Two sluggers that helped lead the Cubs to the playoffs in 2008 are finally getting on track here in the 2010 campaign. Aramis Ramirez and Geovanny Soto combined for five hits and four runs batted in during Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Dodgers out in LA. Each player’s stat line includes a home run, the ninth of the year for Soto and the tenth for Ramirez, who saw his average climb to .209. Normally a .209 average is not a good thing, but it is a far cry from the .160 average that he was sporting in June. As for Soto, he has a .429 average (15-35) over his last ten games with nine RBI’s. Both of these players are counted on as run producers in the lineup and they are finally starting to come around which should mean more success with runners in scoring position. The Cubs actually went 4-6 with RISP, a gargantuan improvement over a week ago when they stranded 17 runners in a win over Cincinnati.
One more positive from Saturday’s game is we finally got to see some fire from Piniella. It certainly was not the classic kicking his hat down the third base line outburst, but he did enough to get himself ejected for the first time all season. It’s interesting that baseball is the only sport where coaches are praised for getting tossed out of games. Bobby Cox, one of the most revered managers in the history of the game has been thrown out 132 times, more than anyone else. Consequently, he is praised by both his players and the media for his actions. In baseball, when a manager gets thrown out he is said to be standing up for his team. In any other sport, he is just a man with a very short temper.
The Cubs and Dodgers will complete their four game series on Sunday, as Chicago looks for the split. Carlos Silva (9-2, 2.96 ERA) will pitch despite minor calf problems that he has been experiencing.
