Years from now, well all be telling our grandchildren where we were the moment we found out the Cubs gained an extra year of club control on Anthony Rizzo.
Yes, the hype surrounding Rizzo has been the big story, with his promotion from Triple-A Iowa now viewed as a matter of days after months of anticipation. Suddenly, everyone in town has become an expert on the collective bargaining agreement.
If Rizzo is the new symbol for the Theo Epstein administration, Alfonso Soriano represents everything about the old way of doing business. Soriano will, of course, welcome Rizzo with open arms, no doubt saying Whats up, papi? or Hey, babe!
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He wants to learn, Soriano said. He has a lot of talent, and I hope he can show it here in the big leagues.
Thats what the next several weeks and months will be about, integrating young players, shipping out veterans and figuring out what theyve got. You saw it moving in that direction during Tuesdays 2-1 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
Travis Woodthe 25-year-old left-hander acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in the Sean Marshall trade last winterallowed one run across six innings and notched his first win in a Cubs uniform.
You always understand the pressures of coming to a new team, manager Dale Sveum said afterward, especially when youre traded for one of the best relievers in baseball. You want to impress. It sure seems like hes relaxed out there.
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David DeJesusthe first free agent signed by Epsteins front officedrove in both runs and spent another night in center field, part of the realignment thats clearing the path for Rizzo.
Carlos Marmolwhos trying to show he can be a dominant closer again, whether its here or somewhere elsegot strike one on each of the four batters he faced and worked a scoreless ninth inning to notch the save.
Starlin Castrothe building block up the middlemade an unbelievable running catch over his shoulder in the fifth inning to rob Alejandro De Aza. The ball jumped out of Castros glove and he grabbed it out of the air with his bare hand, showing the athleticism you need to be an All-Star shortstop.
Castro has pushed his average back above .300 and seems to make big plays in this crosstown series.
Yeah, I enjoy it big-time, because this is the other team in the city, Castro said. Thats why everybody plays hard, because you want to win. You dont want to lose to the White Sox in this city. (Theyd) say the same (thing).
Castro is always hanging around Soriano, who sets an example in his own way. Just ask one of the many teammates whove come to his defense after hearing all the boos at Wrigley Field.
Im happy because they know how hard I work, Soriano said. They know my mentality, that I want to win so bad. Thats why theyre disappointed, because they know who I am.
The Cubs are 24-42, and no ones planning routes for the parade down Michigan Avenue they envisioned after that huge spending spree in response to a last-place finish in 2006.
The 136 million man leads the Cubs in homers (13 along with Bryan LaHair) and RBI (43) and could wind up being the teams All-Star representative next month in Kansas City.
I dont get frustrated, because I love what I do, Soriano said. Sometimes its very hard, losing like this, but we got to keep coming every day to the ballpark and try to do a better job to turn the team around.
At some point, the fans and the media will almost certainly turn on Rizzo, who may never be more popular than he is now. But good or bad, you cant take it personally. Soriano says it beats the alternative.
The fans, they always support the team no matter what, Soriano said. I played on different teams and when the teams doing bad, the fans dont go to the ballpark. But here, no matter what, they go to the ballpark.