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 : |

 

To Dusty, one victory, from Bob

This space has been pretty hard on Dusty Baker in the past for lineup decisions and on the field strategic moves. Think of it like getting mad at your family. You get mad, state your peace and in the end are happy they are around. I think the attitude Dusty brings to the ballclub is great. The players believe in him and want to play for him. He is a great player's manager, so his moves can be taken with a small grain of salt. The same can not be said for Bob Boone. Ol' Boone gave Clement a chance to settle down yesterday and it wound up costing the Reds.

Clement was shaky to begin the game as the first two players reached via single and he could not find strike one all night. Griffey and Kearns whiffed (first 2 of 9), but Boone decided to attempt a double steal during the Kearns strike three (well, to be more fair he started the runners 3 and 2). He should have run himself out of the inning but Dunn was safe at third. To be honest with you, I don't know how he was. I saw the ball beat him, looked down to record the put out in the book only to hear the Reds fan cheer. I have no clue how he beat it. The current NL Player of the Week Aaron Boone then shot a single through the right side to give the Reds a two run cushion.

After Uncle Kracker look alike Jimmy Anderson gave the Cubs back a run in the second (this inning also featured the Cubs losing another runner on the basebaths), Clement struggled to start the second. Jason LaRue, who has an .853 OPS as a catcher, singled to lead off the inning. One batter later the portly port-sider singled himself to give the Reds 1st and 3rd with one out for the leadoff man Dunn. Now the fun part, Dunn gets to 3-2 and Boone sends Anderson. Dunn strikes out, which he has done in 32% of his PAs this season, and Miller throws a dart to second. On the throw LaRue tries to take home and the Cubs easily retire him. This dumb call lets Clement settle down minus a hiccup in the fifth and the Cubs win on the Alou and Karros homers.

Here are some other thoughts from game one in random list format:

• Each of the Reds player's has a "theme song" that plays as they step into the box. Most are rap, some are country, but Juan Castro's is a song that would elict fear from the most intimidating pitchers. He stepped in the first time to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler. I guess every now and then he falls apart. He came up to some salsa stuff later in the game so maybe someone was playing a joke on him.
  
• There was a lady behind us rooting heavily for the hometown nine that sounded exactly like the "Where's the Beef" lady from the 80s commercial with a tracheotomy. They should have filmed this woman for an anti-smoking ad.
  
• Jimmy Anderson is not small, but hey neither am I and he is a big leaguer. My question is why are most heavy set pitchers left handed. You don't see too many heavy righties. I guess if your left arm works well enough major league teams want you even if you are missing a leg.
  
• How crappy should Bellhorn feel that Hill was chosen to pinch hit before he was? Of course he struck out, so he will not be used for 5 days.
  
• The GAB crowd really came to life in the 9th. This was before the runners got on base. I guess they are used to so many come from behind wins by the Reds this season. The Reds have 4 relievers with 3 or more wins. The Cubs have one (Remlinger). My point, the Reds starters don't stick around too long.
  
• When I walked into the stadium I felt the wind blowing out and became worried. The ball carries well there without the wind. Clement hung tough though and only allowed one extra base hit.
  
• Clement struck out more last night (9) than Jimmy Anderson (7) has all season.
  
• The Cubs struck out 13 men and only walked 2 with one being sort of intentional because Borowski wanted no part of Dunn in the ninth.
  
• If Larkin and Griffey ever were to collide on a short fly ball it would produce the most cataclysmic event in the history of the Reds. Larkin's weak legs and Griffey's weak body should not even be on the same plane together for safety sake.
  
• How in the world is Borowski's WHIP only 0.98? He seems to put two runners on every ninth inning. He gives me a heart attack.
  
• The Cubs bullpen only allowed 2 baserunners and one ball out of the infield in three innings last night. They also struck out 4 and walked only 1. That is the way it should be.
  

Tonight, the Cincinnati area will be dodging raindrops again. Carlos Zambrano takes on Ryan Dempster in what should be a good matchup for the Cubs. The game is on WGN. Keep an eye on the seats behind the Cubs dugout as the wife and I are in row 2 or 3 I think. Look for the pretty woman (as in a real pretty woman not the type of person Julia Roberts was in Pretty Woman, man, I gotta keep you guys in line sometimes) standing next to the guy who makes you think "what is she doing with him"? Sort of a Billy Joel, Ric Ocasek, Daid Copperfield thing going on.

posted by Dennis at 8:22 AM : |

 

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 : |

 

Cubs' bloggers attendance streak to reach 7

Check out Chris' first hand account of the first two games in Toronto over at the Yarbage Cub Review. I imagine he will have his thoughts on the third game later in the week. Hopefully he did not lose any notes after vomiting on them after seeing Harris was not only starting but batting second. That unfortunately is not a typo. OK, maybe Bellhorn made fun of Baker's mother, would not sign an autograph for his kid or maybe Baker just hates strikeouts, fine then play Harris. But for goodness sakes do not bat him second. You are giving a .170 hitter an extra AB in the game. Uggh!! This officially becomes an Oakland A's blog if Baker ever writes out a lineup with Goodwin leading off and Harris batting second. OK, maybe not.

The Cubs head to the Queen City to play four games against the Reds this evening. Yours truly has tickets for all four games. Tonight the wife and I are sitting in the upper deck along the third base side. There are even money odds for rain in the first three games of the series. The radar looks promising at the moment though. Hopefully all that junk near Memphis stays to the south. I am one of those fans that keeps score at all games I attend with my own scorebook, but sadly, due to the threat of rain, I have not done it in the last few games. Hopefully tonight breaks the streak. The Cubs start the series one game ahead of the Astros, two up on the Cardinals and three up on the Reds. The first two games of the series will be the last without Sosa.

Baseball Reference added a new feature recently, not that I needed a reason to spend more time there. You can examine the head to head records for any team. Here is how the Cubs stack up against Cincinnati. I had no clue the Cubs were 5 and 12 against the Reds last season. That is pretty horrible. They are 5-2 against them thus far in 2003 including the last three games by a combined score of 37-8.

The mighty New Palestine Dragons (my wife's high school) fell short in their bid for the softball state championship on Saturday night. The Friday night semi-final game was rained out so they had to play all the games on Saturday. The games were delyaed so the New Pal did not even start until 2:30-ish. They finally won their semi-final game 4-0 in 11 innings with the game ending near 5:00. They then had to turn around and play the chapionship at 7:30. They lost 1-0 while threatening in the last inning. Definitely a great season.

Tune in tomorrow for notes from the ballpark.

posted by Dennis at 7:56 AM : |

 

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 winning streak washed away

Looking to stretch their winning streak to a season high five games, the Cubs could never get on track due to the weather and the right arm of Carlos Zambrano. In what is becoming a blog tradition of reverse karma, Carlos got roughed up a bit more than 5 hours after I praised him in this space. He gave up 5 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) in only 2 innings as the Orioles beat the Cubs 6-1. This game not only had its start delayed by rain, but a lengthy rain delay between the second and third inning. Given that Carlos had given up so many runs, I was performing a rain dance in my living room to no avail. I did see one of the cut-ins during the rain delay on the Extra Innings package and Oriole announcer Buck Martinez stated that the normal American League curfew had been "lifted" for this game since the Cubs and Orioles don't play again this season. This sounds a lot like asking you parents if you can stay out until 2:00 on prom night. I can just imagine the O's calling Bud Selig and saying "Sandy Alderson said we can play later, can we Bud, please, please?!"

