven. Looking at the current standings, the best team the Cubs have played all year is the Washington Nationals, who are 17-14 (same record as the Mets). And yet the Cubs are just 14-18 and have been outscored by their opponents overall. The ship is sailing in the wrong direction, to put it mildly, and Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez (hitting a combined .184) are at the helm.

Ryno of the Week: Perhaps I'm just caught up in his first-ever major league game fireworks, but then again, Starlin Castro did drive in six runs in one game while the Cubs scored 10 runs in the other five games on the road trip combined. Castro committed an error as well, but that's the kind of week it was--even the good players weren't that good.

Goat of the Week: It's nice to have options, I guess. I'll go with Randy Wells, who lasted just two horrific innings against the second-worst offense in the National League and raised his ERA from 3.45 to 4.86. It was not a good week for Cubs pitching in general, but Wells' game was over before it started.

Lou Piniella gets a special dishonorable mention for leaving Ryan Dempster in yesterday instead of going to Sean Marshall with Joey Votto coming up. Lou warmed Marshall up, Dempster got into a first-and-third situation, a power-hitting lefty came up, Lou went to the mound, and ... Marshall stayed in the bullpen. While Dempster served up a three-run bomb. Nice call, Lou.

Dishonorable mentions: Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Justin Berg, John Grabow

Cubs call up Starlin Castro

So says Phil Rogers.

This is a somewhat strange move, given that the Cubs could have potentially saved a truckload of money by waiting just a few weeks to bring him up. And with Theriot playing so well (leading the league in hits), it's also an odd time to move him to second base.

It sounds like Chad Tracy will be moved to the minors to make room for Castro on the roster.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this yet, but the positive view is that it's pretty exciting to finally have the Cubs' hottest prospect joining the big club. After a miserable set against the Pirates, it's clear the Cubs could use a boost. While it's unfair to expect phenomenal production from Kid Castro, perhaps he can inject some life into the team.

2010 Cubs Preview: Shortstop

I hope we see a lot less of this uppercut swing in 2010.

There's a lot to discuss when it comes to the Cubs' shortstop position. Obviously Ryan Theriot will be the starting shortstop come April 5, so let's start with him. There are a few stats we need to explore:

Career HR prior to 2009: 7
HR in 2009: 7

2007 + 2008 strikeouts: 108
2009 strikeouts: 93

When Theriot shocked the Wrigley Field fans with a go-ahead grand slam against the Marlins on May 1 of last year, it seemed that he had found a new weapon. "This scrappy singles hitter can put a charge into one? This is great!"

But it wasn't. Theriot seemed to become addicted to the idea of trying to hit the long ball. This resulted in a very un-Theriot-like uppercut swing, way too many warning track fly balls, and a tendency to pull off the ball instead of staying inside of it and hitting the ball to the right side.

From a successful '08 season to a so-so '09 season, Theriot's average dropped from .307 to .284, his OBP dropped from .387 to .343, and his walks fell from 73 to 51. To put it mildly, I was ecstatic to hear Theriot say this:

"I had a stretch where I hit some out of the park last year, but that's not my job. I need to get on base and set the table for the big boys."

-From an AP story by Mike Nadel

Precisely. It was almost ridiculous how good Theriot was in 2008 at stroking the ball through the right side of the infield. It was ridiculous how rarely he did so in 2009. If Fukudome ends up being the main leadoff man, these types of hits will serve the Cubs well as Fukudome, a good base runner, will be able to go from first to third.

The second thing we need to talk about is the possibility that Theriot will be moved to second base if Starlin Castro is brought up at some point to play short. This wouldn't necessarily affect his offensive production, but it does obviously make a difference for the Cubs defensively. In my opinion, Theriot is the second-weakest link in the Cubs' defense, behind Soriano. While his range is decent (though not great), his arm is terrible. Though he seems to prefer playing short, I think the overall infield defense would be considerably stronger with him at second. So I wasn't ecstatic to read that he's quite defensive about his defensive position:

"Competition is good because it brings out the best in all of us. But to be quite honest with you, 'What have you [referring to Castro] done at the major league level?' Those expectations and that pressure, everybody deals with that differently. I think it takes a little bit more than just ability."

-AP story by Mike Nadel

When asked earlier in the spring about Castro possibly taking over at short, Theriot said, "He's going to have to come get it." Theriot did back off a bit in later comments:

"It would be wonderful to see a guy come up with those tools and use every single one of them. It could change my role, sure, but that's all right. My role's been changed quite a bit. The good news is, I've always had a role.

"Be a part of it. Contribute. Win. That's the ultimate goal of everybody here. You put your personal feelings aside and do what's best for the club."

Nice. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not proclaiming that Starlin Castro is the Cubs' savior, or that it's even close to a guarantee that he'll be a productive member of the Cubs' big league club this season. But if Castro proves capable and Piniella asks Theriot to move to second, I hope he would do exactly what he said--put his personal feelings aside and do what's best for the club. The Cubs are already very strong defensively at the corners. Having Castro and Theriot in the middle infield would give them one of the better defensive infields in the league.

Prediction: .296 avg, .385 OBP, 2 HR, 35 RBI, 65 K, 60 BB

Thoughts?