The cure to any bad road trip (the Cubs started 1-6) is a stop in Pittsburgh to play the always rebuilding Pirates. The Cubs needed to take game one of this three game series last night and that is exactly what they did. They did a rare thing last night: combined good pitching with timely hitting(although they were only 1-9 w/ RISP) , most of the season it has been one or the other for this Cubs team.
Rich Harden had one of his better starts of the season and looked like the Harden of last season: 7IP, ER, 9H, 9K, BB. Harden scattered those 9 hits and only one of them was for extra bases. This was Harden's first win since May 12 he is now 5-4 on the season with a still too high 4.57 ERA. The team really needed this start from Harden it was good to see him step-up and deliver. The Cubs better hope Harden can keep this up, if they get back in the division race we'll need him, if we fall out of contention we can trade him. The bullpen did its job last night as well as Carlos Marmol worked a perfect 8th only throwing 8 pitches, 7 of which were for strikes. Kevin Gregg picked up his 13th save with a scoreless 9th.
The offense got things going in the second inning with men at first and second with two outs Andres Blanco came up with a big RBI single, scoring Jake Fox, and giving the Cubs the lead 1-0. In the third Ryan Theriot hit a solo-HR to left, his 7th of the season. If you would have told me before the season that Theriot would even hit 5HRs this season, I would have said you are crazy! This guy might hit 10-12, which would be a huge bonus, I hope he still tries to drive the ball the other way however, since that is his bread & butter.
Also, when is Lou Piniella going to wake up and realize that Theriot is the perfect lead-off man for this team? Alfonso Soriano had another bad night 0-4, he is dead-weight on this team right now. If he is injured put him on the DL or hide him in the line-up, the Cubs can not afford to have a gimpy lead-off man who is not producing, especially since we are having so much trouble scoring runs as it stands.
Next, in the 4ht inning, Milton Bradley hit a rocket double to left scoring Geovany Soto, this would be the last run the Cubs would score and it would be enough to win as the Cubs held on to win 3-1. Bradley had a nice game going 2-4, 2B, RBI. It is too bad he can only hit from the right side right now, he is hitting over .300 as a righty, while he is hitting about .195 as a lefty. According to reports, Piniella is going to give Milton the next two games off so that he can work on his lefty swing with hitting coach Von Joshua. I really hope they can get him going from the left side, since that was the whole reason he was brought here in the first place. Jake Fox also had a good game going 2-3, BB, R and is showing that he can play every day at third base. I have said this before but when Aramis Ramirez comes back, Fox needs to stay up with the team, and either Mike Fontenot, Ryan Freel, or Aaron Miles needs to go back to AAA. Fox is hitting .347 and is a true power threat who can play 3B or OF, he can be our Mark DeRosa for the rest of the season, occasionally spelling Ramirez at 3B or Soriano in LF. Fox also happens to be our best pinch-hitter.
Speaking of Aaron Miles, he was placed on the 15-Day DL again (thank you!) and was replaced on the roster by OF Sam Fuld. This is awesome, I hope Miles buys a horse and moves to the mountains where he can't bother anybody. Fuld is a light hitting speed guy with solid defensive skills. Supposedly he is going to start this evening vs the Pirates in place of Bradley who is being benched vs right handed pitching.
Up Next: Cubs vs Pirates at 6:05pm on CSN+ or CLTV as most of us know it. Ted Lilly (7-5, 3.41 ERA) vs Ross Ohlendorf (6-6, 4.75 ERA). Lilly is due for a good start since he has had a few bad ones of late, I expect him to win tonight, and start a little winning streak for himself just in time to pitch in the all-star game. I have never heard of Ohlendorf, he is a big right hander who lefties can hit (they're hitting .327 against him). Since Milton is out of the line-up, I would at least expect to see Micah Hoffpauir play tonight, maybe Lou will give Derrek Lee the night off? I am also not sure if the Cubs have ever faced Ohlendorf, they usually struggle against new faces. I think they can manage a few runs off of Ohlendorf though and Lilly should pick up his 8th win tonight. If the Cubs win tonight they're back at .500, again.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thank Goodness Inter-League play is over
I wrote a few weeks ago that the Cubs inter-league schedule could either make or break their season. I mean c'mon they were scheduled to play the AL Central, which is not exactly too impressive (it currently boasts two teams at .500 or better, and the Twins are only one game over), and 6 games with the lowly White Sox (I know they have a make-up game in Sept.). The Cubs should have had an advantage at home, where they play decently (21-13 record), but got out-NL'd by the Twins and could only split two games with the Sox. I know they did sweep Cleveland, but doesn't everyone sweep Cleveland? Plus, we can accredit two of those wins to Kerry Wood's lack of control. Then we go to Detroit and get swept easily by a better team who understands how to hit with RISP. And finally to top it off the Cubs went into the Cell for a weekend series take game one, blow game two (thanks Ryan Dempster, Carlos Marmol, and Lou Piniella), and lose their cool in game three ( thank you Carlos Zambrano). At the end of it all, the Cubs are 6-8 in inter-league play, with one game left to play. The Cubs poor showing in inter-league play may have just broken their season.
Good teams beat bad teams and for the Cubs to lose 2 of 3 to the Sox over the weekend is not acceptable. Maybe the Cubs are in reality just not a good team? Here are a few things I know about the Cubs right now:
1.) In response to Chicago Tribune Sports Writer Phil Rogers' article today: Do not trade Zambrano! I realize he is an ass, but our pitching staff is not as deep as we think it is.
Which leads me to 2.) Ryan Dempster sucks. He is 4-5 with a 4.09 ERA, over a full run higher than last season. He does lead the team in innings pitched with 99, but that is because Lou generally leaves him out there one inning too long each start, take the 5th inning on Saturday for example. Dempster also leads the team in earned runs, hits allowed, and walks. Not to mention he has allowed the third most home runs on the team. Last year Demp was a ground-ball pitcher this year he is not. He has been pitching poorly all season and I really do not see much improvement on the way. Demp had a great season in his free-agent year and the Cubs were dumb enough to believe he could sustain that kind of success. He is being paid to be the ace he pretends to be, if the Cubs have any chance of winning their division, he needs to step it up.
3.) If the Cubs are going to trade somebody it should be Rich Harden or Kevin Gregg.
4.) Ryan Freel is washed up, who did not see this coming? I mean we got this guy in a trade for Joey Gathright.
5.) Carlos Marmol is the new "Wild Thing".
6. I like Ozzie Guillen, I appreciate his candor and honesty. But he said: "Our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans, they don't know (expletive), Wrigley Field is just a bar." OK, so maybe Wrigley Field is just a bar, but I'd rather party at that bar everyday, then spend any time at that Trailer Park known as U.S. Cellular Field. Ozzie really needs to think before he speaks sometimes, at least us Cub fans do not get loaded, run on the field, and attack opposing coaches and umpires.
7. John Danks is a very good pitcher and he owns the Cubs.
8. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson is an idiot. I do not know how anyone in their right mind could listen to him call a baseball game. His whining about "bad calls" and near misses is unbearable.
Good teams beat bad teams and for the Cubs to lose 2 of 3 to the Sox over the weekend is not acceptable. Maybe the Cubs are in reality just not a good team? Here are a few things I know about the Cubs right now:
1.) In response to Chicago Tribune Sports Writer Phil Rogers' article today: Do not trade Zambrano! I realize he is an ass, but our pitching staff is not as deep as we think it is.
Which leads me to 2.) Ryan Dempster sucks. He is 4-5 with a 4.09 ERA, over a full run higher than last season. He does lead the team in innings pitched with 99, but that is because Lou generally leaves him out there one inning too long each start, take the 5th inning on Saturday for example. Dempster also leads the team in earned runs, hits allowed, and walks. Not to mention he has allowed the third most home runs on the team. Last year Demp was a ground-ball pitcher this year he is not. He has been pitching poorly all season and I really do not see much improvement on the way. Demp had a great season in his free-agent year and the Cubs were dumb enough to believe he could sustain that kind of success. He is being paid to be the ace he pretends to be, if the Cubs have any chance of winning their division, he needs to step it up.
3.) If the Cubs are going to trade somebody it should be Rich Harden or Kevin Gregg.
4.) Ryan Freel is washed up, who did not see this coming? I mean we got this guy in a trade for Joey Gathright.
5.) Carlos Marmol is the new "Wild Thing".
6. I like Ozzie Guillen, I appreciate his candor and honesty. But he said: "Our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans, they don't know (expletive), Wrigley Field is just a bar." OK, so maybe Wrigley Field is just a bar, but I'd rather party at that bar everyday, then spend any time at that Trailer Park known as U.S. Cellular Field. Ozzie really needs to think before he speaks sometimes, at least us Cub fans do not get loaded, run on the field, and attack opposing coaches and umpires.
7. John Danks is a very good pitcher and he owns the Cubs.
8. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson is an idiot. I do not know how anyone in their right mind could listen to him call a baseball game. His whining about "bad calls" and near misses is unbearable.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Cubs lose 6-5, get swept by Tigers
The Cubs got off to a good start today as Alfonso Soriano doubled down the line to lead things off, Ryan Theriot walked, and Jake Fox hit his first career Major League home run. Little did we know that the offense was basically done for the rest of the game. The Tigers made the game close in the third when Ted Lilly allowed a home run to light hitting Ramon Santiago, a mistake to say the least. The Cubs added what I thought would be an insurance run in the 4th when Fukudome hit a triple to score Mike Fontenot (who reached on a fielder's choice).
Later in the bottom of the 4th the wheels came off for Ted Lilly. He allowed a double to Marcus Thames and then to new Cub-Killer Ryan Raburn to make it 4-3 Cubs. Then with Raburn on second Lilly gave up a home run to Magglio Ordonez, only Ordonez's 3rd of the year and first in a long time. The score was 5-4 and Detroit would not look back. Ordonez has been in a funk all season, comparable to Milton Bradley and David Ortiz. Lilly simply did not have it today: 6IP, 6ER, 10H, 6K, BB, 2HR allowed. It just was not his day, for as long as Lilly has been a Cub he has gone 3-5 good starts followed by one or two bad ones, this was a bad one, he will bounce back. Kevin Hart pitched a scoreless 7th followed by a troublesome 8th in which he allowed two hits and walked one (a questionable call on the 3-2 pitch, it looked good). He was also not helped when Andres Blanco made a rare defensive mistake and dropped a double play ball earlier in the inning. Sean Marshall bailed Hart out of the jam in the 8th striking out Curtis Granderson.
The Cubs were OK offensively today, at least they were better than they had been all series, but the pitching will not always be there to bail them out. Congrats to Jake Fox on his first ML HR, he had a nice game going 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K. This guy is going to play against the White Sox, likely in all three games. I would play him at 3rd in game one with Micah Hoffpauir at DH against the right handed pitcher. Then I would DH Fox for Saturday and Sunday against the Sox's lefties. He has been hitting since he has been called up and the power is starting to come, he could replace Mark DeRosa in this line-up (Power, plays 3B, plays OF), and his defense has been better than expected. Soriano had a good game 2-4 2B, R, although his single was a blooper down in no-man's land. Fukudome also had a nice ball game going 2-4 2B, 3B, RBI. Dome had been slumping lately, so this was nice to see. Last but not least Micah Hoffpauir continues to rake as he had an opposite-field HR in the 9th off of closer Fernando Rodney, not any easy thing to do. The rally Hoff started in the 9th was not enough as Geovany Soto struck out to end the game with Fukudome standing on second.
Derrek Lee's career-high 21 game hitting streak came to an end today, he almost legged out an infield single to end the 8th. Apparently this was the second longest Cubs hitting streak of all time, only trailing Jerome Walton's 30 from 1989, when he won ROY. Congrats to Lee on the streak and his comeback this season, I did not expect it, I really hope he continues hitting this well the rest of the way. Also, can Lou Piniella please give Mike Fontenot a day off, he looks like he needs it, he did not look good today (again). At least we did not lose any ground in the division as the Mets defeated the Cardinals today, we remain 3.5 GB, manageable, but the Cubs need to get back over .500 and have 6 more road games on this trip.
Up Next: The Cubs head back to Chicago, but to the South Side, for a 3-game series with the White Sox. Tomorrow's matchup is at 3:05 and can be seen on both WGN and CSN depending on who you want to listen to. Randy Wells (1-3, 2.57 ERA) vs Jose Contreras (2-6, 5.23 ERA) is the pitching match-up. Wells is coming off of his first win, let's see if he can follow it with another one. Contreras has been pitching well of late, but I feel as if the Cubs never hit him like they should. It is going to be hot this weekend in Chicago, with temperatures in the 90s, which means the Cell should be a band-box. Hopefully the rain stays away, we already had one cross-town game postponed this season, which is one too many.
I am going out of town for the weekend, so no posts until Monday, I am sure there will be plenty to talk about after this weekend.
Later in the bottom of the 4th the wheels came off for Ted Lilly. He allowed a double to Marcus Thames and then to new Cub-Killer Ryan Raburn to make it 4-3 Cubs. Then with Raburn on second Lilly gave up a home run to Magglio Ordonez, only Ordonez's 3rd of the year and first in a long time. The score was 5-4 and Detroit would not look back. Ordonez has been in a funk all season, comparable to Milton Bradley and David Ortiz. Lilly simply did not have it today: 6IP, 6ER, 10H, 6K, BB, 2HR allowed. It just was not his day, for as long as Lilly has been a Cub he has gone 3-5 good starts followed by one or two bad ones, this was a bad one, he will bounce back. Kevin Hart pitched a scoreless 7th followed by a troublesome 8th in which he allowed two hits and walked one (a questionable call on the 3-2 pitch, it looked good). He was also not helped when Andres Blanco made a rare defensive mistake and dropped a double play ball earlier in the inning. Sean Marshall bailed Hart out of the jam in the 8th striking out Curtis Granderson.
The Cubs were OK offensively today, at least they were better than they had been all series, but the pitching will not always be there to bail them out. Congrats to Jake Fox on his first ML HR, he had a nice game going 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K. This guy is going to play against the White Sox, likely in all three games. I would play him at 3rd in game one with Micah Hoffpauir at DH against the right handed pitcher. Then I would DH Fox for Saturday and Sunday against the Sox's lefties. He has been hitting since he has been called up and the power is starting to come, he could replace Mark DeRosa in this line-up (Power, plays 3B, plays OF), and his defense has been better than expected. Soriano had a good game 2-4 2B, R, although his single was a blooper down in no-man's land. Fukudome also had a nice ball game going 2-4 2B, 3B, RBI. Dome had been slumping lately, so this was nice to see. Last but not least Micah Hoffpauir continues to rake as he had an opposite-field HR in the 9th off of closer Fernando Rodney, not any easy thing to do. The rally Hoff started in the 9th was not enough as Geovany Soto struck out to end the game with Fukudome standing on second.
Derrek Lee's career-high 21 game hitting streak came to an end today, he almost legged out an infield single to end the 8th. Apparently this was the second longest Cubs hitting streak of all time, only trailing Jerome Walton's 30 from 1989, when he won ROY. Congrats to Lee on the streak and his comeback this season, I did not expect it, I really hope he continues hitting this well the rest of the way. Also, can Lou Piniella please give Mike Fontenot a day off, he looks like he needs it, he did not look good today (again). At least we did not lose any ground in the division as the Mets defeated the Cardinals today, we remain 3.5 GB, manageable, but the Cubs need to get back over .500 and have 6 more road games on this trip.
