One might make the mistake of thinking the Cubs' team bus has broken down a lot this season with how much they've relied on Triple-A.

When the Cubs decided not to re-sign Daryle Ward at the end of last season, they essentially made Micah Hoffpauir the centerpiece of their bench, believing that the older rookie had found his big league swing. With Reed Johnson already on the team, the Cubs brought in Aaron Miles and eventually Ryan Freel then Jeff Baker. Never great to begin with. Now, with another month-long DL stint underway for Johnson (fractured foot), the Cubs are going into the last two months of the season with a bench full of minor-leaguers. Not exactly ideal.

The bench consists of Hoffpauir (1B, RF), all-purpose slugger Jake Fox (1B, 3B, LF, C), Baker (2B, 3B), Andres Blanco (SS, 2B), Miles (SS, 2B - when he returns from the DL), Koyie Hill (C - when Geovany Soto comes back) and presumably Sam Fuld (LF, CF) when Johnson gets DLed. This isn't exactly a championship bench, but more like the inverse of "Major League 3: Back to the Minors."

Certainly Fox, Fuld and you'd like to think Hoffpauir show promise and might carve themselves a role on this team in the future, but they shouldn't be leaned on as much as the Cubs have leaned on them. It's what happens sometimes with injuries, but it's a tricky business leaving yourself without capable veterans in reserve.

Before I continue, it must be noted that Cub fans need to chill out when it comes to the beloved Iowa Cubbies. When starters drastically underperform, too many fans call for more playing time for these guys. Fans wanted more Hoffpauir at first last season (that would've cost the Cubs about eight wins this season) and even demanded Bobby Scales get more playing time. Most likely, these guys' numbers will even out with the more time they play and land around the .250 range. Jake Fox looks to be the only exception, though there's no place on the field to work him into the lineup more often. Nevertheless, you can't build a run at a division with a bench of young guns you'd like to see perform. You need guys who've proven they can.

I'm not going to rescind my statement that the Cubs need pitching first as the deadline approaches less than two days -- Tuesday night's game was enough indication of that -- but there's no question the Cubs would like to be able to have someone they can rely on over a two-month span on the offensive side. 

Micah Hoffpauir began the season as one of the Cubs' most effective hitters. In April he hit .303 with 8 RBI off just 10 hits. His average with runners in scoring position and two out is still .300. His 8 HR are among the best on the team and so is his slugging percentage.

But the story has been his performance lately and as a pinch hitter. Just a .182 average in June and .200 in July, with a .206 pinch-hitting average all season. In 34 pinch-hit at-bats, he has only one home run and 6 RBI. It just seems that Micah's not cut out for coming off the bench in the long term. He tends to need to see a bit more of a pitcher and he's an aggressive swinger and the combination doesn't suite a pinch hitter well. He could still improve, but you can't pretend that he should be "the go-to guy" off the bench for any team.

Considering Jake Fox doesn't play a natural position, you'd like to see him develop into the team's biggest pinch-hitting threat. Hitting .417 in that role, there's no question Fox has a place on the bench. He needs to either stay in the majors or be traded for proven talent -- mentioning his name and the word Iowa would be wrong.

Then again, can you be one-hundred percent sure of what you're getting with Fox in the long haul? I can tell you one thing: here's a Cub with better numbers in the daytime than at night -- and significantly too. Fox is hitting .362 with 4 HR and 20 RBI in the day and just .250 with a home run and 3 RBI at night with only 22 fewer at-bats. That aside though, he's not a veteran.

In terms of that middle-infield jumble, there's nothing there you can count on. Jeff Baker has his about .242 since putting on the blue uni, which at least makes him better than Andres Blanco and Aaron Miles. When Miles comes off the DL, Blanco will unfortunately get the boot besides at least playing phenomenal defense, but that's what happens when you're overpaying that garbage from St. Louis. Miles will contribute nothing offensively and with all the time he's missed this season, it's hard to imagine Lou Piniella pinch-hitting him over Fox, Hoffpauir or Baker/Fontenot depending who's starting that day.

Sam Fuld remains another alluring unproven talent. His numbers off the bench are one hit in six tries and his high average this season has come from getting time in the lead-off spot. With Johnson out, he'll get that time against lefty pitching and we'll see if he can continue getting on base effectively long-term, but he's not the pinch hitter you call on.

Lastly, I'll breathe a sigh of relief when Koyie Hill can take his rightful place on the bench. Starting this many consecutive games because the Cubs would rather have the second base logjam than sign a reliable back-up catcher has been brutal. Since he's been in the lineup everyday, his average has gone from .240 to .206 with some under .200 stuff in between. He's got a good eye at the plate and takes a fair share of walks, but he belongs as a sub and a switch-hitting option late in games that might go to extras. This experiment and Soto's return to reality numbers-wise had better have convinced Hendry he needs a veteran back-up in the off-season, because this team does.

It's not unreasonable to expect Hendry to do something to change the make-up of the bench, but it's not reliable he will. Nevertheless, you don't win division crowns yanking up a bunch of minor leaguers hoping one of them makes a splash ... and then praying they stay hot.

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