Thoughts while wondering how I got jetlagged on a north-south trip

Note: I am writing this as I sit down to watch the Cubs and Phillies tonight. I'll interject comments on tonight's game in italics as I go.

First off, congratulations to my friend Robert and his new wife Tara. I spent the weekend in Pittsburgh at their wedding, an affair at which a good time was had by all. Is that really Lenny Harris leading off? One pitch, one out... I guess it is. One damper on the party was (approximately) two-year old Clayton, running around in a Braves jersey. I tried to whisper subliminal messages to get him on the path to a fulfilling lifetime of rooting for the Cubs, but I don't know how well they took. Good to see Choi hammer one in his first PA back with the club, too bad it was right at the center fielder. I suppose wedding talk isn't exactly hitting our target audience though, so I'll move on to the baseball game I managed to get to Friday night- Pirates/Rockies at PNC Park.

I left Atlanta around 6:30 a.m. with five of Robert's high school buddies. The ticket the hillbilly cop gave us in the West Virgina speed trap notwithstanding, we got into Pittsburgh about twelve hours later. My traveling companions dropped me off at PNC and went on to the hotel to check in. Estes just tied Lenny for homers on the year. Let's see if Lenny can answer... well, no, but kudos for drawing a ball before going on to strikeout on four pitches. Despite a fireworks induced sellout (more on that later), the good folks at the ticket window produced a $27 ticket in the tenth row almost directly behind home plate. Why is it I can pull that off at Wrigley and PNC Park, but never at home in Atlanta?

I took my seat just before gametime, and was fortunate enough to meet Rice physics professor Doug and his father Mike who lucked in to good seats at gametime just as I had done. Although they didn't seem to be cut from the sabermetric fold, they did bring up Moneyball of their own accord, so maybe saber-folk are going mainstream after all. Steve Stone just called that WP/PB three seconds before it happened. He is uncanny.

PNC Park is a beautiful facility. There are a very limited number of seats beyond the outfield walls, making the walls appear much closer to the fan than they really are. Behind the wall is the Allegheny River, and behind that is the city skyline. I can report that the footlong hotdog ($5.25) is respectable, although you have to buy water to drink since their beverage contract isn't with Coca-Cola. I can also recommend that you not go to get that hotdog when the Pirates are planning to jar the ball from the catcher's mitt on a play at the plate right in front of your seat.

The Pirates took the lead in the fourth on a homer by ex-Cub Matt Stairs and tacked on three more in the fifth. The bullpen gave back two but got the ball into Mike Williams's hands with the lead at 5-3. Williams retired the side in order, even as I learned that standing up as your closer tries to record the final out of the game just isn't done in Pittsburgh. Ah well...

After a brief setup period, the fireworks show commenced. I can safely say that Skyblast '03 was unlike any other fireworks show I have ever seen. It consisted of comedy sketches on the big screen and live performances on the field, with massive pyrotechnic displays providing the segues from sketch to sketch. Lenny goes down to a five-pitch strikeout. At this rate, he'll be striking out on seven or eight pitches in no time. The sketches starred everyone from manager Lloyd McClendon to Pirates broadcaster Bob Walk (aka Squarebob Walkpants) and were unfailingly funny. There was a dead-perfect sendup of Behind the Music chronicling the long road traveled by Pete the Potato Pierogi, and a touching episode of the power... the passion... of Hannah, Warrior Pierogi Princess. Perhaps my favorite was the episode of the Real World: PNC Park in which ex-Pirate catcher Manny Sanguillen caught Jack Wilson shoving a massive piece of cake in his mouth after dinner was over. "I caught Lou Brock stealing seconds," said the thickly-accented Sanguillen. "You don't think I can catch a little punk like you?" There were about a dozen sketches, all hysterical. I only wish they were available on the Pirates website or somewhere.

Let's go to bullet thoughts for the final few innings here:

• Chip just correctly pointed out that the Phillies seem to have been the beneficiary of a neighborhood call at second on which the neighborhood in question was about the size of the European Union.
• Estes has now made it through six with a 3-2 lead. I don't profess to know exactly why the Cubs starters have seemed to stay in one inning too long, but the perceived problem is certainly on my mind about now.
• Dennis is IM'ing me, livid that Baker didn't have Guthrie warming to start the inning and thus having no option but to leave Estes in against Thome. I wonder if I should bring up Lenny's leadoff performance to distract him.
• Choi looked like he might have been laboring a bit, but he got into second so we'll take it. Need a hit, Ramon...

Well, that's all she wrote. Another day, another one-run Cubs loss. A cynic would point out that Mesa has been significantly tougher against lefties than he has against righties (.529 OPS allowed versus .820 to righties this year, and a .732/.689 reverse split over the last three years.) A cynic might point out that Miller has essentially no platoon split. A cynic might point out that O'Leary has a worse OPS against righties this year than Miller (.592 to .693). A Cubs fan though would just turn the TV off and go to bed, having expected nothing else.
posted by Scott at 10:00 PM : |

 

Cubs offense explodes versus Brewers

Now that's more like it.

