Geovany Soto's 3 run shot put the kibosh on any kind of Braves comeback and allowed Uncle Lou to sit Wood's Beard last night, even though Kerry did warm up twice. The big catcher had been struggling a little bit, battling a sore ring finger, but he muscled one out to give the Cubs a five run lead which Jon Lieber was able to preserve in the 9th. In case you haven't noticed (which you'd have to be blind and stupid not to have), the Soto-Rooter has been having a solid rookie campaign and currently leads NL catchers in the All-Star Voting by some 200K votes. Not too shabby. Soto is also the early favorite for Rookie of the Year. If he can maintain this pace or even regress a little, he'll end up as one of the best catchers in the game by the time the season is over. Some voters may be swayed by Jay Bruce's big splash, but even if Geo finishes with lesser numbers than Bruce, I hope the voters keep in mind the relative wear and tear of the catcher position and adjust accordingly.
The Iceman struggled in the first inning, but then proceeded to shut the door on the Braves. The Killer even threw one high and tight after serving up a three run shot to Greg Norton. If your reaction is "Who the purple fuck is Greg Norton?" you are not alone. Both benches were warned and Len speculated that there might still be bad blood between the Cubs and Braves over the Soriano HBP and the subsequent Renteria HBP that earned Lilly an ejection and Mike Fontenot a cheap shot to the neck last season. Methinks Edgar should feel lucky to be in Detroit. Ted Lilly doesn't forget, Edgar. There's a mental fastball imprinted with a picture of your ribcage spinning in his diabolical mind, so I would enjoy the American League and thank your lucky stars the Cubs' interleague schedule doesn't include Detroit this year. Just know that you are on borrowed time. You WILL meet the Iceman again.
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