Sports Illustrated's current issue features the Cubs' Fokudome, along with a sidebar about the Cubs' newfound focus on on-base percentage. Speaking through his interpreter about the dreaded "SI cover jinx," Kosuke told the Chicago Tribune that, "I'll try my best not to follow the footsteps of the other people on the cover [and let it jinx my performance]."

Thanks for the three groundouts to begin today's game! I knew that there was something in the Cubs' offense that wasn't clicking, especially after that 19-run offensive explosion on Wednesday.

Note to Lou: It doesn't matter how fast your lead-off hitter is, he still has to reach base in order to steal a base. Soriano has a career .326 On-Base Percentage, while Reed Johnson, his erstwhile replacement over the past 15 days, has a .344 On-Base Percentage. Even The Riot, Ryan Theriot, has a .348 career On-Base Percentage--yet he's batting after the streaky Soriano.

Just because the Cubs have sunk a ton of money into Soriano, it doesn't make sense to keep batting him lead-off with his slump (.175 this year batting average) or even career OBP statistics. The money has already been spent on Soriano--to continue to play him in such a key spot in the order doesn't make the "investment" any less of a disaster for Chicago. Keep Soriano, but bat him lower in the order where a .326 OBP belongs.

Congratulations, Chicago Cubs. Here's to 10,000 more.

Note to Lou, courtesy of XM Radio's "Baseball This AM": With Reed Johnson in the lineup, the Cubs are 11-2. Without Reed Johnson, the Cubs are 2-4. It's still early in the season, but the Cubs' new bald-headed, goateed centerfielder already looks like the leadoff hitter that Jim Hendry was looking for--and the Cubs didn't have to give up 4 pitchers to get him, either.

I never thought that I'd use the words "Ronny Cedeno" and "salamie" in the same sentence before, but I just did. Congratulations, Ronny! The Cubs, despite leaving 12 men on base over the course of today's game, are up 8-1 in the 9th inning after Cedeno's four-run home run.

I've settled into a schedule, updating my 1060 West Addison webcomic on Thursdays and Sundays. I've just posted a new strip tonight!

Is it weird that I watch the Cubs' upcoming opponents' games when I'm not watching the Cubs, just to "scout" the teams that the Cubs will be facing? Right now, I'm watching the New York Mets take on the Phillies, in preparation of the Mets' upcoming two-game series with the Cubs. (The Mets are down 5 to 4 in the 7th inning.)

There's a long-running tradition at Wrigley Field of tossing opponents' home run balls back onto the field. During Wednesday night's game against the Reds, Cubs fans threw 15 balls onto the outfield after Adam Dunn hit a homerun onto Sheffield. Rightfielder Kosokue Fukudome said, "I don't remember that many home runs being hit."

In a story by Cubs.com writer Carrie Muskrat, Aramis Ramirez is quoted as saying that, "[Dusty Baker] is a winner," because of the back-to-back winning seasons that the Cubs posted during Baker's first two years as manager. In the next breath, however, Ramirez said that Baker shouldn't be booed by fans because he doesn't "think that [the losing seasons in 2005 and 2006] were the manager's fault."

Even Piniella got in on the praise: "I don't see any reason why Dusty should be booed. He came in here and won a division. He got the team to one game from going to a World Series. The next year, they had a nice run, and then things went a little backwards. Is that the manager's fault? I don't think so."

So which is it? While a lot of players have expressed fond memories of Baker's four years on the North Side, I don't think you can cherry-pick what seasons best represent a manager influence. To say that Baker was responsible for the '03 and '04 winning seasons but not for the '05 and '06 seasons is faulty reasoning.

In a study by the Wall Street Journal, Baker ranked 11th out of 20 current MLB managers when using close games, wins above expectation, and player performance as measurements. (Lou Piniella ranked one spot lower.) It's interesting to note that such "winning" managers as Clint Hurdle, Jim Leyland, Eric Wedge, Joe Torre, and Terry Francona took the bottom five spots in the study.

If the statistical analysis proves anything, it's that managers' impacts upon their teams wins-and-loss records are greatly exaggerated. Or, as the top-ranked Ron Gardenhire said, "I don't know how you rate managers. They love you. They hate you. It just depends which inning.''