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Bleed Cubbie Blue

2 Damn Close

That was what BCB reader San Diego Smooth Jazz Man text-messaged me right after the Cubs' 7-6 win over the Padres, their eighth in a row, ended last night just after midnight Central time.

This was far too late for me; I made it through four innings and then went to sleep. (In fact, I can't believe the phone beep from the text message didn't wake me up, as the phone was right next to me -- I really must have been out cold.)

In any case, yes, Carlos Marmol, showing signs of overwork, gave up a three-run homer to Adrian Gonzalez (raising the question: why wasn't Scott Eyre or Neal Cotts in the game in the 9th, instead of your premier setup man), making what appeared to be an easy win into a close game and forcing Lou to summon Kerry Wood to save the game for the fifth time during this winning streak. Wood's 15 saves now rank second in the National League, tied with Jose Valverde of Houston, one behind Brian Wilson of the Giants. This has prompted Lou to again bring up the idea of a 13th pitcher on the staff.

To which I say: don't do it, Lou. Yes, starters need to go consistently deeper into games, and we all knew Z wasn't going to do that last night after his 130-pitch outing last Wednesday, and especially, Paul Sullivan writes, after his histrionics early in last night's game:

After the Cubs scored on a wild pitch in the second, Zambrano got two quick outs before walking Jody Gerut. He leaped off the mound like Pete Townshend at a Who concert, prompting Piniella to make his first visit of the night.

Zambrano calmed down, relatively speaking. When he tripled to the gap in right-center in the fourth, tying the game at 3-3 with his first triple since 2005, Zambrano chugged into third, pumped his first and let out a primal scream.

Bringing another pitching body on board would likely mean either Mike Fontenot or Micah Hoffpauir would be sent to Iowa (Gordon Wittenmyer says it'd be Hoffpauir), leaving the bench as: Henry Blanco, whoever isn't playing CF (Jim Edmonds or Reed Johnson), Ronny Cedeno and the one of Hoffpauir or Fontenot who isn't sent down. That just isn't a deep enough bench, especially with the number of comeback wins and extra-inning games this team has played.

The rant and complaint department is now closed. How can you complain about yet another comeback win? Z got hit hard in the first inning but shut the Padres down after that, and so did the bullpen until Marmol in the 9th. Z also had his second game of the year in which he's had three or more hits; he is now hitting .366 with a .537 SLG and an OPS+ of 130. Just for comparison's sake, since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, the most at-bats by anyone who hit .400 or more in a season is 134, by Bob "Hurricane" Hazle for the 1957 Milwaukee Braves. Z has an outside shot at being a .400 hitter with maybe 100 at-bats (he now has 41). And this in a year when the same Braves' Chipper Jones enters today hitting .407.

And... those of us who said Jim Edmonds was D-O-N-E... well, we just might be wrong. Edmonds had two more doubles yesterday and is now hitting .286/.324/.543 in 12 games with 7 RBI. This would make him a more-than-acceptable platoon partner with Reed Johnson. With a lefthander (Wil Ledezma) going tonight, it's likely Edmonds will sit, and Lou also says he's giving Kosuke Fukudome the day off to spend with his wife and baby son, just arrived in the USA from Japan. So expect Johnson in CF, Mark DeRosa in RF, and Ronny Cedeno at 2B, an all-right-handed lineup tonight.

About streaks... the only winning streaks the Cubs have had since 1945 (when they won 11 in a row from July 1-12) that are longer than eight games were a 10-gamer from April 14-27, 1970, and a 12-gamer from May 19-June 2, 2001.

Let's add to that list tonight. Onward in this exceptional baseball season.

0 recs  |  428 comments

Comments

Z needs to keep it together

It’s really too bad when all of us fans are sitting at home glued to the TV hoping that Big Z will get a good base hit or something to cheer him up, so he will stop throwing a fit on the mound and keep us in the game. Z is a great pitcher, but I would hate to see him get stuck in another mental rut.

FWIW...

...he’s really been remarkably better w/ the hysterics this year. Until last night.

What was different last night vs. his previous starts this season?

Hitting

was awesome. It was great to see that from him. It was very obvious to me though that he was getting very frustrated at the beginning, and was just chucking the ball in there with no control. Shades of Z from previous seasons. He’s been so good this year, I really hope he stays that way.

he looked the same as the previous start

he was able to pitch through it last start, and after the first was able to pitch though it this start. it looks as though he’s just getting a little lazy with his mechanics, some sinkers flatened out as he was too sidearmed then other times i saw him driving straight down the top of the ball which he doesnt normally do. im sure he will get comfortable again, and its good to see that even when he’s not on top of his game he can still deliver a quality start.

Question

Was it discussed last night? Because I saw a guy early in the game wearing the HOWRY COW shirt. Wasnt SWL at the game? Fricken hilarious.

Yeah, it was

I brought it up in the first thread, but the FanPost has an actual screencap! : )

I happen to like the rant and complaint dept.

It let’s me know I’m among friends! LOL

I know it’s kind of silly for me to complain about aspects of last night’s game but I’m a Cubs fan, it’s my birthright.

A win is a win is a win

yes, there is plenty to complain about, and I realize that a season is not won in June, but right now I’m enjoying the results.

Cotts

Well, Cotts couldn’t have come in the 9th since he already helped out in the 7th. He threw 4 straight balls to lead off the inning, before finding his stuff and getting everyone else out.

Also, I’d like to mention Soriano was taken out in the double-switch in the 9th inning for defensive replacement Reed Johnson. Lou has now taken Soriano out in the 9th for the 2nd time in as many days I believe, granted it’s probably because he’s getting the last out for the Cubs on the offensive side, but it’s still good to see. I have my doubts if Soriano could have even caught that warning track flyball from Michael Barrett.

It strikes me as a move that winning teams do
3 times in 3 games
What exactly do you have a problem with?

This is what is called situational baseball and having confidence in all of your 25 men on the active roster——meaning winning as a team. Piniella double switched recently for the following; DLee (with Blanco but got stung), Soto with Blanco, DeRosa with Cedeno, DeRosa with Fontenot, later Fontenot with Cedeno, now Soriano with Reed. I am certain there will be others.

This means there are no players on the field immune or special status and be ready if you are on the bench to play.

Me?

I dont have a problem with it at all. Just verifying that it was 3 times in 3 games and not 2. Switch him out, switch em all out, I trust Lou.

Looking out at the schedule challenge and the toll that playing on the road has

I think the Cubs might consider to bring up E-Patterson and switch out Hoffpauir who is a real liability in the OF, where they can rotate DeRosa 4-5 times a week.

The only bright spot in the road games is the 3-game stint at Comiskey (err Cellular) where the Cubs can still sleep in their own beds.

If the Hoff has no position and is a professional bat,

what value does he have at AAA for an NL team? Does he have value to any other club? For instance, the bosox with Ortiz going on the DL?

(I could unkindly say the white sox need a bat at first base. Somehow the fantasy autodraft was nice enough to give me both Konerko and Thome.)

White Sox have better version of Hoff in Eldred.

And the Red Sox can play Youk at 1B, as well as Lowell. Seattle might be a place to look, though, if you’re interested in dealing a guy with Hoff’s skills to an AL team.

