I last wrote on August 18th and said I felt the season was over, now after the ensuing road trip and last night's game, I KNOW the Cubs' season is over. There was a weird vibe to the Wrigleyville neighborhood before the game as scalpers (lots of them) were selling tickets for "half price".
For some reason my friends and I decided to go to the game. Originally we tried to barter with another friend for his tickets but he would not meet our low price, confident we could get cheap tickets we headed off for the game. We took the X80 Irving Park bus down to the game and as soon as we stepped off, a cougar in a convertible asked us if we needed tickets. We approached her car and she said she'd take $20 apiece for all 4, we said we needed only 3, so she sold us all 4 for $59, my friend, Steve, only gave her $19. The seats were solid, Aisle 135, Row 13, Seats 1-4, $60 face value. Next, since we were on a budget, we headed to the liquor store to pick up some flasks/pints to sneak into the game, I purchased a small bottle of Captain Morgan. For the record sneaking booze into Wrigley is awesome and easy, it also saves you tons of money you would have spent on beers, and saves you many trips to the bathroom. Everyone should do this, from now on, I will try and do this for every game.
Too bad the game itself sucked last night, I personally would blame Lou Piniella, because he managed the game like an ass, here is why I think this:
1.) When we were down only a few runs in the early stages of the game (I believe it was 3-1) Aramis Ramirez led off with a single. Then inexplicably, Lou called for a hit-and-run with Fukudome at the plate who wiffed on strike-3 leaving Ramirez hung out to dry and then gunned-down at second base. Way to run your team out of an inning Lou, using your slowest base-runner, and a poor contact guy. This was a wasted opportunity and seemed to kill any momentum the Cubs had going.
2.) The Pitching. Need I say more? Carlos Zambrano was terrible: 4.1IP, 8ER, 7H, 3BB, 4K. Way to step up Z with your season hanging by a thread you come out and pitch your worst game of the season, you should be real proud of yourself. Then when Lou finally pulled Z down 5-1 with the bases loaded and one out, who did he bring in? None other than Aaron Heilman. What a bad decision! Heilman did strike out the first batter he faced, but then right on cue gave up a Grand Slam to Elijah Dukes that still has not landed. The Cubs season ended right there, how fitting for this season, Lou bringing in the wrong pitcher at the wrong time, a theme for the whole year. Heilman had no business being in the game at that point, he is not a long reliever! Furthermore, he has no business being on the roster. Jim Hendry should release him right now, he is not signed beyond this season anyway. I still can't believe Heilman thought he could be a starter when this season began, what a jackass.
3.) Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles, and Geovany Soto. None of these jerks belongs on the field. I will start with Fontenot who was 0-2 BB and made a throwing error in which he looked like an ass. He is hitting .222 on the season and has shown no signs of improvement, I said as soon as he came up in the second that he should not be out there, rather Jeff Baker should. I was proved right in the 9th when Baker blasted a solo HR. Baker is hitting .284 and is one of the hotter hitters on the team, there is no reason whatsoever Fontenot deserved to start last night, he is a loser, and should be playing elsewhere in 2010. Miles, in his only at-bat, struck out and got booed off the field. He is now hitting .177 and has 5 RBI this season! Seriously, he has no business being in MLB. Why Andres Blanco is at Iowa, while Fonty and Miles are here, I will never know. Lastly, Soto is a fat waste of space and a huge disappointment. His ROY season in 2008 is looking like a fluke and he looks like the next Rick Wilkins. If Soto wants to play next season he should be forced to go through extensive conditioning drills in the offseason. Another problem with Soto is that he can not hit a breaking ball, he is a real-life Pedro Cerrano, from Major League.
There were VERY few bright-spots last night but here they are: Milton Bradley had a nice game going 4-4 HR, RBI, 2R, BB and also made a great catch against the right-field wall late. Bradley hustled and played hard all night, and really has all season. He is the one guy who still seems to be trying out there. Our infielders: Derrek Lee, Ryan Theriot, Ramirez, and Fontenot seemed to be out of it last night, standing listlessly around the diamond. This was probably due to the fact that all the balls the Nats hit last night were hit hard to the outfield, mostly to Jake Fox, who looked as bad as Alfonso Soriano out there (but gets a pass because he is tyring and is not a dick). Bottom Line: Bradley played well last night, hopefully he can play well the rest of the way and carry that into 2010. Also, I gave him a standing-ovation when he hit his HR and made his catch, I have stuck by him all season and am proud of it!
The final score last night was 16-5, by far the worst loss I have ever been to, but I had a good time nonetheless. Eddie Vedder sang the 7th inning stretch admirably. Last night may just be the last game I will go to in 2009, mostly because I do not want to give this pathetic excuse for a team any more of my money (I don't have much). Last night, the fans finally seemed to turn on this team, lots of booing, and there was hardly anyone left by the end of the game (I stayed til the very end!).
My personal record in 2009: 8 and 4.
Next game I am going to as of right now: TBA.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Cubs get de-pantsed by Nationals
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Cubs Season is likely over and so is my summer
Last night the Cubs were not trailing for 8.2 innings and still found a way to lose. Kevin Gregg was called upon to pick up the save in the 9th protecting a 1-0 lead. Once again he could not get the job done as he completely derailed: 0.2IP, 2H (a game-tying double and a walk-off HR), 4ER, 2BB. This was his 6th blown save of the season and his 5th loss. With the Cardinals victory last night, the Cubs are now 6GB in the Division. Gregg cost his team the game last night and it is not like this is anything new either. Just two weeks ago, he blew saves against the Marlins on back-to-back days! His biggest problem is allowing HR's. I told my friends at the bar last night "At least he won't give up any homers, this stadium is too hard to hit one out of at night." Man do I sound like a dick, not only did Gregg allow a HR, he allowed a BOMB, and to a guy I have never heard of or seen before in my life: Kyle Blanks. It was bad enough he blew the save, but to allow him to remain in there to try and get out of the inning was just stupid. In my opinion, Gregg should be removed from the closer role effective immediately and replaced by Carlos Marmol (no matter how bad he looks some nights, I will still take him) or Angel Guzman.