Last known image of Sammy Sosa's fifth inning homer. Ball is in foreground, lower left.

The Cubs showed no mercy at Wrigley today, hammering the AAA Brewers 9-1. One Sammy Sosa was the ringleader, releasing two months of frustration into a Luis Vizcaino pitch that still hasnt come down, and chipping in a 420 foot homer, a scorched double, and a four pitch walk in his three weaker at-bats. Kerry Wood was effective again, striking out eight and walking just one while getting into the offensive act with his second homer of the year. The Wood homer was followed by circuit clouts from Grudz and Gonzalez for the ninth back-to-back-to-back jacks in team history.

Shawn Estes tries to right his ship tomorrow against Olympic hero Ben Sheets. While I would like to see the Cubs take our friend Jason Steffens' suggestion and replace Estes with Juan Cruz, I certainly want Estes to turn it around if and when he is in there. I am sure Sammy's got a three-homer game he can bust out to make it a little easier on him.

Last but not least, HP5 is the best of the bunch. I was a little worried about the three year layoff, but like Sammy J. K. Rowling came back with a vengance. I don't want to discuss any spoilers here, but I heartily reccomend it to anyone who is able to set aside their prejudice and leap into a so-called children's book.

posted by Scott at 11:56 PM : |

 

Cubs salvage one

If you like pitching duels, the Cubs are your kind of team. Carlos Zambrano turned in yet another gem, this his fifth start in the last eight of at least seven innings and one or zero runs allowed. The White Sox pushed one across against him on a double, ground out, and a sac fly, and for a few nauseating minutes it looked like it might hold up. Damaso Marte came on for Colon in the eighth though, and after getting O'Leary he gave up consecutive hits to Grudz, Martinez, and Patterson to earn the Cubs the lead. JoBo mowed down three Sox hitters in the ninth and some small scrap of diginity was regained on the Northside.

Lenny Harris got the start at third today with Jose Hernandez coming on as a ninth-inning defensive replacement. I have no idea what to say about that, so I'll just say that Bellhorn was 0-2 with a walk for the Rockies today, dropping his OBP since the trade to .583. In other news, we have a share of first again pending the outcome of tonight's Astros/Rangers game. We'll have the day off tomorrow before welcoming the American League reject Brewers to Wrigley on Tuesday.

posted by Scott at 7:30 PM : |

 

Sometimes Chicken Little is right

I don't mean to be overly pessimistic, but today's fall from first is putting me in a lousy frame of mind. The Cubs are finding ways to lose, falling 7-6 after fighting back from an early 7-0 deficit. Matt Clement walked three and saw eleven White Sox hits fall in, but when the bullpen came on (an inning too late don't you know) they were strong and allowed the bats to make it close.

It was another brilliant day on the bases for the Cubs. Wendell Kim got Damian Miller thrown out at home in the seventh trailling by four. I mean come on. My lousy company softball team knows better than to send runners when you are down four late. Then, in what I think is an even worse decision, Dusty yanked Sammy Soas in the ninth for pinch-runner Tom Goodwin. Of course, the chance of that slot in the order coming up again was promptly removed when Goodwin was gunned down at second to end the Cubs hopes. As I have said before, this is not a team with enough talent to make a lot of dumb decisions and still contend. Sigh. Clark & Addision has more detailed coverage of the Kim fiasco.

One of the most underrated starters in baseball takes on one of the most overrated as Carlos Zambrano takes on Bartolo Colon today in the final game of the series. If past history is any indication, he'll pitch seven great innings and the team will make Colon look like Walter Johnson and we'll lose 2-1.

posted by Scott at 11:43 AM : |

 

Crime wave

Attention citizens! Crimes are being committed all across our fair land, and the suspects remain on the loose. Be on the lookout for the following:

Wanted for assault and battery: The Chicago White Sox
Dusty has had a habit of letting his starter go one inning too long and today that inning was the first. Shawn Estes walked four and gave up a grand slam to Miguel Olivo in a back-breaking first inning. Todd Wellemeyer was placed in the unenviable role of second inning relief pitcher and gave up six more over the next four innings. Dusty made sure to get Farnsworth, Guthrie, Remlinger, and Borowski an inning each to make sure we don't have anyone, you know, fresh or anything for tomorrow's game.

Wanted for larceny: Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd
How do you turn your mediocre starting shortstop into a younger, cheaper, better infielder? Just sit around waiting for the Cubs to come begging you to take advantage of them. Actually, this may be one case where the "she was asking for it" defense may work. If you were curious, Mark Bellhorn was 2-3 with a walk today while Jose was 0-2 with a strikeout. The sample size is admittedly a bit small, but its enough to convince me. Guilty!

