Bleed Cubbie Blue

The sooner we get last night in the rear view mirror the better

Let’s sweep the Sox!

Agreed.

Well,

time to put this behind us but I’m really worried about the night game/day game long flight home. The Sox just have to drive across town. We looked a little tired and that may be DLee’s problem. We haven’t been on the road that much and this goofy trip through Cooperstown had to tire out the players. I’m hoping for 2 of 3 this weekend.

mrcubsfan - June 20, 2008 reply

Maybe the short turnaround...

... will allow the Cubs to quickly forget the debacle by the bay and win this series.

It has to be a good feeling

as a player to get right back out there, in the comfort of your own home, and do something to get back on track. I hope they go out there like men on a mission. I want to go home from work happy today!!!

iblamethefamegame.com?

ha ha.

I giggled.

:-)

With that out of the way...

Swept by a good team, on the road, playing AL rules down a top bat. It happens. The window is closed and I can’t even see the ledge from here.

Time to make hay while the Sox bats of Thome/Konerko are benched and Dye’s, Swisher’s & Quentin’s are napping. So the White Sox swept Pittsburgh, doesn’t everyone these days? Here’s hoping we see the hittable White Sox pitchers, rather than those with “no-hitter” stuff.

0-3 in games attended

Once I found the schedule had the Cubs coming to my backyard I collected the series and couldn’t wait. OooFF I’m glad the Cubs are headed back home! I came into work today and every broom in the plant was awaiting me in my cubicle. I had a good laugh as well as the people responsible. Yes there are living and breathing Rays fans and of course they had to stick to me.

The Cubs had a bad series.

The Rays are a good team especially if you give them extra out and walks and HBP…

I hope the Cubs rebound today quickly and regain the swagger they had prior to landing in Tampa.

Scott G F - June 20, 2008 reply

Rays

Give them some credit. They have a darn good team. Marmol blew it, however.

thekever - June 20, 2008 reply

marmol made me sick.

I love the dude, but please, never again.

White Castle

will tend to do that.

lol

bubbamike the one and only - June 20, 2008 reply

Marmol

had a bad game after how many good and great ones? Let’s give him a break, he has been pitching his heart out all season and no one has a good game every time out. No one, not Sandy Koufax, not Randy Johnson, not Fergie Jenkins, it just doesn’t happen. If it bothers folks to discover that Carlos is human then they need to readjust their reality.

that sucks.

i was able to ask my braves coworkers if they had any brooms. sure hurts when the shoe is on the other foot.

I'm not worried yet

We were never going to make it through the year without losing 3+ games in a row, so this blip was inevitable at some point.

This week we played a hot-team in their home park. We lost 2 one-run games which is a little unlucky, and we’re carrying a few injuries (of varying severity) that make the team look and play a little tired.

Remember though – the team is 45-28 (17 games over .500), we are 3.5 games ahead of the Cards, and 5.5 games ahead of the Brewers. If you had been offered this position at the start of the year you would have been delighted. So until something major happens to shift my optimism, I am going to remain delighted.

MadHatterBlues - June 20, 2008 reply

I'm not worried about the team yet, but I am worried about Lee

I know he went 3-4 last night, but it was the softest 3-4 I’ve ever seen. When it really mattered he struck out on a terrible swing and looked just awful doing it. You can see the frustration affecting him – I’ve never seen him slam his bat down so many times. I just hope it’s nothing serious.

HectorVillanueva - June 20, 2008 reply

I think Lee is okay.

I believe he is hitting close to .380 over the past week and is heating up He probably just seems way off after that really hot start.

It's a weak .381

since he is slugging .476, that’s 8 hits, 7 of which are singles. I think it is a good sign that his hits were going to right field. If memory serves, that is usually what derrek does when he is trying to get his swing back

That's absolutely right.

He started doing that late in spring training, and that’s one reason he got off to a good start.

Lee is still making contact & 381 aint bad.

We hav a third baseman who has disappeared.

Good point

Ramirez:

Last 7 days – .185/.185/.296 OPS – .481

Last 14 days – .217/.308/.304 OPS – .612

He needs to pick it back up a bit.