Furthermore, it is not responsible of me to only blame Gregg for last night's loss. The Cubs had opportunities to score more than the one run they did, on an Aramis Ramirez RBI-Single. The Cubs were 1-8 with RISP and left 10 men on base (sound familiar). The biggest culprit last night was Mike Fontenot, who could not get the job done with the bases loaded on a full count to end the top half of the 6th inning. Why did this piss me off more than anything else a Cub hitter had done all night? Well, for starters, Fontenot is hitting .225. I would much rather see Alfonso Soriano pinch hit there, in a 0-0 game with the bases loaded, and then use Jeff Baker to play the field. I know Lou Piniella would have to waste two players there, but the game was on the line, and you could tell just by the look on Fonty's face that he was scared. He is nice little player, but I hope the Cubs have no plans to bring him back next season, the guy just can not hit the baseball! In fairness he did make one hell of a play to start a key double play in the bottom half of the 6th, but Andres Blanco can do the same thing.
Additionally, the Cubs wasted some pretty good performances from last night. Ted Lilly in his return from the DL did a hell of a job: 6IP, 0R, 4H, BB, 4K on 70 pitches (he had a pitch count, better safe than sorry with a guy coming off of a shoulder injury). Ramirez and Derrek Lee each had two hits last night, Lee even legged out a triple, and scored the team's only run. John Grabow pitched an impressive 1.1 innings last night and Carlos Marmol was as sharp as ever in his 2/3 of an inning.
Last night it hit me, the season is likely over. There is just something about this team: bad luck, lack of timing, lack of talent, lack of managing? I don't know what it is, but I had a real feeling after that game that this season was over for us, barring a complete and unlikely collapse by the Cardinals, or us jumping 3 teams in the Wild-Card race.
I watched last night's game at a new bar as well. My friends and I went to Tavern on Milwaukee, North, and Damen, in Wicker Park. Not my favorite bar (especially past 12am on weekends) but the place was nearly empty last night other than our group. They did have a good deal: $2 PBR bottles, which they have all the time, but do not advertise because they like to rip people off. The service was below average. The bartender who was probably younger than the entire group I went with grilled us on our ID's and did not seem to want us there. The TVs were nice, but the sound was turned off in favor of "Chick Music" according to Steve Twardowski. Also, we went there with my friend Nick's pilot-buddies, and two out of the three totally suck. One of them is a euro-guy who thinks he can walk on water and only talks about him making money, spending money, and how awesome he thinks he is. Despite how awesome he thinks he is, I have never seen him with a woman, and I know for a fact he got peed on by a stripper just a few weeks ago, Oh, and he is bald. The other douche was from St.Louis and just sat there mocking us for being Cubs fans, etc. Enough said, I tried to ignore him all night, literally, and he got mad at me for not laughing at his joke (it wasn't funny?). The only way I got him to stop talking was to bring up the St. Louis Rams. All in all, not the worst place to watch a game, a step up over Nick's Beer Garden, but unless you live in the area, I would not recommend going there.
Up Next: Cubs vs Padres at 9:05pm on WGN. Ryan Dempster (6-6, 4.23 ERA) vs Cesar Carrillo (0-1, 30.86 ERA). Note to Dumpster: The Padres Suck! And apparently so does Carrillo, if you can not pick up the win tonight, you are officially the worst! Every time Dempster pitches it seems like his ERA goes up and so does his loss total. Hopefully tonight he can change that and dominate a weak line-up, other than Adrian Gonzalez. I know nothing about Carrillo other than he has had a bad outing (looking at the ERA), hopefully the Cubs can tee-off on him as well.
There will be no morning post tomorrow, I have to go to my Grad School Orientation at UIC at 8 am. This signals the beginning of the end of a great summer. Also, as I was writing this, it was brought to my attention that Kevin Gregg has been demoted from the closer role, NICE!
Go Cubs! Rock out Chicago, Diet Pepsi, Uh Huh!
Furthermore, it is not responsible of me to only blame Gregg for last night's loss. The Cubs had opportunities to score more than the one run they did, on an Aramis Ramirez RBI-Single. The Cubs were 1-8 with RISP and left 10 men on base (sound familiar). The biggest culprit last night was Mike Fontenot, who could not get the job done with the bases loaded on a full count to end the top half of the 6th inning. Why did this piss me off more than anything else a Cub hitter had done all night? Well, for starters, Fontenot is hitting .225. I would much rather see Alfonso Soriano pinch hit there, in a 0-0 game with the bases loaded, and then use Jeff Baker to play the field. I know Lou Piniella would have to waste two players there, but the game was on the line, and you could tell just by the look on Fonty's face that he was scared. He is nice little player, but I hope the Cubs have no plans to bring him back next season, the guy just can not hit the baseball! In fairness he did make one hell of a play to start a key double play in the bottom half of the 6th, but Andres Blanco can do the same thing.
Additionally, the Cubs wasted some pretty good performances from last night. Ted Lilly in his return from the DL did a hell of a job: 6IP, 0R, 4H, BB, 4K on 70 pitches (he had a pitch count, better safe than sorry with a guy coming off of a shoulder injury). Ramirez and Derrek Lee each had two hits last night, Lee even legged out a triple, and scored the team's only run. John Grabow pitched an impressive 1.1 innings last night and Carlos Marmol was as sharp as ever in his 2/3 of an inning.
Last night it hit me, the season is likely over. There is just something about this team: bad luck, lack of timing, lack of talent, lack of managing? I don't know what it is, but I had a real feeling after that game that this season was over for us, barring a complete and unlikely collapse by the Cardinals, or us jumping 3 teams in the Wild-Card race.
I watched last night's game at a new bar as well. My friends and I went to Tavern on Milwaukee, North, and Damen, in Wicker Park. Not my favorite bar (especially past 12am on weekends) but the place was nearly empty last night other than our group. They did have a good deal: $2 PBR bottles, which they have all the time, but do not advertise because they like to rip people off. The service was below average. The bartender who was probably younger than the entire group I went with grilled us on our ID's and did not seem to want us there. The TVs were nice, but the sound was turned off in favor of "Chick Music" according to Steve Twardowski. Also, we went there with my friend Nick's pilot-buddies, and two out of the three totally suck. One of them is a euro-guy who thinks he can walk on water and only talks about him making money, spending money, and how awesome he thinks he is. Despite how awesome he thinks he is, I have never seen him with a woman, and I know for a fact he got peed on by a stripper just a few weeks ago, Oh, and he is bald. The other douche was from St.Louis and just sat there mocking us for being Cubs fans, etc. Enough said, I tried to ignore him all night, literally, and he got mad at me for not laughing at his joke (it wasn't funny?). The only way I got him to stop talking was to bring up the St. Louis Rams. All in all, not the worst place to watch a game, a step up over Nick's Beer Garden, but unless you live in the area, I would not recommend going there.