Up Next: The Cubs head back to Chicago, but to the South Side, for a 3-game series with the White Sox. Tomorrow's matchup is at 3:05 and can be seen on both WGN and CSN depending on who you want to listen to. Randy Wells (1-3, 2.57 ERA) vs Jose Contreras (2-6, 5.23 ERA) is the pitching match-up. Wells is coming off of his first win, let's see if he can follow it with another one. Contreras has been pitching well of late, but I feel as if the Cubs never hit him like they should. It is going to be hot this weekend in Chicago, with temperatures in the 90s, which means the Cell should be a band-box. Hopefully the rain stays away, we already had one cross-town game postponed this season, which is one too many.
I am going out of town for the weekend, so no posts until Monday, I am sure there will be plenty to talk about after this weekend.
Cubs fail to come through in clutch, lose to Tigers 5-3
The Cubs just can not seem to hit with RISP. Last night as a team they left 13 men on base and were 1-15 with RISP. I wish this was a new phenomenon with our Cubs, but it is not, it is same-old same-old, and sure enough their right back where they belong at .500. If this team ever wants get to get over .500 for good, some changes need to be made.
Here are a few of my ideas:
1. Drop Alfonso Soriano out of the lead-off spot. I know he had two hits last night, but they were both bloopers. His batting average is a pathetic .227 and his OBP is .291, both are unacceptable for an "All-Star", let alone a lead-off hitter for a .500 team. The Cubs go as he goes, and he is not going anywhere. Lou Piniella needs to face reality and drop Soriano to 5th, 6th, or 7th in the order. Ryan Theriot is much better suited to bat lead-off for this team, he gets on base, and can steal bases.
2. Do not start Mike Fontenot anymore. I like Fontenot, I really do, but right now he sucks. His average is at .228 and has been there since early April. He is showing no signs of improvement and looks like he's taking hitting tips from Aaron Miles with all the ground ball outs he is making. Keep Fontenot around while Aramis Ramirez is out, then send him back down to AAA to straighten things out with his bat. Right now he is less valuable than Jake Fox and Andres Blanco, so he figures to be the odd man out when Ramirez returns. Especially considering both Fox and Ryan Freel can also play third base.
3. Stop bringing in Aaron Heilman with a lead. Do I really need to explain this one? Seriously every time this joker comes in with runners on base they score. I wish I had the stats to show that over 50% of his inherited runners score. Last night in 1.2IP he allowed 3H and walked one, not good. He came in to relieve Rich Harden in the 6th and did not get the job done. I am tired of Heilman's act, at this point Lou ought to give David Patton more opportunities. Heilman complains that he wants to be a starter, how in the world could this guy start a game? He is terrible.
4. I was originally against trading Harden because I thought we could use him down the stretch in a pennant race. Right now however, I am not sure if this team can even make the playoffs. I am not even sure how good Harden is anymore, his line from last night: 5.1IP, 4R, 2ER, 4H, 4BB, 3K, 2HR allowed. He is not the same power pitcher he was last year and he is no longer striking guys out. Last night his pitch count got up to 109 in a little over 5 innings, which is not very good. I am not saying the Cubs have to trade him, but they should entertain the idea, and see what they can get in return. Harden is 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA this season, his best days could be behind him. Also the Cubs happen to be deep in regards to starting pitching, Sean Marshall or Jeff Samardzija could step in to replace Harden right away.
Now back to last night's game. The Cubs had plenty of men on base and everyone got a hit except Milton Bradley (who did walk 3 times) and Fontenot. Soriano, Theriot, Micah Hoffpauir, and Geovany Soto each had two base hits. Soto had a double and a HR which was very encouraging. Hoffpauir who got the start at first base made some nice plays in the field as well. Derrek Lee managed to extend his career-long hitting streak to 21 games, he also walked 3 times, he also started at DH. Besides Soto's solo-HR, the Cubs runs came when Fontenot grounded into a Fielder's Choice, and Fox hit a Sac-Fly. Fox had a lot of opportunities last night, he was 0-3 with RISP, and almost grounded into a triple play early in the game. I like Fox though and I would keep playing him, I chalk up his lack of production yesterday as inexperience. This guy will hit and drive in runs if Lou keeps playing him. The Cubs are getting their opportunities with RISP, they are just not taking advantage, eventually this has to change. Despite falling back to .500, the Cubs did not lose any ground in the division, as the Cardinals lost to the Mets.
Up next: The Cubs and Tigers end their 3-game set with a 12:05pm game on WGN. How exciting I love lunchtime baseball! Today's match-up is Ted Lilly (7-4, 3.04 ERA) vs Armando Galarraga (3-7, 5.62 ERA). All season Lilly has been our stopper (the guy who ends losing streaks) we need him to end this losing streak today. Comerica Park is perfect for a fly-ball pitcher like Lilly, I think if he is on, he will have a great start, and pick up his 8th win. I do not know much about Galarraga, but his numbers are awful, the Cubs should hit this guy, HARD! It is hot in Detroit so I would expect Lou to rest some guys from last night, such as Bradley (who could DH today), Soto, and Theriot. I expect to see Blanco, Freel, Miles, or Koyie Hill playing today. The Cubs need a victory today to stay above .500 in inter-league play and .500 overall. Not to mention it would be nice to roll into the Cell tomorrow after a win today.
Here are a few of my ideas:
1. Drop Alfonso Soriano out of the lead-off spot. I know he had two hits last night, but they were both bloopers. His batting average is a pathetic .227 and his OBP is .291, both are unacceptable for an "All-Star", let alone a lead-off hitter for a .500 team. The Cubs go as he goes, and he is not going anywhere. Lou Piniella needs to face reality and drop Soriano to 5th, 6th, or 7th in the order. Ryan Theriot is much better suited to bat lead-off for this team, he gets on base, and can steal bases.
2. Do not start Mike Fontenot anymore. I like Fontenot, I really do, but right now he sucks. His average is at .228 and has been there since early April. He is showing no signs of improvement and looks like he's taking hitting tips from Aaron Miles with all the ground ball outs he is making. Keep Fontenot around while Aramis Ramirez is out, then send him back down to AAA to straighten things out with his bat. Right now he is less valuable than Jake Fox and Andres Blanco, so he figures to be the odd man out when Ramirez returns. Especially considering both Fox and Ryan Freel can also play third base.
3. Stop bringing in Aaron Heilman with a lead. Do I really need to explain this one? Seriously every time this joker comes in with runners on base they score. I wish I had the stats to show that over 50% of his inherited runners score. Last night in 1.2IP he allowed 3H and walked one, not good. He came in to relieve Rich Harden in the 6th and did not get the job done. I am tired of Heilman's act, at this point Lou ought to give David Patton more opportunities. Heilman complains that he wants to be a starter, how in the world could this guy start a game? He is terrible.
4. I was originally against trading Harden because I thought we could use him down the stretch in a pennant race. Right now however, I am not sure if this team can even make the playoffs. I am not even sure how good Harden is anymore, his line from last night: 5.1IP, 4R, 2ER, 4H, 4BB, 3K, 2HR allowed. He is not the same power pitcher he was last year and he is no longer striking guys out. Last night his pitch count got up to 109 in a little over 5 innings, which is not very good. I am not saying the Cubs have to trade him, but they should entertain the idea, and see what they can get in return. Harden is 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA this season, his best days could be behind him. Also the Cubs happen to be deep in regards to starting pitching, Sean Marshall or Jeff Samardzija could step in to replace Harden right away.
Now back to last night's game. The Cubs had plenty of men on base and everyone got a hit except Milton Bradley (who did walk 3 times) and Fontenot. Soriano, Theriot, Micah Hoffpauir, and Geovany Soto each had two base hits. Soto had a double and a HR which was very encouraging. Hoffpauir who got the start at first base made some nice plays in the field as well. Derrek Lee managed to extend his career-long hitting streak to 21 games, he also walked 3 times, he also started at DH. Besides Soto's solo-HR, the Cubs runs came when Fontenot grounded into a Fielder's Choice, and Fox hit a Sac-Fly. Fox had a lot of opportunities last night, he was 0-3 with RISP, and almost grounded into a triple play early in the game. I like Fox though and I would keep playing him, I chalk up his lack of production yesterday as inexperience. This guy will hit and drive in runs if Lou keeps playing him. The Cubs are getting their opportunities with RISP, they are just not taking advantage, eventually this has to change. Despite falling back to .500, the Cubs did not lose any ground in the division, as the Cardinals lost to the Mets.
Up next: The Cubs and Tigers end their 3-game set with a 12:05pm game on WGN. How exciting I love lunchtime baseball! Today's match-up is Ted Lilly (7-4, 3.04 ERA) vs Armando Galarraga (3-7, 5.62 ERA). All season Lilly has been our stopper (the guy who ends losing streaks) we need him to end this losing streak today. Comerica Park is perfect for a fly-ball pitcher like Lilly, I think if he is on, he will have a great start, and pick up his 8th win. I do not know much about Galarraga, but his numbers are awful, the Cubs should hit this guy, HARD! It is hot in Detroit so I would expect Lou to rest some guys from last night, such as Bradley (who could DH today), Soto, and Theriot. I expect to see Blanco, Freel, Miles, or Koyie Hill playing today. The Cubs need a victory today to stay above .500 in inter-league play and .500 overall. Not to mention it would be nice to roll into the Cell tomorrow after a win today.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Cubs get a taste of their own medicine, fall to Tigers 5-4 in walk-off fashion
The Cubs had their opportunities last night, they just did not finish the job. In the first inning, they loaded the bases, but only managed to get one run. Derrek Lee grounded into what should have been a double play, but he beat it out, and Alfonso Soriano scored, we did not get any more runs in the first. Then sure enough Carlos Zambrano relinquished the lead in the bottom of the first after allowing a triple to Placido Polanco (who was on the DL and was supposed to miss the series).
The game remained tied until the 6th, the Cubs had second and third with no one out, all we got was a Geovany Soto Sac-Fly to put us ahead 2-1. The Cubs would not be ahead for long however as Zambrano beaned the light hitting Don Kelly to lead off the 7th. The HBP was then followed by a Brandon Inge go-ahead HR. It is dumb mental mistakes like this HBP that prevent Zambrano from being one of the best pitchers in the league. Walking or beaning the lead-off hitter late in games almost always seems to burn pitchers, Zambrano knows better. Overall he had a pretty good start: 7IP, 3ER, 5H, 4K, 2BB. This was a quality start, but was not good enough to win. Zambrano had the chance to leave this game with a lead but could not get the job done.
Next in the top of the 8th the Cubs came storming back, Lee got things started with a single off of hard throwing Joel Zumaya. Zumaya by the way struck out Milton Bradley with a 104 mph fastball according to WGN's speed gun, impressive. Next, my boy Micah Hoffpauir got a hold of a Zumaya off speed pitch and hit a HR to deep right field to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead, and that also shut up the loser Tigers fans at the bar. Lee had another good day at the plate going 2-3 with a walk. He extended his career-long hitting streak to 20 games, his BA is at .292 and his OBP is .367. I am very excited that Lee is finally coming around, these are the kind of numbers that I have always expected out of him, this is great to see!
On to the bottom of the 9th and enter "closer" Kevin Gregg, who promptly walked a batter and gave up a two-run game winning HR to Ryan Rayburn, a .235 hitter. Way to go Gregg! He committed the cardinal sin of closers, do not walk the lead-off hitter (who again happened to be Kelly). This was a game the Cubs came back in and should have been wrapped up, instead Gregg pulled a Kerry Wood and blew it. Before the game I was commenting on how well Gregg has pitched recently, but it has really been a lot of smoke and mirrors. He is not a real closer, mainly because he can not over-power hitters or strike them out consistently. This was Gregg's 3rd blown save of the season and his 4.18 ERA is not good. If Marmol can find any kind of consistency with his location and Angel Guzman can come back from the DL and stay healthy, then I would move Marmol to closer, and use Gregg as a set-up man.
The Cubs had their opportunities early last night, but could not take advantage. Ultimately after a clutch HR, it was the pitching that let them down. Losses like last night's can be demoralizing, I am curious to see how the Cubs come out and play tonight. The Cubs are 34-33 and are now 3.5 GB thanks to a Cardinals win. No matter how many games we win in a row, we always seem to find a way back to .500, I have said it before, but this team looks a lot like a team that could finish .500.
Up next: Tonight Cubs vs Tigers at 6:05 on CSN. Rich Harden (4-3, 5.27 ERA) vs Rick Porcello (8-4, 3.54 ERA). Harden is coming off of his worst start as a Cub last Friday. He needs to rebound and come up with his best start of the season, why? Because the Cubs are facing whiz-kid Rick Porcello who was drafted out of high school in 2007, and he looks like the real deal. Porcello is a big reason why the Tigers are in first place. Hopefully he has an off night and the Cubs can get back to winning ball games.
The game remained tied until the 6th, the Cubs had second and third with no one out, all we got was a Geovany Soto Sac-Fly to put us ahead 2-1. The Cubs would not be ahead for long however as Zambrano beaned the light hitting Don Kelly to lead off the 7th. The HBP was then followed by a Brandon Inge go-ahead HR. It is dumb mental mistakes like this HBP that prevent Zambrano from being one of the best pitchers in the league. Walking or beaning the lead-off hitter late in games almost always seems to burn pitchers, Zambrano knows better. Overall he had a pretty good start: 7IP, 3ER, 5H, 4K, 2BB. This was a quality start, but was not good enough to win. Zambrano had the chance to leave this game with a lead but could not get the job done.
Next in the top of the 8th the Cubs came storming back, Lee got things started with a single off of hard throwing Joel Zumaya. Zumaya by the way struck out Milton Bradley with a 104 mph fastball according to WGN's speed gun, impressive. Next, my boy Micah Hoffpauir got a hold of a Zumaya off speed pitch and hit a HR to deep right field to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead, and that also shut up the loser Tigers fans at the bar. Lee had another good day at the plate going 2-3 with a walk. He extended his career-long hitting streak to 20 games, his BA is at .292 and his OBP is .367. I am very excited that Lee is finally coming around, these are the kind of numbers that I have always expected out of him, this is great to see!
On to the bottom of the 9th and enter "closer" Kevin Gregg, who promptly walked a batter and gave up a two-run game winning HR to Ryan Rayburn, a .235 hitter. Way to go Gregg! He committed the cardinal sin of closers, do not walk the lead-off hitter (who again happened to be Kelly). This was a game the Cubs came back in and should have been wrapped up, instead Gregg pulled a Kerry Wood and blew it. Before the game I was commenting on how well Gregg has pitched recently, but it has really been a lot of smoke and mirrors. He is not a real closer, mainly because he can not over-power hitters or strike them out consistently. This was Gregg's 3rd blown save of the season and his 4.18 ERA is not good. If Marmol can find any kind of consistency with his location and Angel Guzman can come back from the DL and stay healthy, then I would move Marmol to closer, and use Gregg as a set-up man.
The Cubs had their opportunities early last night, but could not take advantage. Ultimately after a clutch HR, it was the pitching that let them down. Losses like last night's can be demoralizing, I am curious to see how the Cubs come out and play tonight. The Cubs are 34-33 and are now 3.5 GB thanks to a Cardinals win. No matter how many games we win in a row, we always seem to find a way back to .500, I have said it before, but this team looks a lot like a team that could finish .500.