Wanted for vandalism and car theft:John Doe
I don't know who you are, John, but this is really getting out of hand. I mean, the Caddy I watched you and your buddy break into outside my window the other day at 6 a.m. was one thing. The six cars you broke windows of and stole stereos from until I chased you off at 4:30 a.m. Thursday was something else. But breaking into two cars right outside my window at 11 p.m. on a Friday night is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. As its been an hour since I called the cops and a half hour since I called them again and they still haven't showed, you may think you have nothing to fear- but not so fast, my friend. If I catch you I will beat you down and hand you to the cops myself or die trying. Try me.

posted by Scott at 12:25 AM : |

 

Everything old is new again

Travis Anderson
Team	IP	ERA	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Daytona 03	22.2	0.00	9.0	0.4	0.0
West Tenn '03	35.0	4.37	6.4	3.3	0.77

As you probably know, the Cubs picked up Jose Hernandez from the Rockies today in exchange for Mark Bellhorn and AA pitcher Travis Anderson. Anderson is one of the guys we picked up when we dumped Tom Gordon on the Astros a couple years back. He's a 25-year old AA righty and not all that highly thought of, so I'll assume his value is minimal. For simplicity, I am also going to ignore Lenny Harris and Ramon Martinez and instead concentrate on the head-to-head comparison between Hernandez and Bellhorn.

Name	Age	OBP	SLG	EQA
Hernandez '00-'02	--	.324	.434	.254
Hernandez '03	33	.308	.362	.221
Bellhorn '00-'02	--	.350	.466	.287
Bellhorn '03	28	.341	.317	.244

Third base has been a mess for the first three months of this season. Mark Bellhorn has gotten a little more than half the starts at third, but despite a decent OBP hasn't shown the power that made him one of the better infielders in the league last year. Meanwhile, Jose Hernandez has been a disappointment in Colorado as well. After a career year in Milwaukee last year, his raw numbers have gone way down this year despite playing in the hitters' haven of Coors Field. In fact, the numbers show that despite Bellhorn's mediocre performance this year, Hernandez has been even worse.

So let's see- we have one guy who is 28 and one who is 33- advantage Bellhorn. We have one guy who hit better over the recent years, and one who hit worse- advantage Bellhorn. We have one guy with a mediocre offensive record this year, and one with an even worse record this year- advantage Bellhorn. We have one guy who has played third base in 2001, 2002, and this year, and one who hasn't played a game at third since 2000- advantage Bellhorn. We have a guy who is making $400,000 and one who is signed up for $1,000,000- advantage Bellhorn.

I really don't see a reason on paper for the Cubs to prefer Hernandez to Bellhorn. There has been talk that Bellhorn is not mentally on the same page with Dusty and the Cubs- bad attitude, uncoachable, things like that. I am generally suspicious of such talk, but obviously I have no way to say that it is or isn't true. Based on what I know though, there is no way this is a good move. Hernandez was admittedly a very good player last year, but the odds are fairly strong that he will play more like the Jose Hernandez of 2000, 2001, and 2003 than the Jose Hernandez of 2002. In short, this move is not going to help the Cubs.

posted by Scott at 2:08 PM : |

 

Thursday afternoon fights

The Cubs trail the Reds 3-1 in the seventh inning this afternoon in Cincinnati. The third Reds run scored after Kyle Farnsworth was booted from the game for A) throwing a pitch that missed Paul Wilson by six inches despite Wilson's leaning in to try to bunt it or B) being attacked by Paul Wilson immediately after the pitch or C) defending himself a little too well. Its probably "C" as Wilson found himself on the receiving end of what I believe is the WWE move known as the "Spear," followed by enough haymakers to turn Wilson into a bloody mess of a fight instigator. I'll be back with a recap when this one ends. Here's hoping my fully Cub-clad tag-team partner makes it out of the Great American Brawlpark alive.

Updated 3:30 pm- The Cubs spilt the series with Cincinnati, losing today 3-1. They loaded the bases in the ninth, but Lenny Harris and Troy O'Leary came up empty in two chances to tie it up with a single. Scott Williamson was bailed out by two horrible calls on checked-swing strikes in the ninth, but when O'Leary and Harris are the best pinch-hitters you can come up with maybe you don't deserve to win.

Mark Prior pitched his typical strong game, allowing an unearned run in the third and a second run on a groundout in the fourth. The lone Cubs run came when Patterson, Sosa, and Alou strung three singles together in the third. We've got Sosa back in the lineup, but we are at least two hitters away from a lineup I'll feel comfortable with (that is to say Choi and Trade Acquisition #1).

The Cubs weren't the only team getting the short end of the arbitrators' sticks today, as the US soccer team fell victim to a hostile French crowd and a hostile Uruguyan referee. The US took the lead on a pass from Landon Donovan marvelously headed home by DaMarcus Beasely, but a dubious penalty kick was awarded just three minutes later to allow the Turks to equalize. The Turkish fans, who jeered through the Star-Spangled Banner, were sent home happy with a late defensive breakdown allowing Tuncay Sanli to beat Tim Howard for the winner. The US is now faced with the prospect of having to get at least a point if not all three off of the World Cup champs to have even a chance to advance.

