Soriano

So everyone is talking about Soriano's bat, which is clearly a problem. If he ever finds his swing again, Cubs fans will start forgiving him. But that's not the real issue.

It's is fielding, or lack thereof. I should say it all. It's his lack of hustle. Routinely trotting on infield grounders instead of running, maybe beating some out. And he never ever runs after a ball in the outfield. We're lucky if he jogs. Plenty of singles have turned doubles or triples this year because of his lazy play. Balls that should have been caught by him often turn into singles. And let's not mention how far Theriot has to run constantly in an effort to make-up for the worrying Soriano.

His counterpart that many of you are so worried about is much better in my mind. Sure Bradley likes to blow his top and hasn't hit any better than Soriano. But he runs. He tries. He beats out infield grounders, he dives for fly balls, he makes all (or just about all) the plays he should make. He even makes some he shouldn't.

How can you explain to Soriano that hustle is what is required. Bench him. Who cares what he costs in dollars, it costs more in losing games because he's lazy.