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.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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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