Personally I am a little peeved that they finished the game. They could have easily brought the Cubs back for a day game when the teams had a mutual day off, or they could have let the game hang out there only to be replayed if it mattered in the standings. MLB decided to do as recently as 2000 as the A's only played 161 games. I suppose the bigger question if why the game was even scheduled at night anyways. I know that Toronto and Baltimore are in the same time zone, but common courtesy would be to get the visiting team out in a timely fashion. Now the Cubs face Toronto after a short night of rest. Kerry Wood (5-4 2.96) takes on Kelvim Escobar (3-3 3.60). I wonder if candy manufactures in the Toronto area have made the Esco-bar yet. I would put peppermint in it, but thats just me.

Mike Kiley is beating the trade drum again this morning in the Sun-Times This time he talks about giving up Zambrano to get Lowell. I usually don't spend much time discussing trade rumors because most of the time they wind up being false. Given that, I say its a huge mistake if we trade Zambrano. He just seems to have the perfect repertoire of pitches to succeed at Wrigley. He has not won since late May, but he pitched one very good game in there against Houston which he should have won. In other games he was one or two pitches away from being out of jams. He is young and therefore inconsistent, but still one of the top number five starters in the league. You just cannot give up this proven ability when you have other bargaining chips in the minors.

Matt Williams decided to call it a career yesterday ending the speculation that he would come to Chicago. I saw Williams play in a game at Wrigley in '94 when he was just on fire. Good player who simply did not have anything left in the tank. I am happy he is not coming to Chicago and obviously wish him well. In other baseball news Steve Phillips was fired as Mets GM . The Mets are just dreadful. They have yet to figure out that 30+ year old players are not only more expensive but are not as productive as younger players. Like I said yesterday, players by definition can only peak once. Signing players who peaked years ago might make a team look good on paper to some, but baseball games are played on grass, turf, or that funky faux grass they have in Tampa. The Mets are in some deep trouble not that I lose sleep about it.

The Amazing Race

This is the first time I have talked about The Amazing Race in this space. It is my favorite reality show of the bunch. It is fun to see the teams fight with each other and other teams. The main appeal of The Amazing Race is that it is the one reality show that people can clearly imagine themselves as participants. Who couldn't travel all over the world?

There is one annoying aspect to this season though, Chuck and Millie. Not them personally because I am sure they are nice people and they play the game hard and fair. But, everytime their team name is flahsed it mentions "dating 12 years / virgins". First of all, dating 12 years! Man, I know marriage is a big decision, but 12 years! Talk about commitment issues. Secondly, does anyone care about what people do or do not do in the bedroom? I don't go around talking about my personal life like that (especially with my mom reading this blog), and I really don't want to hear about others. Are the other teams supposed to be described as "engaged/sexually active". I am all for people's personal decisions/opinions whatever, but somethings I don't need to be told.

Back off tangent, the show last night featured one its staples - the bungee jump. One of the recurring themes on the show is that people do extreme activities they would never do in real life. I have to admit, bungee jumping would be a hard thing for me to do. With a million bucks on the line and in the heat of the moment, I would probably take the plunge, but I would ask for Depends first. Russell and Cindy were eliminated last evening when a ticket broker led them astray. He misunderstood the city they needed to wind up at and therefore they lost time correcting the mistake and their place in the race. Tough break.

Father's Day Weekend

I am going out of town to see both my dad and my father-in-law this weekend, but I might have time to make brief posts. Also, tonight I will be watching the Indiana High School Softball final four because my wife's alma mater is playing. Good luck to the Dragons. It has been a good year for our high schools because mine won their first basektball championship this season going undefeated. It was also my school's first state championship in any sport. Nothing like a little small town Indiana athletics to fill the time.
posted by Dennis at 8:31 AM : |

 

Cubs looking to sweep Orioles, run win streak to 5

In a somewhat rare getaway night game, the Cubs look to sweep the Orioles in Camden Yards this evening. Carlos Zambrano (5-5 3.05) will face Rick Helling (3-4 6.13). The Cubs have faced Pat Hentgen, Omar Daal, and Rick Helling in this series. Quite the list of pitchers that used to be effective but now and shadows of themselves. This is why teams like the A's can win with limited resources. The Orioles have lots of money but they decide to wrap it up in players like these. Now, they do only make a combined $5.2 million this season, but surely there are cheaper, better pitchers out there. These guys all peaked in the late '90s. Don't GMs understand that by definition a player can only have one peak season?

Carlos on the otherhand has been downright nasty and is only getting paid $350,000. Gotta love the Cubs minor system after seeing that comparison. His ERA is just over 3 his WHIP is 1.28. Take away two close pitches from the Yankees game and he beats them. I love watching Carlos pitch. He has a real heavy sinker and a fastball with a ton of movement - a perfect groundball pitcher for the Cubs. It is sickening (in a good way for Cub fans) that he is the "5th starter".

If the Cubs do pull out the victory tonight it would be there third 5 game winning streak of the season. They also have one four game winning streak. The amazing part is that their longest losing streak of the season is only three games and that has only happened once. The Cubs have yet to be swept this season and it is June 12th. Given the quality of the Cubs starters, a long losing streak can be avoided all season

There were a few articles I ran across this afternoon that are worth mentioning. First Phil Rodgers gives his opinion that Sammy should not have appealed his corking suspension. Now, he begins the article stating that the game Tuesday should have been game 4th of his suspension. Then he states that serving it now costs the team because of who they are playing. Fact is the Cubs are hurt no matter when he takes the suspension. If he is worrying about the Cubs (which he is probably not), Rodgers should state that Sammy appealing, which he has every right to do, and staying in the lineup against a better Yankee team was good for the Cubs. The argument continues that Sammy will be rusty after he comes off suspension which of course would have happened whenever he took it.

The last gem in this piece is the accusation that Sammy used the corked bat once against Houston because he used a bat that "appears identical" to the corked bat. Nothing like a little baseless accusation to fill column space. Bonds uses a darkly colored bat that is spherical in shape. Maybe he is corking as well. On a related note, does anyone else think the picture of him on the Tribune website makes him look like Kevin Arnold's junior high math teacher on The Wonder Years.

