Easy as One, Two....The Big Three

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 05 September 2008 03:00:00 AM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

The final month of the season has not begun the way most felt it would for the Cubs. After posting seven straight wins the offense became single happy in the final two games of the series with the Phillies....and then stone cold in the three games against the Astros. While the Cubs scored 7 runs in the middle game, a majority of the production came from Mark DeRosa, Geovany Soto, Jim Edmonds, Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot....all very important pieces to the Cubs success this season but not exactly the players that most expect to lead the team to their second consecutive Central Division crown.

Other than Mark DeRosa, Ryan Dempster, Geovany Soto and possibly Ryan Theriot, Lou Piniella is not receiving career years from any player on his roster. With Soto being a rookie and Theriot in his first full year as a starter, it is too early to tell if they will have Jody Davis and Shawon Dunston type careers or if they will be more like Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith.

The Cubs' offense has received contributions from different sources all season. One game it might be Jim Edmonds, another day Reed Johnson or Geovany Soto and early in the year Kosuke Fukudome. But as the season comes to an end, the three players that must lead this team are Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.