Excuse me if I'm a little excited about Felix Pie's return to the Cubs, but have you seen what the guy has been doing? First of all, he's playing flawless defense in center field. Did you see that throw to the plate last night when he nearly threw out J.J. Hardy? If Michael Barrett would block the plate correctly, he would have been out. Jacque Jones would have needed a triple cut-off from that depth to get it to the plate. He's running down balls in the alley, he's hitting cut off men, it goes on and on. Second, when the Cubs sent Pie back down to Iowa they told him to work on being a #2 hitter. While he has struggled to get a bunt down and move a runner over from 2nd to 3rd in the past few games, he is hitting like a madman. He's turning 150 foot hits into doubles, he's tagging up and taking the next base on fly balls, he's a menace on the basepaths. Third, the Cubs are winning since he's been back in town and it's not like they are playing pushovers. They have played two of the top teams in the National League. Everyone has always talked about how Pie has always won at every level he's played at. I can now see why. The enthusiasm and energy he plays the game with has to be infectious in a clubhouse full of veteran players. The team has been playing hard and busting out for huge innings just when they need them. Just look at him in the batters box, he can hardly keep his front foot still he's so ready to go.

Let me settle down a bit though. Don't expect Pie to keep this up for the rest of the season. He is a rookie, and a uber talented rookie at that, but he's going to struggle at times. I plead to all Cubs fans to give Pie some slack. He's going to strike out, he's going to make some mistakes....but give him time. He still has some parts of his game to work on. If he's going to hit in the two-hole, he's going to have to bunt better. It would be great if he started to steal some bases. I think some power will come as he matures. He's going to be a player the Cubs build around when Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee are long gone. Appreciate his effort and hustle, applaud him for his range in center field.......let's give him a chance to succeed instead of trying to suffocate him with expectations and pressure.

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