Up Next: Cubs vs Padres at 9:05pm on WGN. Ryan Dempster (6-6, 4.23 ERA) vs Cesar Carrillo (0-1, 30.86 ERA). Note to Dumpster: The Padres Suck! And apparently so does Carrillo, if you can not pick up the win tonight, you are officially the worst! Every time Dempster pitches it seems like his ERA goes up and so does his loss total. Hopefully tonight he can change that and dominate a weak line-up, other than Adrian Gonzalez. I know nothing about Carrillo other than he has had a bad outing (looking at the ERA), hopefully the Cubs can tee-off on him as well.
There will be no morning post tomorrow, I have to go to my Grad School Orientation at UIC at 8 am. This signals the beginning of the end of a great summer. Also, as I was writing this, it was brought to my attention that Kevin Gregg has been demoted from the closer role, NICE!
Go Cubs! Rock out Chicago, Diet Pepsi, Uh Huh!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The kid who threw the beer on Shane Victorino's head
The kid who threw a beer on Shane Victorino's head, while he was trying to make a catch, turned himself into authorities today. He is a 21-year old from where: BARTLETT, Illinois. To my one reader who commented earlier today, Dan, YES, he was from the Western Suburbs and a douche-bag. I go on rants about these western-suburbs losers all the time (see my post about the Captain Morgan Club from a few days ago). Somebody needs to tell these dicks to get the hell out of town, nobody wants you in Chicago. They are fairly easy to spot, usually wearing some sort of plaid shorts, an Ed Hardy-esque T-shirt, or some sort of expensive yet lame Cubs shirt, and they likely are wearing their sunglasses on top of their heads. Oh, and they can handle drinking about 6 beers max before their equally lame girlfriends or bang-bros need to walk them home from the Cubbie Bear, Moe's Cantina, Sluggers, or Casey Moran's after the game (those are my four worst rated bars in the Wrigleyville area). I am sick and tired of all these clowns graduating from College and moving into this great city and making real Chicagoans and Cubs fans look bad.
Also, Shane Victorino is a pussy for pressing charges against this kid in the first place. I mean c'mon man, it was only a beer dumped on you, and you made the catch regardless, get a life!
Furthermore, today's game sucked. Ryan Dempster lost again, which I believe I predicted in my morning post. Not a shocker for me, the guy is a bad pitcher, who had a career year last year, and duped Jim Hendry into giving him a 5-yr deal. I only caught a few minutes of the game on the radio this afternoon and the one half inning I could sit through was the inning Dumpster gave up 4 runs on a "wind-aided" HR to Ryan Howard and a solo shot by Pedro Feliz. I love how the delusional Cubs fans and the media are trying to let Demp off the hook by calling Howard's dinger "wind aided" get real, Howard is the Bill Brasky of baseball and Dempster sucks, the result: a HR! Do not blame the wind, blame the crappy pitcher, who also happened to walk the guys in front of Howard. The Cubs will not win consistently with Dempster in the rotation and I will leave it at that. Maybe he will come back focused and improved next season, but I doubt it. He will more than likely just continue to pitch like the number 4 or 5 starter that he actually is for the remainder of his time with the Cubs.
Also, Shane Victorino is a pussy for pressing charges against this kid in the first place. I mean c'mon man, it was only a beer dumped on you, and you made the catch regardless, get a life!
Furthermore, today's game sucked. Ryan Dempster lost again, which I believe I predicted in my morning post. Not a shocker for me, the guy is a bad pitcher, who had a career year last year, and duped Jim Hendry into giving him a 5-yr deal. I only caught a few minutes of the game on the radio this afternoon and the one half inning I could sit through was the inning Dumpster gave up 4 runs on a "wind-aided" HR to Ryan Howard and a solo shot by Pedro Feliz. I love how the delusional Cubs fans and the media are trying to let Demp off the hook by calling Howard's dinger "wind aided" get real, Howard is the Bill Brasky of baseball and Dempster sucks, the result: a HR! Do not blame the wind, blame the crappy pitcher, who also happened to walk the guys in front of Howard. The Cubs will not win consistently with Dempster in the rotation and I will leave it at that. Maybe he will come back focused and improved next season, but I doubt it. He will more than likely just continue to pitch like the number 4 or 5 starter that he actually is for the remainder of his time with the Cubs.
Cubs get their heads flushed down the toilet by the Phillies
The Phillies are a good team, the Cubs are not, and that is why the Cubs lost last night 12-5. I hope last night was the end of the Jeff Samardzija Era here in Chicago (as a baseball player) he showed last night he is not ready to pitch at the Major League level. Not that it is entirely his fault, he has been shuttled between Iowa and Chicago all season, primarily as a reliever. Ideally, the Cubs management would have called up a starter from Iowa like Mitch Atkins to make this emergency start. Samardzija was awful last night: 3.1IP, 8H, 7ER, 4K, at least he did not walk anybody. Samardzija needs to be sent down to the minors to regroup and/or develop other pitches besides his fastball. My advice for him would be to retire from baseball and sign as a free-agent with the Chicago Bears. I watched every game he played as a football player at Notre Dame and I truly believe he could still play football, he would have been a 1st or 2nd round pick in the NFL Draft when he graduated.
The Cubs offense again was pathetic. How do you only manage 3 runs off of a washed-up Pedro Martinez, seriously! The Phillies were trying to give us this game by starting him and we still got blown out. The Cubs managed only two extra-base hits: Doubles by Derrek Lee and Fukudome. Ryan Theriot was really the only bright spot going 3-5, RBI, and raising his average to a team-high .300 (among every-day players).
