With a fit and trim Soto, Cubs look in better shape

The old saying is that the harder you work, the luckier you'll get.

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto certainly worked hard this winter, losing about 40 pounds after a disappointing 2009 season.

Soto took responsibility for his sins of commission and omission last year. He came to spring training 2009 not in the best of shape after his Rookie of the Year season in 2008. While at the World Baseball Classic during the spring, he tested positive for marijuana, an action for which he apologized.

There also were some elements of bad luck in Soto's game last year. Let's get to it all of the backstop issues.

How big a difference is there in Soto's appearance? It's so different that players did double- and triple-takes when they saw him, both at the Cubs convention in January and when spring training opened.

Will it make a difference? It should, and manager Lou Piniella has seen some differences already.

"When you lose weight, especially in the middle like he has, it's much easier to get those hips through the ball," Piniella said. "The other thing is, Matt Sinatro, our catching coach, says that his feet are a lot quicker. That bodes pretty well for Soto and for us."

How far did Soto fall last year? He had a hitting line of .285/.364/.504 in 2008, but only .218/.321/.381 last year. His home runs fell from 23 to 11, and his RBI dropped from 86 to 47.

Soto's "weighted" on-base average, or wOBA, which gives more value to extra-base hits, fell from a robust .371 in 2008 to a paltry .310 last year.

Did the stats provide any reason for encouragement? Bad luck wasn't Soto's biggest problem by a long shot, but it did play a part in his poor year.

Soto's batting average on balls in play (or BABIP, which excludes home runs), was only .246. The major-league average in BABIP usually falls near .300.

What it means that many of the balls Soto put into the field of play were caught. If the BABIP normalizes this year, Soto's overall numbers should rise.

How good a backup is Koyie Hill? Probably as good a backup as anybody in the game. During one stretch last year, Hill started 26 consecutive games from early July to early August while Soto was on the disabled list.

Hill's offensive numbers are never going to be great, but the pitchers like throwing to him, and he calls a good game. Hill threw out 20 of 50 runners trying to steal against him (compared to 23 of 82 for Soto).

Who's on the way? The Cubs are giving a look to University of Illinois product Chris Robinson, who was considered for a call-up last year when he hit .326 at in 91 games at Class AAA Iowa.

Robinson Chirinos was converted from infielder to catcher before last season, and he handled the position well at Class AA Tennessee.

Welington Castillo is on the 40-man roster. He is a good defensive catcher who has yet to hit well. Steve Clevenger and Blake Lalli were in camp as nonroster men before being sent to minor-league camp Sunday.

<p class="factboxheadblack">NL's best</p>

<p class="News">Where we rank the top catchers:</p>

<p class="News">1. Brian McCann, Braves</p>

<p class="News">2. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks</p>

<p class="News">3. Yadier Molina, Cardinals</p>

<p class="News">5. GEOVANY SOTO, CUBS</p>