He did

just that today big time.

sue369 - June 20, 2008 reply

Yes, and all of a sudden the Brewers

are coming back into the picture. The “Stros have been miserable lately and the Brewers miight have some things figured out. When it’s all said and done they may still be our biggest challenge.

mrcubsfan - June 20, 2008 reply

the brewers are the only team in the division winning

everyone else just got swept. The Cubs, Cardinals, and Pirates have lost 3 in a row. The Reds have lost 5 in a row and the Astros have lost 8 in a row.

mjk83 - June 20, 2008 reply

Yep, the Brew Crew have won four straight.

Fortunately, they’re still 5.5 back.

Agree

I still think the Cardinals are winning w/smoke and mirrors. Waiting for the wheels to fall off. I AM still concerned about the Brewers though.

jbgindy - June 20, 2008 reply

Did anyone else see

Prince Fielder’s inside the park homerun on ESPN? They showed his one from last year and timed him around the bases. He cut a full second of his time for this year’s inside the park job. Maybe the veggies are working ;)

Was last year's at Miller?

I don't know for sure

He was in a different color uni, but they didn’t show the field at all

it was in the metrodome

13 Ks and 2 BBs for Cubs batters

That was awful.

jasoniniowa - June 20, 2008 reply

I'm really worried about this series

I was at the cell the other night and their bats are hot. Dye has hit about three homers in three days. Those balls were flying out of the park. They even rallied back from a 6 run deficit. I am also concerned about Ted Lilly. He has looked uneven in his last few starts. I had a bad feeling about the Tampa Bay series and I have the same feeling about the sox. I hope I am wrong.

mgfabc - June 20, 2008 reply

As we well know...

... the Pirates pitching staff isn’t very good. That’s who the Sox hitters were facing the last three days. In fact, Ted Lilly has gone at least six innings in 10 of his last 12 starts. In his last 11 starts he is 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA and 24 BB and 69 K in 63 innings. He’ll be just fine.

As weird as this is to say...

Marquis hasn’t been bad the last couple either. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I seem to recall thinking he was doing an out of body thing lately. We could be okay, particularly since the showdown starts at home.

Marquis

has won his last 4 starts and has a 1.96 era in his last three. He is pitching quite well right now.

You are correct!

Marquis’ last six starts—4-0, 3.09 ERA.

All I'm asking for is the title of your game recap to once again be "A Marquis Performance"

HectorVillanueva - June 20, 2008 reply

I've had...

... “A Marquis Experience” and “A Marquis Performance”. Got to think of something different!

Beat me to it...

How about "Holy Crap, Marquis Pitched Good Again." ???

HectorVillanueva - June 20, 2008 reply

He will not Marquit!

Marquis to my Heart

The Marquis to Victory

I’ll stop now.

"A Marquis Mark of Excellence"

lol

got my vote

Marquis-sy does it

The marquis says “WIN”

Marquis mark and his funky bunch…

lol

Marquis Mark takes it.

He’s got such good vibration.

That's been done

A Marquis Performance

Cool! Thanks for the stats!

I just remember games and knowing when I’m scared! I’m usually listening at work, no scorebook unless I’m at the game. ;)

It is what it is

Rays in the toughest division in MLB 43 – 29

Cubs in the easy division in MLB 45 – 28

Our team looked slow compared to the young Rays…... We have some cracks

in our armour

nimblenikelfoos - June 20, 2008 reply

Easy division?

How do you determine this? IMO it’s the NL West would take that title…. AZ winning that division with a record that would put them in 3rd and 5 games back of the Cubs

I'm not sure the Central qualifies as easy

Cubs have the best record in baseball, Cards are in the top 5, and the Brewers are 6 games over .500.

jbgindy - June 20, 2008 reply

I'm going to point to the NL West, which has a losing record against teams outside their division.

mjk83 - June 20, 2008 reply

uh

the NL central is not an easy division, and the Rays have a moribund Yankees in their div.

the Yanks

are 43-29….

40-33

carmen_fanzone - June 20, 2008 reply

The AL East

looks like a very tough decision when you look at their records. 4 or 5 teams are over .500,

No kidding.

Poor, poor Cardinals.