Nothing like two bitter defeats to really make a great Thursday afternoon, huh? Anyway, if Dennis survived the afternoon at the game, he'll be in to tell you all about it.

posted by Scott at 3:01 PM : |

 

Five-year reunion

He's back and he's pissed.

The Cubs are in contention. They are getting dominating pitching from Kerry Wood backed up by mammoth home runs from Sammy Sosa. Its like there is a glitch in the matrix or something.

Kerry was perfect through five and two-thirds and ended up striking out nine and walking none in his best start of the year. Better yet, he went all the way on just 108 pitches showing the economy he's been needing. In the "As the Lineup Card Turns" saga, Dusty stuck with Goodwin at leadoff but also stuck with Mark Bellhorn at third. Bellhorn was 1-3 with a double and a walk, lending some faint hope that he might continue to get opportunities.

Anyway, Dennis will be in tomorrow morning with another commentary on the rampant pituatary disorders among the Ohio populace. In the meantime, tide yourself over by skimming over my lengthy but heartfelt USA soccer Confederation's Cup preview. Then roll your eyes at me and *boom*- back to baseball!

posted by Scott at 11:17 PM : |

 

A sport other than baseball

Tomorrow afternoon as the Cubs tangle with the Reds, the US Men's National soccer team takes the field in the Confederations Cup. Unless you are a dedicated soccer fan, you probably haven't heard of it, but the Confederations Cup is the biggest tournament other than the World Cup that features full top teams from all over the globe. In order to maintain the status of the Northside Lounge as the unquestioned leader in soccer coverage among Cubs blogs, I present you with a brief tournament primer.

The good guys
Coach Bruce Arena has selected a largely domestic team for the Confederations Cup. With Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller unavailable for the tournament, Tim Howard of the NY/NJ MetroStars is expected to be the main keeper for the US squad. It will be an interesting test for a man who has had success in MLS but who has had to wait behind Keller and Friedel for a chance in a major competition. Defensive rock Eddie Pope is out with a fractured knee, so look for rising star Carlos Bocanegra and the perennially underappreciated Gregg Berhalter to anchor the defense in front of Howard. Either that, or they are just my favorites.

Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley (the Corey Patterson and Hee Sop Choi of the US team) will be counted on to provide much of the offensive thrust. The two phenoms from last year's World Cup have reached legal drinking age and should see plenty of playing time. Conyers, Georgia's own Clint Mathis is a bit of a wild card- while he can be brilliant he also has a habit of disappearing for long stretches. I'll stick by him though, and predict at least one highlight reel goal for him. The reliable veteran Ernie Stewart is on the roster- it would be great to see him bag a goal in one of his last shots at the world stage.

The enemies
Game one: US vs Turkey, 6/19- The Turks are one of the hottest teams in the world. They made an amazing charge through the World Cup and in the end only the Brazilians were able to stand between them and the final. They have talented players able to push forward and threaten from anywhere on the field. Two of their premier players, Hakan Sukur and Ilhan Mansiz have struggled a bit over the last year, but Turkey has more than enough firepower to contend with anyone even without those two.

Game two: US vs Brazil, 6/21- Fresh off an opener with one of the world's hottest teams the US has to deal with none other than Brazil, land of Garrincha, Pele, and Ronaldo, and owners of five World Cup trophies. Now you begin to see why even first round elimination might not mean the US played poorly this tournament. Ronaldo is too busy getting divorced (lesson: women ruin everything) to be at the tournament, but look for Ronaldinho to pick up the slack both in the attack and in shear buck-toothedness. Emerson will be the key player in the Brazilian midfield, and Lucio is as dangerous a scoring threat as any defender in the world.

Game three: US vs Cameroon, 6/23- The African champions are an individualistic, counter-attacking team not un-like the US on one of our more aggressive days. The so-called Indomitable Lions will return six starters from last year's World Cup squad including the captain Rigobert Song. Expect an especially hostile reception for the US team in this one, as most of the Cameroon squad plays professionally in France. Unless one of these two teams can pull off an upset, this may end up a consolation game while Turkey and Brazil duel for the top spot in the group.

The revolution will not be televised
So you are all fired up to watch some soccer action right? Well, hold your horses. None of the US games will be available on English language TV, and only Saturday's match with Brazil will be live (on Spanish-language Telefutura.) If you happen to have Telefutura, I promise a couple hours out of your Saturday afternoon will be well worth your time even if you don't speak the language. If not, check around on the web and see how your country's team is doing. If all else fails, I'll probably find time to mention the scores here. In the meantime, give 'em hell USA!

posted by Scott at 7:07 PM : |

 

Reds get another walk-off win

Cincinnati's good luck continued with a two-out RBI double from Sean Casey on a Wellemeyer pitch well out of the strike zone. Carlos Zambrano was on once again, striking out seven Reds in eight innings and allowing only one run. In a completely unexpected turn of events however, the Cubs offense was throttled all night long. The need for the return of the real Sammy Sosa tomorrow and Hee Sop Choi in a few days cannot be overstated.

