Soriano is Back / Gallagher’s Emergence
It took about a month and a half, just like last year, but Soriano is hitting like we’ve expected him to. 2 more HRs today gives him 4 in the last 4 games, 3 leading off the first inning. I think everyone who said we needed to leave him out of the lineup because when he returned from the DL is rethinking that. Sure he was cold originally, but who wouldnt be? He clearly needs time to heat up and he won’t get that sitting on the bench.
It’s also clear that his quad / hammy / legs aren’t right. Watching him rounding 3rd trying to score against Arizona was painful for everyone, including Soriano is my guess. He will never be the player we signed him to be in terms of stealing the bases, but you aren’t gonna find many better hitters out there.
I’ve always been a Sean Gallagher fan, and I’m happier now than ever that he wasn’t included in the Brian Roberts trade. Yeah, Roberts would be great, but where would we be without Gallagher giving us 6 strong innings today. Lieber was ineffective starting and we needed Marshall and Hart out of the bullpen, so Gallagher was the guy and he came through. I think he’ll be a great starter down the road.
CubBlog 
It seems that he re-aggravated his calf. Or maybe it never fully healed, and his return to the line up was premature. In any case, Soriano has become something of a liability in the field. That isnt to say we should side-line him, or place him on the DL, but he shouldn’t be sprinting through the outfield, or the infield for that matter, if his calf hasn’t fully recovered. The Cubs are about to play 14 consecutive games, and if Soriano needs time to heal, he should be given it now, not in 10 games, when he’s further aggravated his calf and needs to be placed on the 15 day DL again.