Tampa

is 43-29

right my bad

trasnposed the numbers there a bit, still 40-33 aint bad

I don't care,

when you sign Ponson, you’re moribund.

we signed chad fox....

n/t

Besides the injuries we're aware of,

my concern is with Marmol. What the hell was that last night? Anyone can and does have a bad game, but it’s not like he was getting smacked around. He completely lost it. It’s as if I was put on the mound. That’s frightening. Has there been any explaination at all as to his wildness?

I do buy the fatigue factor that’s been mentioned, but I’m worried, too. I’d told my wife on Wednesday afternoon that I had a bad feeling about the Rays series and the recent injuries. Now, going into the Crosstown series, I’m really concerned. I’m not a ledge jumper, so I’m still chillin’ and enjoying our success, but damn if I ain’t afraid of just about everything right now. I’m on eggshells.

Your answer is in your post.

“Anyone can and does have a bad game”. He did.

You know, maybe Lou using him a lot is a GOOD idea. He hadn’t thrown since Sunday. Maybe he was rusty.

Yeah, maybe.

But that was beyond bad. I expected to get online today and read about Marmol’s elbow or shoulder, too. I’m relieved that there isn’t any news of that sort. I think you’re right about Marmol (and some other pitchers around the league) needing regular work to stay sharp. Having a few days off between appearances can’t make it any easier.

Yeah, I had the same thought last night.

Maybe one of the perhaps bizarre side effects of Lou (arguably) overusing Marmol is that, when Carlos has an extended period of rest like he did this past week, he’s going to be wild in his first appearance or two.

OR maybe Lou knows something we don’t—that is, if he doesn’t use Marmol regularly, Carlos is going to lose the strike zone as he did last night. Marmol has some pretty violent mechanics and he strikes me as one of those pitchers who “lives on the edge”, so to speak – and that edginess is a big part of what’s made him so successful.

I’m just kinda thinkin’ out loud here, but I wonder whether this might not be another perspective on the whole “overuse of Marmol” debate.

I think we discovered something that Lou knew that we didn't

like you said, Marmol’s mechanics are a little wild and it looks like he may have a tendency to let his front shoulder fly open. Marmol probably needs repetition to stay sharp. My opinion of Marmol’s overuse is starting to change. I think he has to pitch the 100 innings to remain White Castle.

It would seem that might be the case.

Let’s see how Lou uses him this weekend. He threw 20 pitches yesterday. Will he come back with him today if needed?

fides quaerens intellectum

What we know: Marmol couldn’t find the strike zone – even his strike calls were off the plate. Lou’s pushing Z to 131 pitches had a harsh effect on Z’s shoulder.
What one might assume: Marmol is finally breaking down from overuse just as Z broke down.
What Cub fans decide must be the case: Lou needs to use Marmol more.

I just don't get from A to B.

Marmol was on track to replicate his IP from last year.

Agreed

I don’t get to the same conclusion from the facts presented. Pitchers are all different, what is overuse for one may not be overuse of another.

Marmol is capable of pitching 100+ innings in a season, he did it last year and is on pace for the same this year.

Marmol may be capable of pitching 100+ innings as a swing man.

How many relievers in the modern era regularly throw over 100 innings without starting a game? What is the average # of innings for a reliever with violent mechanics like Marmol?

There's a difference between IP as a RP and IP as a SP

Marmol had 7 starts last year in the minors, upping that IP total.

Well, I haven't "decided" anything.

I just think it’s an interesting perspective to consider.

It's interesting.

It’s possibly the case. It’s not the most likely conclusion. If it was the case, why wouldn’t Lou mention this need; why instead would he say he needed to rest Marmol more?

Those are good questions...

...to which I can only guess at the answers. One possibility is that Lou is still, to some extent, figuring out Marmol’s quirks himself, and he simply underestimated the negative effects of resting Carlos for quite so long.

It is certainly possible.

I think it is more likely that we are learning how winning “now” (“now” defined as the game in front of you instead of “the 2008 WS”) is a short-sighted strategy. Fortunately, we are suffering these losses (if they are losses) in early summer instead of in early Autumn.

Yep, that's exactly what I was trying to get at.