Up Next: Cubs vs Phillies this afternoon at 1:20pm on CSN and WGN Radio. Ryan Dempster (6-5, 4.05 ERA) vs Cliff Lee (9-9, 2.95 ERA). Who would you pick to win this game? An all-star caliber pitcher with a Cy Young or an overpaid clown who can't keep the ball down? I would take Lee. I do not see Dempster giving the Cubs much in this outing since he has not done anything all season to make me think different. The Cubs have seen Lee this season and they won that game (although he was with Cleveland at the time). It was the game we trailed 7-0 and eventually won in extra-innings because Kerry Wood could not convert the save. I was at that game, albeit on a rooftop, but I do not remember the Cubs doing much against Lee. The Phillies are rolling and the Cubs are in a tailspin, unfortunately I see the Phillies finishing the sweep this afternoon. Thank God the Pirates are coming in for a weekend series, maybe the Cubs can get back on track against them.
The Cubs offense again was pathetic. How do you only manage 3 runs off of a washed-up Pedro Martinez, seriously! The Phillies were trying to give us this game by starting him and we still got blown out. The Cubs managed only two extra-base hits: Doubles by Derrek Lee and Fukudome. Ryan Theriot was really the only bright spot going 3-5, RBI, and raising his average to a team-high .300 (among every-day players).
Up Next: Cubs vs Phillies this afternoon at 1:20pm on CSN and WGN Radio. Ryan Dempster (6-5, 4.05 ERA) vs Cliff Lee (9-9, 2.95 ERA). Who would you pick to win this game? An all-star caliber pitcher with a Cy Young or an overpaid clown who can't keep the ball down? I would take Lee. I do not see Dempster giving the Cubs much in this outing since he has not done anything all season to make me think different. The Cubs have seen Lee this season and they won that game (although he was with Cleveland at the time). It was the game we trailed 7-0 and eventually won in extra-innings because Kerry Wood could not convert the save. I was at that game, albeit on a rooftop, but I do not remember the Cubs doing much against Lee. The Phillies are rolling and the Cubs are in a tailspin, unfortunately I see the Phillies finishing the sweep this afternoon. Thank God the Pirates are coming in for a weekend series, maybe the Cubs can get back on track against them.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Cubs out-hit the Phillies, but refuse to Win
This Cubs team is not very good and they always seem to find ways to lose. On a night where Rich Harden was nearly un-hittable (he had a perfect game through 5.1IP) we still could not do enough to win. Harden was spotted an early 2-0 lead when the Cubs scored twice in the third inning off of J.A. Happ. Milton Bradley got things going with a lead-off double, then Derrek Lee walked, and Jake Fox came through with an RBI single. The Cubs would load the bases in the inning but would only get one more run on an Alfonso Soriano Sac-Fly (all he would do in the game). After this point the Cubs hitters basically took the rest of the night off, especially Fat-Ass Geovany Soto who was 0-4 and refuses to take pitches in his at-bats, and can not lay off of face-high fastballs in key situations.
Harden took his perfect game into the 6th, but it all blew up once he got there. After retiring the lead-off guy, he walked the next hitter, and then gave up a 2R-HR to Jimmy Rollins (who happens to be the only Phillies hitter who is hot). Harden looked rattled at this point and was lucky to get out of the 6th inning, let alone the 7th. All in all he had a good start: 7IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, in a rarely efficient outing he threw 87 pitches, but had clearly unraveled towards the end. For awhile, I really thought we could see a no-hitter tonight, it was not meant to be.
Fast-Forward to the 8th inning and enter Carlos Marmol, who sure enough blew the game by walking 3 and beaning one, allowing a run to score without allowing a hit, in 2/3 of an inning. Marmol was pitiful, again, and deserved to lose this game. He also deserves to no longer be the set-up man. My advice to Lou Piniella would be to use Angel Guzman (who did pitch two perfect innings in the 9th and 10th) as the set-up guy, and use Marmol only with big leads and earlier in the games. John Grabow also did a nice job getting out of Marmol's jam in the 8th, retiring Raul Ibanez on 3 pitches.
Going into the bottom of the 9th the Cubs trailed by a run, but were in luck because Brad Lidge was on to close (he is terrible) and sure enough he blew the save! Fukudome got things started with a walk and was then sac-bunted to second by Ryan Theriot. Then the unthinkable happened and Bradley came up with a big hit, finally! He had an RBI single to left. This game was just not meant to be for the Cubs, who could not win the game in the 10th or the 11th, Scott Eyre (who should never have been released by Piniella in the first place) absolutely shut them down. Piniella does not have a clue how to manage a bullpen, letting go of Eyre for really no reason other than the fact that Lou did not like him was a huge mistake. It was nice to see Eyre get his redemption tonight.
Lou was forced to bring in closer Kevin Gregg to pitch the 11th where he retired arguably the three best Phillies hitters in a row, all lefties too in: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez. Too bad retiring lefties is not Gregg's problem, retiring righties is his weakness. Gregg came out to start the 12th and sure enough gave up a HR to Ben Francisco that barely made the basket in left field. This was directly after Milton Bradley had thought he'd hit the game-winning HR to left-center only to watch it get caught at the wall to end the bottom of the 11th. That near miss seemed to take all the wind out of the Cubs' sails and I had a feeling that the game ended there, mostly because I had such little confidence in guys like Lee, Fox, Soto, and Soriano to win the game in the 12th inning. This was the 11th HR Gregg has allowed this season in only 53.2 IP, unacceptable. His record is 4-4, with 5 blown saves, and a 4.02 ERA. I look forward to the days when Gregg is not a Cub and we do not have to endure this B.S. anymore. He is an awful closer.
The Cubs could not muster a comeback in the bottom of the 12th as Lee flied out weakly, Fox walked, Soto struck out (on a face-high fastball), and Soriano flied out to right (his bat must be slow because he should have been trying to pull the ball). Overall, there were very few things to be happy about from tonight's game. Offensively, Jeff Baker had a great game going 4-5. Bradley had a nice night as well going 2-5, 2B, RBI, R (and nearly hit a walk-off). Lee walked 3 times and Fox also added two hits and did not make any errors at third base. Harden had a good game too, I would take his stat-line anytime, unfortunately the Cubs' hitters got complacent (as usual) once they had a lead and could not tack on any insurance runs (they were 2-8 w/RISP and left 12 men on base). Lou was very agitated in his post game interview and had very little to say about the game. At least the Cardinals lost tonight as well, thank-you Reds!!!