Tonight's loss dropped the Cubs into a tie for first with Houston. I hate to flip over to panic mode, but time is running out for Jim Hendry to make something happen. He was crowing in the Trib the other day about how he would be free to make a move to add salary if necessary, but its going to be too late if something doesn't happen soon. The great pitching of Prior, Wood, Zambrano, and most of the pen has kept us in it along with the lack of great play from our competition, but there is no way this team with this offense hangs in there much longer.

Dennis will be in tomorrow morning with his in-person report. How fun is it to fight GAB traffic after an extra-inning loss? Dennis will tell all.

posted by Scott at 10:54 PM : |

 

Well, at least the Cubs won

Pitching a slow-pitch softball game in a park with a 220 foot outfield fence is a lot of fun right up until that 30th run crosses the plate. Then it starts to suck. Just so you know...

In other news, Matt Clement had a third consecutive strong outing as the Cubs won 4-3 in Cincy. Moises and Karros had back-to-back homers in the sixth and Farnsworth, Alfonseca, and JoBo eached pitched scoreless innings to close it out. Dusty had his relatively benign lineup in today, with Goodwin and Harris both riding the pine. The criminal neglect of Bellhorn being a given, this is about as good a lineup as we've got.

As the Clark & Addison Chronicle had figured out yesterday, Francis Beltran lasted a little under 24 hours before being sent down in favor of Bobby Hill. Check out Jason's coverage on this, since its far too baffling for me to explain. Also, check in here tomorrow for a dispatch from our ace field reporter Dennis Goodman, with an honest-to-god Cincinnati byline.
posted by Scott at 11:33 PM : |

 

Extra inning magic leaves with Gonzalez

Without our walkoff specialist in the lineup the Cubs lost their first extra-inning game of the season today, 5-4 to the Jays. Troy O'Leary managed to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead with a sixth-inning grand slam, but Shawn Estes gave the lead back in the bottom half. The Cubs mounted two minor threats the rest of the way but came up empty, while Toronto rookie Reed Johnson hammered his second home run of the game to end it in ten.

Sanity returns tomorrow as the Cubs play a National League opponent, this time the Reds in Cincy. The GAB has proven to be a homer-friendly venue for Reds hitters, so it will be a test for Matt Clement who has seemed to have curbed his homer woes of late. John Riedling was scheduled to start for the Reds, but elbow tendinitis has derailed that plan. MLB.com says the Reds' options include ground-ball specialist Jimmy Anderson as well as relievers Chris Reitsma or Felix Heredia.

Before the game today, Dave Kelton was sent down to Iowa in favor of Francis Beltran. Wellemeyer can't get in a game if it doesn't go at least 15 innings or feature a mid-game deluge, but its still important to add an arm to help the pen cover the last couple innings each day. Besides, there's nowhere for Kelton to fit into this power-packed Cubs lineup. I am beginning to think that neither Baker or Hendry recognize the black hole that is the Cub offense. Our pitching is good, even very good, but it isn't so good that we can make the playoffs with this collection of bats.

posted by Scott at 5:09 PM : |

 

Cubs split first two games in Skydome

Friday night the Cubs managed twelve hits, but zero walks and only one run as they fell 5-1 to the Blue Jays. Kerry Wood allowed three homeruns and all five Toronto runs as the Cubs missed a chance to take sole posession in the Central. Ramon Martinez got the start at third but went 0-4, and Dave Kelton rode the bench in favor of Tom Goodwin and Troy O'Leary (3-4 and 0-4 respectively.)

Today, the Cubs jumped on top early when Vernon Wells misplayed a ball off Moises Alou's bat for a 2 RBI knock, with Alou coming on around when he tried to stretch it and the throw bounced off his arm. Mark Prior allowed no earned runs on the day, and Farnsworth, Remlinger, Alfonseca, and Borowski combined for 3 1/3 scoreless to finish it off.

From the "credit where its due" file, I really liked the Cubs lineup today. Dusty went with Kelton in left, Martinez at second, and Bellhorn at third. O'Leary was the one weak link, but Hendry and circumstances haven't left Baker with a lot of options. Tomorrow features Shawn Estes against Corey Lidle. The Jays have been significantly tougher against righties this year (.857 OPS compared to .815 against lefties), so hopefully Shawn can keep the nacent win streak going.

posted by Scott at 8:48 PM : |

 

Cubs win in Bawlmer

Matt Clement was effective for a second consecutive start and Joe Borowski came on to bail out the bullpen as the Cubs emerged victorious from monsoon season in Charm City. The offense staked Clement to a 6-0 lead before Clement gave two back in the sixth. Farnsworth struck out the side in seventh, but gave up two singles to lead off the seventh. Alfonseca and Guthrie poured gas on the fire, and it wasn't until Joe Borowski came on four runs later that the Cubs got out of the inning. A two-hour rain delay ensued, after which JoBo came back out to shut down the O's in the ninth. Dave Kelton got the start in left, picked up his first ML hit in the fourth, got his first ML RBI in the sixth, and doubled and scored in the eighth.