I believe it’s been pointed out before that Marmol is one of those rare pitchers who has more control with his slider than he does with his fast ball. In other words, he’s really not a pinpoint control guy. It’s his (highly) effective wildness that keeps batters off balance.

Thus, when he’s out of action for too long, that wildness may just get the better of him—as demonstrated last night. For better or worse, Carlos may be a pitcher that Lou simply has to “overwork” for his (and the team’s) own good.

I agree.

Marmol’s “effective wildness” is what makes him great, and his mechanics can’t make it easy to hit his spots. Y’know, so many of us our caught up with pitch counts and fears of overuse, etc. And there’s good reason to be, too. But it hasn’t always been that way, and each pitcher is a unique individual. I have no doubts that many players would be more effective (and maybe stay healtier) with regular work, more so than we’d expect studying pitch counts and numbers of appearances.

Whichever the case may be, if Marmol needs to throw 100+ innings to be effective, I’m all for it, because if last night is any indication of the kind of pitcher he is with rest, we’re screwed. That is not how to win championships, and Marmol is probably just as important to our staff as Z

which

(as has been said before) is what he did LAST YEAR. :D

Interesting theory.

Maybe Lou was right all along.

What you mean?

Is it possible that all the people who post here that Lou doesn’t know what he is doing regarding lineup construction, bullpen use, etc. might actually be wrong?

rlpete - June 20, 2008 reply

Perish the thought!

I was against the overuse of Marmol, too, but I will glady admit I might have been wrong. ;) Hell, most of us were wrong about Edmonds as well.

+1

Never, that can’t possibly be the case, Lou just got lucky on this one (sarcasm font in heavy use)

Plus a bunch.

My first thought on seeing him last night was “wow, maybe he gets worked a lot for a reason…”

replying to my own thread because I should read below sometimes first. Sorry. :(

Bound to happen....

just couldn’t get the pieces of the puzzle together for this series….. at times we saw good starting pitching, good relief and good hitting. just fell short and never saw all three in any one game during that series. we were the last team not to get swept (or at least lose 3 in a row) and it’s late June. Not too bad for this team, especially considering the injuries.

Cubs swept

The only time we get profiled as the lead article on MLB.com is when we get swept! Hmmph. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Wind?

Blowing in or out today…. predictions? why is this game not on WGN, they’re almost always on national TV for Friday afternoon games. urgh….

The game IS on WGN.

Sox announcers today.

Wind shouldn’t be much of a factor today.

How do they determine

which announcers will be used?

I remember being forced to listen to the Hawk every game I watched on WGN

On the contrary...

...if Sox announcers are calling today’s game, wind will VERY MUCH be a factor.

Try the veal!

My ROFLballoon has taken of.

You know, the one filled with hot air.

I applaud your use of a ROFLballoon.

It’s so much more environmentally friendly than the ROFLcopter.

Doing my part.

good deal....

misposted on cubs.com, only lists CSN. thx for clarifying!!

Which commentators do we get to listen to for this series on WGN?

would think

len and bob because it’s at wrigley….

"Put it on the board, yyyyyyes!"

Ugh.

Len and Bob tomorrow, though.

damn you....

I don't i know which Hawkism I hate more

this one above or

“He gone!”

"Duck Snort"

The one thing I really hate Hawk saying is...

... “dad gum it”, because he’s almost always wrong when he gets that emphatic.

True -

He’s also frequently wrong in a normal conversational tone.

3-1 Good Guys

Mapmaker - June 20, 2008 reply

Here's hoping

he ain’t got a lot to cheer about this afternoon!

+1

but that just means

we will hear dad gum it more often, but then I suppose that’s a good thing ;)

I personally won't hear anything.

I’m at work so I’ll be glued to the game thread all day.

word - get ready PBP'ers

Word.

Here’s hoping he doesn’t have a lot to cheer about for a week.

I don't mind

“he gone!” but the “YCPIOTB,” I would be a happy camper not to hear that this series

I really can't stand though...

when Jackson chimes in on the “Yesss!”...it seems so affected and phony

Maybe we can protest with a WGN blackout today.

Show them we watch for CUBS baseball, not Sox.

That's just silly.

Why would you avoid watching the game? Just turn the sound off.