The second piece is by ESPN writer Rob Neyer and discusses commissioner Bud Selig and some of his ideas. Neyer takes the time to shred some of Bud's new ideas. Some like the All Star jerseys are more annoying than harmful while others like the shorter season and the inclusion of more playoff teams could have a far reaching impact on the game. I don't like the wild card and am not for adding even more playoff teams. The sad part is that all the reasons Bud gives for playoff expansion like television ratings and increased interest by fans of "contending" teams are verifiably false. I don't know if Selig believes these things or not. If he does, he is stupid and not able to either do research or hire someone to do it for him. If he does not, then he is a liar. Life is tough when your only choices for media perception are either idiot or liar.

posted by Dennis at 3:48 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 : |

 

Cubs take game one behind Estes, despite Kim

Shawn Estes pitched absolutely brilliantly last night leading the Cubs to a 4-0 whitewashing of the Orioles. He pitched 7 innings allowing only 6 hits while striking out 5 and walking only 2. He also got stellar defense behind him as the Cubs rolled over 2 double plays (3 in total for the game) and Estes himself even got into the act with a great barehanded catch-and-throw play on a high chopper to the mound. Estes biggest crime this season has been his inconsistency. Believe it or not, he is 6-5 despite having an ERA over 5. When he has been bad, he has been very bad, but he pitches well enough on occasion to be a decent 5th starter for this team. Last night his curve ball was outstanding and it was good to get a strong performance by a starter to begin the 10 game road trip.

The story of the night was clearly the pitching of Estes, but the coaching of Kim is a close second. Third base coaches are a lot like umpires. If they are noticed, then they are doing a crappy job. Twice the Cubs had runners thrown out at the plate with no outs in an innings. In the second inning the Cubs got 5 hits and only 2 runs while in the 5th they had a leadoff single and double and failed to score. In my mind there are two times to be aggressive while trying to score: 1) when you have a fast runner and 2) with 2 outs in the inning. Neither one of the above conditions applied in the 2nd or 5th. Looking at Baseball Prospectus' Team EQA numbers, the Cubs have scored 10 runs less than expected. I imagine the two biggest factors in being under expectation (well, besides the possibility that the model does not account for some systematic effect) would be outs lost on base and double plays. The Cubs are third in DPs and have if memory serves have lost their fair share of runners. The Clark and Addison Chronicle and Let's Play Two both have more comments on Kim.

For Kim to give the other team outs, the offense has to be one base. The sticks did a pretty good job last evening of making contact. Well, all of them except Lenny Harris. Harris is hitting .183 with no power. I wonder how low this has to go before he is relegated back to the bench. Sammy Sosa almost got his first homerun since returning from the DL. His second inning shot hit off the top of the wall. The worrisome fact is that the ball he hit a mere 380 feet is one he used to hit 440 feet. His ABs are starting to look better though. Once he starts driving the ball to right field again, all will be right with the world.

Corey Patterson had a double and a triple last evening to raise his batting average to .328 and his slugging to .593. As stated in the NOTD, he still does not walk but with the impressive average and power numbers, he is a productive player. Here are his stats at the moment and then projected out for the rest of the season:

	PAs	Runs	Hits	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB
Now	248	40	79	14	7	12	46	10	7
Projected	652	105	207	37	18	31	120	26	18

Despite the low total of walks, that is a monster season. A lot was made of Ryne Sandberg's run in 1984 to become the first player with 200 hits and 20 doubles, triples, homer and steals. He came up just short in homers and triples. Patterson will give the same record a very good run but also add 100 runs and RBIs. I would have to do some research, but I bet not too many full time players ever gets close to having the same number of triples as walks.

Being a baseball fan is a funny thing sometimes. Going from hating a team one instant to rooting for them the next. Well, that is the position of Cubs' fans this week. After taking a series from the Yankees (and costing Juan Acevedo his job) the Cubs must now root for the Yankees as they play the Cards and the Astros this week. Last night was good as the Yankees beat the Astros to put the Cubs back in a first place tie.

Tonight the Cubs will try to take the second game of the series against the birds. Matt Clement (3-6 4.61) is coming off a good outing against the Devil Rays and will face Omar Daal (4-6 4.91). The game is on Extra Innings for those who subscribe.

posted by Dennis at 7:56 AM : |

 

Cubs travel to Baltimore, face old St. Louis team

It is sometimes difficult to come up with a great "hook" to lure fans with some of the interleague series. Baltimore/Chicago may not be as bad as Milwaukee/Tampa but I had to do some thinking to come up with any sort of compelling story line. Then it hit me. The Orioles are descendents of the old St. Louis Browns (and original Milwaukee Brewers for a season, in fact them moving to St. Louis probably broke the heart of Bud Selig's parents/grandparents). The Cubs hate all things about St. Louis in context of the baseball season, so there you go. This could be a pseudo rivalry. Ah, who am I kidding, there is nothing interleague play can offer that can top the Yankee series. Speaking of the Yankees, the Cubs will now become their biggest fans as they welcome in both Houston and St. Louis into the stadium this week.

Tonight Shawn Estes (5-5 5.67) will take on Pat Hentgen (1-3 5.25) at Camden Yards. Being in the midwest I have only been to a few stadiums in my life (Wrigley, Busch, Cinergy, Great American Ballpark, and old Tiger) Camden Yards is behind only Fenway on my list of parks I would like to see. One of these days, I will go on a massive east coast road trip myself and see both of them.

Sammy Sosa's appeal of his eight game suspension will be held today in Baltimore. The Cubs are looking to get an Albert Belle type reduction in the total number of games according to today's Tribune. One quote from the article struck me as funny:


The Cubs will be satisfied with a two-game reduction to six games. But look for an angry reaction if Sosa gets a token one-game reduction, and an explosion if the eight-game suspension stands as is.


The Cubs will explode if the suspension stands as is? Granted I don't know MacPhail and Hendry all that well, but they don't look like the exploding type. I think someone on the Tribune staff has seen one too many Hulk trailers (which by the way looks really bad, the CGI makes Hulk look like Shrek).

I have heard some media types talk about how Sammy should have not appealed the corking to begin with. Their argument was that since he admitted he corked his bat, he should just serve the time. Do these guys follow the game at all? Batters will routinely appeal suspensions after they charge the mound and are obviously guilty. Appeals are a perfectly acceptable part of the CBA and it is not uncommon for players to use the appeal process to "pick" which games they will miss. I think people are just piling on Sammy after his mistake. For my own selfish reasons (I have tickets to all four upcoming games in Cincy), I hope the decision on the appeal comes soon and that he gets his sentence reduced. The prospect of watching four games without Sammy or Hee Seop is not a good one.

Rob Neyer's picks for all-time lineups for the various major league teams are going up on espn.com over yesterday and today. The Cubs lineup isn't posted yet but you can sneak in the back door to it here. I have actually purchased his book, so I know the list unless he has had a change of heart between now and when he published. I am sure his lists will spark some debate. Jason Steffens over at the Clark and Addison Chronicle talks specifically about one of his picks.

posted by Dennis at 8:07 AM : |

 

Cubs take game, series from Yankees

Last night on national television the Cubs were able to score early and often against Yankee starter Andy Pettitte and then hold on in the 9th to win 8-7. Scott and I were both online and chatted throughout the game. I decided to take notes and will present our thoughts on the game diary style. Yes, this is a direct rip off of Bill Simmons from ESPN's Page 2 sans the Beverly Hills 90210, Karate Kid and NBA basketball references. It is a fun format though and could give some insight into the tortured mind of a Cub fan.

