How many times did Len bring up the “tough roster decision they’ll have to make on Monday?” Five times? Fifteen? Fifty? It’s really not that hard…
Fuld—–>Johnson
Hart—–>Guzman
Hoffpauir—->A Ram
First two are really obvious. Everything Sam Fuld is doing is what Reed Johnson normally does, so you don’t need both. Kevin Hart has barely pitched, and then usually only in mop up – Patton can go back to doing that.
Micah is the only questionable call, but even then, he’s a guy who hasn’t been used much since interleague play ended. With Ramirez back, Jake Fox makes more sense as the 1B/LF/RF, since they can also sub him in at 3B and he’s hitting a lot better. Micah should go down just to get his timing back, because he’s seemed way off when he has gotten in.
The actual tough roster move is going to come when Aaron Miles is ready to go again. If the Cubs expect that to happen before the All Star break and they plan on going to 11 pitches at that point until after the break (which probably would be just for a few games), that may change the decision a little bit. They’d be bringing up a pitcher after the All Star break, and whoever got sent down today would be eligible, so perhaps they might plan ahead.
If that doesn’t play into it, and they think Jeff Baker can add power like they thought, and A Ram doesn’t seem to be having any problems, it’s either Fox or Fontenot getting sent down, probably depending on how they’re hitting at the exact moment the decision is made. Either way, it really should be Miles not coming back, but they’ll make a salary > contributions choice, I’m sure.