I thought Youk was already at first and Lowell was third with Ortiz at DH. I forgot they had Sean Casey.

I got...

Konerko and Swisher…an amazing offensive force

I'm going to name my ulcer Vlad Guerrero.

He was killing my team, and now he’s hurt. Oh, joy.

Lou's done that 3 days in a row.

and Sori seems to be okay with it, but this:

I have my doubts if Soriano could have even caught that warning track flyball from Michael Barrett.

strikes me as a bit hyperbolic. There’s no reason to think that. Hell, it was nighttime. Even in California, the sun doesn’t shine in the nighttime.

Well...

I have visions of Soriano missing pretty easy fly balls in the St. Louis night game a few weeks back, still fresh in my head. No sun to bother him there.

Yeah, he just came off the D/L then so I’d like to give him the benefit of doubt on those. I still think Lou is doing the right thing now.

I agree that it's the right move

but not because of month-old mistakes. Sori’s legs aren’t right and until they are, late-inning defensive sub’s are in order.

LSA
I wish I could have seen that last play

I’d be curious to give it a look. Either way, thank God Lou made the switch (again).

Barrett looked like he got all of a Wood fastball,

but it was really high and fell about 3 feet shy of the wall, right into Reed’s glove.

Remember

The first game back for Latroy Hawkins? Barrett absolutely demolished the first pitch into the bleachers.

Yeah. That was a shot.
Yeah, when the ball left Barrett's bat my heart sunk.

The headline - “Michael’s Revenge” - flashed before my eyes. I could see all the DUBWITs in town warming up their fingers to type hyperbolic rants about Barrett getting payback for the literal ass-whupping he took from Big Z last year. Then the ball dropped into RJ’s glove and all was right with the world again .

And, yes, I’m glad Johnson was playing left field. I’m not going to state definitively that Soriano would have dropped that ball. He would’ve had plenty of time to camp under it. But, yeah, I’m glad RJ was out there.

Good news- win

Bad news- Marmol got used AGAIN.

Is there any reason Lou is unwilling to use Cotts, Eyre and Lieber to simply eat some innings? Good lord, the poor kid’s arm is going to fall off.

At this rate Marmol will throw 110 innings this year- that may end up being more than Eyre, Cotts and Lieber combined.

Agreed

he shouldnt be in up 4

Uh, well, Lou did use Lieber and Cotts.

I thought Lieber probably could have gone another inning, but I believe Lou was playing lefty matchups by bringing in Cotts (who, after that initial walk, looked pretty effective to me). The weak link last night was definitely Michael Wuertz, who simply could not throw strikes. Marmol came in and cleaned up his mess, but then Carlos was apparently overextended by going into the ninth (though, let’s be honest, Gonzalez has been just about the only thing red hot about the Padres this season).

Jason Marquis

will throw a complete game tonight to rest the bullpen. Mark that down. It’s my prediction.

After tonight’s game I’ll tell you whether or not I was joking.

Complete game?

Cubs better score 12 runs then.

Lou may go LaRussa on Marquis

and let him give up 10 earned.

Wow, I could actually see that happening.

Of course, in Jason’s favor is the fact that is the San Diego Padres we’re talking about. I mean, how many times can Adrian Gonzalez bat an inning?

do we really wanna

wonder that? i just got a little queasy thinking about a gonzalez batting against marquis. ::Shudder::

Theory

Lou and Jim sat around a few months ago and spoke about what they might do to upgrade the team if things were going well.
Lou said: “We might have our left handed power with that guy from Japan, but I’m worried about starting pitching depth.”
Jim said: “I’ll keep on Baltimore, and we have some good arms down in the minors. If something good comes along, I’ll jump on it, but I think we have some SP options in house.”
Lou: “What if Fukudome doesn’t have the power stroke? What if we have another Ichiro on our hands? Not the worst thing in the world, but could we get another lefty bat?”
Jim: “At the trade deadline, there will always be corner outfield and relief pitching help. If we are doing well, no problem.”
Lou: “Hmmm, so you are saying that we can get relief help at the trade deadline? So it wouldn’t be a problem for me to just use up our good relievers early in the year, because we can bring in another quality arm or two for the second half and dump the crappy relievers?”
Jim: “Sure, no problem, go nuts.”
Lou: “Ok, get me that second baseman, we won’t have anybody who can hit up the middle!”

They didn’t get everything right, but I bet they still are pretty sure they can pick up a hot handed reliever and so aren’t as worried about overusing Marmol. Just a theory.

Uhh, didn’t he use Cotts and Lieber to eat innings last night?

mmmm. . . tastes like chicken.

loved all them Cubs fans

really sounded like a home game on TV. Nice to see the Cubs pull out wins while giving rest to some of the regulars. Let’s hope that continues again tonight. Would love to see Dome play this whole series as a gapper or shot down the line could easily turn into a stand up triple as Z demonstrated last night but he definitely has earned a night off. Plus will be much more of the same when we move on to LA.

since I wasn't awake to post it last night...

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

I did miss it
I'm going to try to stay up for tonight's game.

we’ll see what the wife thinks about that, tho…

IMO

Give her chocolate. It always works in my house LOL

she doesn't like chocolate.
Well then I got nothing

LOL. Glad things went well this am

honestly

being up at 6 am this morning probably means I don’t make it anyway, but if it’s a quick game…

hey Drew

Hope everything went okay this morning.

:)

it all went fine, I’ll know the results in a few days. BUT! I missed my big chance!

The scan took about five minutes of actually being in the machine. As I was sitting up afterwards, the tech said: “look at that giant spider!” Sure enough, a quarter-sized arachnid was crawing up out of the opening for the scanner.

And that’s how I missed becoming SpiderMan by about sixty seconds. Drat the luck!

Maybe I need to go find a vat of radioactive waste…

You could just go swimming in Lake Michigan

Plenty of god-knows-what goes into the lake from the steel mills.

Anyway, hope the results are positive.

[I just saw a spider skitter down the frame of my window. heh.]

Wait, that sounds bad

Positive in the “good, nothing is wrong” sense.
Not the “you have tested positive for _ ” sense.

I stayed up waaay too late last night.

Glad things went

well today and hope you get good results.

loved your honeymoon pix

what a great time you two had!

it was a blast, right up till the ankle.
Where are

your honeymoon pictures?

http://newdrew.net/honeymoon/toc.html

Thanks Drew.

Fantastic photos and you and your wife make a very cute couple. Congratulations on your marriage.

aw, shucks...

twaren’t nuthin…

Next stop, hopefully: babyland…

Good luck! ;-)
very, very cool

Congratulations!

Congratulations... great pix

Hope all is well with the bad wheel

13th Pitcher?

Someone explain this to me. Is it temporary move for Lou to rest some of the bullpen arms? Hoffpauir may in fact be sent down but D. Ward will eventually come back. What then?

I wonder if it has to do with the June schedule

West coast. Cooperstown for a day. Only 9 home dates.

Could be a factor.

Cooperstown is an off day.

I doubt you’ll see any major league pitchers in that game. The Cubs will call up minor leaguers to pitch.

