Since I said Michael Barrett had to leave town and 'abracadabra', he's gone....it's time to move onto the next Cubs player who should 'hit the bricks'. Who says, 'hit the bricks' anymore? It's been written and I can't take it back. Anyways, the next Cubs player who should go (besides Jacque Jones, that would be too easy) is Ryan Theriot.

I know he's a huge fan favorite because of his hustle and grittiness, but let's be logical here. First, he's struggling mightily. Ever since he was on fire (?) during April (.299 BA, .347 OBP, 5 SB's), Theriot has followed that up with a poor May (.256, .330, 2 SB's) and a even worse June (.206, .265, 5 SB's). It's obvious that Lou Piniella has noticed this trend as Mike Fontenot has been the recepient of more playing time lately. Second, with Aramis Ramirez coming back, Theriot has plummeted down the depth chart. Since Aramis plays third, that means Mark DeRosa has to move to 2nd, which then means that there isn't room there for Theriot anymore. Third, although he tries hard....Theriot is not a Major League caliber shortstop. I'm sorry, he's just not. He doesn't get to balls others would and sometimes he struggles on making the turn on a double play. These are all things that the Cubs knew as he came up through the minor leagues; that's why Ronny Cedeno was rated higher than Theriot annually. Fourth, I'm tired of seeing him ground into force outs/double plays to end innings with runners in scoring position, he's hitting .213 with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. He's ruining momentum the Cubs build up during the innings. Fifth, if you really thought Theriot was going to be the Cubs starting shortstop all season long.....you may need professional help. I like Theriot because he's a player who exerts full effort, but there are hundreds of Theriot's spread throughout the minors.

Enough of the logic/stats. So what are the Cubs to do once Theriot is gone? Well, they could play Cesar Izturis at short. He's been playing better than Theriot lately, so I wouldn't be completely against that. Or....they could trade for a shortstop. I hear Miguel Tejada is available. Maybe a Ronny Cedeno (.368 batting average in Iowa), Sean Gallagher and Clay Rapada offer would get the job done? Maybe the Cubs could pick up Omar Vizquel for the rest of the season after San Francisco drops/trades him? That would be a much cheaper option.

I know I'm getting into this whole, "run this player out of town, run that player out of town" mode, but it's becoming more evident every game that this roster is not going to get the job done.

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