Up next: Tonight Cubs vs Tigers at 6:05 on CSN. Rich Harden (4-3, 5.27 ERA) vs Rick Porcello (8-4, 3.54 ERA). Harden is coming off of his worst start as a Cub last Friday. He needs to rebound and come up with his best start of the season, why? Because the Cubs are facing whiz-kid Rick Porcello who was drafted out of high school in 2007, and he looks like the real deal. Porcello is a big reason why the Tigers are in first place. Hopefully he has an off night and the Cubs can get back to winning ball games.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Cubs revert to old ways, get shut out by Braves
Last night the Cubs were shut out by the Atlanta Braves, 2-0. The Cubs and Braves played this game as a make up for a rained out game from their series in early June. Ryan Dempster pitched last night and he did OK: 6.2IP, 2ER, 8H, 6K, 4BB. Dempster just can not seem to do anything good, he really hurt himself last night. In the third inning he walked the lead-off man, Diory Hernandez (who was hitting .129) on 4 pitches, Hernandez would later come around to score. I could not believe Dempster walked this guy, it would be like an opposing pitcher walking Aaron Miles. Lead-off walks are killers, they always seem to lead to runs. Dempster had 4 walks overall which is not good, until he cuts down on the walks this season, he will not win games consistently. Sean Marshall got Dempster out of a jam in the 7th and the recently called up Kevin Hart pitched a scoreless 9th. By the way, Dempster should have been taken out of the game after 6 innings. For some reason he was allowed to bat for himself in the top of the 7th despite already throwing over 100 pitches and getting in and out of multiple jams. Lou Piniella inexplicably allowed Dempster to bat for himself to lead-off an inning, trailing by one run. I am sorry Lou, but Dempster is hitting .094 and was not really all that sharp through 6 innings, why would you allow him to talk you into another inning? Dempster always manages to weasel into another inning that he does not deserve to pitch, sure enough he allowed another run in the 7th. Great managing Lou!
Furthermore, I can not believe the Cubs were shut out last night. I mean come on, they had 10 hits, but unfortunately they were all singles. They could have scored in the first inning after Ryan Theriot reached on a single, but Fukudome (who really sucks again by the way) grounded into a double-play. Sure enough, Jake Fox and Derrek Lee followed with two more singles, only to be stranded by Micah Hoffpauir. The Cubs hitters just could not get anything going against Javier Vazquez. The Cubs did load the bases in the 6th, but Lou allowed Andres Blanco to bat for himself in that spot with two outs. Bob Brenly said the likely reason why Lou let Blanco bat here was that neither Alfonso Soriano nor Milton Bradley had hit Vazquez well in the past. Blanco managed to hit the ball hard, but right at the center fielder. Lou decided to rest Soriano and Bradley before the upcoming road-trip.
On a positive note each of the Cubs' position players had a base-hit last night, with the exception of Fukudome who was 0-3. While Theriot, Fox, and Blanco each had two base-hits apiece. The bottom line though: The Cubs left 12 men on base and were 0-6 with RISP. Last night's game looked like the Cubs were still in early June, they did not look like the team fresh off of a 4-game winning streak. Derrek Lee did extend his career-long hitting streak to 19 games. For as much as I have ripped him this season, he is finally playing like I have expected him to play the last year and a half, hopefully he can stay hot. At least the Cubs did not lose any ground in the division last night, as the Mets defeated the Cardinals, keeping the Cubs at 2.5 GB at 34-32.
Also, last Friday I attended the Cubs vs Indians game. I sat on a rooftop owned by Wrigleyville Rooftops, located at 1032 Waveland. It was quite key. We were unsure if the weather would allow the game to be played, but we lucked out. They allowed us into the rooftop 30 mins before game time which was scheduled to be 1:20pm, so we went in at 1pm. The game did not get started until 2:45pm which means we were able to capitalize on the all you can drink beer deal which ran until the end of the 7th inning. This was the second best game I have ever been to (#1 was last year against the Rockies on a Friday too, when we won 10-9) coming back from 7-0 is very cool. I just had a feeling as the game went on that we were going to win. When Derrek Lee hit the game-tying HR off of Kerry Wood the place went nuts. What made it even better was that I was sitting with a group of Indians fans, poor bastards. I really do feel as if I am Lee's good-luck charm, he always comes up big when I am at the game, ironic.
My personal 2009 Cubs record: 6 and 2.
Next game I am going to as of right now: TBD.
Up Next: Cubs at Tigers at 6:05pm on WGN TV and Radio. Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.44 ERA) vs Edwin Jackson (6-4, 2.39 ERA). This is the first time this season the Cubs will play with a DH. Given that Jackson is a righty, I expect to see Hoffpauir start as our DH. Zambrano has been very good recently, I look for him to continue pitching well, I assume most of the Tigers' hitters have not seen much of Big Z. Jackson has been a huge surprise for the Tigers this season, if his 2.39 ERA is any indicator, the Cubs will struggle to score off of him in this game. I would expect to see a pitcher's duel tonight. I do not know much about the Tigers other than the fact that Magglio Ordonez is struggling worse than Geovany Soto or Bradley combined, and has been benched. Zambrano also needs to be wary of fellow countryman Miguel Cabrera, who is hitting .333 with 14HR, 44RBI. If the Cubs can keep Cabrera in check, they can win this series. Also, not having to face Justin Verlander in this series is a huge plus. The Cubs are 4-1 in inter-league games this season, I hope they keep it up! Go Cubs!
Furthermore, I can not believe the Cubs were shut out last night. I mean come on, they had 10 hits, but unfortunately they were all singles. They could have scored in the first inning after Ryan Theriot reached on a single, but Fukudome (who really sucks again by the way) grounded into a double-play. Sure enough, Jake Fox and Derrek Lee followed with two more singles, only to be stranded by Micah Hoffpauir. The Cubs hitters just could not get anything going against Javier Vazquez. The Cubs did load the bases in the 6th, but Lou allowed Andres Blanco to bat for himself in that spot with two outs. Bob Brenly said the likely reason why Lou let Blanco bat here was that neither Alfonso Soriano nor Milton Bradley had hit Vazquez well in the past. Blanco managed to hit the ball hard, but right at the center fielder. Lou decided to rest Soriano and Bradley before the upcoming road-trip.
On a positive note each of the Cubs' position players had a base-hit last night, with the exception of Fukudome who was 0-3. While Theriot, Fox, and Blanco each had two base-hits apiece. The bottom line though: The Cubs left 12 men on base and were 0-6 with RISP. Last night's game looked like the Cubs were still in early June, they did not look like the team fresh off of a 4-game winning streak. Derrek Lee did extend his career-long hitting streak to 19 games. For as much as I have ripped him this season, he is finally playing like I have expected him to play the last year and a half, hopefully he can stay hot. At least the Cubs did not lose any ground in the division last night, as the Mets defeated the Cardinals, keeping the Cubs at 2.5 GB at 34-32.
Also, last Friday I attended the Cubs vs Indians game. I sat on a rooftop owned by Wrigleyville Rooftops, located at 1032 Waveland. It was quite key. We were unsure if the weather would allow the game to be played, but we lucked out. They allowed us into the rooftop 30 mins before game time which was scheduled to be 1:20pm, so we went in at 1pm. The game did not get started until 2:45pm which means we were able to capitalize on the all you can drink beer deal which ran until the end of the 7th inning. This was the second best game I have ever been to (#1 was last year against the Rockies on a Friday too, when we won 10-9) coming back from 7-0 is very cool. I just had a feeling as the game went on that we were going to win. When Derrek Lee hit the game-tying HR off of Kerry Wood the place went nuts. What made it even better was that I was sitting with a group of Indians fans, poor bastards. I really do feel as if I am Lee's good-luck charm, he always comes up big when I am at the game, ironic.
My personal 2009 Cubs record: 6 and 2.
Next game I am going to as of right now: TBD.
Up Next: Cubs at Tigers at 6:05pm on WGN TV and Radio. Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.44 ERA) vs Edwin Jackson (6-4, 2.39 ERA). This is the first time this season the Cubs will play with a DH. Given that Jackson is a righty, I expect to see Hoffpauir start as our DH. Zambrano has been very good recently, I look for him to continue pitching well, I assume most of the Tigers' hitters have not seen much of Big Z. Jackson has been a huge surprise for the Tigers this season, if his 2.39 ERA is any indicator, the Cubs will struggle to score off of him in this game. I would expect to see a pitcher's duel tonight. I do not know much about the Tigers other than the fact that Magglio Ordonez is struggling worse than Geovany Soto or Bradley combined, and has been benched. Zambrano also needs to be wary of fellow countryman Miguel Cabrera, who is hitting .333 with 14HR, 44RBI. If the Cubs can keep Cabrera in check, they can win this series. Also, not having to face Justin Verlander in this series is a huge plus. The Cubs are 4-1 in inter-league games this season, I hope they keep it up! Go Cubs!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cubs beat Sox 6-5 in dramatic fashion
I can not believe the Cubs won this game today. The offense looked terrible all day until they got a rally going in the 8th inning. Micah Hoffpauir got things started with a rocket line drive that bounced off of Chris Getz, it was ruled an error. Alfonso Soriano followed this up with a single. I could feel a comeback, I was watching the game with a friend, we could sense something big was gonna happen. I had a hunch that Milton Bradley would come up with a big hit, but he did not, he struck out swinging. It was Derrek Lee who stepped up with an opposite field 3-run HR. This was Lee's biggest hit of the season and I was at the game where he it a grand-slam. The next hitter, Geovany Soto, followed Lee with a line-drive HR to left, tying the game at 5 apiece.
The stage was set for the 9th inning. Soriano made a heck of a catch in foul territory in the 9th. It was one of the few times I have really seen him hustle in the field this season. In the bottom of the 9th Reed Johnson got things started with a single up the middle. He was then sac-bunted over to second by Andres Blanco. Blanco by the way is a solid bunter, it is good to see him execute when the whole stadium knows what he is going to do. After Aaron Miles did nothing up came Soriano. Sure enough Soriano hung in there and hit a bloop single in short right-center to win the game. As bad as he has been at times this season, Soriano stepped up big in the last two innings of today's game.
The Cubs pitching was good today, Carlos Zambrano looked good again, but was probably left out there too long. Zambrano's line: 7IP, 3ER, 6H, 3K, 3BB 117 Pitches. Zambrano was not trying to strike everyone out, there were a lot of ground ball outs today. It was good to see Z get a no decision, he did not deserve a loss. Carlos Marmol pitched in the 8th and looked bad, allowing 2ER on 3 hits, at least he did not walk anyone. I am sure this was nothing too worry about either, Marmol rarely gets hit. Sean Marshall got out of Marmol's jam in the 8th and Kevin Gregg pitched a scorless 9th inning to pick up his first Cubs win.
The Cubs were lucky Ozzie Guillen pulled Gavin Floyd after 7 innings of one-run baseball and only 90 pitches. Floyd was dominant today and apparently has been on a role recently, I hope the Cubs do not have to face him next weekend. Scott Linebrink looked awful, the Cubs hit him hard for 4 runs. Then in the 9th, the Cubs got a run off of Matt Thornton who is said to be a "left-handed Marmol". Today I finally saw the old Cubs! The team that came back from down 5-1 in the 8th to win the game looked a lot like the 2008 team, who was never out of any game. D-Lee had a monster game going 1-4 with 4 RBIs. His opposite field 3-R HR in the 8th was a sight for sore eyes. Soto's HR to tie the game was his biggest hit of the season, easily. I hope this is a sign of good things to come.
Next up: The Cubs begin a 3 game series with the Cleveland Indians, weather permitting. The forecast for tomorrow: hot with temps in the mid-80s and Thunderstorms. I really hope this game does not get rained out, I have rooftop tickets. Tomorrow's pitching match-up should be a good one though. Rich Harden (4-3, 4.53 ERA) vs Cliff Lee (4-6, 2.88 ERA). Harden was good on Saturday in his first start since coming off of the DL. Lee had a slow start to the season but has been hot lately, how do you lose 6 games with a 2.88 ERA? The Cubs have been hit or miss against lefties this season, tomorrow's game should be a pitchers duel. Hopefully the Cubs can get Lee out of the game early and blast off against the Indians bullpen.
The stage was set for the 9th inning. Soriano made a heck of a catch in foul territory in the 9th. It was one of the few times I have really seen him hustle in the field this season. In the bottom of the 9th Reed Johnson got things started with a single up the middle. He was then sac-bunted over to second by Andres Blanco. Blanco by the way is a solid bunter, it is good to see him execute when the whole stadium knows what he is going to do. After Aaron Miles did nothing up came Soriano. Sure enough Soriano hung in there and hit a bloop single in short right-center to win the game. As bad as he has been at times this season, Soriano stepped up big in the last two innings of today's game.
The Cubs pitching was good today, Carlos Zambrano looked good again, but was probably left out there too long. Zambrano's line: 7IP, 3ER, 6H, 3K, 3BB 117 Pitches. Zambrano was not trying to strike everyone out, there were a lot of ground ball outs today. It was good to see Z get a no decision, he did not deserve a loss. Carlos Marmol pitched in the 8th and looked bad, allowing 2ER on 3 hits, at least he did not walk anyone. I am sure this was nothing too worry about either, Marmol rarely gets hit. Sean Marshall got out of Marmol's jam in the 8th and Kevin Gregg pitched a scorless 9th inning to pick up his first Cubs win.
The Cubs were lucky Ozzie Guillen pulled Gavin Floyd after 7 innings of one-run baseball and only 90 pitches. Floyd was dominant today and apparently has been on a role recently, I hope the Cubs do not have to face him next weekend. Scott Linebrink looked awful, the Cubs hit him hard for 4 runs. Then in the 9th, the Cubs got a run off of Matt Thornton who is said to be a "left-handed Marmol". Today I finally saw the old Cubs! The team that came back from down 5-1 in the 8th to win the game looked a lot like the 2008 team, who was never out of any game. D-Lee had a monster game going 1-4 with 4 RBIs. His opposite field 3-R HR in the 8th was a sight for sore eyes. Soto's HR to tie the game was his biggest hit of the season, easily. I hope this is a sign of good things to come.
Next up: The Cubs begin a 3 game series with the Cleveland Indians, weather permitting. The forecast for tomorrow: hot with temps in the mid-80s and Thunderstorms. I really hope this game does not get rained out, I have rooftop tickets. Tomorrow's pitching match-up should be a good one though. Rich Harden (4-3, 4.53 ERA) vs Cliff Lee (4-6, 2.88 ERA). Harden was good on Saturday in his first start since coming off of the DL. Lee had a slow start to the season but has been hot lately, how do you lose 6 games with a 2.88 ERA? The Cubs have been hit or miss against lefties this season, tomorrow's game should be a pitchers duel. Hopefully the Cubs can get Lee out of the game early and blast off against the Indians bullpen.
Cubs lose to Sox 4-1
The Cubs are embarrassing. It was not that John Danks was that good yesterday, it was that the Cubs hitters were that bad! I'm talking about the usual suspects: Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot, Derrek Lee, Aaron Miles. Soriano got the lone Cubs RBI of the day on a ground-out. As a team they squandered multiple opportunities to score runs.