Be nice to see Samardjza

I guess I was thinking about the travel, logistics, etc.

Yes, the travel & logistics are an issue...

... but at least the pitchers won’t be pitching.

Depending on where the minor league clubs are playing at the time, you just might see Samardzija, and maybe Donnie Veal, too.

Dang misspelled his name

We gotta get a good nickname for him soon. LOL

The Shark

That was his nickname at Notre Dame.

I prefer something that doesn't remind me of his days at Notre Dame

Sooner fan here. LOL

how about baby cow
oh you meant samardjzziaska
Marmol

Stats slightly skewed from last night, but…

Carlos first inning in a game
29.2 IP, 5 ER, 1.51 ERA

Carlos second inning in a game (defined by Cubs batting in between)
8.1 IP, 5 ER, 5.40 ERA

My comment here is that in addition to being potentially overworked and effective so far this year, we are pushing our luck bringing him back for more work after he gets thorough one inning.

Saw this question in last night's thread

Thanks for the breakdown.

Obviously it’s a smaller sample size but wow.

Yes, this makes sense.

Marmol is an excellent one-inning pitcher. I wouldn’t put him out there for a second one except in an emergency.

Impossible

To draw any conclusion whatsoever from that. Take out yesterday’s performance and he’d been 7+ innings with 2ER, which is still pretty darn good.

He’s been overused, I’m not arguing that, just saying those stats don’t mean anything.

thank you
I wish I could find it but

I saw about a week ago the full pitching line for Marmol in his second inning (before last night’s game) WHIP goes up and k/inning go way down in second innning. I only had time (and resources fankly) to calculate ERA this morning.

Either way, I was suprprised to see him come out for the 9th last night.

There was an interesting discussion between BB and Len on Sunday

talking about overlapping innings for relievers.

Eyre and Howry did it the other day and I can remember thinking it was odd to have to relievers do that back to back

Jim Edmonds

Well, I’ve waited long enough, and finally have to say it. How about Jim Edmonds? I wasn’t a big fan of his signing, but I stuck by the belief that he should be given a chance, and also noted the fact that he often starts out the season slow and then heats up. Is he heating up now? It sure seems like for a 37 year old veteran, that maybe he is.

yes

he looked much better last night. pulling high fastballs, finally driving the ball with authority. hopefully he can sustain this stroke to some extent.

SD Revenge Factor

I expected Edmonds to do well against the team that just released him. I can’t wait to see him play in LA and see if he can maintain his 286 BA there over the 4 game series. Nonetheless, he has bought more time in a Cubs uniform if he can keep his BA close to 300.

13 pitchers

Lou isn’t consistently using everyone in the bullpen now, bringing up another reliever would be pointless. If he is bringing in Marmol up 4 with a 12 man bullpen, would bringing up another pitcher really change that?

Side note, we are lucky to be able to watch Z, Len echoed that thought last night. I know Z was a bit unstable on the mound and that is where we need him most but last night watching him bust it for the triple and beat out that bunt was awesome, he is fun to watch.

Agreed

Don’t bring up a 13th. The bench is too short already. Lou needs to make better use of the pitchers he has. No reason Lieber couldn’t have gone another inning last night. No reason why Marmol should have been in the game at all.

From the Box score

It seems that Lou wasn’t planning on bringing Marmol in, until Wuertz walked 2 batters and was perhaps headed for disaster. Maybe Lou pulled Wuertz too quickly, but you don’t want your relievers giving up walks to 2 of 3 batters in that situation (or any).

Jose Ascanio...

Did I miss something, is he still with the big club? A 4 run lead heading to the 9th should see someone like him – first sign of serious trouble, go to your closer.

He was sent down...

...to bring Cotts back.

Countdown to MDBNIU rant about bringing up Cotts and sending down Ascanio...

...and a five and a four and a three and a two…

OT: Alou...again

Just saw this show up on ESPN.com:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3423732

What a jackass. If he really wants the story to go away for Bartman’s sake, WTF does he keep talking about it!? He could have taken the high road after the last media mention of it…what purpose does it serve to rehash things AND re-blame the guy?!

He wins the "Just Shut Up" Award

Or maybe we should give it to ESPN for even printing the story.

Seriously, though, what is the point of Alou talking about this over and over again? Or of reporters continuing to ask about it, for that matter? I am so sick of it – no one with half a brain is still sitting around worrying about Steve Bartman.

Deferring criticism of him peeing on his hands.
LMAO I was just thinking that!!!!
Well, the question seems to be...

...is Alou rehashing it or do reporters keep asking him about it? If the latter, I guess he could just refuse to comment, but that’s probably not Moises’ style. And I’m not sure where you’re getting that he’s “re-blaming” Bartman. From that article:

“It’s time to forgive the guy and move on. I said that the night it happened,’’ Alou said, according to the Post.
So I'm thinking maybe...

... we need to stop talking about it, too.

RFLSA

My own take on LSA. First word is really

And I'm guessing..

The second word isn’t floor?

Funny.

He gives applause in a fit of laughs.

Did you read the article? And check the schedule?

The “last media mention of it” came from a brief conversation an AP columnist purported to have with Alou during a chance encounter at a department store last March. Today’s espn.com story more or less comes from the Palm Beach Post, a Florida paper, and is a result of a reporter asking Alou questions. And guess what – the Marlins played the Mets last week.

So no, Alou is not re-hashing it and he’s not re-blaming the guy. It’s the media that won’t let this go. Next time, please do a little research and try to understand the context of the situation before you unjustly start calling people names.

That's not a "little research"...

...it’s an EXCEPTIONAL amount of research that the public (read: me) generally won’t, and can’t be expected to do when perusing an a front-page ESPN story. Am I more likely to google “Palm Beach Post” to find out that it’s a South Florida (California? Wisconsin? Ok, not Wisconsin…) rag, then bust out a Mets schedule to deduce that the questions must have come from a beat reporter from last week’s series…or base my initial reaction to the opening line of the article (“Moises Alou wants to set the record straight—again.”)?

So…nice legwork ‘hawk. You busted me for falling prey to the sneaky, evil media. I’ll try to be more discerning next time, and you can call me out when I regress and become stupid again.

Now that I’ve learned my one new thing for the day, can I go home now?

Only if you promise to crack open a cold one tonight and cheer on the cubs

and by ‘cold one’, I’m referring to beer, soda, leftover pizza, eskimo pie… whatever helps you chill. And I’ll do the same.

*clink!*
your eskimo pie

goes “clink”?

Actually that was...

...my pizza. Guess I’ve got my fridge turned a bit low.

The key to that article and the whole incident is ....
A few pitches later, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez botched a grounder that should have been an inning-ending double play.

Period. End of story.

I meant to put that in quotes or highlight it ...ooops
Winning Streaks

Cubs also had a 10 gamer in 1998 – May 29 to June 8.

Thanks.

Missed that one.

Still, that’s three in 63 years.

I still remember that 12 game one...

From what? 2001? If I’m remembering correctly, it came right AFTER an 8-game LOSING streak, which made all the more sweet!