• 7:42 - I am sitting in my upstairs den with my favorite adult beverage getting ready for the game. Baseball Tonight is live at Wrigely and they send it to Jon and Joe for some pre-game talk. Morgan has a really large forehead. They show the lineups and Ramon Martinez is the third basemen du jour.
  
• 7:52 - I see the first ad for this year's ESPYs. I am now prepared to see them for the next 12 weeks.
  
• 7:59 - ESPN shows some memorable Cub and Yankee homeruns in a montage. I was looking away for part of it, but I don't think they included the Sandberg game. That is a shame.
  
• 8:02 - The wind is blowing out. Given Prior's control and lack of gopheritis I think the advantage goes to the Cubs.
  
• 8:10 - Prior just showed ESPN how he grips his pitches. He is holding the ball between his legs and we almost see way too much of young Mark. I am sure the ladies across the country loved this segment.
  
• 8:12 - Soriano got two strikes on him and flubbed a double to left center. That ball was not hit very hard at all. Lets see if the Yankees try and bunt
  
• 8:15 - Jeter looks pretty silly on a couple of sliders as Prior records his first punchout.
  
• 8:23 - After hitting Posada, Prior strikes out Ventura on fastballs. Prior got the side in the 1st as no runs score.
  
• 8:26 - Grudz works the count to 3-1 and rips one up the middle. He almost took Pettitte's head off with that one. I am wondering if Dusty will bunt like yesterday.
  
• 8:30 - Alex is up and they are showing most of the pitches from a high camera behind the catcher. Look, when people watch the games on TV, they want to see the game. This angle is terrible. Alex rips the ball but unfortunately it goes right to Giambi for a line drive double play. Tough break.
  
• 8:32 - Patterson takes his turn on trying to remove Pettitte's head with a sharp single. He almost gets picked off and the organist plays the theme music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
  
• 8:37 - After a good Sammy Sosa PA that turned into a walk, Moises loses one onto Waveland for an early 3-0 Cub lead. There was a fan on the street that caught the ball in the air. Nice. Saying the fans are pumped up would be an understatement on the same level of saying Skip Bayless does not like Sammy.
  
• 8:45 - Prior lets the first two Yankees reach in the second inning. Good thing this is in a National League ballpark because we have their 8th place hitter and then the pitcher coming up.
  
• 8:47 - Umpire blows a strike three call to Rivera, but Prior does not mind as he later grounds into a double play.
  
• 8:49 - Prior blows away Pettitte and gets out of his mini-jam. I think he is just toying with them at this point.
  
• 8:53 - Mike who? Martinez hits his second homer of the series to put the Cubs up 4-0. After the homer they show Sandberg and Banks sitting next to each other in the seats. I wonder if they got their tickets at Wrigley Field Premium. Scott mentions that if the stadium sections engage in a pick-up softball game, his money is on that one.
  
• 8:58 - Gonzalez gets a hanger from Pettitte and knocks it against the ivy to knock in Miller and make it 5-0. Pettitte's night is done after 1 2/3 innings. He got five total outs, 2 of them on a crushed line drive that would up being a double play and 1 because the Cubs gave it to him on a sacrifice. Not good for him. The Yankees are brining in their 6th starter Weaver.
  
• 9:03 - We officially have a route developing as Patterson triples in Gonzalez. The Cubs hit for the cycle in the second inning and lead 6-0.
  
• 9:10 - Giambi puts the Yanks on the board with a solo homer. I guarantee if the Cubs were up by 3 runs or less, he does not get the fastball to start the AB. Prior is a smart guy and realizes that solo homers cannot do too much damage.
  
• 9:14 - I do not want to be gellin', have a vague memory of learning about Magelln, do not really like melon and have never been a felon.
  
• 9:18 - Jon Miller just wished Hee Seop Choi well in Korean. Lets hope that he did not pull a JFK and blow the translations and say something like "I have naked pictures of your mom" or something.
  
• 9:26 Tom Seaver at the moment. Morgan mentions that Seaver used more leg drive in his delivery to generate power. I just now noticed how huge Prior's calves are. I am guessing he has pretty strong legs as well.
  
• 9:32 - Ventura has been safe at second by about an inch two plays in a row, but he survives and lets Torre bring up Ruben Sierra for Weaver. Hitchcock is warming up, so the Cubs will see the Yankees 4th, 6th, and 7th starters all in the same game.
  
• 9:40 - Posada just took his second foul ball of the inning in a spot where you don't want to take a foul ball. I don't know who the Patron Saint of Plastic is but I imagine he is in Posada's thoughts at the moment.
  
• 9:44 - Jim Belushi is in the booth. Scott reminds me that he starred in the Mark Grace vehicle Taking Care of Business. I just know he has a show on ABC right now as well as John Ritter. I guess ABC is promoting the senior sitcom tour. Hey, the PGA has one, why not actors.
  
• 9:50 - Prior gives Jeter the hat trick.
  
• 9:55 - Patterson morphs into the 2002 Patterson and whiffs on a pitch that bounced. Sosa bats next and the crew states that Sammy has led the Cubs in homers for 10 straight seasons! The only other player to lead his team for that many consecutive seasons is Hank Aaron. If Sammy gets on a roll he could beat Hank's record this season. Of course, that is probably not the Aaron record he has his eye on.
  
• 10:05 - Mondesi sits on a 2-0 fastball and drives one into the bleachers to make it 6-2.
  
• 10:08 - 3 straight ball have been hit hard with 2 outs as the Yankees plate another run. Bubba bats for Hitchcock (that could have been a headline during the Clinton administration) and strikes out looking. Trammel is the 7th major leaguer to be named Bubba in case you were wondering.
  
• 10:13 - Future Columbus Clipper Juan Acevedo comes into the game and is greeted by an Eric Karros single.
  
• 10:15 - Soriano has had no luck getting on the Saturday Night Live in New York cast so he decides to audition for Second City instead. His audition consists of a perfect impersonation of Chevy Chase.
  
• 10:18 - Career pinch hit leader Lenny Harris (if you ever talk about the Cubs you are contractually obligated to put that qualifying phrase in front of Harris) flies out weakly to right to end the inning. Prior's evening is done. Yankee fans rejoice.
  
• 10:21 - Dr. Tightpants comes into the game to face the top of the order. The Cubs have not scored since the 2nd and I can feel a little acid churning in my stomach.
  
• 10:25 - Farnsworth walks the unwalkable to start the inning. Walking Soriano is like dating Pamela Anderson and not getting at least a good night kiss. It just doesn't happen that often.
  
• 10:27 - Jeter is sick of striking out so he decided to hit into a double play. Nice choice. My stomach starts to feel better.
  
• 10:31 - Remlinger comes in to make Giambi look silly again. He has to be wondering how he hits so well in the AL. I was suprised Dusty went to Remlinger. He seems to have a slow hook for starters then a real quick one for relievers. Don't know if this is good or bad, just mentioning it.
  