Up Next: The Cubs and Phillies are at it again tomorrow night at 7:20. Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 6.29 ERA) vs Pedro Martinez (0-0, N/A). Martinez is making his first Major League start of the season after spending time recently in the minors after being signed out of retirement. The Cubs last saw him last September while he was with the Mets and beat him. Martinez does not have anything left and ordinarily I would say there is no way they could lose to him, I mean his ERA was over 5 at AAA. But tomorrow the Cubs are starting Samardzija, so all bets are off! Tonight was a pitcher's duel, tomorrow should be a slug-fest, I would not be surprised to see neither pitcher last beyond the 5th, let alone the 4th inning. But who knows? Maybe the Shark will surprise all his nay-sayers out there and step up with a big game? Perhaps that is too much to ask from an over-paid, over-hyped, football player with one pitch, who has never started a Major League game before? My prediction: the Cubs win in a slug-fest. They need to win, or their season will be over before they know what hit them. It would be a shame if the team completely fell apart just as their most hated player (Bradley, who I have stood by all along) started to get hot. Hopefully the Cubs can bounce back tomorrow night! Oh, and I hope Koyie Hill starts in place of Soto.
Harden took his perfect game into the 6th, but it all blew up once he got there. After retiring the lead-off guy, he walked the next hitter, and then gave up a 2R-HR to Jimmy Rollins (who happens to be the only Phillies hitter who is hot). Harden looked rattled at this point and was lucky to get out of the 6th inning, let alone the 7th. All in all he had a good start: 7IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, in a rarely efficient outing he threw 87 pitches, but had clearly unraveled towards the end. For awhile, I really thought we could see a no-hitter tonight, it was not meant to be.
Fast-Forward to the 8th inning and enter Carlos Marmol, who sure enough blew the game by walking 3 and beaning one, allowing a run to score without allowing a hit, in 2/3 of an inning. Marmol was pitiful, again, and deserved to lose this game. He also deserves to no longer be the set-up man. My advice to Lou Piniella would be to use Angel Guzman (who did pitch two perfect innings in the 9th and 10th) as the set-up guy, and use Marmol only with big leads and earlier in the games. John Grabow also did a nice job getting out of Marmol's jam in the 8th, retiring Raul Ibanez on 3 pitches.
Going into the bottom of the 9th the Cubs trailed by a run, but were in luck because Brad Lidge was on to close (he is terrible) and sure enough he blew the save! Fukudome got things started with a walk and was then sac-bunted to second by Ryan Theriot. Then the unthinkable happened and Bradley came up with a big hit, finally! He had an RBI single to left. This game was just not meant to be for the Cubs, who could not win the game in the 10th or the 11th, Scott Eyre (who should never have been released by Piniella in the first place) absolutely shut them down. Piniella does not have a clue how to manage a bullpen, letting go of Eyre for really no reason other than the fact that Lou did not like him was a huge mistake. It was nice to see Eyre get his redemption tonight.
Lou was forced to bring in closer Kevin Gregg to pitch the 11th where he retired arguably the three best Phillies hitters in a row, all lefties too in: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez. Too bad retiring lefties is not Gregg's problem, retiring righties is his weakness. Gregg came out to start the 12th and sure enough gave up a HR to Ben Francisco that barely made the basket in left field. This was directly after Milton Bradley had thought he'd hit the game-winning HR to left-center only to watch it get caught at the wall to end the bottom of the 11th. That near miss seemed to take all the wind out of the Cubs' sails and I had a feeling that the game ended there, mostly because I had such little confidence in guys like Lee, Fox, Soto, and Soriano to win the game in the 12th inning. This was the 11th HR Gregg has allowed this season in only 53.2 IP, unacceptable. His record is 4-4, with 5 blown saves, and a 4.02 ERA. I look forward to the days when Gregg is not a Cub and we do not have to endure this B.S. anymore. He is an awful closer.
The Cubs could not muster a comeback in the bottom of the 12th as Lee flied out weakly, Fox walked, Soto struck out (on a face-high fastball), and Soriano flied out to right (his bat must be slow because he should have been trying to pull the ball). Overall, there were very few things to be happy about from tonight's game. Offensively, Jeff Baker had a great game going 4-5. Bradley had a nice night as well going 2-5, 2B, RBI, R (and nearly hit a walk-off). Lee walked 3 times and Fox also added two hits and did not make any errors at third base. Harden had a good game too, I would take his stat-line anytime, unfortunately the Cubs' hitters got complacent (as usual) once they had a lead and could not tack on any insurance runs (they were 2-8 w/RISP and left 12 men on base). Lou was very agitated in his post game interview and had very little to say about the game. At least the Cardinals lost tonight as well, thank-you Reds!!!
Up Next: The Cubs and Phillies are at it again tomorrow night at 7:20. Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 6.29 ERA) vs Pedro Martinez (0-0, N/A). Martinez is making his first Major League start of the season after spending time recently in the minors after being signed out of retirement. The Cubs last saw him last September while he was with the Mets and beat him. Martinez does not have anything left and ordinarily I would say there is no way they could lose to him, I mean his ERA was over 5 at AAA. But tomorrow the Cubs are starting Samardzija, so all bets are off! Tonight was a pitcher's duel, tomorrow should be a slug-fest, I would not be surprised to see neither pitcher last beyond the 5th, let alone the 4th inning. But who knows? Maybe the Shark will surprise all his nay-sayers out there and step up with a big game? Perhaps that is too much to ask from an over-paid, over-hyped, football player with one pitch, who has never started a Major League game before? My prediction: the Cubs win in a slug-fest. They need to win, or their season will be over before they know what hit them. It would be a shame if the team completely fell apart just as their most hated player (Bradley, who I have stood by all along) started to get hot. Hopefully the Cubs can bounce back tomorrow night! Oh, and I hope Koyie Hill starts in place of Soto.
Cubs lose to Rockies Again, Iowa Cubs, Captain Morgan, and the Cubs Return Home
The Cubs lost on Monday night to the Rockies 11-5 for the second day in a row, dropping 3 of 4 to the red-hot Rockies. I have not watched a game since last Wednesday since I went golfing in Wisconsin all weekend, and all they show up there are Brewers games. It looks as if the Cubs took the rest of the week off as well. Thanks to the complete ineptitude of the Cincinnati Reds (whom the Cardinals just played) we now stand 3 GB in the division.