Wood vs. Radke

I was at the Humperdome to see this one end vs. the Twins in 1998. Woody got rocked and Radke pitched a CG gem. Cubs lost 8-0, and the streak ended at 10. Miserable enough watching a baseball game in that sorry excuse for a sports arena. More miserable watching that happen.

The mere fact...

...of him stating that he would have caught the ball shifts the blame off of Alou and back to the worlds most famous Renegades fan.

My point is that it’s fairly preposterous of him to say “forgive the guy” and also “I would have caught the ball” in the same breath.

Gah...

That was supposed to be a reply for Daver.

Yeah, that occurred to me after I wrote what I did...

...and it’s a valid point. Something tells me if you asked Alou about the incident once a month for the rest of his life, he’d give you a different answer every time.

Crazy friggin split line for tonight

Cards at Nats
Pujols vs Perez:
21 AB
14 H
3 2B
0 3B
5 HR
15 RBI
9 BB
1 K
.667 BA
.767 OBP
1.524 SLG
2.290 OPS

I'd walk him every time up.
+1

You gotta go all Kelly Leak on him for sure

I'd HIT him

:)

Oh, yeah?

Then he’d just break your nose with a comebacker and snap your catcher’s ankle for good measure.

he's such a bully... :P
And kill your dog.
Yeah, probably eat the last donut, too.
I once saw him

scissor kick Angela Landsbury!

but who hasn't wanted to do that?

I once saw Albert stare down Chuck Norris and Chuck Norris blinked first

He once punched a hole in a cow

just to see who was coming up the road

Funny you should say that

I saw (yesterday or the day before) that Pujols had a near .500 OBP yet something like 37 runs scored only. That really says a lot about the guys hitting after him.

Another reason not to trust St. Louis.

There was no way Schumaker and Ludwick were going to keep up that pace, and Ankiel, despite his power, is likely a .265/.270 hitter, tops.

Ug-lee.

I usually avoid watching Cards games on FSN like the plague but I just may have to switch over and check his ABs tonight.

13 pitchers

I don’t like this idea at all. For one thing, it means more pinch-hitting appearances for Z and Marquis, and you’d hate to see them get hurt on one of those.

Second – Lou needs to make better use of what he has now. No reason he couldn’t have let Lieber go three or four innings last night rather than taking him out for the matchups. He doesn’t need to use every pitcher in his pen every night. I think he was good earlier in the season letting his long man go long, but he’s gotten away from that, unfortunately.

I agree that Marmol is pitching too often and may a little tired. I can’t understand why Lou brought him in last night. More use needs to be made of Howry now that he’s back on track, and hopefully Wuertz can bounce back from his recent poor outings, because generally he’s quite good.

I don’t have a lot of confidence in Cotts or in Eyre, and it seems Lou doesn’t either.

One obvious solution is to get more innings from starters. I think the Cubs have had just two 8-inning outings to date. We need to have more games where only one (or no) relievers are needed in order to spell the pen. We don’t need an extra pitcher – just better use of what we have and better performance from the starters. Too many 5-inning outings lately.

Excellent analysis.

Yes, Lieber should be left in longer. He can handle it and that saves the rest of the pen.

I agree Dan

But that’s starting pitching in MLB these days.

It’s the crux of the discussions los Yanquis are having about Chamberlin

I am so tired of hearing about that.
Chamberlin or the fact that starters are only going 5 or 6 innings?
Both.
Agreed on the Chamberlin issue

But pitching isn’t even remotely like it was when I first started watching baseball.

Of course that wasn’t like pitching in the 60’s with the higher mounds, etc

And that wasn’t like pitching in the dead ball era.

Starters don’t go as long now. IMO there are several really valid reasons for this. It’s part of what makes this team so fun to watch. The bullpen has really stepped up for the most part and that’s what you want in a championship team.

ESPN isn't tired of telling you about it!
Part of me hopes

that Chamberlin gets shelled tonight. But unfortunately that would lead to a week’s worth of stories about how bad the decision was to move him to the rotation

being a husker fan I kinda like it. even though I hate the yanks. I hope he wins with them.They suck anyway.
I put him on my fantasy team

just because of the conversion to starter.

Boomer Sooner ;)

I have to admit I’m a sucker for the story about his dad

Pitchers rust before they wear out?

I think Cotts needs time to gain confidence, and keeping him in to get shelled is not good management. I do agree that guys like Lieber and Howry should be used more.

Cubs bullpen use over the last 7 days

FYI – In the last seven days, here are the innings pitched an appearances by Cub relievers (I’d do the pitchcounts, too, but I just am not THAT motivated)... :)

Marmol 5 innnings 5 appearances
Wood 4 2/3 innnings 5 appearances
Wuertz 2 2/3 innnings 4 appearances
Howry 3 1/3 innnings 3 appearances
Cotts 2 2/3 innnings 3 appearances
Lieber 4 2/3 innnings 2 appearances
Eyre 1 innnings 2 appearances
Ascanio (Back in AAA) 1 innnings 1 appearance

One other thing...

The last week included the following starts from Cubs Starters
27-May Gallagher 7.0
28-May Zambrano 8.0
29-May Marquis 5.1
30-May Lilly 3.0
31-May Dempster 5.0
1-Jun Gallagher 5.2
2-Jun Zambrano 5.0

That’s 5 straight “non-quality” starts… Cubby starters need to start going a bit deeper, or the pen WILL be worn out after the break.

Ouch (starters)

That just can’t go on. Lilly really needs to step it up. He should be going at least 7 in most of his starts.

Big +1 on Lilly
As does Marquis, who was signed as an innings eater.

He’s averaging about 5.5 IP per start; not exactly inning-eater performance…

Lieber

Well, it does look like Lou had Lieber go long at least once in the last week, so that’s good. Maybe last night was an exception.

Let’s hope Marquis can throw a lot of innings tonight.

Lieber went 3 2/3...

In Lilly’s 3 inning outing.

The absolute imperative is to strengthen the rotation

Else we will have a deeply disappointing season in the end.

Do you have anyone in particular in mind? (Daver rolls eyes.)
Mike Maroth.
Cy Young!

He’s dead, but how could that be any worse than hiring another DL-bound #3?

I hear

that Guidry kid is a pretty good pitcher

Fontenot.

This guy.

I watched a lot

of Cubs baseball back then and I have absolutely no memory of this guy. It looks like he got a lot of starts after the entire starting rotation went down.

That's exactly right.
And he sucked!

I remember him well. We dreaded having him come into a game. The saying was, “Oh no – Fontenot!”

Throw multiple innings more often!

We’d have less bullpen problems if our middle guys threw more innings. Usage-wise, Marmol and Wood are being used later in games, but if any of Lieber, Wuertz, Cotts, Eyre, or Howry comes in and mows down the other team in their inning (or part of an inning), why not try and get another one out of them? If they struggle in inning #2, you would just bring in who you would have started the inning with anyway, and you use less of your bullpen. I was quite pleased when Lou was using Wuertz for multiple innings a week or so ago and wish he would continue with everyone

Is there any study about whether it is innings or appearances are more wearying for relievers?

My problem is with...

the concept of the LOOGY. I think Stevie Ire should be pitching full innings… not 1/3 here, and 2/3 there.