• 10:37 - Acevedo decides to field a bunt and throw it into right field. See, it is the ballpark that is causing all the Cub pitcher errors and not the actual pitchers. Soriano decides that throwing the ball around is fun so he makes another error allowing Grudz to score all the way from first on a sacrifice. Acevedo will have a bus ticket waiting for him in his locker after the game.
  
• 10:40 - Sosa collects career hit number 2000 with an RBI single. The Cubs are now up 8-3. Sosa got his 2000th hit in his 15th season while Harris earlier in the homestand got his 1000th hit in his 16th season. Draw whatever conclusion you would like out of that.
  
• 10:50 - With the game not on the line anymore, Remlinger decides to give up a walk and a Ventura homer. The game is back to 8-5. Ventura took a close pitch and then homered on the next one. That has happened about 5 times to the Cubs this series. Alfonseca is coming in as the stomach acid is coming back.
  
• 10:52 - ESPN is showing more footage of Ruth's "called" shot. I have no idea what he was pointing at, but it sure as heck does not look like center field from that footage. The outside of his shoulder is facing center field because he was taking his batting stance. If his arm was also pointing to center, it would have to form a near 180 degree straight line angle with his shoulder. The angle of his arm is closer to perpendicular. To me, he is clearly pointing toward the dugout. Considering that he makes more gestures toward the dugout as he is rounding the bases, I say he was yelling at the Cubs rather than calling his shot.
  
• 10:58 - Alfonseca walks a guy and goes to 2-0 on the next one. My dog wakes up and smells her butt. Coincidence? Scott is pulling for a strong Alfonseca showing so we can peddle him to the Yankees as they leave town.
  
• 11:06 - David Kelton gets his first major league PA. I am glad Dusty got him in the game. If I ever make the bigs, I would want my first PA to be against a change up specialist. I see he took over Brown's number 24. Hopefully the number will have more hits and more importantly more opportunities in it this time around. Kelton hits the ball hard but right at Rivera. He gets a great hand as he trots back to the dugout.
  
• 11:11 - Joe Borowski is in the game in the easiest of save situations. He does have to face the top of the order though.
  
• 11:16 - After getting 2 strikes on Jeter, Borowski gives him the walk. I start to look for Pepto.
  
• 11:19 - After getting 2 strikes Giambi doubles to the right center field gap. The tying run is coming to the plate and I need a stonger medicine. I will be happy to see Giambi leave town.
  
• 11:24 - After getting 2 strikes (seeing a theme yet) Posada grounds a hit up the middle to cut the Cubs lead to one. The winning run is now at the plate. I am wondering if Dusty will demote Borowksi in game and bring in Guthrie for Ventura. One more hit and I will need this. If the Yankees tie the game the Cubs are in trouble because Alex ended the 8th.
  
• 11:25 - Borowksi stays in and gets Ventura to fly out. It looks like the ball just missed the sweet spot on the bat. Ventura did not wait until 2 strikes. Silly Yankee. Charles Gipson is now pinch running for Posada.
  
• 11:28 - Mondesi gets 2 strikes on him and is poised to get a game winning hit. Instead Gipson, deciding he would like to spend time in Columbus as well, gets caught leaning the wrong way and is picked off to end the game. Unbelievable! Borowski slams the door shut with his pick off move. Joe's totals for the series: 2 games, 2 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 1 HR, and 1 save. Rivera eat your heart out.

The Cubs take two of three from the Yanks and stay within a game of the first place Astros. They also finish the homestand 6-6.
posted by Dennis at 9:33 AM : |

 

Cubs close out series in prime time

Sunday night the Cubs will play the third and decisive game against the Yankees. The game pits Mark Prior (6-2 2.76) against Andy Pettitte (5-5 4.71) on ESPN's game of the week. Usually the thought of listening to an entire game of Joe Morgan would cause me to gouge my eyes out, but they are already gone because I had to listen to McCarver and Buck this afternoon. At least Morgan works with Jon Miller, who I think is very good. Dusty shuffled his pitchers earlier in the homestand to ensure Prior would get this start against the Yankees. The Cubs would not only like to win this game because of the extraordinary amount of hype involved, but winning gives them a 6-6 homestand. Yeah 6-6 is not all that good when all is said and done, but it is not a bad recovery considering they started 2-4.

Pettitte is a lefty so we will probably see Ramon Martinez get the start instead of Bellhorn. At least Lenny Harris will be available to pinch hit in the later innings for Damien Miller. Luckily for the Cubs Pettitte is a lefty so the loss of Choi will not be noticed immediately as Karros would have started anyway. Of course, this will weaken the bench quite a bit. The Choi injury just looked absolutely horrific. I hope that he is alright, but I imagine a trip to the disabled list could be in order. With Sosa getting ready to spend 8 days on suspension can the Cubs afford to keep Choi active but unavailable for a few games? I think we will need to get a bat from AAA as we head to the AL parks. More will be known tomorrow about Choi for sure.

Quick hit thoughts for today

I actually had to tape the game this afternoon because I was umpiring three little league games. To be quite honest, three of the worst little league games I have ever umpired. The pitchers could not find the strikezone all afternoon and that is saying something because I give pretty generous corners to 12 year olds. By the 4th inning of the third game, I could not see straight, but coming home and watching a Cubs victory made it all worth while. After spending some time watching the game and re-watching some of the better parts, here are some random thoughts after the Cubs first ever victory against the Yankees.

• The best part about Karros' homer was that it prompted 2 minutes of silence from Joe Buck
  
• I am watching Baseball Tonight at the moment and they are showing an interview with Yankee pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre after the game and he has wet hair. You mean to tell me that pitching coaches take showers. What in the world for?
  
• Did you notice when the ambulance came in to take Choi off, Cubs personnel would not let it drive over the infield? It had to perform a three point turnaround to avoid the infield.
  
• Isn't it great to not only have baseball dominating the sporting world, but Cubs baseball.
  
• I don't ever remember Remlinger getting pumped up and gyrating after big outs in Atlanta, but he has done it a couple of times for the Cubs. He might have the biggest set of family jewels in the world to drop a 3-2 changeup on Giambi. What a pitch.
  
• How funny is it that Clemens got the lose because he was responsible for the first two runners that scored on the homer allowed by Acevedo. Funnier still (in a baseball sort of way, not for a Cubs fan) would have been if Giambi would have taken Remlinger deep then Acevedo would have been in line for the win.
  
• Wood was absolutely electric this afternoon. Maybe this will be the catalyst that brings him to the next level. He always flirts with greatness but always seems one inning or one batter away from dominating. He flat out dominated the Yankees today and hopefully he can remember this into his future starts.
  