Sunday I went to the Iowa Cubs game at Wrigley Field, which was a blast. Tickets were as cheap as $5, my girlfriend, her friends, and I sat in the upper deck, section 517. Seeing as the place the almost totally empty the six of us decided to just find six seats together and sit there. Sure enough, a mother and her two sons come barging into our row and say "You're in our seats" (very bitchy), so I replied "Sorry we ruined your day!" (I was not sober). So we moved up two more rows, I still do not know why that woman had to be such a bitch, she could have just politely asked us to move? Hot-Dogs were $1 at all concession stands, which was tight, I had two of them. The game itself was pretty dull however, I missed the introductions, had no scorecard, so I had no idea who anyone was unless they came up to bat. I did give Micah Hoffpauir, who I did not even know had been sent down, a standing ovation in his first at bat (he flied out). Also, So Taguchi has nothing left in the tank, too bad because he was a clutch hitter once upon a time for the Cardinals. The Cubs did go on to win the game, but we had to leave early as it was so hot. We did move all they way up in the upper deck and sat along the fence, catching a very cool breeze from the west, I have not sat in the Uecker seats in a long time. All in all, the "Road to Wrigley" was a fun time, and we plan on making it an annual tradition, if they continue to play the game attendence was down to 16,000 vs 32,000 they drew last season.
Furthermore, last night, I made my first trip to The Captain Morgan Club, and it will be my last. We went because Monday nights are 1/2 off everything there. The waitress was awful, she wanted nothing to do with us. When I ordered a 16oz can of Old Style, she looked at me like I had two heads. When we put in our food order, she turned and walked away as I was mid-order. Not knowing if she'd gotten the rest of the order, my girl had to go up and ask her (I was no longer in the mood for anymore of her bullshit by this point) to which she replied yes. The food was ok, but it was basically ballpark food, and the Italian Beef I ordered was not as good as the ones they serve inside the stadium. Fortunately the bill came out to be only $15 and I left a $3 tip, the only reason I left that much was because the bus-boys did a nice job. I could not imagine ever paying full price for any of that stuff. The only reason that place stays in business is because of all the tourists, drunks, and western-suburbs d-bags who flock to Wrigleyville on weekends.
Now back to the Cubs... They return home tonight to begin a 3-game series with the Phillies at 7:20 pm on CSN and WGN Radio. Rich Harden (7-7, 4.41 ERA) vs J.A. Happ (8-2, 2.74 ERA). If the Cubs have ever needed a big start from Harden, tonight is the night. He needs to step up and pitch like the ace he used to be and end this losing streak. Happ is having a monster season, he was 8-0 at one point and would be running away with Rookie of the Year had he not burned all of his eligibility as a reliever at the end of last season. He is a good, young, left-handed pitcher, who will apparently remain in their rotation despite the additions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez (the other two pitchers we are set to face in this series). Since it is a night game, I see Harden giving us a strong outing tonight and getting the victory over the Northwestern University product, Happ.
Last night as I was listening to the first two innings of the game (I turned it off once Esmalian Caridad came in to pitch) I had a feeling that the Cubs season just ended, I hope I was wrong. Apparently, Aramis Ramirez has re-injured his shoulder and two things can happend: 1) DL and 2) Cortisone Shot, where he will miss a few more games, and return this weekend. The Cubs desperately need his bat in the line-up, but if he is not healthy, maybe it would be best just to shut him down, we do not need him jeopardizing his career on this injury. Plus, as of late he has not been hitting all that well, the shoulder clearly affects his swing. Also, what is the deal with Carlos Zambrano's back? With him on the DL now we have a rotation of Harden, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster, Tom Gorzelanny, and Jeff Samardzija. If we have to go on with this rotation, the season is over! Luckily, it looks like Ted Lilly will be back this weekend, meaning Samardzija will only make one start and then move back to the pen or to Iowa. Gorzelanny is a huge question mark, he looked awful last night. Dempster is a gamer, but he is not good, so I do not get my hopes up whenever he starts a game. Wells has logged a lot of innings this season, I hope he is not starting to fade away, the Cubs need to be careful with his arm, he needs to be included in their plans for the future. With Lilly hopefully coming back with something left in the tank (he still leads the team in wins with 9!) and Z coming back we could be ok, but for now, guys like Harden, Demp, and the entire offense (especially Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano) need to step up and whether the storm and keep this team in contention.
Go Cubs!
Sunday I went to the Iowa Cubs game at Wrigley Field, which was a blast. Tickets were as cheap as $5, my girlfriend, her friends, and I sat in the upper deck, section 517. Seeing as the place the almost totally empty the six of us decided to just find six seats together and sit there. Sure enough, a mother and her two sons come barging into our row and say "You're in our seats" (very bitchy), so I replied "Sorry we ruined your day!" (I was not sober). So we moved up two more rows, I still do not know why that woman had to be such a bitch, she could have just politely asked us to move? Hot-Dogs were $1 at all concession stands, which was tight, I had two of them. The game itself was pretty dull however, I missed the introductions, had no scorecard, so I had no idea who anyone was unless they came up to bat. I did give Micah Hoffpauir, who I did not even know had been sent down, a standing ovation in his first at bat (he flied out). Also, So Taguchi has nothing left in the tank, too bad because he was a clutch hitter once upon a time for the Cardinals. The Cubs did go on to win the game, but we had to leave early as it was so hot. We did move all they way up in the upper deck and sat along the fence, catching a very cool breeze from the west, I have not sat in the Uecker seats in a long time. All in all, the "Road to Wrigley" was a fun time, and we plan on making it an annual tradition, if they continue to play the game attendence was down to 16,000 vs 32,000 they drew last season.
Furthermore, last night, I made my first trip to The Captain Morgan Club, and it will be my last. We went because Monday nights are 1/2 off everything there. The waitress was awful, she wanted nothing to do with us. When I ordered a 16oz can of Old Style, she looked at me like I had two heads. When we put in our food order, she turned and walked away as I was mid-order. Not knowing if she'd gotten the rest of the order, my girl had to go up and ask her (I was no longer in the mood for anymore of her bullshit by this point) to which she replied yes. The food was ok, but it was basically ballpark food, and the Italian Beef I ordered was not as good as the ones they serve inside the stadium. Fortunately the bill came out to be only $15 and I left a $3 tip, the only reason I left that much was because the bus-boys did a nice job. I could not imagine ever paying full price for any of that stuff. The only reason that place stays in business is because of all the tourists, drunks, and western-suburbs d-bags who flock to Wrigleyville on weekends.