Lou Piniella made a big mistake early, when Lee and Soto were at first and second with no one out, and down two runs. Reed Johnson was the batter, and Lou let him swing away? Why? Johnson has been one of our better hitters this season yes, but he has been slumping lately, and is not a real run producer, sure enough he grounded into a double play. I was yelling at the TV before he swung to Sac-Bunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Cubs would have gotten one run minimum in that inning had Lou called for the bunt, poor managing. What else is poor managing? Allowing Aaron Miles and Alfonso Soriano to play. Especially while Jake Fox, who hit the hardest ball of the day on a Sac-Fly, sits on the bench. I am tired of watching losers like Soriano and Miles, when guys like Fox and Micah Hoffpauir sit on the bench. Lou needs to start acting like a real manager and make some changes.
Lou got out-managed by Ozzie Guillen yesterday, its that simple. The suicide squeeze was pure genius by Ozzie, he likely did that to show-up Lou, but Ozzie is the better manager by a mile. Ozzie is willing to play small ball, Lou still thinks his team can hit for power (they can't), but in reality he should be more willing to play small ball. I would suggest moving Soriano down to 5th in the order or to the DL and letting either Fukudome or Ryan Theriot bad lead-off.
Ryan Dempster did his usual act allowing two early runs and deserving to lose. To give up a home-run to Alexi Ramirez is unbelievable, what a clown. Ramirez is a Soriano clone, all you need to throw him is sliders away, and he will swing.
Thank goodness Carlos Zambrano is starting today, I would love to see him get aggressive and shut down the Sox. Gavin Floyd is starting for the Sox, he has been solid lately, but garbage overall this season. If I see Soriano or Miles in the line-up today I am going to scream and then turn the channel over to the U.S. Open (I am big golf fan).
Lou Piniella made a big mistake early, when Lee and Soto were at first and second with no one out, and down two runs. Reed Johnson was the batter, and Lou let him swing away? Why? Johnson has been one of our better hitters this season yes, but he has been slumping lately, and is not a real run producer, sure enough he grounded into a double play. I was yelling at the TV before he swung to Sac-Bunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Cubs would have gotten one run minimum in that inning had Lou called for the bunt, poor managing. What else is poor managing? Allowing Aaron Miles and Alfonso Soriano to play. Especially while Jake Fox, who hit the hardest ball of the day on a Sac-Fly, sits on the bench. I am tired of watching losers like Soriano and Miles, when guys like Fox and Micah Hoffpauir sit on the bench. Lou needs to start acting like a real manager and make some changes.
Lou got out-managed by Ozzie Guillen yesterday, its that simple. The suicide squeeze was pure genius by Ozzie, he likely did that to show-up Lou, but Ozzie is the better manager by a mile. Ozzie is willing to play small ball, Lou still thinks his team can hit for power (they can't), but in reality he should be more willing to play small ball. I would suggest moving Soriano down to 5th in the order or to the DL and letting either Fukudome or Ryan Theriot bad lead-off.
Ryan Dempster did his usual act allowing two early runs and deserving to lose. To give up a home-run to Alexi Ramirez is unbelievable, what a clown. Ramirez is a Soriano clone, all you need to throw him is sliders away, and he will swing.
Thank goodness Carlos Zambrano is starting today, I would love to see him get aggressive and shut down the Sox. Gavin Floyd is starting for the Sox, he has been solid lately, but garbage overall this season. If I see Soriano or Miles in the line-up today I am going to scream and then turn the channel over to the U.S. Open (I am big golf fan).
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Let's try this again...
Last night's game was postponed with no set make-up date. I still do not understand why they could not just do a day-night double-header today? Today the Cubs and White Sox are set to renew their annual cross-town series, weather permitting. Today however, there is no rain the forecast. This afternoon, Ryan Dempster (4-3, 3.87 ERA) will face John Danks (4-5, 4.81 ERA). Carlos Zambrano, who was slated to start last night has been moved back to Thursday, and will face Gavin Floyd.
I have been critical of Dempster's pitching at times this season. He has been inconsistent at best. Control has been a big issue for Dempster, especially early in games. It seems he always gives up runs early and then settles down as the game goes along. Dempster has been pitching well of late (although his record does not show it) his ERA has dropped below 4.00 for the first time this season. I do expect a good start from him tonight, if he allows 3 runs or less, I will be happy. Hopefully, he can avoid being scored upon early, and get into a groove.
Other thoughts: I have heard a rumor that the make-up for last night's game could be on September 3rd, a Thursday, when I assume both the Cubs and the Sox will be in town. How awesome would it be if either team were in the hunt at that point of the season? The game would mean that much more, plus the Cubs would presumably have Aramis Ramirez back. Furthermore I walked through Wrigleyville this morning around 9:15 am and there was already a buzz around the park. ESPN 1000 personalities Waddle & Silvy were doing a live show from Bernie's, which was actually open, but were they serving alcohol? I do not know. Then I saw Carlos Quentin pulling into the parking lot in a black Tahoe with his entourage, I am glad he is not playing. Also, today is my birthday, and every year I am lucky enough to have a Cubs vs. Sox game on this day, I am a lucky guy.
I have been critical of Dempster's pitching at times this season. He has been inconsistent at best. Control has been a big issue for Dempster, especially early in games. It seems he always gives up runs early and then settles down as the game goes along. Dempster has been pitching well of late (although his record does not show it) his ERA has dropped below 4.00 for the first time this season. I do expect a good start from him tonight, if he allows 3 runs or less, I will be happy. Hopefully, he can avoid being scored upon early, and get into a groove.
Other thoughts: I have heard a rumor that the make-up for last night's game could be on September 3rd, a Thursday, when I assume both the Cubs and the Sox will be in town. How awesome would it be if either team were in the hunt at that point of the season? The game would mean that much more, plus the Cubs would presumably have Aramis Ramirez back. Furthermore I walked through Wrigleyville this morning around 9:15 am and there was already a buzz around the park. ESPN 1000 personalities Waddle & Silvy were doing a live show from Bernie's, which was actually open, but were they serving alcohol? I do not know. Then I saw Carlos Quentin pulling into the parking lot in a black Tahoe with his entourage, I am glad he is not playing. Also, today is my birthday, and every year I am lucky enough to have a Cubs vs. Sox game on this day, I am a lucky guy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Cubs Roster Move
Today the Chicago Cubs placed LHP Jason Waddell on the DL and recalled slugger Jake Fox from Iowa. Waddell apparently has an non-baseball injury of some sort, whatever that means, it could be anything. Hopefully he did not get drunk and fall into a dumpster like Chad Gaudin last season. Waddell was used sparingly after being called up to replace the disappointing, Neal Cotts. In 3 appearances spanning 1.2IP, Waddell allowed one run for an ERA of 5.40. I was actually impressed with how Waddell pitched during his few outings. Hopefully the injury is nothing too serious and he will re-join the team soon. Waddell's departure leaves Sean Marshall as the lone lefty out of the Cubs' bullpen. Although I prefer to see Marshall as a long-reliever or starter, I have no problem with Lou Piniella using him as a lefty specialist, Marshall is a better option than Cotts, and has pitched well all season.
This also means that Jake Fox is back, which is good news, the guy can really hit. I do not expect to see Fox starting, but weirder things have happened, like Aaron Miles starting all weekend. Fox could get some playing time at third, or in the outfield. I would not be too surprised if Lou started Fox in left-field against a lefty starter, especially to give the slumping Alfonso Soriano a day off. If tonight's game gets played I would not be shocked if Fox actually got into the line-up against Sox P John Danks. At the very least Fox returns as one of the Cubs' better pinch-hitters, if not the best.
This also means that Jake Fox is back, which is good news, the guy can really hit. I do not expect to see Fox starting, but weirder things have happened, like Aaron Miles starting all weekend. Fox could get some playing time at third, or in the outfield. I would not be too surprised if Lou started Fox in left-field against a lefty starter, especially to give the slumping Alfonso Soriano a day off. If tonight's game gets played I would not be shocked if Fox actually got into the line-up against Sox P John Danks. At the very least Fox returns as one of the Cubs' better pinch-hitters, if not the best.
Cubs vs White Sox Preview
Tonight the Cubs and White Sox begin their first Crosstown series of 2009, this one being played at Wrigley. The Cubs are at .500 and the White Sox come in at 30-34, both teams are currently in 3rd place in their respective divisions. The Sox come in having just won 2 of 3 games in Milwaukee this past weekend. The Cubs come in having just lost 2 of 3 to the Twins. Both teams are not very good, I really do not know what to expect in this series.
Tonight's match-up is Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.39 ERA) vs. John Danks (4-5, 4.81 ERA). Zambrano has been pitching VERY well lately, his last time out, he was as good as I have ever seen him. I look for Z to stay hot and have another good outing tonight, the Cubs need him to pitch well. Danks is a good pitcher, who the Cubs have not seen a lot of, but I believe he beat us last year. Danks is 4-5, but the Sox do not always score runs, similar to the Cubs. His 4.81 ERA is more a product of the AL. Anywho, I think tonight's game will be a low scoring affair, but my pick is that the Cubs take game one. The stadium should be electric for a rare night game in the Crosstown series.
Tonight's match-up is Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.39 ERA) vs. John Danks (4-5, 4.81 ERA). Zambrano has been pitching VERY well lately, his last time out, he was as good as I have ever seen him. I look for Z to stay hot and have another good outing tonight, the Cubs need him to pitch well. Danks is a good pitcher, who the Cubs have not seen a lot of, but I believe he beat us last year. Danks is 4-5, but the Sox do not always score runs, similar to the Cubs. His 4.81 ERA is more a product of the AL. Anywho, I think tonight's game will be a low scoring affair, but my pick is that the Cubs take game one. The stadium should be electric for a rare night game in the Crosstown series.
Twins Games Recaps
On Saturday I was lucky enough to score a free ticket and the game did not get rained out. The Cubs however, did manage to get shut-out. Rich Harden started for the Cubs and put up exactly what I thought he would (I predicted this line in an earlier post): 6IP, 2ER, 5H, 9Ks, OK, so I was off by one K. Nevertheless, Harden pitched well enough to win, and looked very sharp in his return from the DL. The bullpen: Jose Ascanio, Sean Marshall, and Kevin Gregg each pitched a scoreless and hitless inning of relief.
The problem on Saturday was the Cubs hitting, or lack there of. Only 5 hits, Derrek Lee had two singles, and Milton Bradley was the only other player who hit the ball hard. The Cubs were mystified by Twins starter, Anthony Swarzak, who shut them out on 4 hits over 7 innings. Swarzak was so good, the Twins sent him to AAA after the game. I am still unsure if this was a case of good pitching or really bad hitting. The Cubs had an opportunity in the 9th, but with men at second and third with one out, Fukudome and Ryan Theriot could not drive in the runs. Not surprising that neither of those clowns could get a base hit. Theriot is swinging for the fences on every swing and Fukudome is still spinning. Actually, I had already done something I never do, I left the game after the 8th inning to get a table at a bar down the street. I just never had the feeling that the Cubs were capable of coming back in this game.
Additionally, I was lucky enough to go to the Cubs game on Sunday. This one was planned, as my girlfriend and I took our Dad's for Father's Day. It was a perfect day for a game, sunny and about 75 degrees. We sat 8 rows behind home plate. My man, Ted Lilly came up big, again (he is currently the ace of this staff): 7.2IP, 9H, 2ER, 6K, 0BB, HR allowed. Lilly did not have his best stuff, but he kept the Twins hitters off balance all day, and gave his team a chance to win. Carlos Marmol finished the game in relief, he did not allow a run or a hit, he did walk two.
The Cubs finally did some hitting on Sunday. They got things going in the second inning when Ryan Theriot hit a Sac-Fly to right scoring Lee and tying the game at one. In the fourth inning, Geovany Soto hit a double to score Milton Bradley, giving the Cubs the lead 2-1. Lilly allowed a solo-HR to Chris Gomez in the sixth inning tying the game at two. Finally in the 9th, Theriot came up with one out and the bases loaded and delivered a clutch walk-off single to right, scoring Lee to win the game. This was such an exciting finish and a must win for the Cubs, who looked awful most of the weekend leading up to this point. Theriot had really been slumping before this game as well. I did not mind hearing "Go, Cubs, Go" after this game.
I do have a couple of questions regarding the Cubs. Why was Aaron Miles in either game? He was a combined 1-6. He is now hitting .200 with an OBP of .240. Miles has had his fair share of chances, now it is time for him to go, injured or not. I complained about him constantly during these two games and fans sitting around me did not seem to be too fond of him either. To top it off, he dropped a line-drive on Sunday that hit him in the chest. How could he not catch that one? I could have made the play. I know Andres Blanco does not really hit either, but he is a far superior fielder, and deserves to play over Miles, whose time is running out I would think. Also, Gerald Perry was fired as hitting coach. Not surprising since our hitters all suck. But it is not entirely his fault, Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella are just as much to blame. The Cubs just are not as good as people think they are. Von Joshua is our new hitting coach, he used to be on the White Sox staff from 1998-2001. He has worked at Iowa with many of our younger players like: Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Soto, and Koyie Hill. I would like to think that Joshua can help the Cubs, but I just do not see this group of hitters getting much better, with the exception of Bradley and Soto. The return of Aramis Ramirez should help, but he is going to be rusty. Also, where has Alfonso Soriano gone? .229 BA and .296 OBP, unacceptable.
On a positive note, 3 Cubs hitters had multi-hit games on Sunday. Lee was 2-4 2R. Soto was 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Theriot was 2-3, 2B, 2RBI. I was very impressed with Soto, he hit the ball hard a few times, maybe he is finally coming around? The Cubs are now 30-30 this season 3.5 games behind first-place Milwaukee.
My personal 2009 Cubs record: 5 and 2.
The next game I am going to as of right now: Friday, June 19th vs Cleveland.
The problem on Saturday was the Cubs hitting, or lack there of. Only 5 hits, Derrek Lee had two singles, and Milton Bradley was the only other player who hit the ball hard. The Cubs were mystified by Twins starter, Anthony Swarzak, who shut them out on 4 hits over 7 innings. Swarzak was so good, the Twins sent him to AAA after the game. I am still unsure if this was a case of good pitching or really bad hitting. The Cubs had an opportunity in the 9th, but with men at second and third with one out, Fukudome and Ryan Theriot could not drive in the runs. Not surprising that neither of those clowns could get a base hit. Theriot is swinging for the fences on every swing and Fukudome is still spinning. Actually, I had already done something I never do, I left the game after the 8th inning to get a table at a bar down the street. I just never had the feeling that the Cubs were capable of coming back in this game.
Additionally, I was lucky enough to go to the Cubs game on Sunday. This one was planned, as my girlfriend and I took our Dad's for Father's Day. It was a perfect day for a game, sunny and about 75 degrees. We sat 8 rows behind home plate. My man, Ted Lilly came up big, again (he is currently the ace of this staff): 7.2IP, 9H, 2ER, 6K, 0BB, HR allowed. Lilly did not have his best stuff, but he kept the Twins hitters off balance all day, and gave his team a chance to win. Carlos Marmol finished the game in relief, he did not allow a run or a hit, he did walk two.