• The crowd at Wrigely was absolutely electric again this afternoon. Cubs fans get a bad rap as cell phone toting, sun bathing yuppies with no real knowledge of baseball. People clamour that Wrigley is the attraction and not the Cubs. Well, that is usually because the Cubs stink. Given a good team and a marquee match-up the fans stepped up and proved they are some of the most passionate, intelligent fans in the game. I would have given a lot to have been there today.
  

posted by Dennis at 10:35 PM : |

 

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 : |

 

Rays uncork wild pitch, umpires uncork Sosa

The Cubs snatched victory from the jaws of defeat last night winning 3-2 on a walk off wild pitch - which has to be the second worst walk off event for the defense behind only the walk off balk. Ramon Martinez was batting with men on second and third and one out when the Devil Rays tried to unintentionally, intentionally walk him. Levine either did too good of a job of missing the strike zone or too bad of a job of making it close and threw one to the backstop to plate the winning run. The really eerie thing was that Steve Stone predicted the game might end that way right before it did. He seems really good at predicting things like that - of course my memory only remembers the things he gets right and not the hundreds he probably misses.

The Cubs continue their series with Tampa his evening at 8:05 on Fox Sports (and Extra Innings) Shawn Estes and Victor Zambrano are the scheduled starters. Estes has pitched much better at home this season. Hopefully the Cubs can sweep out the Rays before the Yankees come to town.

Oh yeah, there was also a little incident involving Sosa last night. If you have not heard then thanks for using The Northside Lounge as your primary Cubs news source and also get out from under than rock. We will be posting more on the Sosa situation as the day progresses so make sure to check back.

posted by Dennis at 8:08 AM : |

 

Paging Jason Grimsley...

In case you have not heard the story, Jason Grimsley was a fringe pitcher with the Indians a few seasons back. Albert Belle was accused of corking his bat one night at Comisky Park. The umpires stored the bat in their room to send it off to the league office after the game. When the game was over, they found a Paul Sorrento bat instead of the Belle bat. It seems Mr. Grimsley crawled through the ceiling tiles and pulled off the switch during the game. He replaced it with the Sorrento bat instead of another Bell bat because he suspected all of Belle's bats were corked. This story was taken from Baseball, Chicago Style: A Tale of Two Teams, One City by Jerome Holtzman and George Vass.

Why recount it now? Well, as most have probably heard Sammy Sosa was ejected from the first inning of tonight's game for having cork in his bat. Obviously details are sketchy as the game is still being played. Unfortunately this is not the last we will hear of this case. If it was indeed cork the Cubs are looking at upwards of 10 more games without Sammy. More important will be how the Cubs and Sammy handle what will be a massive PR fallout from this incident. We will wait and see.

posted by Dennis at 9:15 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 : |

 

Sandberg comes to Wrigley

OK, not that Sandberg, but Ryno's nephew Jared is a member of the Devil Rays. Tampa comes to town for the first time in its team history for a three game interleague series. Former Cub Jemeri Gonzalez makes his return to Wrigley Field to face the struggling Matt Clement (on FoxSports 8:05 in the east). Tampa is 9-18 on the road this season, so hopefully the Cubs can get pull off a little winning streak before the Yankees come calling. The Cubs need some home cooking because they are only 14-13 at home this season. This is over .500 but under average. The cumulative winning percentage for teams at home since 1901 is near 54% with good teams being much better that that. It would serve them well to get to 60% at home since their road record is a very respectible 16-12.

Clement will look to right his ship as he went 0 for May. His last victory came April 18th. In his four May starts he gave up 5,6,2, and 7 earned runs plus he had that terrible start start against the Cardinals taken off the board. Being stung by homers all season, he did at least keep the ball in the park during his last outing. Of course, he gave up 9 hits and only struck out 2 men. Facing Tampa Bay cannot hurt as they are 11th in the AL in runs scored averaging 4.35 runs per game.

[Update 2:56 EST: MLB.com is now reporting that Prior will take the ball tonight]

On the offensive side, the Cubs need to find a way to wake the bats up. The Astros outscored them 18 to 5 and the Pirates outslugged them 23 to 9 during the first two series of the homestand. Six games, 14 runs, or about 2.3 a game so far at home. They had better spike the steaks at Harry Caray's with HGH. I have talked at length about the Cubs offense recently, but suffice to say if Harris keeps on getting more and more ABs, I think the Cubs will continue to struggle. The Cubs have played 28 games since May 1st. In 11 of those game Harris has gotten 3 or more plate appearances. The Cubs have scored 30 runs in those games (2.73 runs/game). Comparatively they have scored 79 runs in the other 17 games (4.65 runs/game). The difference is statistically significant (p=.0368). I realize their could be a slew of covariates, but on the surface it appears that our sub .300 OBP "starting" third basemen is hurting the offense.

Draft Day

Today at 1:00 PM in the east, the major league first year player draft takes place. Major League Baseball's website will let you listen to the draft as it happens. The Cubs pick 6th and then will not pick again until the third round. The Braves get the Cubs second round pick as compensation for losing Remlinger. They would have lost their first round pick, but it was in the top half of the draft. The Cubs have been one of the teams to take the leap to grabbing college pitchers of late and hopefully that will continue. The draft preview for the Cubs quotes the scouting director saying they will take the best player available at 6 with no regard to filling a need. Everyone knows the Cubs are stocked with arms, so they can either get more and use them as trade bait or switch horses and get some bats especially behind the plate. Scott and I will recap the draft later on in the week.

And after alllllll, I read Moneyballlll

If anyone gets that comment, you are either really up on 90s music or really sad like me (or both). Anyways, I finished the book over the weekend. There have been numerous (google Moneyball and it lists 1480 pages) reviews, comments, critiques, and praises for this book, so anything I say will not do it justice. If you are still on the fence though, I say purchase it. You won't be disappointed.

Two main ideas came across to me while reading the book. First, why in the heck don't all teams think like the A's. Some scouts never look at numbers when drafting a player. They look only at tools. This creates a system where the A's can draft good hitters and pitchers while the other teams draft men with good legs or arms that cannot hit or pitch. Some organizations think they can teach baseball ability if players have certain natural attributes. It would be akin to marrying a woman beecause she looks like a supermodel and then "teaching" her to be a wife. Their ability to assess baseball playing prowess at lower risk (by not drafting high school pitchers for instance) have made them into a winning ballclub without the financial means of other clubs.

Second, I was struck by Billy Beane's personality. Of course, some parts of the book were probably exaggerated to some degree by the author, but he comes off as some tortured genius who cannot figure out what he wants. He is in constant struggle between being recognized for his brilliant work or demonized as being lucky. He wants to point out how stupid other teams are to allow him to win, but preaching that gospel might make the other team's change focus therefore making him lose his competitive advantage. The stigmas that make it possible for him to succeed also leaves his success underappreciated. Of course, the impact of this book might be that he is finally recognized outside of SABR circles for his amazing work. This could also mean in 15 years the A's system will be the standard until some other bright people have the courage to challenge it with something better.

posted by Dennis at 8:47 AM : |

 

Cubs continue to struggle at home

Kerry Wood looked as dominant as Nolan Ryan at times and as helpless as Micah Bowie in others as the Astros routed the Cubs 9-3 yesterday to take two of three in their weekend series. Wood struck out 11 Astros and only gave up six hits and 3 walks in his 6 innings. Unfortunately four of the six hits and 2 of the three walks all came in the 4 run Astro 4th.