In other news, here's reason #183 I am glad I busted my budget to get the MLB Extra Innings package- watching Derek Jeter slink into the clubhouse as his home fans cheer the opposition's no-hitter. Roy Oswalt left the game one inning in after aggravating the groin he strained last month (hey, no cheering that.) The Astros just calmly called on first Pete Munro, then Kirk Saarloos, then Brad Lidge, then Octavio Dotel and finally Billy Wagner to hold the Yanks without a single hit. Its never really good to see the competition pick up a win, but if it had to happen then six guys combining to humiliate the Yanks isn't such a bad way for it to happen.

Finally, I was woken up at 4:30 this morning to hear two car alarms going off. I was amazingly slow to react given the car theft I witnessed and recounted in this space the other day, but when I got up and looked through the window I saw a child (I guessed eight years old) running out of our parking deck. I went outside and found two cars with windows bashed in, another with the trunk busted open, and three jeeps with doors hanging open. Twenty short minutes later the popo arrived, told me they couldn't do jack, told me they wouldn't even bother to contact the victims and that they could just telefile the police reports in the morning (wouldn't want to trouble a cop or anything). In summary, if you are looking for a car radio or perhaps a selection of merchandise from someone's trunk, come to my apartment complex! I can guarantee no police interference for a minimum of twenty minutes. You know, Baltimore's finest would never let things like this happen. And so we have come full circle...

posted by Scott at 6:22 AM : |

 

The cleaning crew is here, could someone ask Roger to move?

If you missed it, you missed one of those games that we will remember even if we don't manage to contend for the division in September. Kerry pitched magnificently, Remlinger had the clutch strikeout of the year, and Eric Karros (about whom I take back 75% of the bad things I have said this year) hit the critical three-run bomb. Just a marvelous win.

Despite the huge win, the major concern is the status of Hee Sop Choi. He was apparently knocked unconcious in a collision with Kerry Wood on a pop-up in the third inning. He was fitted with a neck brace, put on a stretcher, and loaded into an ambulance. I havve heard rumors that WGN reported him as being awake, talking, and moving in the hospital, but I haven't heard that myself. ESPN News is saying only that he is in "serious" condition. All of our thoughts are with him as we hope he is hale and hearty again in no time.

posted by Scott at 4:43 PM : |

 

Chasees become chasers

Winning eight of their last eighteen has dropped the Cubs into a tie with the Cardinals (winners of five straight), one game behind the Astros (ditto). There is way too much season left to say we have to win today, but it would do a lot for my stress level if we could right the ship and get things moving in the right direction again.

The short version of the Kerry Wood story is that he is a great talent who throws too many pitches to be a great pitcher. He is currently fifth in baseball with 4.1 pitches thrown per batter faced. The Yankees, with a reputation for seeing a lot of pitches, would seem like grease on the Wood-pitch-count fire. I haven't been able to dig up team-by-team pitches-seen stats for hitters, but I can tell you that the Yankees see more than their share. The top teams in baseball usually see about 3.9 pitches per plate appearance. By comparison, the Yankees lineup features such patient fellows as Jason Giambi (4.1), Raul Mondesi (3.9), Robin Ventura (3.9), and Jorge Posada (3.9), as well as less patient folks like Hideki Matsui (3.6) and Alfonso Soriano (3.5). In summary, Kerry needs to work more efficiently if he is going to get far into games, a fact that may be even more key today against the Yanks.

Roger Clemens is actually eighth on the P/PA list, but goodness knows our collection of hackers won't test him in that department. I don't see any other obvious weaknesses in Clemens splits, unless you count the fact that he has been generally ineffective for the last month or so. I mean, if the Tigers can put six across in six inning against him, surely we can do some damage.

A confidential note from me to the Atlanta Police. Next time I call you with a report of two guys hammering on a car in the parking deck outside my window, try to get here in less then twelve minutes. Experience I gained this morning tells me that they usually stick around from ten to eleven minutes after I call it in. Another thing that might be helpful is if you provide your officers with the gate codes to local gated apartment complexes. I mean, I am no master crime analyst or anything, but it seems to me that a barrier that is impenetrable to police but allows two car thieves to walk right in and out isn't going to help matters much.

Last but not least, I teased a Baylor/Baker breakdown yesterday, but Doug made me feel guilty so I am going to keep it inside until the next time Baker ticks me off. I've got my eye on you, Dusty... Edited at 1:38 EDT to add:Dusty just sacrificed with the second hitter of the game. I am going through with the breakdown.

posted by Scott at 11:39 AM : |

 

Yanks run streak to nine

The visitors got to Carlos Zambrano early, tallying two in the first and three more in the third en route to a 5-3 victory at Wrigley this afternoon. Zambrano got tougher as the day wore on, but the damage was done as the Cubs offense couldn't come back against David Wells, Antonio Osuna, and Mariano Rivera. Martinez and Patterson homered for the Cubs, and Sosa flirted with one but came up shy.