Just a joke.

I’ll employ sarcasm tags next time.

I always get a kick out of the

higawns.

I find the key with the Sox announcers is not to take them seriously and to not watch the whole game listening to them. But I wouldn’t want to go a whole season without hearing their nonsensical and absurd broadcasting skills to remind myself that, yes, WGN hired Len Kasper and BB, but they also hired these clowns.

So...

they are all WGN employees, not employed by the individual teams?

No, they're employed by the teams.

They work on whatever station is carrying the game, per each team’s contract with the stations.

Well, that makes it even funnier.

The Cubs hired well and the Sox… LOL.

But remember.

Len was third choice, behind Vasgersian.

That worked out okay.

Understatement.

Big time understatement!

Who was first?

Wikipedia says

Dave O’Brien and Vasergersian were ahead, but no mention as to the order.

I remember that I went into the

“Len and Bob era” feeling automatically negative because I knew Len was third choice-It didn’t take me long to realize how wrong I was. I think the Cubs got really lucky that the first two choices didn’t work out-I hope Kasper is calling games for us for the next thirty years

A-bloody-men.

He just comes across as the kind of guy you could sit in the stands to watch a game with.

Agreed

I felt the same way. And now, there seems to be a nice chemistry between Len and Bob that you don’t see with a lot of broadcast teams. Listening to other team’s games, I realize just how lucky we are.

Hey, I don't make the rules!

Looking at my pocket schedule I didn’t think I’d even get this game. I searched on my digital cable and saw it, then the slow realizaiton set in. “White Sox pregame? Wha—oh… Damn.”

Playoff implications?

How do you figure this game has “real meaning, real playoff implications?” Yes, the game has meaning, but a game against an AL team in June, to me doesn’t really come off detrimental to the playoffs.

both teams need the wins

to hopefully distance themselves from the other teams in their divsions.

mjk83 - June 20, 2008 reply

Correct.

That was my point.

I see

in that case ever game has playoff implications

I heard on the radio today

this is the first time the Cubs and Sox have met with both in first place in their respective divisions

TC Cubby - June 20, 2008 reply

A great article on the Cubs

at ESPN about how the cubs can win it this year. Moreover the first couple paragraphs about the feel in the clubhouse after being swept by the Rays is interesting. Sounds like last nights loss is already past them.

That's good to hear

After a game last night, I need every little ray of hope I can find.

This quote:

“10. They’re Not Those Guys
Piniella likes to tap the brakes on all this postseason talk, but deep down he knows the Cubs could win a pennant. They have the rotation (depending on the severity of Zambrano’s injury), the bullpen and the hitting to do it. And the negative vibes are at a minimum.

“We have a good team,” Lee said. “We knew that coming into spring training, but now we’re proving it to ourselves, that we’re as good as we thought we were.”

And this from Kenney: “This is different from ‘03 and ‘04 [when the Cubs couldn’t close out the Florida Marlins in the ‘03 NLCS and couldn’t even reach the playoffs in ‘04]. In ‘03 it was, ‘Are we this good?’ This year it’s, ‘We are this good.’”

If nothing else, so far, so good. MRI, willing. “

From the article.

I BELIEVE this year. I believe every year, but this year I BELIEVE.

FYI...

... I’m heading to the park soon. Game thread will post at 11:30 CDT.

Godspeed and good fortune!!!

Daver

I saw yestederday afternoon you were channeling your Dark Energy to assist our rivals’ lost causes, and then you’d climbed into your sarcaphagus until the Cubs game later on. What happened? Did you oversleep? Did your Evility spiral back upon us and hit Marmol square in the forehead? This needs to be discussed….

Luckily

this is the first game today so he’ll be powered up, fresh and ready to go. C’mon Daver!

I think he foresaw the Blue Mike FanPost

and it distracted him.

There was another krazy KOWpost, too. (Now deleted.)

I may be evil, but I’m also very easily distracted.

Drat, I missed that one!

Though I guess that’s like saying I missed seeing the car wreck on the way home with the mangled bodies in the trees.

aw, darn

what did she say?

I am curious too

she posted her cell number

and asked someone to text her the big news on Z’s MRI.