Now back to the Cubs... They return home tonight to begin a 3-game series with the Phillies at 7:20 pm on CSN and WGN Radio. Rich Harden (7-7, 4.41 ERA) vs J.A. Happ (8-2, 2.74 ERA). If the Cubs have ever needed a big start from Harden, tonight is the night. He needs to step up and pitch like the ace he used to be and end this losing streak. Happ is having a monster season, he was 8-0 at one point and would be running away with Rookie of the Year had he not burned all of his eligibility as a reliever at the end of last season. He is a good, young, left-handed pitcher, who will apparently remain in their rotation despite the additions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez (the other two pitchers we are set to face in this series). Since it is a night game, I see Harden giving us a strong outing tonight and getting the victory over the Northwestern University product, Happ.
Last night as I was listening to the first two innings of the game (I turned it off once Esmalian Caridad came in to pitch) I had a feeling that the Cubs season just ended, I hope I was wrong. Apparently, Aramis Ramirez has re-injured his shoulder and two things can happend: 1) DL and 2) Cortisone Shot, where he will miss a few more games, and return this weekend. The Cubs desperately need his bat in the line-up, but if he is not healthy, maybe it would be best just to shut him down, we do not need him jeopardizing his career on this injury. Plus, as of late he has not been hitting all that well, the shoulder clearly affects his swing. Also, what is the deal with Carlos Zambrano's back? With him on the DL now we have a rotation of Harden, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster, Tom Gorzelanny, and Jeff Samardzija. If we have to go on with this rotation, the season is over! Luckily, it looks like Ted Lilly will be back this weekend, meaning Samardzija will only make one start and then move back to the pen or to Iowa. Gorzelanny is a huge question mark, he looked awful last night. Dempster is a gamer, but he is not good, so I do not get my hopes up whenever he starts a game. Wells has logged a lot of innings this season, I hope he is not starting to fade away, the Cubs need to be careful with his arm, he needs to be included in their plans for the future. With Lilly hopefully coming back with something left in the tank (he still leads the team in wins with 9!) and Z coming back we could be ok, but for now, guys like Harden, Demp, and the entire offense (especially Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano) need to step up and whether the storm and keep this team in contention.
Go Cubs!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thank you Aaron Harang, again
Last night the Cubs bounced back from what I would call a demoralizing loss on Sunday night to the bastard Marlins with a 4-2 win over the familiar punching bag known as the Cincinnati Reds. Is it just me or have the Cubs owned the Reds recently? If I am not mistaken, this was four wins in a row against them, and two in a row against Aaron Harang. Harang actually did not pitch too poorly last night, the lone mistake he made was leaving a ball up in the zone against Mike Fontenot, who promptly launched it into the right-center bleachers, making the game 3-0 in the 2nd. That was really all the Cubs would need last night. Other than this, Harang was solid, he struck out 10 Cubs hitters: Alfonso Soriano twice (not surprising), Derrek Lee twice, and Koyie Hill THREE times (a few looking too). Some games, Hill looks like he has no intention of swinging the bat, like a pitcher, and just takes a ton of pitches to wear out the opposing pitcher, last night was one of those games. However, I am not really alarmed over the number of K's last night, Harang is among the league leaders in that category each year. Lee did come through with a clutch double in the 8th to score Fukudome, making the game 4-0, the Cubs could have done more that inning, but as usual they did not. Also, it was nice to see Fontenot step up and have a big game, he has really struggled lately, and I have been very critical of him on this site and others, last night's HR was BIG!
What can I say about Randy Wells? The guy is the man, seriously: 7.1IP, 6H, ER, 2BB, 5K. The only run he allowed came in the 8th, when he gave up a solo HR to Alex Gonzalez (not the former Cub). Seriously, I did not think Gonzo was capable of hitting one out, the pitch was a mistake, a little bit of a hanger. But that was the only blunder in an otherwise dominant performance, on National TV mind you. This game just did wonders for Wells' Rookie of the Year chances. ESPN was really kissing his ass after the game, noting that he has the most wins among MLB starters since June 21st, with 8. That is 8 straight wins for Wells, imagine what his record would be had he gotten any run support during his first couple of starts this season. With Colby Rasmus no longer an everyday player, Wells could run away with the ROY if he continues to pitch well. Wells improved his record to 8-4, 2.73 ERA. Basically Wells is pitching as well as Ryan Dempster did last year, while Dempster has struggled mightily this season. Hopefully Demp can revert to form (although I am highly skeptical) and give us a strong rotation down the stretch this season, making the Cubs a force to be reckoned with.
The bullpen last night was entertaining to say the least. Newly acquired, John Grabow, came in to finish the 8th and beaned the first batter he faced, Joey Votto, a lefty mind you. This was just a typical Cubs play, bringing in the lefty to face the other team's best hitter (also a lefty) and he plunks him on the first pitch. Then to top it off, he gets Brandon Phillips to ground into a double play to end the inning. Then in the 9th, Carlos Marmol made things really interesting: walking the lead-off hitter (as always), strikeout, single, flyout, RBI double, groundout. Marmol escaped allowing only one run and got his 4th save of the season. I guess this performance will quiet all of the Anti-Kevin Gregg people out there, for now. Marmol has been erratic all season and I really do not expect it to change. I can handle his ups and downs and most Cub fans should be able to as well, I mean two of our best closers ever were Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams and Rod Beck, both of whom always kept things interesting. It is the end result that matters and Marmol indeed got the save. Despite all of his wildness this season, there is no one else in our bullpen I would rather have out there with the game on the line than Marmol.