Mariano Rivera
Year	OPS vs L	OPS vs R
2000	.565	.555
2001	.435	.583
2002	.473	.605
2003	.370	.929

The Cubs tried to rally in the ninth, and were faced with a two-on one-out situation for Damian Miller. Mariano Rivera's L/R OPS splits the last four years are on your right. A quick glance tells you that despite the fact that he is right-handed, righties have as good or better a shot against him than lefties.

For simplicity's sake, let's ignore the rest of the bench, and just focus on Miller and Baker's choice Lenny Harris. Miller's OPS is .668, Lenny's is .550. Miller's OPS against righties is .723, Lenny's is .584. In fact, Harris hasn't out-hit Miller since Miller's rookie season of 1997. I can see no conceivable reason to think Harris is a better choice than Miller in that situation even before you consider you are wasting a pinch-hitter if the game should go further. Anyway, Lenny smashed a mighty ten MPH grounder to the pitcher who tossed to first for the putout- rally killed. Can anyone either A) point out to me a reason to use Harris in place of Miller there or B) explain to me why the Cubs can't get a manager who can make simple tactical decisions correctly?

Check back for a preview of tomorrow's game and an answer to the question "Don Baylor and Dusty Baker- which one is which again?"

posted by Scott at 8:03 PM : |

 

Wrevenge at Wrigley?

The much-anticipated return of the Yankees to Wrigley Field finally comes this afternoon at 2:20 CDT. Before today's game, we are tied with Houston and just a game ahead of the Cardinals. Both of our competitors have to be salivating as they see us taking on the pinstriped dynasty while they face the Devil Rays and the Orioles respectively.

Today's game pits 22 year-old righty Carlos Zambrano (5-4, 2.69) against the 40 year-old lefty David Wells (7-2, 3.35). Despite their differences, both have pitched very well this year. Wells has had a pretty severe reverse platoon split this year (.856 OPS allowed versus lefties as opposed to .620 versus righties), but that hasn't been the case in previous years so I wouldn't read too much into it. Wells has owned most of the Cubs he has faced before, with only Alex Gonzalez managing an OPS of more than .700 against him. In particular, I'll be shocked if Dusty let's Bellhorn see Wells given Bellhorn's 0-4 with 4 strikeout career record against him.

Let's leave Joe looking like this.

I doubt the Cubs are sitting around the locker room reading this site, so I'll have to give this motivational speech to you guys instead. We haven't played the Yankees in my lifetime, but I still see this as a rivalry. A game against the Yanks ought to be a rivalry game for every team in baseball. The Yankees are the older kid who beat you up and took your lunch money in elementary school. Their fans are generally relentless bandwagoners who will sit there and tell you to your face that Derek Jeter is the best shortstop in baseball. Fans of 29 teams in baseball will be checking Sportscenter tonight hoping to see those arrogant good-for-nothings knocked off their pedestal. I mean really, Googling for "hate the Yankees" gives 2240 matches, while "hate the Cubs" gives 97. Our mission is clear. Our cause is just. Let's beat these punks... for America!

posted by Scott at 10:57 AM : |

 

Cubs romp, await Yankees

Despite using Lenny Harris (no, seriously) as a leadoff hitter, the Cubs rode a strong performance from Matt Clement and a seven-run third inning to an 8-1 win. Clement struck out seven D-Rays while walking only two and even got out with less than 100 pitches in his seven innings. Its been said once or twice before, but this offense stinks. Even with a healthy Sosa, we don't have a pennant winner if we don't get some punch in the lineup. Hendry needs to get busy sooner rather than later.

Come back tomorrow morning we'll have a preview of tomorrow afternoon's matchup between David Wells and Carlos Zambrano.

posted by Scott at 5:18 PM : |

 

Bloody Wednesday

If you guys are anything like me, you aren't having a very good day. Maybe you got a midnight call on your cellphone from a man with a fake Hispanic accent saying "Cheating has been berry berry good to me!" Perhaps you arrived at work to find three voicemails from people, each of them laughing their asses off and using the term "cork" to excess. Maybe you came back from a lunch meeting to find the exploding bat cartoon on espn.com's front page blown up to a lifesize color poster and taped to your cubicle wall. Or maybe, like me, you got to experience all of the above along with a dissertation comparing and contrasting Pete Rose, Bill Clinton, Adolph Hitler, and Sammy Sosa.

Logically, all of this teasing doesn't make much sense. I didn't core out a bat and put cork in it. I didn't take a corked bat out to face Tampa Bay last night, and yet I find myself gritting my teeth, taking the abuse, all with a sick feeling of shame in my stomach.

I have chosen my various favorite teams and players over the years for lots of reasons. No matter how I chose them though, any guy I have taken as my own goes out on the field representing me. If he hits a homerun, I feel pride. If he makes an error that costs the team the game, I feel guilty. If we win, I am happy. If we lose, I am sad.