LT - June 20, 2008 reply

Now you're just making things up.

Wait, you’re not?

you must be joking.

He's not joking...

I saw it too…but I did not commit it to memory.

santoswoodenlegs - June 20, 2008 reply

that's astounding.

LOL

damn, I missed it too….the one posted by her husband? was too funny. That kept me laughing all day..

I spent my morning at work in that thread

and wondered how 12:30 crept up so quickly.

LT is not joking.

That’s exactly what happened.

Facepalm.

What did she think would happen?

Next thing you know,

LT - June 20, 2008 reply

hit post accidentally…. next thing you know she will create a fanpost to sell a used car or something.

LT - June 20, 2008 reply

Yeah, about that...well, I...I...

I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!!!

BTW Dave

I don’t remember whether it was you or crazymountain who suggested the Van Zandt bio A Deeper Blue. I’m reading it now and it’s quite good. Appreciate the tip.

I think crazymountain deserves the kudos...

...but I’ll keep that one in mind. I mentioned Hardcore Troubador: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle. Also worth a look!

Have you

ingested enough tortured souls this morning to possibly work your mojo this afternoon? No one’s placing any blame or pointing any fingers, mind you. We’re just…wondering….is all….

I shall do my damndest. (Uh, no pun intended.)

Oh Jake honey...

Every ounce of luck I have

is with you. GO CUBS!

Remember: 7th inning bathroom break.

It’s imperative.

Also, kinda weird to know the restroom habits of someone. But, if it gets a W…

We all woke up

And really that’s all that matters. No one jumped off the ledge last night, the plane didn’t crash on the way back to Chicago, and we’ve got another game in a few hours. I think as Cubs fans we have all become SO MUCH more critical of this team, because they are finally living up to the expectations of a winner, and as fans we’re not quite sure how to handle losses like last night. I said it in the 2nd overflow, and I’ll say it again, this team has a ton of losses in front of them, so we all need to learn how to lose as well as we’ve learned how to win. This 08 team has carried an air of distinction with them all year… when they’re good, they’re unbeatable… when they’re bad… well, you were watching last night.

Anyway, there are more important things in life than baseball (even though I don’t believe that sometimes myself) and we have a LOT of winning ahead of us, but remember, we have a lot of losing as well. Baseball is one of those weird sports where you’re considered successful if you fail 7 out of 10 times… we need to learn to shake off these losses as fans and just get ready for the next winning streak… because the true fans (and we were there at the end last night, with 2 outs, still thinking we can come back) know that streak is just around the corner. Let’s go get ‘em today!

Good post.

Agreed.

bubbamike the one and only - June 20, 2008 reply

After reading some of the posts here last night

I’m not sure that someone didn’t jump off a bridge. My goodness it doesn’t take long for negativity to surface. I couldn’t believe it, you’d think the Cubs were the Mariners rather than leading the league in wins. Pretty disgusting what was said last night especially some of the stuff about Marmol.

Last night I learned

Who the fans are that I want to go to war with… everybody else just ran away when the shooting started… ;-)

The people who ripped on Marmol...

name called, etc. were completely out of line. As has already been pointed out-he had a bad game. He’ll have other bad games. It happens. Ultimately it’s not a big deal.

On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with venting about poor play, poor managerial decisions, etc. if it’s done intelligently.

Agreed

the key, as you state, is that the criticism is done intelligently. There was nothing intelligent about some of the comments regarding Marmol in the thread.

Right.

I have no problem being critical when the situation warrants it (and i have been on many occasions), but some of the comments made about Marmol last night were juvenile and embarrassing and beneath any real fans.

+1

That might have been the worst game thread I’ve been on since I’ve been here. I can only imagine what ‘06 must have been like.

Probably just Al and Mike drunk posting naughty image links

last year, during the post

it was pretty bad.

Horrible even.

sue369 - June 20, 2008 reply

One positive coming out of last night

Gallagher has put together a string of pretty impressive starts. He is looking like the real deal in his last few starts.

Definitely earning his stripes

Looking great for a No 5 starter.

Earning his pinstripes, that is.

That's what I meant.....

Edmonds, about 1/8 of the way there. RJ about 1/2, DeRo about 3/4….