Occasionally, the matchups dictate a guy just getting called in for just one batter, but I truly believe that is the exception as opposed to the rule.

Mix up the use of the pen (throw finesse guys after hard throwers, and vice versa) to give the opposition different looks, and trust your pen! For the most part, they’re showing they’ve earned that trust. Especially with 4 run leads!

I agree. Howry seems to have gotten his act together...

Now Lou needs to let Eyre do the same thing.

Which is it boys and girls?

On the one hand the saber-magicians go into vapor lock whenever a starting pitcher passes the 95 pitch mark. But on the other hand they lament that Sweet Lou is overworking Carlos Marmol and others. You can’t have it both ways.

The solution? We need to add a veteran stud to this rotation. Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster also need to pitch deeper into games. Lilly has been doing his best Jason Marquis impersonation all season long while Piniella has been careful with Dempster.

you can have it both ways

if the other pitchers are used in the bullpen

Scott Eyre hasn’t been used for more than 2 outs since May 21st and he’s allowed just 4 base-runners in his 5 total innings (which are spread out over NINE appearances)

you can have it both ways IF you use all of your bullpen instead of “shouldering” (pun intended) the load with just 2-3 guys

oh, you eggy eggy person

and your ability to completely and utterly ignore what it is that people are REALLY saying.

Just above your “thoughts”, there are two posts. You, in fact, replied to one, although I’m sure it was just a random click.

“I think Stevie Ire should be pitching full innings… not 1/3 here, and 2/3 there.”
“Howry seems to have gotten his act together.”
“Now Lou needs to let Eyre do the same thing.”

Let the bullpen pick up more of the load.

I think i'm going to just post this in response from now on

Mr. MDBNIU, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

BIG +1
MDBNIU

I try to stay away from your posts because you take enough of a deserved beating. The problem is you really are in love with yourself, you probably know more about baseball than me and I really don’t care.

In 1 post above you are vague and present no solution when you said, “The absolute imperative is to strengthen the rotation Else we will have a deeply disappointing season in the end.”

You then in smarmy tone which I read all of your posts talk down to every in the title, “Which is it boys and girls?” Followed by the post, “On the one hand the saber-magicians go into vapor lock whenever a starting pitcher passes the 95 pitch mark. But on the other hand they lament that Sweet Lou is overworking Carlos Marmol and others. You can’t have it both ways.

The solution? We need to add a veteran stud to this rotation. Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster also need to pitch deeper into games. Lilly has been doing his best Jason Marquis impersonation all season long while Piniella has been careful with Dempster.”

Where is this veteran stud you always talk about? I also want to add Brandon Webb or a healthy Jake Peavy. If you are going to rip everyone for being on the fence then come up with a logical solution that could actually work.

his solution

is Rich Harden…

i know!

no seriously, he thinks Rich Harden is the answer

no REALLY, stop laughing

That’s a good point! I’m not sure if he IS aware Harden hasn’t pitched more than 5 consecutive starts without getting hurt since 2005

And Harden tossed 115 pitches last night.

Of course Billy Beane is anxious to deal him, he knows that shoulder has about a 60-inning limit.

last night

was also his 5th consecutive start, that’s been the breaking point (it’s likely coincidence) in each of the last two years

My other favorite

is I know MDBNIU has said it is a Lou love fest on BCB but in one of his post today said we are hammering the skipper for the use of Marmol, again I’m not trying to pile on but I can only take so many contradictions with his smarmy tone.

Likely a coincidence, yes, but

it has been around that 40-50 inning mark that he’s broken down. Like I said, I’d bet Beane is willing to deal him soon, because he’s no dummy and he could probably foist an injury waiting to happen on someone for a pile of prospects.

Re: "Billy Beane is anxious to deal him..."

Whoa – just had a thought that blows my mind…

MDBNIU = Billy Beane

Farfetched, but it would make a lot of sense – the smarmyness, the constant display of tremendous baseball acumen, the signature line…

Yeah, and it would explain the "saber-magician" thing, too.

Beane is probably bitter about being forever associated with “Moneyball” and the stats crowd.

both of you are too funny!
you probably know more about baseball than me.

that’s a harsh way of insulting yourself… Hell it’s not something you say even if you’re being sarcastic.

I wasn't trying to insult myself

simply getting one of his points out of the way.

Which is it

Rich Harden is not a veteran stud

Correct.

He’s also essentially a reclamation project.

Dyslexic?

maybe he meant veteran “dust”, as in what that arm would surely turn into after a half-dozen starts…

you just blew my mind
again the most practical response...

eggs

On XM

Not sure how many of you tuned in to the XM Broadcast, I did, and Jerry Coleman kept telling Andy, that Edmonds missed spring training, suggesting that it accounted for his horrible performance while with the Pads. I was not aware he had missed ST.

calf injury
Ahhh

Thanks…so it sidelined him all through march?

Yeah, and rumors in SD

said it wasn’t fully healed when he came back.

I looked this up.

Edmonds did play in four ST games, going 1-for-6. But yes, essentially he did miss the entire spring.

Padres

This makes it hard to understand why the Padres gave up on him so fast. If he missed all of spring training, then you would expect his first month of the year to be horrible – and it was.

Surely they took his lack of a spring into account when judging his slow start.

Apparently not.
Padres didn't think he could handle Petco's mammoth centerfield.

That’s one answer. The other answer is that the saber-magician trifecta of Sandy Alderson, Paul DePodesta and Grady Fuson have way too much time on their hands and won’t let Kevin Towers do his job.

interesting

so when the Padres kept building NL West contenders it was all Kevin Towers and none of the help from the saber-magicians

Now when their entire rotation goes down and they suck, it’s the saber-magicians fault

nice rationale

Did the park

get larger after they signed him? They knew this before trading for him…

Exactly.
That would be a reverse Juan Gonzalez.

I believe he said something similar to “I don’t care that they built a pitchers park, I wanted the fences brought in.”

Maybe they really wanted to give Jody "Root! Root!" Gerut a shot.
Also

I think when they released him they doing so poorly that they thought they might be completely out of it this year. That was before the whole world realized how bad the NL West as a whole really is.

Tried to read through and hadn't seen it mentioned

but can we safely assume a 130 pitch outing has an effect?

I mean for the first time all year Z looked like he had no idea where it was going. Ole Blue Mike will have you know that pitch counts are things of saber-magicians, but the truth is there’s some significant evidence behind the idea that the arm fatigues after 110-120 pitches.

Zambrano’s arm looked tired last night and his control looked to be a direct result of being left in WAY too long.

I understand the need to have starters go deeper into games because I’ve been on the Carlos Marmol overuse bandwagon for weeks now, but there’s got to be a give and take.

