Archive for April, 2008
April 18th, 2008
Rich Hill gave the Cubs what they needed today — five innings of one run, three-hit ball.
He struggled a bit with his control, walking three, but he did strike out four Pirates. The Cubs need all their starters to perform well or risk wearing out a bullpen that must be near the top of the league in innings pitched.
The bullpen was solid again today with Jon Lieber, Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood allowing only one run and three hits over the final four innings. Good to see Wood pitch a perfect ninth to pick up his fourth save.
Now let’s see what Jason Marquis can do tomorrow. The Cubs need to keep winning games against teams like the Pirates. The competition gets a lot tougher when the Mets come to town Monday night.
April 18th, 2008
The flack over Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman ripping “obnoxious” Cubs fans after they bombarded the field with baseballs after Adam Dunn’s home run Wednesday recalls the scene from Animal House when Delta house brothers stand up for their picked-upon nerdy pledges: “They can’t do that to our pledges.,” Boon says. “Only we can do that to our pledges,” Otter replies. Chicago sports fans have complained for years that large a portion of the crowd comes to Wrigley Field more to experience the unique fun and atmosphere there than to watch the game. But as soon as an outsider accuses the party of getting out of control, Cubs Nation gets outraged. Face it; Cubs fans have more fun at the ballpark than almost any fans in baseball, and sometimes that fun spills out of control.
April 18th, 2008
I’ve sounded this alarm before, but Rich Hill needs to have a good outing today against the Pirates.
The Cubs starting rotation was supposed to be a strength. In spring training seven guys were battling for five spots. Now, 15 games into the season, only two of the five starters have chalked up wins.
Most of us figured Carlos Zambrano would have a good year, but we didn’t expect Ryan Dempster to do as well as he has so far. The biggest disappointment has been Ted Lilly. He hasn’t been the same since he threw his glove down during the playoff game against the Diamondbacks last year. Maybe he hurt more than his psyche.
Some of us figured Jason Marquis would start well and then fade as he did the last couple of years. Maybe he’ll turn it around, or maybe it’s time to stick a fork in him. It’s early, but when five of your nine wins are from the bullpen, that’s not a good trend.
April 17th, 2008
Ted Lilly cruised through the first three innings today. His control and low pitch count were convincing enough that his bad start to the season was out of his system.
Then came Joey Votto. With one out in the fourth, Lilly loaded the bases for Votto to clear with a double. And in Lilly’s final inning in the sixth, Votto took one deep for two runs.
Although Lilly went a season-high six innings, the damage was already done in the fourth to keep pace with his three other starts (IP: 4.1, 3.2, 4.2).
And with Jason Marquis and Rich Hill (next two starters) averaging just 4.8 innings with a combined 10.23 ERA in four starts, it’s making every Cubs fan mumble under their breath “Thank God for Ryan Dempster”.
April 15th, 2008
It’s inevitable. Dusty Baker will be booed unmercifully tonight at Wrigley and it’ll continue throughout the entire three-game Cubs-Reds series. But even after falling out of favor with the majority of Cubs fans, I have yet to make up my mind how exactly I feel about Dusty.
I was at the Cubs’ final game of the 2006 season, poised to boo Dusty out of Wrigley with the rest of the disgruntled Cubs Nation. But, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I almost felt sorry for him. As fans and signs cursed him into the dugout, I stood there perplexed that I was letting the opportunity to tell him off slip away. And in the end, I don’t regret it. He was, and still is, an easy scapegoat for frustrated Cubs fans.
I still go back-and-forth. As much as I hated him for using his son as a media-shield, his infatuation with Neifi Perez, his part in Steve Stone’s departure, I’ve always appreciated how his presence turned the Cubs from the cute little-engine-that-could team to a team of legitimate playoffs expectations. 2003 made every baseball fan ask: Why aren’t the Cubs doing this every season?
And, now, after writing all of this, I realize where my confusion lies: I hate the fact that I don’t hate Dusty Baker.
April 15th, 2008
I wrote that the Brewers had the best young hitters in baseball and wouldn’t go away. They promptly lost their next two games. I also mentioned that the Reds, loaded with young talent, could also contend. Cincinnati then got swept in Pittsburgh, which hadn’t won a single home game all season. So …. when do you want me to say something nice about the Cardinals?
April 14th, 2008
The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan attempted his revisionist history for Dusty Baker’s return to Wrigley Field as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, beginning Tuesday night.
I don’t want to go point-by-point because recalling the Baker era since 2004 makes me yearn for an aneurysm. But this one makes me laugh: Baker was known as a player’s manager who coddled his team, unlike his successor. But Wood said they’re a lot alike. “There are not that many differences,” he said. “They both hate to lose.”
Wow. Both managers hate to lose? So they’re alike?
The difference is Piniella holds the players accountable. That’s why C Michael Barrett and SS Cesar Izturis, who would have been defended to the end by Baker last season if given the chance, instead were sent far, far away in the Lou regime.
April 14th, 2008
The 7-5 Cubs are doing some early-season damage control to keep pace with the never-surprising Cardinals (9-4) and the division-favorite Brewers (8-4). And they are doing it in rare fashion: extra-inning wins…on the road.
So far this season, the Cubs are 3-1 when games go past 9 innings. All three wins came during the recent Pennsylvania-road trip. The results were ugly, but effective enough to go 4-2.
Over the past two seasons, the Cubs went 6-14 (2006: 4-7, 2007: 2-7) in extra-innings games with a 3-8 (2006 2-5, 2007 1-3) road record.
Down the stretch, extra inning wins make the difference between getting into the playoffs and not. Just ask last season’s
Rockies, who won 11 of 21 extra innings games, including a 13-inning play-in game over the Padres (forced to play due to an overcrowded NL West).
April 14th, 2008
It’s too early to worry (what, me worry), but there are a few disturbing trends as the Cubs come home after a 4-2 road trip.
Other than Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, the starting pitching has been bad. Ted Lilly, Rich Hill and Jason Marquis look lost. Hill has the best ERA of the three at 5. They’ve combined for just 32 innings in seven starts. That’s put a lot of pressure on the bullpen, which for the most part has done well.
The Cubs defense hasn’t helped the pitchers much. Lots of physical and mental errors so far. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.
Timely hitting is an issue as is getting runners home from third with less than two outs.
Despite that, the Cubs are 7-5. The team has shown resiliency despite the problems mentioned above. I guess I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty, but that’s tough to maintain over the course of the season.
It took a while for the team to get going last year, so maybe when the team starts playing well it can put the rest of the N.L. Central in the rear-view mirror.
I’m not as worried about the Brewers as I am the Cardinals. Tony LaRussa knows how to get the most from his players.
April 13th, 2008
I don’t like how Piniella is using Felix Pie so far this season, but can’t argue with Sunday’s events in the eighth.
Cubs had runners on first and second, one out, and Lou sent the left-handed Pie in to pinch-hit for catcher Henry Blanco against Phils reliever Tom Gordon. The Phillies countered by bringing in lefty reliever J.C. Romero, so Piniella came back with Geovany Soto, the better hitter, as a pinch-hitter for Pie.
The moves paid off for the Cubs when Soto hit an excuse-me single to right to tie the game 5-5.
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