The Cubs finally did some hitting on Sunday. They got things going in the second inning when Ryan Theriot hit a Sac-Fly to right scoring Lee and tying the game at one. In the fourth inning, Geovany Soto hit a double to score Milton Bradley, giving the Cubs the lead 2-1. Lilly allowed a solo-HR to Chris Gomez in the sixth inning tying the game at two. Finally in the 9th, Theriot came up with one out and the bases loaded and delivered a clutch walk-off single to right, scoring Lee to win the game. This was such an exciting finish and a must win for the Cubs, who looked awful most of the weekend leading up to this point. Theriot had really been slumping before this game as well. I did not mind hearing "Go, Cubs, Go" after this game.
I do have a couple of questions regarding the Cubs. Why was Aaron Miles in either game? He was a combined 1-6. He is now hitting .200 with an OBP of .240. Miles has had his fair share of chances, now it is time for him to go, injured or not. I complained about him constantly during these two games and fans sitting around me did not seem to be too fond of him either. To top it off, he dropped a line-drive on Sunday that hit him in the chest. How could he not catch that one? I could have made the play. I know Andres Blanco does not really hit either, but he is a far superior fielder, and deserves to play over Miles, whose time is running out I would think. Also, Gerald Perry was fired as hitting coach. Not surprising since our hitters all suck. But it is not entirely his fault, Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella are just as much to blame. The Cubs just are not as good as people think they are. Von Joshua is our new hitting coach, he used to be on the White Sox staff from 1998-2001. He has worked at Iowa with many of our younger players like: Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Soto, and Koyie Hill. I would like to think that Joshua can help the Cubs, but I just do not see this group of hitters getting much better, with the exception of Bradley and Soto. The return of Aramis Ramirez should help, but he is going to be rusty. Also, where has Alfonso Soriano gone? .229 BA and .296 OBP, unacceptable.
On a positive note, 3 Cubs hitters had multi-hit games on Sunday. Lee was 2-4 2R. Soto was 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Theriot was 2-3, 2B, 2RBI. I was very impressed with Soto, he hit the ball hard a few times, maybe he is finally coming around? The Cubs are now 30-30 this season 3.5 games behind first-place Milwaukee.
My personal 2009 Cubs record: 5 and 2.
The next game I am going to as of right now: Friday, June 19th vs Cleveland.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Game Time, other thoughts
I once again fell ass-backwards into a free ticket today. I hope the game does not get rained out. If it does I already have tickets for tomorrow's game, so I guess I would be attending a double-header. If today's game does not get rained out, who is going to start for the Cubs? I do not think it would be wise to send Rich Harden out there considering he just came off the DL. With the potential for an interrupted game, I would expect the Cubs to move Ted Lilly up a day, or start Sean Marshall instead.
Also, rumor has it that the Cubs have been scouting free-agent P Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic. I am not sure as to why they would be interested? Maybe as insurance if Harden breaks down and if Randy Wells comes back to reality. Or possibly they could be considering him as a reliever, he could not be much worse than Aaron Heilman. It remains to be seen if the Cubs could even sign Martinez given the current ownership situation.
Also, rumor has it that the Cubs have been scouting free-agent P Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic. I am not sure as to why they would be interested? Maybe as insurance if Harden breaks down and if Randy Wells comes back to reality. Or possibly they could be considering him as a reliever, he could not be much worse than Aaron Heilman. It remains to be seen if the Cubs could even sign Martinez given the current ownership situation.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Cubs stink, lose to Twins 7-4
The Cubs looked terrible today, enough said. Randy Wells who has been outstanding all season, decided to have his worst career start: 3.2IP 4ER, 7H, 2K, BB on 78 pitches. I missed the first 5 innings of this game so I have no comments on Wells' performance, but is seems as if he sucked. The Cubs bullpen was not very sharp either, as Jason Waddell, Aaron Heilman, and David Patton each allowed one run apiece in relief. Patton gets a pass however because he only pitches once every three weeks, because Lou Piniella forgets he is on the roster.
The offense was once again awful. In the bottom of the sixth the Cubs finally got something going and with the bases loaded Milton Bradley hit a rocket off the right field wall, driving in two runs. Derrek Lee then hit a grounder to third and Bradley was caught in no-man's land and tagged out, an inexcusable base running error. The Cubs as a team seem to make these errors frequently. Bradley in the next half inning lost a ball in the sun which allowed another Twins run to score. In the 8th inning, Bradley caught a Joe Mauer (who is the man) sac-fly and thought it was the end of the inning, and then threw the ball into the right field bleachers. This was unbelievable, how could Uncle Milty not known that was only the second out? Nevertheless it did not cost us any runs. Despite his blunders in the outfield today, Bradley was the best hitter we had out there, he was 2-4 2B, 2RBIs. He would have had another hit in the 8th if it were not for a diving Delmon Young catch to rob him of an RBI single. Derrek Lee was the only other Cub who did anything at the plate also going 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Geovany Soto (who is a real problem), Ryan Theriot, and Fukudome combined to go 0-12.
People are jumping all over Milton Bradley for his performance today, but without him, the Cubs probably would not have scored any runs. My buddy, Dan, said "We should throw him into Lake Michigan". Others like Bleedcubbieblue.com's Al Yellon, say he is not the bat we needed and that he prefered Adam Dunn. Well, hindsight is 20-20 my friend. Yes, Dunn is having a much better year offensively, but he is a butcher in the outfield (and at any position for that matter) and would have made the same mistakes in the field that Bradley is making. Say what you will about Bradley, but he looked good at the plate today. Lou said two days ago, that he thought he figured out what was wrong with Bradley's swing, Bradley looked locked in at the plate today. Bradley had a bad day in the field, deal with it, he also was the only player on our team who hit a ball hard today! I am still confident that he can turn this season around, if only to stick it to all the nay-sayers out there! What we really need is a new infielder. At times this team looks so bad, I am not even sure if the return of Aramis Ramirez will save us.
What really upsets me about this team is Lou. He continues to play Aaron Miles, who is incapable of hitting anything but ground-outs and soft fly outs. It is seriously time to get rid of Miles, he can blame it on his shoulder, but the fact remains, he is lousy. I like the fact that Lou did have the stones to play Alfonso Soriano at second in the 9th and Micah Hoffpauir in left. Hell with defense, we need the offense at this point. I never want to see Miles in the line-up again. The Cubs' lack of focus should fall on Lou, this team looks lacadasical, often. Lou does not even seem to care, he should have taken Bradley out of the game after throwing the ball in the stands just to send a message. This team lacks discipline and here they sit at .500. Maybe this is just an overpaid .500 baseball team?
Up next: Early game tomorrow, at 12:05pm. I was actually offered tickets but had to decline. Rich Harden (4-2, 4.74 ERA) vs Anthony Swarzak (1-2, 5.23). I do not know what to expect from Harden he has been out for awhile, but he is rested. I expect to get about 6IP and 2ER with 8Ks from him, which should be good enough for a win. Especially since we are facing Swarzak, who sounds like a character from A Few Good Men. Looking at Swarzak's numbers he looks like a bum, either we crush him or he shuts us out, we will see tomorrow.
The offense was once again awful. In the bottom of the sixth the Cubs finally got something going and with the bases loaded Milton Bradley hit a rocket off the right field wall, driving in two runs. Derrek Lee then hit a grounder to third and Bradley was caught in no-man's land and tagged out, an inexcusable base running error. The Cubs as a team seem to make these errors frequently. Bradley in the next half inning lost a ball in the sun which allowed another Twins run to score. In the 8th inning, Bradley caught a Joe Mauer (who is the man) sac-fly and thought it was the end of the inning, and then threw the ball into the right field bleachers. This was unbelievable, how could Uncle Milty not known that was only the second out? Nevertheless it did not cost us any runs. Despite his blunders in the outfield today, Bradley was the best hitter we had out there, he was 2-4 2B, 2RBIs. He would have had another hit in the 8th if it were not for a diving Delmon Young catch to rob him of an RBI single. Derrek Lee was the only other Cub who did anything at the plate also going 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Geovany Soto (who is a real problem), Ryan Theriot, and Fukudome combined to go 0-12.
People are jumping all over Milton Bradley for his performance today, but without him, the Cubs probably would not have scored any runs. My buddy, Dan, said "We should throw him into Lake Michigan". Others like Bleedcubbieblue.com's Al Yellon, say he is not the bat we needed and that he prefered Adam Dunn. Well, hindsight is 20-20 my friend. Yes, Dunn is having a much better year offensively, but he is a butcher in the outfield (and at any position for that matter) and would have made the same mistakes in the field that Bradley is making. Say what you will about Bradley, but he looked good at the plate today. Lou said two days ago, that he thought he figured out what was wrong with Bradley's swing, Bradley looked locked in at the plate today. Bradley had a bad day in the field, deal with it, he also was the only player on our team who hit a ball hard today! I am still confident that he can turn this season around, if only to stick it to all the nay-sayers out there! What we really need is a new infielder. At times this team looks so bad, I am not even sure if the return of Aramis Ramirez will save us.
What really upsets me about this team is Lou. He continues to play Aaron Miles, who is incapable of hitting anything but ground-outs and soft fly outs. It is seriously time to get rid of Miles, he can blame it on his shoulder, but the fact remains, he is lousy. I like the fact that Lou did have the stones to play Alfonso Soriano at second in the 9th and Micah Hoffpauir in left. Hell with defense, we need the offense at this point. I never want to see Miles in the line-up again. The Cubs' lack of focus should fall on Lou, this team looks lacadasical, often. Lou does not even seem to care, he should have taken Bradley out of the game after throwing the ball in the stands just to send a message. This team lacks discipline and here they sit at .500. Maybe this is just an overpaid .500 baseball team?
Up next: Early game tomorrow, at 12:05pm. I was actually offered tickets but had to decline. Rich Harden (4-2, 4.74 ERA) vs Anthony Swarzak (1-2, 5.23). I do not know what to expect from Harden he has been out for awhile, but he is rested. I expect to get about 6IP and 2ER with 8Ks from him, which should be good enough for a win. Especially since we are facing Swarzak, who sounds like a character from A Few Good Men. Looking at Swarzak's numbers he looks like a bum, either we crush him or he shuts us out, we will see tomorrow.
Cubs lose to Astros 2-1 in 13 innings
The Cubs did not look good yesterday, in fact they looked pathetic. Ryan Dempster got off to a bad start per usual and allowed a run in the first inning, which with our offense, is good enough to lose. Dempster managed to get out of the jam in the first and pitched well the rest of the game: 7IP, ER, 7H, 4K, 0BB.
The offense was the problem for the Cubs yesterday and will continue to be the problem all season. This line-up is a joke! Derrek Lee is the most feared hitter in this line-up and that is sad. There is not a single player hitting .300 on this team. I kept waiting for the Cubs to break through yesterday but I felt it would never happen. Finally, in the 9th with one out, Lee hit an opposite field home-run to tie the game at 1-1, thank you LaTroy Hawkins. It was nice to see Lee hitting the ball the other way with authority. He needs to do this more often, most pitchers tend to pitch him away. The rest of the Cubs offense did not show up to play yesterday. I mean, we were facing Russ Ortiz for goodness sake! The only hard hit ball was Micah Hoffpauir's fly-out to the stupid hill in center field, in any other park that was a home-run. Ryan Theriot looks lost at the plate and seems to have forgotten that he is a contact hitter who should hit the ball the other way, his 6HR have gotten to his head. Alfonso Soriano as usual did nothing. Fukudome was 0-5 and looked foolish at the plate. Andres Blanco did manage to lay down a nice sac-bunt, but it was all for nothing because Aaron Miles and Theriot could not get the job done after that and drive in Milton Bradley from second base in the 10th inning. I bet Lou Piniella wishes he had kept Jake Fox on the roster after this, he is a solid pinch hitter who could have won us the game, instead we got to see Miles tap out to third, and Theriot do nothing. Way to go Lou! Poor roster management is killing this team, Miles has no business what so ever being on the roster. He should be given his outright release or at least be placed on waivers today.
One bright spot yesterday was the fact that the bullpen pitched well again. Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg each pitched 2 scoreless innings. Marmol was very efficient and threw strikes, hopefully he figured out what was wrong. Jose Ascanio took the loss, he pitched 1.2 innings, and walks finally got the best of him. He walked the lead-off hitter (a big no-no) Hunter Pence, to lead off the 13th. It looks as if the umpire was squeezing Ascanio in that at-bat, Pence did not want to swing, and was given the benefit of the doubt. I am not really sure why Pence is so respected by the umpires. He is allowed to walk down to first on every questionable three-ball pitch, which is showing up the umpires, but they do not seem to care. Pence eventually came around to score on yet another Geoff Blum game winning single. Seriously, I was thinking to myself before the game even started, that the Cubs should look into acquiring Blum. He can play third-base, he can hit, he is a veteran, and he bats left-handed. He seems like he would be an ideal fit on a Lou Piniella roster. Jim Hendry should definitely look into what it would take to trade for Blum. At the very least he would be an upgrade over our sorry bench and would be a solid addition to a team in a division race.
Up Next: The Cubs start their Inter-League season with a 1:20pm game against the Minnesota Twins. Randy Wells (0-2, 1.86 ERA) vs Kevin Slowey (8-2, 4.21 ERA). Wells is still looking for his first Major League win and Slowey is looking for his 9th this season. I am not familiar with Slowey, but if he has 8 wins at this point, he is probably a solid pitcher. This is the beauty of Inter-League play, the unknown. I am expecting to see a low scoring pitchers duel (if the wind is blowing in). Neither team is good offensively. The Twins come into Chicago at 30-32. The Cubs sit at 29-28. This stretch of Inter-League games will make or break the Cubs' season. After the Twins, the Cubs host the White Sox and Indians. Then they go to Detroit and to the South Side for a rematch with the Sox. The AL Central is weak sauce, the Cubs need to take care of business. If they do, they can ressurect their season, if not they can forget about winning the division. The next two weeks will tell us a lot about the 2009 Cubs.
The offense was the problem for the Cubs yesterday and will continue to be the problem all season. This line-up is a joke! Derrek Lee is the most feared hitter in this line-up and that is sad. There is not a single player hitting .300 on this team. I kept waiting for the Cubs to break through yesterday but I felt it would never happen. Finally, in the 9th with one out, Lee hit an opposite field home-run to tie the game at 1-1, thank you LaTroy Hawkins. It was nice to see Lee hitting the ball the other way with authority. He needs to do this more often, most pitchers tend to pitch him away. The rest of the Cubs offense did not show up to play yesterday. I mean, we were facing Russ Ortiz for goodness sake! The only hard hit ball was Micah Hoffpauir's fly-out to the stupid hill in center field, in any other park that was a home-run. Ryan Theriot looks lost at the plate and seems to have forgotten that he is a contact hitter who should hit the ball the other way, his 6HR have gotten to his head. Alfonso Soriano as usual did nothing. Fukudome was 0-5 and looked foolish at the plate. Andres Blanco did manage to lay down a nice sac-bunt, but it was all for nothing because Aaron Miles and Theriot could not get the job done after that and drive in Milton Bradley from second base in the 10th inning. I bet Lou Piniella wishes he had kept Jake Fox on the roster after this, he is a solid pinch hitter who could have won us the game, instead we got to see Miles tap out to third, and Theriot do nothing. Way to go Lou! Poor roster management is killing this team, Miles has no business what so ever being on the roster. He should be given his outright release or at least be placed on waivers today.
