While the Cubs' NLDS roster won't be officially named until Wednesday morning, Paul Sullivan reports in the Tribune Tuesday night that Felix Pie will be on the roster and Micah Hoffpauir will not.
Given Mark DeRosa's balky calf, it's not hard to understand the Cubs' desire to have, in Paul Sullivan's words, a "late-inning defensive replacement...if DeRosa gets a start in the outfield." Pie, who hit .241 in 43 games for the Cubs this year, is a capable glove man with lots of speed; Hoffpauir, who hit .342 in 33 games for the Cubs this year, is a butcher in the outfield.
In other words, I buy Pie over Hoffpauir, but what I don't buy is the non-hitting pinch-hitter Daryle Ward over Hoffpauir.
Despite connecting for one of the season's most dramatic home runs, a three-run, ninth-inning rocket that lifted the Cubs past the Marlins in a game in mid-August, Ward had a horrible season. Among the 51 National League pinch hitters with at least 25 plate appearances this year, Ward was 29th in on-base percentage (.294), 31st in OPS (585), and a dismal 45th in batting average (8-for-55, .145).
To be fair, Hoffpauir didn't do much in his 14 pinch-hit plate appearances, registering just three singles and striking out seven times.
Still, even though it might mean having to cast a rookie into a do-or-die moment on baseball's most dramatic stage, the post-season, I would much rather see Hoffpauir called upon than Ward.
Note: according to Sullivan, Hoffpauir, catcher Koyie Hill, and relievers Michael Wuertz and Kevin Hart "will report to the Cubs' facility in Mesa, Ariz., to continue working out in case they are needed for the NL Championship Series when the Cubs can change the roster if necessary."
Daryle Ward has started in 497 Major League games and has never had a five-hit game. (For that matter, Aramis Ramirez has started in 1,291 Major League games and has never had a five-hit game.)
But last night, in just his 11th Major League start, Micah Hoffpauir banged out five hits—two home runs, a double, and two singles—in the Cubs' 7-6 loss to the Mets.
Hoffpauir is in a fight with the 33-year-old Ward, among others, for one of the precious spots on the Cubs playoff roster. If this team was managed by veteran-loving Dusty Baker, we could be sure who would capture that spot, but the current Cubs manager is at least suggesting there's a possibility he would give the 28-year-old Hoffpauir the nod.
"You know, we're looking for a couple spots, we're looking for some offense," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Put it this way, he'll be in the lineup [Friday] against Milwaukee..."...The Cubs have three games remaining to finalize the playoff roster. The Cubs still don't know who they'll be playing, and Piniella said that could determine who he picks.
"We have to know who our opponent is first," Piniella said. "Hoffpauir's not hurting himself."
On the subject of hurting yourself relative to a post-season position...
Carlos Zambrano, who has been awful recently outside of his no-hit game against the Astros, has lost out to Ryan Dempster, who has been mostly brilliant this year at Wrigley Field, in a bid to win the starting assignment for Game 1 of the NLDS.
In the big picture, the Cubs on Tuesday night won their ninth game in a row and improved their Major League-best record to 38-21. The streak marks the team's longest since 2001, when Don Baylor's club won 12 in a row at this very time of year.
Before the game, the Cubs sent Micah Hoffpauir and his .421 batting average (8-for-19, including 3 doubles and an RBI) down to Iowa, making room for a 13th pitcher, Kevin Hart.
Lou Piniella explained the move thusly:
"I would think before we get to the American League schedule, we'll bring up a hitter, whether it's [Daryle] Ward or Hoffpauir," Piniella said. "We're going to need a DH. We'll see how the pitching goes."
The need for 13 pitchers was underscored in Tuesday's victory. Despite building a 9-3 lead, the Cub bullpen let the Padres bring the tying run to the plate in the 8th inning, once the home team had drawn to within three runs. Before it was all over, Kerry Wood had to come in to secure the win in the 9th inning. (Hart helped facilitate the Padres' comeback by allowing two hits, two walks, and three runs in one-third of an inning.)
What the Cubs need is for guys like Jason Marquis, Tuesday night's undeserving winning pitcher, Ted Lilly, and Sean Gallagher to begin delivering six- and seven-inning starts.
Again, Lou Piniella, this time as quoted by Paul Sullivan in Wednesday's Tribune:
"We talked about being so deep [in starters] when we left spring training, and all of a sudden two of our left-handers (Rich Hill and Sean Marshall) have encountered problems and are both down in the minors," Piniella said. "Lieber, in his only start, was ineffective. And here we have a rookie ( Sean Gallagher) that really wasn't in the picture, in the rotation already.
"So we better be careful with our starting pitchers. It's easier to rotate a reliever from the minors back and forth than it is to go find a starter that can pitch six or seven innings for you.
"We're thinner than people think we are."
Late word from Wrigley Field Wednesday night, as reported by Paul Sullivan on the Trib's Hardball blog, is that Jim Edmonds, pending the results of a physical, "is expected to be in a Cubs uniform Thursday afternoon."
If the new Cub is in the starting lineup for Thursday's game, he will be facing former Cub Greg Maddux, who will be starting for the Padres against Ryan Dempster.
The irony is obvious: Cub fans will presumably be rooting for a formerly hated opponent to succeed at the expense of a still beloved, former Cub.
For the record, Edmonds has gone .263/.282/.500 against Maddux in 38 AB's, with 2 HR and 4 RBI.
Cubs.com also notes that Daryle Ward is suffering from a bad back. If Ward has to go on the DL, lefthanded-hitting 1B/OF Micah Hoffpauir could be summoned from Iowa. Since reporting to the I-Cubs on May 7th following recovery from a pulled muscle in his rib cage, Hoffpauir has gone 9-for-27 with 2 HR and 10 RBI, 9 of them coming in just two games, Monday and Tuesday night.
As Mike Wellman pointed out at The Cub Reporter, that's more RBI in two games than Matt Murton had produced in 23.