Don't know about DeRo.

If there ever was a guy who bleeds cubbie blue, it’s him.

Agreed

I think he made the final steps to earning his stripes when he talked about watching the WGN anniversary special

Yes, but...

you have to leave a bit of room for improvement… such as that big HR in the playoffs, or that awesomely turned DP to end the game that beats the Cards…etc.

To go through

a 162 game schedule there will be bumps, Cubs hit one. Marmol has been outstanding, he had his melt down last night. Eyre has been real sharp also, he gives up a jack, these things happen and no one will be spot perfect for the whole year.
Lets see how the team responds this next ten games, starting by taking this weekend series.
I agree gwood, Gallagher looks like he can be a pretty solid 4-5 starter at this point.
Go Cubs, lets have a good bounce at home.

Grockcubs - June 20, 2008 reply

Very Good, But Not Great Team

Okay, this Cubs team doesn’t stack up to the 1998 Yankees. That’s not a requirement to make the playoffs or win the World Series. The Cubs are a very good team that lacks that extra quality starter and extra quality reliever to be a great team. Making the playoffs with whatever record, getting healthy, and getting hot in postseason are the requirements to win the WS. This is a very good team Cubs team that should win 95 games in the regular season. I don’t see them getting to 100. They don’t have to get to 100.

memphiscub - June 20, 2008 reply

Agreed.

But to have a real shot at post-season success, they will need to do all the can to add the missing pieces. I can’t believe any of us will be satisfied with just getting to the playoffs.

You're worried that Lee went 3-4 with a brain fart grounder?

I’m more worried about Marmol. He was OFF last night.

NittanyCub - June 20, 2008 reply

Marmol is a work horse

After not being used , he had a little rust to shake off. He seems to needs to be used every to evry other day to stay sharp. When used correctly this will not kill his arm. I sill would rather have him pitching for me than trying tho face him.

How in the world can anyone conclude anything about Marmol's durability?

The man has only been pitching for 5 years. He’s never pitched more than 155 innings in a season. We don’t know how durable Marmol is.

I am not worries about Marmol at all

he had a bad night. He is allowed to have a bad game, especially seeing as how he hasn’t really had one yet this year. Let’s hope Lou gets the chance to use him today or tomorrow so Marmol can get back on track

*worried

as I've already said, I'm not worried about Marmol.

He’s going to have to have a few more outings like last night before I’m even close to the ledge on that one.
On the other hand, I’m VERY worried about Lee. Like al mentioned, he hasn’t looked like himself lately. His bat seems to have slowed down and he’s having HUGE problems laying off low breaking stuff outside the strike zone. He’s been terrible in clutch situations and, if you notice, whenever he comes up with runner’s in scoring position, they always pitch him in the same way (the aforementioned low and away breaking stuff).

You're right about that

Lee has been swinging at a lot of those low and away breaking pitches, especially in situations where we need a good at-bat out of him.

But I think it’s a good sign that he is hitting the ball to right like he did last night. In the past, this means he is coming out of his slump.

I hope you're right

because we’ll really need him to step it up if we’re going to go anywhere.

Starting pitching trades

become more challenging.

With Schilling potentially out for the year w/injury, the potential trading partners are going to be more than ever in the catbird seats. I cannot fathom Hendry outmanuevering the Red Sox, Yankees, et. al. to negotiate for another starter. JMO.

But, time will tell.

We needed another pitcher anyway, regardless of Z’s situation. Ted Lilly is a #3 or #4 starter.

I agree with Al, that DLee is going through a bit of a funk now. I mentioned last night, his 7th error ties him for the entire 2007 season. Mark DeRosa is down now as well. DeRo is like 3 for his last 30 AB’s, and a shitty error too.

Hopefully, they will get over this poor patch and get back to being Sweepers not “The Swept”, soon.

Schilling gone

Bye bye Bloody Sock!

Good riddance

A great pitcher in his day, but what a tool…

I'm not convinced the Sox will be shopping for pitching.

They’ve got Buchholz down on the farm and Matsuzaka nearly ready to come back.