Lou needs to realize we’re building a cushion and to take his shot risking games with the likes of Eyre and Wuertz for the sake of the bigger picture

Lou did the right thing last night going to Wuertz and then Michael unfortunately pitched very poorly, but in a 4 run game I think you have to let him try to work out of it before getting Marmol and Wood involved, or at the very least if you do bring Marmol in let someone else (Lou meet Scott “Stevie” Eyre) start the 9th. If someone else gets in trouble you still have Woody back there to bail them out

I think the problem (if it is a problem)

right now is that Lou is wanting to rack up wins. When he sees us up 4 in the ninth he’s not looking at that as a cushion and an opportunity to work on pitchers, i.e. Wuertz, Eyre. He sees that as another potential and wants his best guys in there, i.e. Marmol, Wood. Now, whether you agree with that or not is subjective, but I think the bottom line, clearly, is that all our pitchers need work in games, and the big guys need to not work every game.

don't disagree with Lou's mindset

but I think its missing the forest for the trees

its June 3rd for crying out loud

Agreed.

It’s June 3rd. And how bloody exciting is it that what we’re “arguing” about is which of our outstanding pitchers to use, and to not get too amped about our 8-game winning streak.

haha

VERY TRUE

I’ve been enjoying every moment of this season. It’s a different feeling going to the couch each afternoon/evening to take in the game

Truly special

Absolutely

It’s still fun to discuss.

It would really suck to be a Royals fan.

Yeah, I agree with this.

I think Lou is going for the jugular every single game. I also think he really wants to win the first game of a series, so the team has some wiggle room during the next two to three games—especially on the road.

Now, in and of themselves, these are perfectly understandable approaches. I mean, you can’t argue with success, right? Still, it’s hard not to worry about the bullpen fatigue factor that might set in later in the season.

I think you're right, but...

... it’s not necessarily good to “go for the jugular” every single game, playing every game like it’s a postseason match.

Burnout is extremely possible in that case.

As I already stated above

Lou had Wuertz in the 8th. After his 2 BB he was pulled for Marmol. Perhaps Lou can be criticized for taking out Wuertz to quickly but he didn’t have Marmol in there with a 4 run lead an nobody on.

he did

in the 9th inning

True

Should have said he didn’t bring Marmol in in that situation. I agree that he shouldn’t have pitched the 9th. One thing though, the HR hit off of him didn’t look to be because of overuse. That fastball had a lot of movement. The guy just hit it out, it happens.

not sure it was the 130 pitches

zambrano looked the same in his 130 pitch start as he did this last start. i dont think you can tell if the 130 pitches had an effect this time out because he has looked lost in both starts, not just this one.

i disagree

In Zambrano’s 130 pitch outing he threw 79 of his 130 pitches for strikes (60.7%)

Last night he threw 51 of his 95 pitches for strikes (53.7%)

That’s a HUGE difference

FYI

Len Kasper will chat live today with Baseball Prospectus at 12 PM CDT. You can go there and submit questions in advance if you like.

I think this win was really important to Lou...

considering all the chatter about Cubs road performance.

actually

winning the first game of the road series is something we’ve been able to do.

To me, TONIGHT is a much bigger test. If we win tonight, we win the series. that’ll be the first time in, well, quite some time.

would be first since early April

and only the 2nd all year

this is what I'm saying. :D

So, I REALLY want them to win tonight, because, I think, it puts much less pressure on them to win tomorrow.

I think Lou

is managing to win every game possible early since we have a tough schedule during the second half. Lots of road games.

I think Lou manages to win games early, late, in the middle, on the side and around the corner.

Lou manages to win every game. While that’s admirable and all that, sometimes you have to let the guys on the field play the game. We don’t have a 30-man roster.

Well

With Ward coming back, and Murton a decent bat if needed, Pie getting his swing together, Ascanio looking good, Marshall stretching out, E Pat is an option, Hill a possibility …

The Cubs seem like a very deep team. Perhaps the attitude is, we can put the pedal to the metal and take a little risk.

You've covered many of my thoughts

Lou shouldn’t have emptied the pen last night - Lieber could have gone longer, as Cotts could have done the same. Marmol shouldn’t have been put in the position he was in - even though Wood should not be in with a 4-run lead—somebody else rather than Marmol needed to finish up. Marmol did his job in the 8th. Since Lou had started the parade, I think he had to complete the merry-go-round and keep Marmol’s count down.

However, Gonzalez is having a great season. Perhaps it was all him, but the lead-off walk was a bad sign.

Odds/ends….30K? In your dreams, Pads. 30K tickets, may have been distributed, 22 to 25K actually in the park, and 10-15K were Cubs fans. Look, they drew an average of 16K against the Nats last Mon-Wed. Bottom line, 30K—no way. There were acres of empty seats, and even counting the ‘park passes’ (the grass berm, and special standing area locations) I don’t belive the ‘announced’ attendence.

I say this because hundreds - some 800 tix were still on stub-hub this weekend…and many at reduced prices. If you are near SD, and want to get to a game - some good reserved field seats (at last look) were HALF price.

The Padres flagship radio station was giving away a number of tickets to Wednesday’s game on their post-game show last night. You had to go to their website to register to win. You had to use a ‘keyword’ to register.

It was….”Bartman.”

The password should have been "Last Place"
Gahd, that password thing is so lame.
Classy!

just like the shirt I saw on the Brewers’ telecast on Sunday; “Fuku Cubs”. I’ll bet her mom is proud.

my thoughts

fukudome looked a lot better at the plate yesterday…hopefully he starts to get hot

edmonds is showing a lot of promise and could be very valueable if he continues this play.

theriot still looks hot at the plate.

My guess is lou wants 13 pitchers so he can bring ascanio back up for a while until ward is back with the team.

love how theriot

hits so many rockets right back up the middle.

rockets?

i like his oppo hits so far this season, but rockets?

bottle-rockets

they go TWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPTH….

and then fall out of the sky like a winged mallard…

theriot's

bruised up a few pitchers this season

WORLD SERIES BABY!!!!

TIME TO MAKE MY WORLD SERIES TRAVEL PLANS NOW!!!

THIS IS THE YEAR!!!

Looks like someone hit the Cubbie Kool Aid before lunch time again.
Hey, what's wrong with that!?!?!

/slides morning can of Old Style under the desk….

what's wrong with it

is that it’s OLD STYLE! Egad.

Old Style is delicious!

But I hope everyone keeps hating on it, so I can keep getting a six of talls for $3.99!

Haven't had Old Style in several years

several very, very good years. LOL

It is fully kroyzened (sp?) though.

bleah.

you may have my lifetime supply, my friend.

I dig the "Jake" commercials though

For those of us outside Chicago, it gives us a little taste of the city.

Love it

we proudly have a kegerator full of Old Style.

WE ARE INVINCIBLE!!!

Move over White Sox fans-the Cubbies will bring the trophy back to Chicago this October!!!!

Hmmm

I heard the same thing in about the seventh inning of Game 6 at Wrigley in 2003.

Sigh.

Yep. Let’s all enjoy the ride while it’s going and realize it still has a long way to go before it reaches the Promised Land.

DODGERS/CUBS, LA??

I had posted this in Ticket Exchanges, but there really is no “Away Exchange”.

Any help here is appreciated -

CUBS and DODGERS in LA, SUNDAY!
If anyone is interested, or knows anyone that is interested, I bought TWO tickets for Sunday night’s Dodgers/Cubs in LA a month ago, then had to cancel the trip as my daughter’s graduation is Monday here in Chi!

They are KILLER seats! MVP Loge, Sec. 140, row D Includes Preferred Parking, too!

