I can't help but understand why Cubs' fans, especially the ladies, don't take more liking to Mark DeRosa. Talk about a real leader with a healthy clubhouse presence and numbers to back it up. When the Cubs brought DeRosa in in November 2006, not only did he get lost among the other transactions going on (Soriano, Lilly, etc.), but most people just assumed we had signed another utility man. Well we got one, and that's just one of the perks.

DeRosa just seems to epitomize hard work and good sportsmanship in baseball. He struggles at times, but for what we signed him to do, he's overproducing big time and he gets big hits, with impressive numbers with the bases loaded. That and he can play pretty much any position in baseball. When people have gotten injured or needed a rest, Mark DeRosa has saved the Cubs hide. The man goes to sleep at night not knowing what position he's playing the next day. Ever.

Mark is also good at something I have a lot of respect for: talking to the media. He is always willing to talk, always enthusiastic and always has good things to say. He's honest yet he's got the PR thing down pretty good. He always talks up his teammates and will vouch for every single one of them if asked about how they're struggling or anything along those lines. The other day he talked about how valuable Ryan Dempster has been to the Cubs, something I definitely agree with.

So where's the love? Why don't I see more 7 jerseys at the ballpark? Beats me, though I'm kind of glad that Marky hangs under the radar because he's good there. He can hit .270-.280 as much as he wants if he keeps producing like he does at times.

I think the looming question is where does Mark fit with this team in the future? Next year will be the last of his contract, so does that warrant being an everyday player at one specific position like second base? I don't think that's what the Cubs want seeing as how aggressively they pursued Brian Roberts in the off-season. Mark seems like a better guy to fill in the holes, but you'd hate to see him out of the lineup more than he's in it. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, but for now, let's show our DeRosa love as we play the Pirates...again, for the last time this season finally. As much as it's a guaranteed 2 of 3, I'm sick of seeing that ugly yellow.