An Eric Karros homer in the bottom of the seventh pulled the Cubs to within 2 runs at 5-3, but Mike Remlinger, feeling left out, decided to blow up and give up 2 homers and 4 runs in the top of the 8th to secure the final margin. Alfonseca, Norton, Cruz and now, Remlinger have all decided to play gasoline man to opponents fire during this homestand. Mark Bellhorn doubled in the ninth inning, so that should earn him another week on the bench. Of course if Matt Williams comes over Bellhorn might not ever play again. Yuck!

On the plus side to this little spurt of mediocrity, no one wants to come and take first place from the Cubs. Over the last 10 games, 5 of the 6 division teams are 5-5 with the Reds going 3-7. Also, the Cubs can no longer claim that they should have the best record in the division. The Cardinals are outscoring their opponents by a greater margin, but Cub secret agents Jeff Fassero and Joe Girardi have conspired to make them 3-14 in one run games. They are still the team that worries me above all others in the Central. Of course, if Dusty would give up on the notion that Harris as an everyday player I would like our chances better.

Weekend Movie

For the first time in a long time, the wife and I took in a movie this weekend. We saw The Italian Job with Marky Mark (come on feel it, feel it!!) Edward Norton and others. Pretty good popcorn flick. Lots of car chases and heist scenes with the required gadgets and cool stuff that criminals can always find. I wish they would sell this stuff at Wal-Mart. Also, I would hate to be an insurance agent for a gangster pulling off "one last job". It is probably easier to get coverage if you are a 300 pound diabetic with a three pack a day habit.

Most of the chase scenes in the movie involved the Mini Cooper. What is the fascination with these cars? I think all cars should have a mini version especially the Winnebago. If it were made by the same company as the other Mini, they could call it the Winnie Cooper...Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Finally, a personal note

Today is my wedding anniversary. The Cubs were in first place the day I got married which is something a lot of fans cannot claim. It cannot be easy living with a Cub fan given their bi-polar nature during the summer months. Just this weekend I literally jumped for joy when Sammy got his game winning hit on Saturday and then threw the remote and left the room in a tiff after Remlinger blew up Sunday. Through it all, Kara maintains an even keel and has even grown to become a fan of the team. I am a lucky guy.

posted by Dennis at 8:41 AM : |

 

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 : |

 

And now, the rest of the story

Scott took care of the pitchers earlier this week, so I am here to talk about the bats. Again, I will be looking at some numbers that are not traditional and indexing them to the NL average. My statistics are current as of yesterday's game. I am covering anyone on the team who has more than 10 at bats, so that includes the starters. Here are some of the stats I am using::

• OBP - On base percentage indexed to league average (.335)
  
• SLG - Slugging percentage indexed to league average (.415)
  
• OPS - On base plus slugging indexed to league average (.749)
  
• Eye - Ratio of walks to strikeouts indexed to league average (.536)
  
• Walk % - Percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk indexed to league average (9.5%)
  
• Contact % - Percentage of at bats not resulting in a strikeout indexed to league average (80.5%)
  
• RARP - Runs above replacement player, a Baseball Prospectus metric
  
• Rank- Major League rank within position based on RARP.
  

Enough with the set-up, lets get this ball rolling starting with the team as whole.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Cubs	101	100	101	91	103	97	n/a	n/a

The Cubs have been pretty average in terms of offensive production. Given the pitching staff, average will be enough to win a lot of ballgames. They are 8th in the league in runs scored. The only statistic that is far from the league average is eye meaning that they don't walk as much as they strikeout compaed to the league. If this ratio comes up it not only means that the Cubs are putting the ball in play more which leads to easy RBIs, but they are walking more. Both could turn into more runs.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Moises Alou	112	112	112	177	95	111	11.3	9

Quietly, Moises Alou is putting up a pretty good season. He is in the top ten of RARP for left fielders, above average in nearly all facets of the game. The most amazing thing is that he has only struck out 20 times compared to 19 walks. Those kind of numbers are not put up too often. The only annoying thing about Alou is the occasional half swing dribbler. He also still has a surprisingly good arm in the field as well.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Paul Bako	100	74	85	100	132	91	0.6	41

Offensively he is just barely above replacment level, but his job is not to put up Mike Piazza numbers. His job is to make sure Miller does not wilt in the August heat and not be an automatic out when he bats. Plus, he catches a decent game when he is in there. Walks quite a bit when he plays and gets on base right at the league average. His hit against the Reds was responsible for Griffey missing some time plus he had 6 RBIs that day. Not a bad guy to have on your bench.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Mark Bellhorn	106	78	91	123	194	82	3.4	18

Bellhorn, oh Bellhorn you had the chance to keep third base all to yourself and struggled. Now, you are in Dusty's doghouse and I cannot figure out why. He still controls the strikezone and gets on base better than the league average. The only puzzling thing from my standpoint has been the lack of power. Going into the season, his biggest asset was the ability to walk and that has continued as he has walked 18% of the time. He does strike out a bit but this does not make him an invaluable player. He ranks 18th in RARP, imagine what that would be if some balls in play fell for hits. I fear we may never know.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Hee Seop Choi	118	126	122	117	198	79	11.0	10

A checklist I would want for a ballpayer: good OBP, good SLG, commands the strikezone, and walks a bunch. For Choi that is check, check, check and check. He is the 10th most productive first sacker in the majors all while seeing a lot of the league for the first time. He still whiffs quite a bit, but I believe that a) this is not the biggest deal in the world and b) he will improve as he ages. He has gotten almost 62% of the PAs in the first base "platoon" although he has sat against some righties. Baker does not seem to like strikeouts, so hopefully this number does not drop because Karros turns into Joe Girardi against righties. Easily a chance to beocme a big time producer in the bigs.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Matt Clement	53	42	47	0	0	51	0	n/a

To quote Bill James, "Pass."