One bright spot yesterday was the fact that the bullpen pitched well again. Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg each pitched 2 scoreless innings. Marmol was very efficient and threw strikes, hopefully he figured out what was wrong. Jose Ascanio took the loss, he pitched 1.2 innings, and walks finally got the best of him. He walked the lead-off hitter (a big no-no) Hunter Pence, to lead off the 13th. It looks as if the umpire was squeezing Ascanio in that at-bat, Pence did not want to swing, and was given the benefit of the doubt. I am not really sure why Pence is so respected by the umpires. He is allowed to walk down to first on every questionable three-ball pitch, which is showing up the umpires, but they do not seem to care. Pence eventually came around to score on yet another Geoff Blum game winning single. Seriously, I was thinking to myself before the game even started, that the Cubs should look into acquiring Blum. He can play third-base, he can hit, he is a veteran, and he bats left-handed. He seems like he would be an ideal fit on a Lou Piniella roster. Jim Hendry should definitely look into what it would take to trade for Blum. At the very least he would be an upgrade over our sorry bench and would be a solid addition to a team in a division race.
Up Next: The Cubs start their Inter-League season with a 1:20pm game against the Minnesota Twins. Randy Wells (0-2, 1.86 ERA) vs Kevin Slowey (8-2, 4.21 ERA). Wells is still looking for his first Major League win and Slowey is looking for his 9th this season. I am not familiar with Slowey, but if he has 8 wins at this point, he is probably a solid pitcher. This is the beauty of Inter-League play, the unknown. I am expecting to see a low scoring pitchers duel (if the wind is blowing in). Neither team is good offensively. The Twins come into Chicago at 30-32. The Cubs sit at 29-28. This stretch of Inter-League games will make or break the Cubs' season. After the Twins, the Cubs host the White Sox and Indians. Then they go to Detroit and to the South Side for a rematch with the Sox. The AL Central is weak sauce, the Cubs need to take care of business. If they do, they can ressurect their season, if not they can forget about winning the division. The next two weeks will tell us a lot about the 2009 Cubs.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Cubs waste brilliant effort from Zambrano, lose to Astros 2-1
There was not a lot of action in tonight's game. Carlos Zambrano was dominant: 8IP, ER, 3H, 3K, 2BB. He was cruising along until the 7th inning when he had some control issues and the Astros managed to score a run. Tonight was Zambrano's best start of the season. It was a shame he could not have come away with a victory.
The Cubs offense was only able to score one run off of Houston starter, Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez had to throw a lot of pitches, but he was effective. The Cubs scored their lone run on a Geovany Soto solo-HR. I had a hunch Soto would hit in Houston. The rest of the Cubs' hitters did not have good nights. Ryan Theriot did have two hits. Derrek Lee and Milton Bradley had one hit apiece, but neither looked particularly impressive tonight. Bradley also grounded into a double play. Alfonso Soriano continues to disappoint going 0-3, lowering his BA to .237. Finally in the bottom of the ninth Angel Guzman finally lost one. In 0.1IP, Guzman allowed two hits and two walks, and allowed the game winning run on a Geoff Blum single. In fairness, Guzman has been solid all season, and was due for a bump-in-the-road. Hopefully he can rebound his next time out. It would have been nice to see the Cubs score more runs tonight, they left 7 men on base, and were 0-3 w/RISP. At least the Brewers also lost, to the red-hot Rockies, so we did not lose any ground in the division. Additionally Aaron Miles got the start at second-base (and why should he?) and was a surprising 1-4, the clock is ticking Aaron!
Up Next: The Cubs finish their three game set and 9 game road-trip with a 1:05pm game with Houston. Ryan Dempster (4-3, 4.12 ERA) is going for the Cubs and either Mike Hampton or Russ Ortiz is going for the Astros. Neither Astros pitcher is very good so I hope the Cubs can face either one, apparently the Astros are considering moving Roy Oswalt up a day in the rotation. If it is all the same, I would like to see the Cubs face Ortiz, who they rocked the last time they faced him. Also, I am not really sure what to expect from Dempster. He has been pitching well lately and I expect him (like the other Cubs starters) to keep it going and give his team a chance to win. The Cubs should win tomorrow afternoon and head home for Interleague games on a high note.
The Cubs offense was only able to score one run off of Houston starter, Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez had to throw a lot of pitches, but he was effective. The Cubs scored their lone run on a Geovany Soto solo-HR. I had a hunch Soto would hit in Houston. The rest of the Cubs' hitters did not have good nights. Ryan Theriot did have two hits. Derrek Lee and Milton Bradley had one hit apiece, but neither looked particularly impressive tonight. Bradley also grounded into a double play. Alfonso Soriano continues to disappoint going 0-3, lowering his BA to .237. Finally in the bottom of the ninth Angel Guzman finally lost one. In 0.1IP, Guzman allowed two hits and two walks, and allowed the game winning run on a Geoff Blum single. In fairness, Guzman has been solid all season, and was due for a bump-in-the-road. Hopefully he can rebound his next time out. It would have been nice to see the Cubs score more runs tonight, they left 7 men on base, and were 0-3 w/RISP. At least the Brewers also lost, to the red-hot Rockies, so we did not lose any ground in the division. Additionally Aaron Miles got the start at second-base (and why should he?) and was a surprising 1-4, the clock is ticking Aaron!
Up Next: The Cubs finish their three game set and 9 game road-trip with a 1:05pm game with Houston. Ryan Dempster (4-3, 4.12 ERA) is going for the Cubs and either Mike Hampton or Russ Ortiz is going for the Astros. Neither Astros pitcher is very good so I hope the Cubs can face either one, apparently the Astros are considering moving Roy Oswalt up a day in the rotation. If it is all the same, I would like to see the Cubs face Ortiz, who they rocked the last time they faced him. Also, I am not really sure what to expect from Dempster. He has been pitching well lately and I expect him (like the other Cubs starters) to keep it going and give his team a chance to win. The Cubs should win tomorrow afternoon and head home for Interleague games on a high note.
Cubs Draft and other roster moves
Last night with their first-round pick in the MLB Draft, the Cubs selected OF Brett Jackson from Cal. Jackson is listed at 6'2 and 210 lbs. He bats left-handed, has speed, and is allegedly a good defender. Jackson is projected to be a center-fielder. His career collegiate numbers: .303 Avg, 12HR, 25 2B, 11 3B, 85 RBI over 152 games. The primary concern with Jackson is his strikeouts, he struck out 58 times in 206 AB this past season. Jackson because he was a college player could be on a faster track than most to reach the majors, he likely will play in short-season Boise, but do not be surprised to see him playing in Peoria this year.
In other news, my dream of Aaron Miles being released did not come true. He was apparently activated from the disabled list after last night's game and Jake Fox was sent back down to Iowa. This move really upsets me, Fox was becoming our best pinch-hitter. Miles is useless and has been all season. Additionally we have Andres Blanco and Bobby Scales, both of whom are middle infielders. Both have also played considerably better than Miles and Blanco is a superior fielder. Hopefully Lou Piniella will only keep all three of these guys on the roster for a short time and weed out the weak link (likely Miles or Scales). I expect to see Fox back on the roster when we go to Detroit and Chicago White Sox, he would be an ideal DH.
In other news, my dream of Aaron Miles being released did not come true. He was apparently activated from the disabled list after last night's game and Jake Fox was sent back down to Iowa. This move really upsets me, Fox was becoming our best pinch-hitter. Miles is useless and has been all season. Additionally we have Andres Blanco and Bobby Scales, both of whom are middle infielders. Both have also played considerably better than Miles and Blanco is a superior fielder. Hopefully Lou Piniella will only keep all three of these guys on the roster for a short time and weed out the weak link (likely Miles or Scales). I expect to see Fox back on the roster when we go to Detroit and Chicago White Sox, he would be an ideal DH.
Cubs take care of business in Houston, defeat Astros 7-1
The Cubs were supposed to win last night's game and they did win last night's game. Ted Lilly was sharp once again: 6.2IP, 3H, 0R, 4K; 1-4 3B, R. Lilly improved to 7-4 overall and 3-0 against the Astros this season. I have said it before, but Lilly has been pitching like the ace of this staff, this is great to see, considering how inconsistent some of our other starters have been this season. Lilly even got a triple! He swings like a girl, so this was quite shocking. The Cubs gave Lilly a big lead to work with and he shut down the Astros for an easy victory. The bullpen did their job as well, Aaron Heilman pitched 1.1IP and allowed no runs and no walks. Sean Marshall pitched the 9th, likely just to keep his arm fresh, he threw strikes, and allowed a meaningless solo-HR.
I thought the Cubs should hit Brian Moehler hard, and that is exactly what they did, scoring 5 runs on him in the first three innings. The Cubs got three runs in the first inning. Alfonso Soriano led the game off with a double (his only hit of the game) and came around to score on a Fukudome ground-rule double. Derrek Lee then hit an RBI single scoring Fukudome. Finally, Geovany Soto, who has been slumping all season, drove in Lee with a single. In the second inning, Lilly got things started with a triple, he then came around to score, when Fukudome reached second base on a throwing error. In the third inning, Mike Fontenot hit a solo-HR. Moehler only lasted these three innings. The Cubs offense looked as good as it has all season in the first three innings of this game, everyone knew it was over. The Cubs eventually tacked on two more insurance runs in the 6th inning when Andres Blanco hit a ground-rule double scoring Lee and Fontenot.
Furthermore, multiple Cubs had strong nights at the plate. Fontenot was 4-5, HR, 2R, he is now second on the team in RBI with 26. Derrek Lee had a very good night and is continuing his "hot streak", he was 2-3, RBI, 2R, 3BB, his Avg is up to .269. Although Lee is not hitting for much power right now, he is hitting, which is more than one can say about the rest of the Cubs' hitters. As much as I hate to say it, he needs to stay in the line-up while he is hitting like this, not to mention the fact he has been playing stellar defense of late. Fukudome had a good night as well going 2-4 2B, 2RBI, 2BB. He was very patient at the plate all night, when he is patient good things happen. Yesterday I wrote that Soto should start because he should be able to hit Houston's pitching and they play in a hitters park. Soto did not hit any homers, but he did go 3-5 (all singles) with an RBI. Yes he hit all singles, but at least he made contact, heck he even drove in a run, a rare feat for Soto this season. Even Andres Blanco got into the action going 2-4 2B, 2RBI, and is now hitting .250 this season. This may just be the end of Aaron Miles. Blanco is only hitting .250, but that is a heck of a lot better than Miles. Additionally, Blanco has proven to be a very good infielder. It is time for Jim Hendry to release Miles or at least see if some sucker will trade for him.
Finally, there were a a few negatives from last nights game.
1) Milton Bradley: 0-6 3K, GIDP. He broke a bat after one strikeout and struck out looking with the bases loaded in the 9th on a fastball right down the middle of the plate. I know it was his first start in a week and he was probably rusty, but he is always rusty! Nevertheless he looked terrible at the plate last night. At least he did not carry his offensive struggles into the field, he made a fine diving catch down the right-field line late in the game. His Avg fell to a Soto-like .208, which is completely unacceptable on June 10th.
2) The Cubs left 16 men on base. Yes, I realize they scored 7 runs, which is great, and we won the game. But still, 16 is a lot of men to leave on base, they could have scored 10 or 12 runs in this game easily. As a team, the Cubs have been struggling all season with RISP. Hopefully things are starting to change.
Up next: Tonight the Cubs play the Astros at 7:05pm on WGN. Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.72 ERA) vs Wandy Rodriguez (5-5, 2.97 ERA). Zambrano has pitched well his last couple of outings, I expect him to pitch well again tonight. Rodriguez got off to a hot start this season, but has cooled off as of late. He does however seem to always pitch well against the Cubs. He is a soft-tossing lefty, so I expect to see a lot of righties in the line-up for the Cubs, and maybe even Jake Fox at third base or in the outfield. I know Fontenot has been hot, but I would give Fox the start at third, at least just to see if he can play a whole game there.
I thought the Cubs should hit Brian Moehler hard, and that is exactly what they did, scoring 5 runs on him in the first three innings. The Cubs got three runs in the first inning. Alfonso Soriano led the game off with a double (his only hit of the game) and came around to score on a Fukudome ground-rule double. Derrek Lee then hit an RBI single scoring Fukudome. Finally, Geovany Soto, who has been slumping all season, drove in Lee with a single. In the second inning, Lilly got things started with a triple, he then came around to score, when Fukudome reached second base on a throwing error. In the third inning, Mike Fontenot hit a solo-HR. Moehler only lasted these three innings. The Cubs offense looked as good as it has all season in the first three innings of this game, everyone knew it was over. The Cubs eventually tacked on two more insurance runs in the 6th inning when Andres Blanco hit a ground-rule double scoring Lee and Fontenot.
Furthermore, multiple Cubs had strong nights at the plate. Fontenot was 4-5, HR, 2R, he is now second on the team in RBI with 26. Derrek Lee had a very good night and is continuing his "hot streak", he was 2-3, RBI, 2R, 3BB, his Avg is up to .269. Although Lee is not hitting for much power right now, he is hitting, which is more than one can say about the rest of the Cubs' hitters. As much as I hate to say it, he needs to stay in the line-up while he is hitting like this, not to mention the fact he has been playing stellar defense of late. Fukudome had a good night as well going 2-4 2B, 2RBI, 2BB. He was very patient at the plate all night, when he is patient good things happen. Yesterday I wrote that Soto should start because he should be able to hit Houston's pitching and they play in a hitters park. Soto did not hit any homers, but he did go 3-5 (all singles) with an RBI. Yes he hit all singles, but at least he made contact, heck he even drove in a run, a rare feat for Soto this season. Even Andres Blanco got into the action going 2-4 2B, 2RBI, and is now hitting .250 this season. This may just be the end of Aaron Miles. Blanco is only hitting .250, but that is a heck of a lot better than Miles. Additionally, Blanco has proven to be a very good infielder. It is time for Jim Hendry to release Miles or at least see if some sucker will trade for him.
Finally, there were a a few negatives from last nights game.
1) Milton Bradley: 0-6 3K, GIDP. He broke a bat after one strikeout and struck out looking with the bases loaded in the 9th on a fastball right down the middle of the plate. I know it was his first start in a week and he was probably rusty, but he is always rusty! Nevertheless he looked terrible at the plate last night. At least he did not carry his offensive struggles into the field, he made a fine diving catch down the right-field line late in the game. His Avg fell to a Soto-like .208, which is completely unacceptable on June 10th.
2) The Cubs left 16 men on base. Yes, I realize they scored 7 runs, which is great, and we won the game. But still, 16 is a lot of men to leave on base, they could have scored 10 or 12 runs in this game easily. As a team, the Cubs have been struggling all season with RISP. Hopefully things are starting to change.
Up next: Tonight the Cubs play the Astros at 7:05pm on WGN. Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.72 ERA) vs Wandy Rodriguez (5-5, 2.97 ERA). Zambrano has pitched well his last couple of outings, I expect him to pitch well again tonight. Rodriguez got off to a hot start this season, but has cooled off as of late. He does however seem to always pitch well against the Cubs. He is a soft-tossing lefty, so I expect to see a lot of righties in the line-up for the Cubs, and maybe even Jake Fox at third base or in the outfield. I know Fontenot has been hot, but I would give Fox the start at third, at least just to see if he can play a whole game there.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Cubs vs Astros Preview, thoughts
Tonight the Cubs start a three game series with the Houston Astros. The Cubs come into the series at 28-26 and 3.5GB. The Astros are currently last in the N.L. Central at 25-30 and 7GB, but they have been playing well as of late, winning 7 of their last 10. The Astros also have two of the best hitters in baseball right now: Miguel Tejada (.354 Avg) and Hunter Pence (.342 Avg). Not to mention the fact that Pence is a Cub-Killer. The Cubs have also been playing better baseball of late, taking 2 0f 3 from Cincinnati over the weekend, and winning 6 of their last 10 overall. The Cubs did not score a lot of runs in the series against the Reds and did not hit at all with runners in scoring position. If the Cubs want to win this series in Houston, they will need to start hitting. I expect them to hit a little bit better in the Astros band-box of a stadium.