They are sort of the LA equivilent of Wrigley’s "Mezzanine Boxes" seats that I have never sat in.

Feel free to email audioguy3 at comcast dot net

THANKS!

Just a subtle reminder

Today is the first anniversary of DeRo’s grand slam against the Braves. Remember the big losing streak, Z’s fight with Barrett, Lou’s suspension?

Ahh, thank heavens for distant memories! This has been a totally different team since then.

Yes I remember

it was a full count too, it let everyone relax a bit.

Oh, yeah.

A year ago we were riding the Trammell Train. Good times.

Did you read Len Kasper's chat?

It was pretty damn cool. Loved what he said at the end:

“Keep asking questions…and when you draw your conclusions, leave yourself some room in case somebody comes up with something either better or something that you can add to the mix. I love checking out the blogs, but I get a little disheartened at all the stubborn vitriol that I read (not here, but just about everywhere else I go on the internet). I know some of this gets emotionally-charged because we’re all fans at heart, but I think if we all just try to keep an open mind, it will lead to less…for lack of a better term, meanness. Hope that makes sense. I think if we all were required to attach our real name to our internet comments, the discourse would be more civil. Anonymity can breed some pretty vicious stuff. OK, off my soapbox…talk to you soon!”

Now THAT’S class. Len seems like a really great guy.

Yeah that was great close.
Len if you read this...

Tell Bob, “More Mitch Hedberg references!”

Thanks

Yeah I read it. Great interview and a classy guy...

But he didn’t answer any of my questions, such as:

Does killing time damage eternity?

What’s the synonym for thesaurus?

Oh well…maybe next time.

I love rice

It’s great when you’re hungry and want 2000 of something.

If nothing sticks to Teflon,

how does it stick to the skillet?

If we live in an ever shrinking world...

why do postal rates keep going up?

When did

Steven Wright start posting?

I poured 'Spot Remover' on my dog...

...now he’s gone.

Do they use sterile needles for lethal injections?
Everything is within walking distance...

...if you’ve got the time.

Considering the laws of friction.....

is it possible to electrocurte yourself by flogging the dummy?

Can you nail gelatin to a wall?
Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game," when we are already there?
So I walk up my 7-11 and they're locking the doors...

And I say “What’s this? You guys are open 24hrs!” and the guy looks at me and says: “Yeah… not IN A ROW.”

or "Cubs are gonna win today" when they already have?
how close does a fly get to the ceiling before it turns over to land?

and when the fly turns over, does it do a barrel-roll or a half-loop?

>8)

You readin’ my source, ‘hawk?

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_043.html

maybe indirectly, but my direct source goes back to my college days...

we had one of those boy geniuses on campus – his name was Pierre, he was like 12 years old, and taking grad level courses. He used to always come up to our tables during meals and just go on and on and on about stuff way over our heads and pretty much annoy the heck out of us – kinda like Blue Mike here. ;-)

Anyway, picking on him for the way he looked, talked or acted would have been too easy (and a bit mean) so we came up with a bunch of questions that we’d feed to him every now and then. He’d go away and really ponder on them. The fly ceiling thing was one of them. Cecil was a popular read back then, so it’s very probably that whoever suggested that question, got it from his column.

Another classic: If knees bent the other way, what would chairs look like?

That's great.

Really clever way to deal with an annoyance. And the kid got something out of it, too.

What was really funny about the fly ceiling one...

The cafeteria building was on a hill, so the actual eating area had really high ceilings – I’m talking 25-30 ft high. And being a college environment, sanitary conditions weren’t at the highest of levels, so there was no shortage of flies flying around.

So when we asked him the fly question, he thought about it for awhile and kept looking at the ceiling 30 feet above him. That was funny enough, but the fact that Pierre was only maybe 4 1/2 feet tall, made it even funnier. Then to top it off, he pulled a chair out from the table, climbed on it and then looked up at the ceiling again, as if being two feet closer would really make a difference. Oh man, we were dying…

Dude,

I’m crying now. I can just hear the chair screeching away from the table.

Thesaurus.com...

... gives two synonyms for thesaurus:

Synonym Collection v1.1
Main Entry: thesaurus
Part of Speech: noun
Synonyms: dictionary, lexicon
That's odd

I wouldn’t normally consider dictionary to be a synonym for thesarus. They seem to serve different purposes, IMO

Peculiar.

It appears thesaurus.com is lying. About itself.

it's just deceving itself. the Dictionary is never REALLY going to understand

it.

Never say never!
*VERY* strangely...

...thesaurus.com has no entry for the word “never”.

Maybe it’s like trying to find a rhyme with “orange”...

OMG! He hates MDBNIU, too!
I love checking out the blogs, but I get a little disheartened at all the stubborn vitriol that I read (not here, but just about everywhere else I go on the internet). I know some of this gets emotionally-charged because we’re all fans at heart, but I think if we all just try to keep an open mind, it will lead to less…for lack of a better term, meanness.
That and . . .
Nobody has ALL the answers and if you think you do, you’ll get caught in a trap that somebody can easily exploit at some point.
Or you'll end up with "Steve Stone" ads on...

THE SCORE… Sports Radio 670!!!

That happens

everyday to him.

Kevin Hart Activated?

Has anyone heard who Hart is coming up for? Wuertz?

I just hope it’s a relief pitcher and not a bench player…

Since they were talking 13th pitcher

I assume its Hoff.

They ARE? For sure?
Sorry - you said TALKING, not taking - my bad.
Hart was supposed to start in Nasville tonite...

..it was on the Sounds website Monday-but by game time last night-it had changed. As a result I probably won’t go tonight—wanted to see Hill or Hart.

Do the Sounds have a new stadium?

I lived in Nashville in 2000 and went a couple of times.

It put the “Old” in “Old School”

Nope--same place, BUT....

they used to have the WORST visitor’s clubhouse in AAA—they were forced to build a separate quonset hut/pole barn type building behind the CF fence…I used to love to joke with guys like Loney, Byrd and others who’d been in the bigs about how they like the new plasmas in the clubhouse. Kerry Wood could tell you too.

There was no back way out of that club house—if you sat in the first base stands after the game, they HAD to come by you to leave….

When does the game thread here usually go up...

...for late, West Coast games like the ones this week?

Never soon enough.
Agreed

probably around 6pm like yesterday’s

It'll post at 6 pm.

Any earlier and I’d need a THIRD overflow!

The 3rd times the charm AL!

Seriously…do you have any idea how popular this blog is compared to the other ML blogs on SBNATION? We’ve have got to be near the top.

there were nearly 1500 posts

for LAST NIGHT’S GAME!!!!

The only ones I know of that are close ...

... are Viva El Birdos and Athletics Nation.

I've gone to some others to check them out

And there is WAY more here.

I’d like to think it was the level of sophistication of the posters here.

With a few exceptions.

Yeah, we're sophisticated!

In your faces, other blogs!

13 pitchers happen...

When Jason Marquis is your 5th starter and you don’t know if he will go 6 outs let alone 6 innings. Ted Lilly has pitched like a Marquis clone all season, thereby compounding the proble.m

Get Rich Harden. Billy Beane wants to move Harden and Joe Blanton. Be first in line and offer up whatever it takes.