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Shawn Estes	60	38	48	27	53	78	-0.1	n/a

Estes is the only Cub starting pitcher to draw a walk this season, so he has that going for him, which is nice.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Alex Gonzalez	94	94	94	77	77	100	3.8	19

A player much like Damien Miller in that he is here for his defense and what you get out of the bat is gravy. There is not really a stellar part of his offensive game, but there are no huge weaknesses. Sure some more walks and a better command of the zone would be great, but he is not supposed to be an offensive leader. Known for his clutch hits this season. The funny thing is that his OBP in late and close situations is actually worse that his overall OBP. Of course, he is slugging .645 in those situations.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Tom Goodwin	55	59	57	17	20	98	-4.0	n/a

Let's see, a player who does not make contact as a league average rate, does not get on base enough, does not walk enough and has no command of the strike zone, how about we bat him leadoff once a week. I have lamented on just how bad he is before, so I won't go through all the numbers again here. Suffice to say I think he should be a sunk cost. There are better players for even cheaper than the $635,000 we are paying him. The n/a in the rank column is because he plays more than one defensive spot and I did not want to scroll down the page far enough to find his name.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Mark Grudzielanek	105	93	98	82	55	109	4.6	20

Mark came into to spring training and stole the job from Bobby Hill. He then proceeded to play his little heart out and put up some decent numbers. His performance this season looks nothing like his previous three. He does not walk much, but the high batting average is keeping his OBP above the league average. I think this is the perfect Dusty Baker player, someone who has a high batting average and puts the ball in play, the anti-Bellhorn. He is also the type of player that scares the death out of me. His performance is built on a foundation of cotton candy and could come crashing down at any moment. You can get lucky and hit to 18 in blackjack a few times in a row and win some money, but I would not bet the mortgage payment on it happening the next time.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Lenny Harris	85	68	76	187	100	111	--2.6	41

Lenny Harris has successfully taken his pinch hitting mentally into his new everyday job. That means he swings early if it is a strike to avoid whiffing thus making his eye percentage great even though he only has seven walks. Nevermind that once he makes contact the ball is hit with the same power as when my sister strikes it. He has a lower OBP, SLG, OPS, and walk % than Bellhorn yet he has started more recently. But he does make contact and maybe that is what Dusty likes. When and if the Cubs go out and get a third basemen, remember it was Baker's insistence to use Harris that forced Hendry's hand and not Bellhorn's play.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Eric Karros	111	116	114	373	119	116	4.2	22

Chalk Eric Karros up as my biggest surprise for 2003. I have given Baker some grief in earlier comments, but here I will give him some credit. To me, the most vital part of managing is putting players in a role where they can succeed. For Goodwin it is selling ice, cold Budweiser and for Karros it is hitting lefties. His OPS against southpaws this season is 1.135. I would love to see Choi get 90% of the PAs at first, but I cannot really compain if Karros continues to hit this way. He is doing everything from commanding the strikezone to hitting with power. Ever have a girlfriend that had a pretty cool roommate? While the girlfriend was getting ready it was nice to know you could kill some time talking with the roommate. You never wanted anything much just something to hold your attention until the main attraction was ready. Well consider Karros Choi's roommate.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Ramon Martinez	105	92	98	124	111	102	2.7	n/a

Martinez is a great guy to have on the ballclub. He gets on base, has a little power, walks some, controls the zone, and can play all the infield positions. If Baker has completely given up on Bellhorn, then Martinez should be starting at third. At least he does not have a negative RARP value. He is the guy that comes to your party with a 12 pack, but he won't steal the girl you have your eye on. His rank is n/a since he plays so many positions. Good 25th man.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Damien Miller	99	94	96	96	139	87	4.4	20

Miller has slumped of late and seen his batting average get down into the .220s, but his above average walk rate puts his OBP near the league average. I had my reservations about Miller, but I am pleased. He catches a good game, has the pitchers' respect, and does not embarass himself with the stick. I like the fact that he can turn a fastball around every now and then. Along with Gonzalez, he has hit some of the biggest homers of the season thus far. He is the type of guy that will fly under the radar until October and then get a huge hit in the world series. Javier Vazquez would have one more victory if not for a Miller homer earlier in the season.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Troy O'Leary	75	76	76	109	83	106	-3.8	n/a

Another guy that makes contact but nothing else. Noticing a trend yet? O'Leary was basically signed to be a left handed bat off the bench. He was thrust into action with the Sosa injury and basically proved why he was a bench player. Anyone who thinks this team can win without Sosa should look only at the above stats. His rank is n/a for the same reason as Goodwin.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Corey Patterson	99	135	119	24	30	96	13.7	7

Patterson is hacking his way to a fine season. Some of his balls that were doubles when he was a younger man are finding the seats this season. He still has no concept of the strikezone as shown by pretty terrible walk and eye numbers, but when he makes contact he scorches the ball. Hackers can really only be successful if they have speed to beat out Texas Leaguers and power to make sure the ball is hit hard. Patterson has both so like Soriano of the Yankees he can have some value even as he hacks. If he ever develops some patience and strikezone judgement watch out. Without it he is the 7th best center fielder, with it there is no limit to how good he can be.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Mark Prior	97	124	112	0	0	84	4.5	1

Are you kidding me? A freaking pitcher with an above league average slugging percentage. He has more doubles than Lenny Harris, Paul Bako and Tom Goodwin. He has as many homers as Harris and Goodwin and more than Bako. He is not only the best pitcher on the staff, but he is one of the best pinch hitting options off the bench. I don't think Baker would ever use him above the other guys - but he should.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Sammy Sosa	129	126	128	124	192	83	13.8	6

If this is a slump, I feel sorry for pitchers when he gets on track. Sammy is the former holder of the most famous big toenail in all the midwest. A toenail that landed him on the DL. He is now back and it is only a matter of time before he starts crushing the ball. The bar is raised so high for Sammy that these numbers look poor. Don't fall into that trap, his slugging percentage is still high, he is taking more walks, he is controlling the strike zone and now he is healthy. The Cubs offense receives a huge boost with him in the lineup.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Kerry Wood	52	73	64	0	0	86	0.8	23

Wood would be the best hitting pitcher on most staffs. On the Cubs he is third. Still good for the occasional homer and has surprising power the other way. I like the fact that he is not an automatic out.

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Name	OBP	SLG	OPS	Eye	Walk %	Contact%	RARP	Rank
Carlos Zambrano	50	90	72	0	0	72	1.3	14

The third Cub starter to hit a homer his season. He has also a couple of doubles in his ledger. Reminds me more of a guy that just swings hard in case he makes contact, but he can actually switch hit. It is great that the Cubs have three starters in the top 25 of all pitchers in RARP

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Well, that is all of the sticks. The Cubs are strongest comapred to other teams at first, the outfield and on the mound. As a team they are average and need to work on their strikezone command and judgement. Mainly, they just need to score a few each night as their pitching will keep them in most games. With Slammin' Sammy back, that should not be difficult. They play the Astros this afternoon at Wrigley on WGN (4:00 EST). Oswalt, in his first start off the DL, will take on Zambrano.


posted by Dennis at 1:36 PM : |

 

Sosa returns; scoring doesn't

Wade Miller mowed down the Cubs last night as the Astros won 9-1 and moved within a game of the Cubs in the Central. In his return to the lineup, Sammy struck out on four pitches in the first, struck out on four pitches in the fourth, struck out on four pitches in the seventh, and fouled out to the catcher to end the game. Not to worry though, June is here tomorrow so I predict twenty homers for the month starting tomorrow.

Roy Oswalt (3-4, 3.68) returns from a stint on the disabled list this afternoon to face Carlos Zambrano (5-4, 3.02) at Wrigley. Oswalt was pitching well but not quite as well as he has in past years when he strained his right groin sliding into second two weeks ago. The Cubs could really use a new win streak, so wear your lucky talismans and for God's sake let's get some runs.

CAPTURED!

On a p