Tonight Ted Lilly (6-4, 3.28 ERA) is pitching for the Cubs and Brian Moehler (2-3, 6.37 ERA). Moehler is nothing special and the Cubs should hit him hard, they have faced him twice already this season. Lilly is 2-0 this year against the Astros, he has had problems giving up home runs to them. Recently however, Lilly has been very sharp, I expect him to pitch well tonight. The Cubs should win tonight's game.
Other thoughts: Alfonso Soriano has been terrible on this road trip and is currently hitting .241 with an OBP of .305, not good enough for a highly paid lead-off hitter, and alleged All-Star. Soriano did hit the game winning-HR on Sunday and has hit well in Houston this season, hopefully he can get hot, and get out of this funk that he has been in since mid-May. Also, I would play Geovany Soto in this series, at least for the first two games since we are facing Moehler and lefty, Wandy Rodriguez on Wednesday. With the short porch in left field, maybe Soto can get a hold of one. However if he does not perform in this series, bench him for the upcoming Inter-League games. Rich Harden made a rehab appearance at AAA-Iowa last night and allowed no runs over 4+ innings with 6Ks and 2BBs. He should be set to return to the Cubs by this weekend to pitch against the Twins, most likely on Saturday.
Lou Piniella says he is sticking with Carlos Marmol as his main set-up man, despite being uncharacteristically wild all season, and blowing leads as of late. People have been asking Lou if he would consider switching Marmol and Angel Guzman's roles recently. This is mostly due to the fact that Guzman has been our best reliever for awhile (2-0, 2.28 ERA in 27.2 IP). The biggest difference between Marmol and Guzman has been the walks issued: Marmol has allowed 27BB vs 29Ks in 27IP, which is not very good, the only reason his ERA is not higher (its 3.67) is that he does not give up any hits (14). Guzman on the other hand, has only issued 8BB in his 27.2IP and has 25Ks. He has gotten on Lou's good side by not walking batters. For now, I feel Lou should stick with Marmol, who should be given the benefit of the doubt that he can fix his problems. Marmol went through a similar rough stretch last June and then was an All-Star, and the was un-hittable down the stretch for the Cubs. Marmol should be kept on a short leash in games though, once he walks one batter, someone else should begin throwing in the bullpen.
Furthermore, tonight is the MLB Draft which will be telecast on MLB Network, beginning at 5:05 pm CT. The Cubs hold the 31st overall pick in the draft. They also have the 79th, 109th, and the 140th in the first 4 rounds. The Cubs have not had a lot of success in the early rounds of the draft this past decade. Only Mark Prior (2001) was a first-round pick that panned out for the Cubs, albeit briefly, before injuries ruined his career. The jury is still out on 2007 #1 pick 3B Josh Vitters, who is 19 years old, and playing at Class-A Peoria. This season Vitters is hitting .343 with 13HR and 35 RBI, with an OPS of .986. He is projected to take over at third-base for Aramis Ramirez after Ramirez's contract is up after 2012. I still think Vitters can be on the team by Opening Day 2011. With Derrek Lee departing after his contract ends after 2010 we will need a first-baseman, the Cubs should think about moving Ramirez over to first to finish his career, therefore opening up third-base for Vitters. Ramirez could be a good first-baseman, he is big, and has a good arm. In addition, playing first should limit Ramirez's exposure to injuries and prolong his career.
Hopefully tonight the Cubs can find a few nice players in the draft. I would like to see them address: Outfield, Catcher, Starting Pitching, Shortstop, and First Base.
Tonight Ted Lilly (6-4, 3.28 ERA) is pitching for the Cubs and Brian Moehler (2-3, 6.37 ERA). Moehler is nothing special and the Cubs should hit him hard, they have faced him twice already this season. Lilly is 2-0 this year against the Astros, he has had problems giving up home runs to them. Recently however, Lilly has been very sharp, I expect him to pitch well tonight. The Cubs should win tonight's game.
Other thoughts: Alfonso Soriano has been terrible on this road trip and is currently hitting .241 with an OBP of .305, not good enough for a highly paid lead-off hitter, and alleged All-Star. Soriano did hit the game winning-HR on Sunday and has hit well in Houston this season, hopefully he can get hot, and get out of this funk that he has been in since mid-May. Also, I would play Geovany Soto in this series, at least for the first two games since we are facing Moehler and lefty, Wandy Rodriguez on Wednesday. With the short porch in left field, maybe Soto can get a hold of one. However if he does not perform in this series, bench him for the upcoming Inter-League games. Rich Harden made a rehab appearance at AAA-Iowa last night and allowed no runs over 4+ innings with 6Ks and 2BBs. He should be set to return to the Cubs by this weekend to pitch against the Twins, most likely on Saturday.
Lou Piniella says he is sticking with Carlos Marmol as his main set-up man, despite being uncharacteristically wild all season, and blowing leads as of late. People have been asking Lou if he would consider switching Marmol and Angel Guzman's roles recently. This is mostly due to the fact that Guzman has been our best reliever for awhile (2-0, 2.28 ERA in 27.2 IP). The biggest difference between Marmol and Guzman has been the walks issued: Marmol has allowed 27BB vs 29Ks in 27IP, which is not very good, the only reason his ERA is not higher (its 3.67) is that he does not give up any hits (14). Guzman on the other hand, has only issued 8BB in his 27.2IP and has 25Ks. He has gotten on Lou's good side by not walking batters. For now, I feel Lou should stick with Marmol, who should be given the benefit of the doubt that he can fix his problems. Marmol went through a similar rough stretch last June and then was an All-Star, and the was un-hittable down the stretch for the Cubs. Marmol should be kept on a short leash in games though, once he walks one batter, someone else should begin throwing in the bullpen.
Furthermore, tonight is the MLB Draft which will be telecast on MLB Network, beginning at 5:05 pm CT. The Cubs hold the 31st overall pick in the draft. They also have the 79th, 109th, and the 140th in the first 4 rounds. The Cubs have not had a lot of success in the early rounds of the draft this past decade. Only Mark Prior (2001) was a first-round pick that panned out for the Cubs, albeit briefly, before injuries ruined his career. The jury is still out on 2007 #1 pick 3B Josh Vitters, who is 19 years old, and playing at Class-A Peoria. This season Vitters is hitting .343 with 13HR and 35 RBI, with an OPS of .986. He is projected to take over at third-base for Aramis Ramirez after Ramirez's contract is up after 2012. I still think Vitters can be on the team by Opening Day 2011. With Derrek Lee departing after his contract ends after 2010 we will need a first-baseman, the Cubs should think about moving Ramirez over to first to finish his career, therefore opening up third-base for Vitters. Ramirez could be a good first-baseman, he is big, and has a good arm. In addition, playing first should limit Ramirez's exposure to injuries and prolong his career.
Hopefully tonight the Cubs can find a few nice players in the draft. I would like to see them address: Outfield, Catcher, Starting Pitching, Shortstop, and First Base.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Cubs end road losing streak, beat Braves 3-2 in 11 innings
The Cubs finally ended their 7 game road losing streak last night, defeating the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in 11 innings. This was their second extra innings game in as many nights, this time the Cubs came away with the victory. I did not think the Cubs would do much against Atlanta's Derek Lowe and I was right, they only got two runs off of him in the 4th inning and they could have gotten more. Ted Lilly pitched very well once again: 7IP, ER, 2R, 6H, 7K, BB. Lilly's problem all year has been allowing home-runs. Fortunately for him, the Braves have very little power in their line-up, and Turner Field is a pitcher's park. Actually, Turner Field is taylor-made for Lilly's pitching style. Lilly got a no-decision, but he held the Braves line-up in check, and gave his team a very good chance to win, he has been pitching like our ace most of the season. Lou may have left him in there a little too long last night, he gave up one run in the 6th, and was clearly tired. Inexplicably, Lou Piniella left him out there for the 7th inning too, and he allowed another run, although un-earned. However, it was Lilly who made the error, his fourth this season. Lilly left the game with the score tied 2-2. Lou had no problem leaving Lilly out there for one inning too many, he always seems to do this, whether its Ryan Dempster or Carlos Zambrano. Too bad Lou did not leave Randy Wells out to at least finish the 8th inning on Tuesday night.
Offensively, the Cubs did just enough to win last night. It was going to be tough for them to score anything on Lowe, but they managed to push two runs across in the 4th inning. With the bases loaded, Mike Fontenot hit a double to deep left-center, scoring Ryan Theriot and Fukudome. Unfortunately the Cubs could not get any more runs in the 4th or off of Lowe. Derrek Lee had one of his better games of the season going 2-3 2BB, R. D-Lee was on base 4 times last night and had two singles, he also scored what turned out to be the game winning run on a Micah Hoffpauir pinch-hit opposite field single in the 11th inning (off of a left-handed pitcher too!). Lee got into scoring position on a real heads-up play, tagging up from first base on a Foul-Out to deep left-field. It was great to see Lee hustling and leading by example. Reed Johnson singled to left, advancing Lee (who had to hold up) to third base. Then Hoffpauir came up with a clutch pinch-hit. This was also very good to see, Hoffpuir has not seen a lot of action lately, especially against left-handers. What was even better was that Hoffpuir did not try to do too much with his at-bat, he hung in there against the lefty, and just flipped a blooper the other way into left, scoring Lee easily. I know how valuable Fukudome is in right field, but I would really like to Hoffpauir getting more regular at-bats.
Additionally the bullpen pitched well last night. Carlos Marmol recovered from his disasterous outing on Tuesday and pitched an efficient/perfect 8th inning. Angel Guzman pitched the next two innings allowing only one hit and walking nobody, his ERA is down to 2.49, he also picked up his second win of the season, improving his record to 2-0. Guzman is becoming one the better set-up men in the league, hopefully he can keep up the good work. This is good to see, Guzman has been a top-prospect in the Cubs' system for the better part of this decade, and has always had great stuff. Injuries unfortunately have set him back greatly, it is nice to see him finally having some success. Finally, Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 9th save of the season.
Other thoughts: I like that Koyie Hill got the start for Geovany Soto, I would like to see more of this. What has happened to Ryan Theriot's speed? He was gunned down easily attempting to steal second base on a strike 'em out-throw 'em out to end one inning. He also grounded into TWO double plays! As I recall, Theriot has grounded into quite a few double plays this season, when did he turn into Derrek Lee of 2008? Also, Alfonso Soriano looks awful running the bases and playing the field. Clearly his knee is bothering him and affecting his play more than he is telling people. He led the game off with a single to left, but that should have been an easy double, especially for Soriano. Instead he limped awkwardly around first base and was held to a single and then erased on a double play. Lou likely would have bunted Soriano over to second, but with him running so slowly, he'd likely be thrown out at second. Maybe it is time for Soriano to take a few days off or go to the DL. It is not like he is hitting, .243 AVG, and .301 OBP, which are terrible numbers for a lead-off hitter. I know Soriano is trying to step up with Ramirez out, but lately he is hurting the team more than he is helping the team. Milton Bradley who is out with a calf injury is listed as day-to-day and could return as early as this weekend in Cincinnati. If Bradley does not improve by the weekend, he could be placed on the DL.
Up Next: The Cubs finish their series with Atlanta tonight at 6:10pm. Carlos Zambrano is making his return from his suspension tonight, I am not really sure what to expect from him. He pitched very well before being ejected last week vs Pittsburgh, I would think that given the Braves weak line-up and Turner Field, that he will pitch well tonight. Pitching for Atlanta is Jair Jurrjens (5-2, 2.59 ERA) who I do not know much about, but I hear he is good, and is having his best season. The Cubs will again have to work hard to score runs tonight and capitalize with men in scoring position.
Note: This will be my last post of the week. I will be leaving Chicago for the weekend to attend a wedding. My next post at the earliest will be on Sunday.
Offensively, the Cubs did just enough to win last night. It was going to be tough for them to score anything on Lowe, but they managed to push two runs across in the 4th inning. With the bases loaded, Mike Fontenot hit a double to deep left-center, scoring Ryan Theriot and Fukudome. Unfortunately the Cubs could not get any more runs in the 4th or off of Lowe. Derrek Lee had one of his better games of the season going 2-3 2BB, R. D-Lee was on base 4 times last night and had two singles, he also scored what turned out to be the game winning run on a Micah Hoffpauir pinch-hit opposite field single in the 11th inning (off of a left-handed pitcher too!). Lee got into scoring position on a real heads-up play, tagging up from first base on a Foul-Out to deep left-field. It was great to see Lee hustling and leading by example. Reed Johnson singled to left, advancing Lee (who had to hold up) to third base. Then Hoffpauir came up with a clutch pinch-hit. This was also very good to see, Hoffpuir has not seen a lot of action lately, especially against left-handers. What was even better was that Hoffpuir did not try to do too much with his at-bat, he hung in there against the lefty, and just flipped a blooper the other way into left, scoring Lee easily. I know how valuable Fukudome is in right field, but I would really like to Hoffpauir getting more regular at-bats.
Additionally the bullpen pitched well last night. Carlos Marmol recovered from his disasterous outing on Tuesday and pitched an efficient/perfect 8th inning. Angel Guzman pitched the next two innings allowing only one hit and walking nobody, his ERA is down to 2.49, he also picked up his second win of the season, improving his record to 2-0. Guzman is becoming one the better set-up men in the league, hopefully he can keep up the good work. This is good to see, Guzman has been a top-prospect in the Cubs' system for the better part of this decade, and has always had great stuff. Injuries unfortunately have set him back greatly, it is nice to see him finally having some success. Finally, Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 9th save of the season.
Other thoughts: I like that Koyie Hill got the start for Geovany Soto, I would like to see more of this. What has happened to Ryan Theriot's speed? He was gunned down easily attempting to steal second base on a strike 'em out-throw 'em out to end one inning. He also grounded into TWO double plays! As I recall, Theriot has grounded into quite a few double plays this season, when did he turn into Derrek Lee of 2008? Also, Alfonso Soriano looks awful running the bases and playing the field. Clearly his knee is bothering him and affecting his play more than he is telling people. He led the game off with a single to left, but that should have been an easy double, especially for Soriano. Instead he limped awkwardly around first base and was held to a single and then erased on a double play. Lou likely would have bunted Soriano over to second, but with him running so slowly, he'd likely be thrown out at second. Maybe it is time for Soriano to take a few days off or go to the DL. It is not like he is hitting, .243 AVG, and .301 OBP, which are terrible numbers for a lead-off hitter. I know Soriano is trying to step up with Ramirez out, but lately he is hurting the team more than he is helping the team. Milton Bradley who is out with a calf injury is listed as day-to-day and could return as early as this weekend in Cincinnati. If Bradley does not improve by the weekend, he could be placed on the DL.