CC would be a great trade but

There are a few other teams ot there that has good pitching they may be willing to trade to improve there club. KC’s staff just handed it to ST Louis.
Will just need to be a little more creative.

I have a feeling that Hendry is going to be creative and aggressive

He knows the potential this team has if he just adds a few more pieces. I see him making several big moves to add pitching and another lefty bat by the trading deadline. The trick is going to be keeping our heads above water until then.

Ugh

The WSox flag is flying on Wrigley, viewed on the CubWorld Wrigley Field cam. Makes me a bit ill, seeing it there.

Hoping we beat those fools today ! !

JFCubFan - June 20, 2008 reply

Anyone else think Marmol should be 8th inning only?

Unless there’s an all out emergency-Carlos in the 8th-Kerry in the 9th. When Carlos comes on in the 7th you almost figure Lou’s gonna leave him in for 2 innings.

cubfever7 - June 20, 2008 reply

I think Marmol should be used in the situations

with the highest leverage according to a general usage plan made out by the Cubs trainers with Lou being told to stick to that plan. I can’t say what the best usage plan for Marmol is; I am only concerned that there doesn’t seem to be a plan and he looks to be overused.

Cubs long relief

Lou doesnt have that warm fuzzy feeling about his 6th 7th inning guys.
he goes to marmol to win.
Werts gave a good effort the other night but failed the night before.
I almost thought Cotts bought his ticket back to Iowa on his last 2 outings.
Lou is a what have you done for me lately manager.
Long relief has not served him well.

Right.

Lou really wanted that game last night and, from marmol’s track record, he gave us the best chance to get it to Wood in the 9th.
It’s pretty clear to me that Lou doesn’t have much confidence in the rest of his bullpen. And, from the way things have looked recently, there’s good reason for this.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

just popped up in my weather box… the clouds are gathering but with luck it may be clear by game time.

If it were rained out

does that mean double header tomorrow? In which case, I’d actually get to watch the game. It would also allow for some rest.

I wouldn't be too upset with a rain out today

I could then watch it too. and it would give our guys some more rest.

Would that mean a doubleheader on WGN?

That’s a way to spend a Saturday.

Probly day nighter.

Clear the park between games.

Right...

but since today and tomorrow are scheduled for WGN, would both be broadcast on the same channel for a full day of baseball on a national network. I hope so.

Doesn't matter

it ain’t gonna happen.

Why not?

WGN has alloted time for games today and tomorrow. If the game is cancelled today and AFV, or Sports Bloopers, or Dumb Animals or whatever is shown wouldn’t they still have to honor their broadcast obligations?

What's wrong with

Sports Bloopers! :)

IMO, it would take something prolonged, of a constant deluge, for them to cancel the game. It is SOLD OUT. The place has lights. I have sat there this year in three stady rains. I’m just saying the chances of getting your double header are very slim.

The weather

does look like it will blow through pretty quickly. I just hope it last longs enough for me to get home in time to catch some of the game.

Yeah, prolonging the game would be great.

Say, to 4 o’clock when I get home. ;)

Word

Oh, I agree.

I was just curious if a national network would allow for a doubleheader since both games are scheduled for WGN anyway (though with different announce teams). Not like anyone really watches WGN America except for baseball and Scrubs anyway.

I don't know if you've

been reading this, but we have a poster who works for the Superstation, I believe. He was talking about Zell’s broadcast guy “revamping” the WGN America station and giving it a “facelift”. I don’t remember the details – but IIRC, I think that meant a bit more desirable re-run schedule…

coughArrested Developmentcough

There has been zero

postponed or cancelled games @ Wrigley this year.

I was @ the 10-9 Rox game – and there was supposed to be a monsoon coming.

It is pouring in the northern suburbs

a lot of thunder and lightning.

mgfabc - June 20, 2008 reply

Game time

is 1:20

It is supposed to move out

Testing

1, 2, 3

Anyone else

Have trouble editing their sig lately?

No.

But I see yours is a right mess.

Indeed

When I try to edit in my dashboard, the signature field does not display existing or new text—it’s sort of hidden. Help desk!

making me hungry

conflating piniella with paella

HELLO, CHICAGO!

WE LOVE YOU!

This next one....is the first song....

on our new album…..