Additionally my friend Steve and I tried a new bar to watch the Cubs game, we chose Nick's Beer Garden in Wicker Park on Milwaukee Ave. Their special was $5 PBR can & "well" shot, we chose Vodka, and did multiple rounds. Not a bad deal at all, we were getting drunk quickly, and well vodka is not that bad, it was definitely better than the tequila I was about to try, before Steve stopped me. The rest of the patrons were as interesting as the game: the guy sitting next to us was in his mid-50's and a total bozo. He went through more than a whole bottle of Pinot Grigo by himself, what man drinks Pinot Grigio, at a bar? I could tell he was a complete ass due to the fact that he said he loves to "You-Tube Steve Goodman" and listen to songs about the pain and joy of being a Cubs fan. For those who do not know, Goodman is the writer of the song "Go-Cubs-Go", a song that I, and most of my friends detest. Also, this gentleman looked exactly like the Public Access Producer in Wayne's World and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, generally a good sign that you are a weirdo. That guy probably went to McDonalds on his way home and cried over a double cheeseburger. Other than that guy, there were two women making out near the pool table for a solid hour or more. All the while the bartender had a sweet mix of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke going on her Ipod. Not my favorite place to watch a game, the place was not really designed to watch sports (they had the food network on when we came in), they only had two TVs, and no sound, but it was a good time nonetheless.
Up Next: Cubs vs Reds tonight at 6:10pm on CSN (Not WCIU, the Tribune gave me shotty information) and WGN Radio (my new way of taking in the games because my girlfriend doesn't have a TV). Tom Gorzelanny (3-1, 5.19 ERA) vs Johnny Cueto (8-8, 4.06 ERA). This is Gorzelanny's Cubs debut and I really do not know what to expect from the lefty tonight. He has not started in the majors since earlier in the season (April or May), was relegated to the bullpen, and has allegedly pitched well at Triple-A recently. Honestly, I do not expect much out him, I would take 5IP and 4ER, but who knows maybe he will go out there and throw a gem? Cueto is the Reds ace, escpecially since Edinson Volquez just got shut down for a year due to Tommy John Surgery. He was decent the last time we faced him and I am worried he is overdue for a strong start and the Cubs hitters have been a little weak the last two games. I guess we'll find out tonight, Go Cubs!
What can I say about Randy Wells? The guy is the man, seriously: 7.1IP, 6H, ER, 2BB, 5K. The only run he allowed came in the 8th, when he gave up a solo HR to Alex Gonzalez (not the former Cub). Seriously, I did not think Gonzo was capable of hitting one out, the pitch was a mistake, a little bit of a hanger. But that was the only blunder in an otherwise dominant performance, on National TV mind you. This game just did wonders for Wells' Rookie of the Year chances. ESPN was really kissing his ass after the game, noting that he has the most wins among MLB starters since June 21st, with 8. That is 8 straight wins for Wells, imagine what his record would be had he gotten any run support during his first couple of starts this season. With Colby Rasmus no longer an everyday player, Wells could run away with the ROY if he continues to pitch well. Wells improved his record to 8-4, 2.73 ERA. Basically Wells is pitching as well as Ryan Dempster did last year, while Dempster has struggled mightily this season. Hopefully Demp can revert to form (although I am highly skeptical) and give us a strong rotation down the stretch this season, making the Cubs a force to be reckoned with.
The bullpen last night was entertaining to say the least. Newly acquired, John Grabow, came in to finish the 8th and beaned the first batter he faced, Joey Votto, a lefty mind you. This was just a typical Cubs play, bringing in the lefty to face the other team's best hitter (also a lefty) and he plunks him on the first pitch. Then to top it off, he gets Brandon Phillips to ground into a double play to end the inning. Then in the 9th, Carlos Marmol made things really interesting: walking the lead-off hitter (as always), strikeout, single, flyout, RBI double, groundout. Marmol escaped allowing only one run and got his 4th save of the season. I guess this performance will quiet all of the Anti-Kevin Gregg people out there, for now. Marmol has been erratic all season and I really do not expect it to change. I can handle his ups and downs and most Cub fans should be able to as well, I mean two of our best closers ever were Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams and Rod Beck, both of whom always kept things interesting. It is the end result that matters and Marmol indeed got the save. Despite all of his wildness this season, there is no one else in our bullpen I would rather have out there with the game on the line than Marmol.
Additionally my friend Steve and I tried a new bar to watch the Cubs game, we chose Nick's Beer Garden in Wicker Park on Milwaukee Ave. Their special was $5 PBR can & "well" shot, we chose Vodka, and did multiple rounds. Not a bad deal at all, we were getting drunk quickly, and well vodka is not that bad, it was definitely better than the tequila I was about to try, before Steve stopped me. The rest of the patrons were as interesting as the game: the guy sitting next to us was in his mid-50's and a total bozo. He went through more than a whole bottle of Pinot Grigo by himself, what man drinks Pinot Grigio, at a bar? I could tell he was a complete ass due to the fact that he said he loves to "You-Tube Steve Goodman" and listen to songs about the pain and joy of being a Cubs fan. For those who do not know, Goodman is the writer of the song "Go-Cubs-Go", a song that I, and most of my friends detest. Also, this gentleman looked exactly like the Public Access Producer in Wayne's World and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, generally a good sign that you are a weirdo. That guy probably went to McDonalds on his way home and cried over a double cheeseburger. Other than that guy, there were two women making out near the pool table for a solid hour or more. All the while the bartender had a sweet mix of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke going on her Ipod. Not my favorite place to watch a game, the place was not really designed to watch sports (they had the food network on when we came in), they only had two TVs, and no sound, but it was a good time nonetheless.
Up Next: Cubs vs Reds tonight at 6:10pm on CSN (Not WCIU, the Tribune gave me shotty information) and WGN Radio (my new way of taking in the games because my girlfriend doesn't have a TV). Tom Gorzelanny (3-1, 5.19 ERA) vs Johnny Cueto (8-8, 4.06 ERA). This is Gorzelanny's Cubs debut and I really do not know what to expect from the lefty tonight. He has not started in the majors since earlier in the season (April or May), was relegated to the bullpen, and has allegedly pitched well at Triple-A recently. Honestly, I do not expect much out him, I would take 5IP and 4ER, but who knows maybe he will go out there and throw a gem? Cueto is the Reds ace, escpecially since Edinson Volquez just got shut down for a year due to Tommy John Surgery. He was decent the last time we faced him and I am worried he is overdue for a strong start and the Cubs hitters have been a little weak the last two games. I guess we'll find out tonight, Go Cubs!
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