Up Next: The Cubs finish their series with Atlanta tonight at 6:10pm. Carlos Zambrano is making his return from his suspension tonight, I am not really sure what to expect from him. He pitched very well before being ejected last week vs Pittsburgh, I would think that given the Braves weak line-up and Turner Field, that he will pitch well tonight. Pitching for Atlanta is Jair Jurrjens (5-2, 2.59 ERA) who I do not know much about, but I hear he is good, and is having his best season. The Cubs will again have to work hard to score runs tonight and capitalize with men in scoring position.
Note: This will be my last post of the week. I will be leaving Chicago for the weekend to attend a wedding. My next post at the earliest will be on Sunday.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Cubs bullpen, manager, blow 5 run lead, lose to Braves 6-5 in 12 innings
Some Cubs games upset me more than others, tonight's game against the Braves was one of those games. Things started off great for the Cubs as Alfonso Soriano led off the game with a solo-HR, it would be his only hit of the night, he is now hitting .244. The Cubs would then score in the second inning when pitcher Randy Wells helped himself with a 2-out RBI single. In the 6th inning, the Cubs added two more runs on a Derrek Lee RBI 2B and later a Mike Fontenot Sac-Fly. Lee would later add a solo-HR in the 8th to straight away center. It was very nice to see Lee driving the ball with power, VERY NICE! Usually 5 runs is enough for the Cubs to win, but not tonight.
Randy Wells had the best start of his career tonight: 7+IP, 2H, 2R, ER, OBB, 4K. The only run he allowed was a solo-HR to Garrett Anderson to lead of the 8th inning. Wells had a no-hitter going through 6.2IP, but lost it when Chipper Jones singled to left. He would have had a perfect-game going if the umps had not blown a HBP call when Yuniel Escobar pretended to be hit by a pitch, when in fact the ball clearly hit his bat, I called this as it happened live, while eating dinner with my parents. Anyhow, back to the 8th inning, after the Anderson HR, Wells gave up a routine grounder hit toward Ryan Theriot who then made a bad throw, which Lee then dropped. The error was charged to Lee, but could have gone either way. Next, Lou Piniella decided that it was time to take out Wells who had only thrown 83 pitches to this point and was cruising, bad move. It is not Wells' fault that his fielders suck! I just did not understand how Lou could take Wells out at this point. I highly doubt he would take out Ryan Dempster or Carlos Zambrano in the same situation, 83 pitches! C'mon Lou see what the kid is made of and let him try and finish the game, he is a fighter! Enter: Carlos Marmol who promptly loaded the bases with two walks and a HBP. Marmol walked in a run and allowed another on a Sac-Fly. Marmol's lack of control is unbelievable and I am getting sick of it. True he does not give up hits, but he walks a ton of guys, and now has beaned 5 batters. Marmol managed to get out of the jam and the Cubs were up 5-3 going into the 9th.
"Closer" Kevin Gregg came into pitch the 9th and blew his second save of the season, but it was not entirely his fault. Garret Anderson struck out, but fat-ass Geovany Soto could not block a slider in the dirt, and then could not get to the ball quick enough to throw out Anderson at first-base. This is absolutely pathetic! Soto should have blocked the ball first of all, then he was too slow to get to the ball, then he is so dumb he ran into the backstop, and did not even make a throw to first-base! It is not like Anderson is a speedster either, he is pushing 40 years old, how could Soto have not even made a play here? Then wouldn't you know it, Gregg gave up a game-tying HR to Jeff Francouer, his cough, 2nd HR of the season. Francouer has been so bad this season that he makes Milton Bradley look good.
The Cubs hitters could not get anything going against a mediocre Atlanta bullpen in the extra innings. In the bottom of the 12th, Escobar led off with a routine grounder to third-base but it went for a hit. A regular sized third-baseman makes that play, but Fontenot can not, it is not his fault he is playing there. Bottom line: this would cost us the game as Chipper Jones hit a single to left and Escobar scored easily from second. Aaron Heilman took the loss, which is not shocking, because he is terrible. What did bother me on the last play of the game was Soriano's incredible lack of hustle. He barely ran towards the ball and did not even attempt a throw to the plate, this is unacceptable. This was right after he almost threw the ball into right field trying to hold Escobar to a single, because he misplayed that ball as well. Lou needs to send a message to Soriano that this kind of loafing is not acceptable.
Milton Bradley left the game with a leg injury running out a ground-out. If you ask me, Geovany Soto needs to be sent down to Iowa, he sucks. Soto has not hit all season and now his fielding is costing us games, how many chances will he get? Especially since Koyie Hill has been so much better than him in all facets of the game. I fear that Lou has lost control of this team, they do not hustle, and seem absolutely lifeless on the field, and it has been this way all season. I really feel bad for Randy Wells, he pitched as good of a game as any Cub starter this year. Yet his manager and his teammates let him down, again. If Wells keeps pitching this well, he will eventually get his first ML win, and many more. My roommate compared Wells' tough luck to Rich Harden's in his Cubs starts last season.
Next up: Ted Lilly (6-4) vs. Derek Lowe (6-3). Lilly was very sharp his last time out, he will need to be that good again tomorrow night. Lowe is a very good pitcher who owns the Cubs, I expect him to dominate our sorry line-up, and likely pick up his 7th victory. I hope Lou has the sense to start some left-handed hitters tomorrow, i.e. Micah Hoffpauir, Fukudome, Bobby Scales, and Koyie Hill. But doing that would make too much sense for Lou.
Randy Wells had the best start of his career tonight: 7+IP, 2H, 2R, ER, OBB, 4K. The only run he allowed was a solo-HR to Garrett Anderson to lead of the 8th inning. Wells had a no-hitter going through 6.2IP, but lost it when Chipper Jones singled to left. He would have had a perfect-game going if the umps had not blown a HBP call when Yuniel Escobar pretended to be hit by a pitch, when in fact the ball clearly hit his bat, I called this as it happened live, while eating dinner with my parents. Anyhow, back to the 8th inning, after the Anderson HR, Wells gave up a routine grounder hit toward Ryan Theriot who then made a bad throw, which Lee then dropped. The error was charged to Lee, but could have gone either way. Next, Lou Piniella decided that it was time to take out Wells who had only thrown 83 pitches to this point and was cruising, bad move. It is not Wells' fault that his fielders suck! I just did not understand how Lou could take Wells out at this point. I highly doubt he would take out Ryan Dempster or Carlos Zambrano in the same situation, 83 pitches! C'mon Lou see what the kid is made of and let him try and finish the game, he is a fighter! Enter: Carlos Marmol who promptly loaded the bases with two walks and a HBP. Marmol walked in a run and allowed another on a Sac-Fly. Marmol's lack of control is unbelievable and I am getting sick of it. True he does not give up hits, but he walks a ton of guys, and now has beaned 5 batters. Marmol managed to get out of the jam and the Cubs were up 5-3 going into the 9th.
"Closer" Kevin Gregg came into pitch the 9th and blew his second save of the season, but it was not entirely his fault. Garret Anderson struck out, but fat-ass Geovany Soto could not block a slider in the dirt, and then could not get to the ball quick enough to throw out Anderson at first-base. This is absolutely pathetic! Soto should have blocked the ball first of all, then he was too slow to get to the ball, then he is so dumb he ran into the backstop, and did not even make a throw to first-base! It is not like Anderson is a speedster either, he is pushing 40 years old, how could Soto have not even made a play here? Then wouldn't you know it, Gregg gave up a game-tying HR to Jeff Francouer, his cough, 2nd HR of the season. Francouer has been so bad this season that he makes Milton Bradley look good.
The Cubs hitters could not get anything going against a mediocre Atlanta bullpen in the extra innings. In the bottom of the 12th, Escobar led off with a routine grounder to third-base but it went for a hit. A regular sized third-baseman makes that play, but Fontenot can not, it is not his fault he is playing there. Bottom line: this would cost us the game as Chipper Jones hit a single to left and Escobar scored easily from second. Aaron Heilman took the loss, which is not shocking, because he is terrible. What did bother me on the last play of the game was Soriano's incredible lack of hustle. He barely ran towards the ball and did not even attempt a throw to the plate, this is unacceptable. This was right after he almost threw the ball into right field trying to hold Escobar to a single, because he misplayed that ball as well. Lou needs to send a message to Soriano that this kind of loafing is not acceptable.
Milton Bradley left the game with a leg injury running out a ground-out. If you ask me, Geovany Soto needs to be sent down to Iowa, he sucks. Soto has not hit all season and now his fielding is costing us games, how many chances will he get? Especially since Koyie Hill has been so much better than him in all facets of the game. I fear that Lou has lost control of this team, they do not hustle, and seem absolutely lifeless on the field, and it has been this way all season. I really feel bad for Randy Wells, he pitched as good of a game as any Cub starter this year. Yet his manager and his teammates let him down, again. If Wells keeps pitching this well, he will eventually get his first ML win, and many more. My roommate compared Wells' tough luck to Rich Harden's in his Cubs starts last season.
Next up: Ted Lilly (6-4) vs. Derek Lowe (6-3). Lilly was very sharp his last time out, he will need to be that good again tomorrow night. Lowe is a very good pitcher who owns the Cubs, I expect him to dominate our sorry line-up, and likely pick up his 7th victory. I hope Lou has the sense to start some left-handed hitters tomorrow, i.e. Micah Hoffpauir, Fukudome, Bobby Scales, and Koyie Hill. But doing that would make too much sense for Lou.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Cubs get rocked by Dodgers 8-2, split series
Sunday night's game was over after the top of the first, when the Dodgers came out swinging, putting up 5 runs off of Sean Marshall. Marshall had by far his worst outing of the season: 4.1IP, 8R, 7ER, 8H, BB, 2K. He allowed 5 runs in the first inning alone and considering the lack of scoring by the Cubs offense, 5 was enough to lose the game. Marshall likely just pitched his way out of the rotation and into the bullpen. With Rich Harden set to come off the DL this week and Randy Wells pitching so well, it would appear that Marshall is the odd man out, and will move to the bullpen.
Offensively, the Cubs were awful once again. The lone bright spot was Reed Johnson who was 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs. Johnson has been red hot lately and is unfortunately our best hitter right now.
The Cubs managed to split their 4 game series with the NL leading L.A. Dodgers and went 4-3 overall on this homestand. Now comes the real challenge as the Cubs head out of town for a 9 game road trip, stopping in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Houston. The last time the Cubs were on the road, they lost all six games. It is June 1st and this Cubs team does not look very good, they are 25-24 overall and 4.5 GB Milwaukee for first place. The Cubs have a tough June ahead of them and need to start playing better soon.
The Cubs' run production is awful, the team leader is Alfonso Soriano with 25 RBIs, I can not even remember the last time Soriano drove in a run? He also leads the team with 12HR, but has not hit one in awhile, Soriano needs to step up, sore knee or not, he is paid to be a better player than his numbers show. Just how bad is the Cubs' run production? Ryan Theriot is second on the team with 22 RBIs, no offense to Theriot, but he should not be second on the team in RBIs, not to mention HR (5). Aramis Ramirez is still going to be out for another month, at least. This means that Derrek Lee, Milton Bradley, and Geovany Soto need to step up their games. Lee needs to hit for power: i.e. doubles and home-runs, his .248 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI over two months is not enough. I realize he has had injuries, but it is time to get things rolling. Lou Piniella refuses to sit Lee, so we're stuck with him, he needs to start producing. Milton Bradley has also been a disappointment this season: .224 avg 5 HR, 14 RBI, and only 9 extra-base hits. He has shown signs recently of coming out of his slump, but the bottom line is it is time for him to put up or shut up. Geovany Soto has been the biggest disappointment of all and it is looking like his ROY season was a fluke. Soto is hitting .216 HR, 12 RBI, and has only 5 extra-base hits this season. Not to mention he does not throw out base-stealers as well as he has in the past. If Soto does not improve soon, I would bench him. Koyie Hill is not the best option at catcher, but he is out-performing Soto: .289AVG, 2HR, 7RBI in only 45 AB vs Soto's 125 AB. Additionally, Hill is a better defensive catcher than Soto. Soto has looked lost and over-weight all season. He can no longer hit a breaking ball and has no power all of the sudden. It is time for Soto to step up or move aside, the Cubs can no longer to afford to have him in the line-up every day, given his lack of production.
The Cubs have the day off today before a three game series with the Atlanta Braves. Randy Wells (0-2, 1.80 ERA) vs Kenshin Kawakami (3-6, 4.73 ERA) on Tuesday night. Wells has been solid in every start, it will be interesting to see if he can keep it going. I have never heard of Kawakami, but judging by his numbers, he is not all that great. Hopefully the Cubs can get a few runs off of him early and give Wells a lead to pitch with, something they have not really been able to do yet this season.
Offensively, the Cubs were awful once again. The lone bright spot was Reed Johnson who was 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs. Johnson has been red hot lately and is unfortunately our best hitter right now.
The Cubs managed to split their 4 game series with the NL leading L.A. Dodgers and went 4-3 overall on this homestand. Now comes the real challenge as the Cubs head out of town for a 9 game road trip, stopping in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Houston. The last time the Cubs were on the road, they lost all six games. It is June 1st and this Cubs team does not look very good, they are 25-24 overall and 4.5 GB Milwaukee for first place. The Cubs have a tough June ahead of them and need to start playing better soon.
The Cubs' run production is awful, the team leader is Alfonso Soriano with 25 RBIs, I can not even remember the last time Soriano drove in a run? He also leads the team with 12HR, but has not hit one in awhile, Soriano needs to step up, sore knee or not, he is paid to be a better player than his numbers show. Just how bad is the Cubs' run production? Ryan Theriot is second on the team with 22 RBIs, no offense to Theriot, but he should not be second on the team in RBIs, not to mention HR (5). Aramis Ramirez is still going to be out for another month, at least. This means that Derrek Lee, Milton Bradley, and Geovany Soto need to step up their games. Lee needs to hit for power: i.e. doubles and home-runs, his .248 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI over two months is not enough. I realize he has had injuries, but it is time to get things rolling. Lou Piniella refuses to sit Lee, so we're stuck with him, he needs to start producing. Milton Bradley has also been a disappointment this season: .224 avg 5 HR, 14 RBI, and only 9 extra-base hits. He has shown signs recently of coming out of his slump, but the bottom line is it is time for him to put up or shut up. Geovany Soto has been the biggest disappointment of all and it is looking like his ROY season was a fluke. Soto is hitting .216 HR, 12 RBI, and has only 5 extra-base hits this season. Not to mention he does not throw out base-stealers as well as he has in the past. If Soto does not improve soon, I would bench him. Koyie Hill is not the best option at catcher, but he is out-performing Soto: .289AVG, 2HR, 7RBI in only 45 AB vs Soto's 125 AB. Additionally, Hill is a better defensive catcher than Soto. Soto has looked lost and over-weight all season. He can no longer hit a breaking ball and has no power all of the sudden. It is time for Soto to step up or move aside, the Cubs can no longer to afford to have him in the line-up every day, given his lack of production.
The Cubs have the day off today before a three game series with the Atlanta Braves. Randy Wells (0-2, 1.80 ERA) vs Kenshin Kawakami (3-6, 4.73 ERA) on Tuesday night. Wells has been solid in every start, it will be interesting to see if he can keep it going. I have never heard of Kawakami, but judging by his numbers, he is not all that great. Hopefully the Cubs can get a few runs off of him early and give Wells a lead to pitch with, something they have not really been able to do yet this season.
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