I realize in my head that it doesn't make a lot of sense. Still, I choose to let these players and teams represent me because I want to feel something. I want to put part of myself on the line with the Cubs. If one of our guys hits the walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth in Game Seven that we have each imagined thousands of times, I am going to be the happiest man in the world. The tradeoff is suffering through days like today.

Come back strong, Sammy. Show them all. I'll be right there with you.
posted by Scott at 2:52 PM : |

 

The draft continues...

The Cubs have selected Michigan catcher Jake Fox (sliding into your screen in a Cape Cod League game on the right) with their third round pick. He's a 5-11, 210 pound junior said to have an average glove but a good deal of pop in his bat. He hit .357 this year with a .696 SLG. He didn't walk much (7.7% of plate appearances) but he didn't strike out much either (9.4% of PAs). This was said to be a draft without much catching talent, but Fox looks to have been one of the better players available so the Cubs may have simultaneously gotten a value and need pick here.

Update- Round 4- The Cubs select Florida State catcher Tony Richie, a 6-1, 215 pound junior. He is said to have a very good arm and was Baseball America's first team All-American catcher as a sophomore. His line was .373/.462/.621 this year, and for comparison to the numbers I gave on Fox above Richie walked in 13.8% of PAs and struck out in 11.1%. Catcher is certainly an organizational need, but two in the first three picks is a bit surprising (to me at least).

Update Round 5- The Cubs take one of the much-maligned high school pitching set. This one is Darin Downs, a lefty out of Santa Luces HS listed at 6-3. The scout comments on mlb.com all look good, but who knows if that means anything?

Update Round 6- This time its Sean Marshall, a lefty from Virginia Commonwealth University. He struck out a little over a man per inning with a 3/1 K/BB ratio, and allowed only 4 homers in 86 innings.

Update Round 7 & 8- Kyle Boyer, a corner outfielder or maybe third baseman from Cal State in round seven. Matthew Lincoln, a lefty from Santa Ana College in the eighth. Boyer hit .338/.406/.511 with 23 steals in 27 tries. Lincoln struck out a little over a man an inning with a K/BB ratio right around 4.
posted by Scott at 3:38 PM : |

 

And the next Cub superstar is...

1- Tampa Bay Devil Rays- Delmon Young
2- Milwaukee Brewers- Ricky Weeks
3- Detroit Tigers- Kyle Sleeth
4- San Diego Padres- Tim Stauffer
5- Kansas City Royals- Christopher Lubanski

A brief interlude from your hosts:

Dennis says:
Mike Aubrey, 1B/OF, Tulane University- .505 OBP and .733 SLG. Does not walk as much as the other guys but OBP is good because he has been plunked around 20 times. Steals some bases at a high success rate (19 of 21). If the Kelton experiment in left does not work, we need someone to take Alou's place in a couple of seasons.

Scott says:
Ryan Harvey, OF, Dunedin HS, FL- Dennis wisely looks askance at drafting high school players, but in this case I am going to make an exception. There probably isn't any high school pitcher that could tempt me into taking him, but high school position players at the top of the draft go on to become top level stars at a very comprable rate to college players. Harvey is a 6-5 CF with speed and power. John Sickels calls him a "tools monster", and the scouts consensus seems to be that he has every physical ability you could ask for. Sickels does question his plate discipline, but he is (obviously) far too young to rule out improvement in that area. Ultimately, when you have one guy left on the board who would have been a plausible #1 overall pick you've got to go for it.

Jim Hendy says:
Ryan Harvey, OF, Dunedin HS, FL

Before the draft, the word was that the Cubs would go for the best player available. With most of these players at least a couple years away, and a trade always an option in the event of a logjam, that's a strategy that makes sense. This is who Hendry wanted, and this is who he gets. I guess it puts the pressure on me since they took my guy!

We'll be back with more when the Cubs pick in the third round (having lost their second round pick to Atlanta for signing Remlinger) and beyond later in the day.

Also, more coverage at The Cub Reporter.
posted by Scott at 1:37 PM : |

 

Pitcher's Duel

The Cubs held the Astros scoreless for sixteen innings yesterday, just long enough for Sammy Sosa to punch a single past a drawn-in five-man infield for a 1-0 win. Check out the Cub Reporter for a great recap of the game. Also, can someone explain to me why a guy who has hit 300 homers in the last six seasons with a 1.000+ OPS deserves to be booed for going 0 for his first 10 coming off the DL? What on earth are you people thinking?

The Cubs have lost eight of fourteen but continue to cling to a two game lead in the Central. They try to extend that lead to three games today as Kerry Wood (4-3, 2.78) takes on the southpaw rookie Jeriome Robertson (3-3, 6.46). Robertson's overall line is ugly, but he is 2-0 with a 3.06 in his last three starts. The Cubs (with the exception of Paul Bako) have never seen him, so let's hope the advance scounts have given our hitters a good report.

Finally, I don't want to be a corporate shill, but do yourself a favor and scroll down for Dennis's review of the Cubs hitters performances this year. The witty putdowns of Tom Goodwin's hitting abilities are just the start!

posted by Scott at 7:12 AM : |