Felix Pie, Rich Hill, Tony Thomas…..I don’t care. I want a World Series Championship in 2008.

Was there some sort of parlay you bet in Vegas that included Harden going to the Cubs?

You seem to mention it …..A LOT.

Yawn

The World According to MDBNIU #8

8. Rich Harden should be aggressively pursued and I believe will be at some point.

Just post the # man…save yourself the trouble of typing out all those words.

Word

I think I like this better than +1

No one cares

what you want. You sound like a whiney two year old.

Whole lotta love in this room
Honest to God Sue this may be my favorite STFU post ever!

Kudos

Hey Sue

Gomer says hey.

Hey BlueMike

Ronnie Woo Says Hi. As in, you two have so much in common. You constantly repeat yourself.

Wow!

Could we lock the two of them in a room together?

as long as it's padded

and soundproof…

Please!

At least only one of them would come out. Honestly, I hope it would be Woo-Woo

I'd be voting for "none of the above".
I know, me too

i just felt obligated to pick one of them for some reason.

Forget them,

the bloody ROOM would be begging for mercy.

"Two men enter; One man leaves..."

[from “Mad Mike Beyond Thunderdumb”]

really LSA for that burn
This is only the 249th time...

you’ve tried to insult Sue by making a lame “hick-country bumpkin” reference. Keep trying.

The Mayberry thing is just dumb.

Sue lives in Iowa. How can you be so incredibly wrong about everything?

You really should have

your 10 year old daughter write you some new material. This stuff is so last year.

If I knew Harden would stay healthy..I'd turn into a...

...a 600# gorilla and jump up and down to get him….he is SO unpredictable.

I swear you cut and paste this from earlier
Everyone should...

just print out this postand refer to it. It will save everyone the trouble of actually having to read every MDBNIU post.

I thought I had read

this exact post before.

weren't you going to make

bluemikeometer out of this?

That would be a really long meter...

and too much work for such a little man.

True, I suppose...
Anybody else envision Blue Mike like this?

that needs to be

an NIU Intramural Co-Ed Baseball (Equipment Boy) shirt.

I think he's more like this guy

MDBNIU thinking really hard about what to post next

I love both

pictures.

Actually, yeah, that's pretty much how I envision him.

He’s like your grumpy next-door-neighbor who keeps giving you lawn care tips that you don’t really want.

"Billy Beane wants to move Harden and Joe Blanton"

Please provide a link. I know you cannot provide a link to your baseball resume because that is personal but when citing a GMs motives, I would suggest a link.

Otherwise, you are just doing what you are doing, which is trying to get a reaction.

I bet Billy Beane does want to move Harden,

who’s at 41.1 IP, just about the point he gets injured each season. Beane doubtlessly realizes this fact and would like foist Harden and his porcelain shoulder on the first idiot willing to part with a few good prospects.

Great baseball minds...

are connected by mystical forces. They do not need to actually say what they are thinking…like an infinite number of red threads criss-crossing through the white cowhide of space and time…their minds are on the same wavelength.

What's with the Mayberry drops?

Sue lives in Iowa. How can you be so incredibly wrong about everything?

Not meant for you, Hammer.

Sorry, this was supposed to be up higher. Blue MIke started in his Andy Griffith routine with Sue.

I grew up in Western North Carolina

And I would invite Mr. Mike to come on down and pull his “gomer” stuff.

Folks down there REALLY take kindly to it.

Could he bring his bestest friend baseball coach?

They may respect his insulting comments if they knew he knew so much about baseball.

Ted Lilly has pitched like a Marquis clone all season, thereby compounding the proble.m

Utterly untrue.

We could all play a game

And pick one player we’d like to see the Cubs get—although it would make no sense in any way, shape or form.

Then we can mention it over and over and over and over.

Sound fun?

MDBNIU—we know you want Harden. Done

I choose ….....Frank Thomas!!!! Yeah!!!!

Jim Hendry, please bring Frank Thomas to the Cubs. Derek Lee went 0 for 4 the other day and we can’t have that!!! Frank Thomas is the answer. He has hit 500+ home runs (something EVERYONE likes!) and it will be fun watching him try to run the bases.

In order to secure Mr. Thomas please trade away every decent prospect we have. Never forget Jim, winning now at all costs is worth any future this franchise might have. Thank you.

This is AWSOME!!!!

oooh! OOOOOH!

I wanna play.

Dear Jim Hendry:

Please bring me a manager who has won more than one world-series. I would like you to reincarnate Billy Martin and hire him to manage the cubs. You may sacrifice the soul of Alfonso Soriano, Mark DeRosa and Henry Blanco. I’d suggest the souls of Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot, but they’re already playing at the MLB level, so we already know what they’ve done with THEIR souls.

Thanks and kisses,

Drew

If you reincarnated Billy Martin...

...I’d be very interested to know what he’d come back as?

George Steinbrenner

but with Baseball Smarts.

Saw the honeymoon pics Drew

Was in Madrid myself in 2006. Loved every second I was there.

we didn't spend as much time in Madrid as I would have liked

but really this was her trip, not mine, so it was built around her. The next trip is either Italy or Egypt.

You could spolit the difference and go to Cyprus :)
Split of course
don't they

shoot each-other there? :D

Just went to Egypt at the beginning of the year....

It was great …. Cairo is crazy …. 16 million people and not one of them know how to drive.

I want ARod

Hendry can trade the entire AAA and AA ball clubs, throw in Gallager Cedeno and Theriot. We’ll pay the entire remainder of A Rod’s contract. We want o win now right? No need for any minor leaguers or middle IF for the next few years.

I want Roy Hobbs.

Jim, make it happen.

HOBBS KNOCKED THE COVER OFF THE BALL!!!
Can we just get his bat made from a tree brach felled by lightning?
I want Joe Pepitone.
Nah...too much like Farnsworth and Kapler...

Oh..you didn't say Piscopo...sorry.
Different, methinks.
Piscopo -- all field, no hit
Yeah, no funny either.
hey...

he kind of looks like Jim Edmonds…

I thought

it was david hasselhoff at first glance

rofl!

Joe Pepitone is the reason I fell in love with baseball. I used to listen to (forgive me) the Yankees on a transistor radio late at night. Who can resist a guy who:

on his way to 1962 spring training in Florida, Pepitone spent his entire $25,000 signing bonus. He bought a Ford Thunderbird, a boat which he towed with the Thunderbird, and a dog. He arrived at Yankees spring training in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a new car, a new boat, a new dog, and was wearing a new shark-skin suit.

Sosa's available, yeah?
Uh oh... now who's gonna post the Playgirl cover with Steve Stone...

(I fear, I fear…)

I am ashamed I took the time to find this...and even more embarrassed that I am posting it.

This is one time

where I cherish that little red X my work substitutes.

Sweet. Merciful. God.
I feel the instant need

to spray lemon juice in my eyes

I know!

How can I watch the game tonight after jamming a salad fork repeatedly into both eyes?

This is wrong on SO many levels
And SOMEONE found a pic.

That’s friggin’ hilarious. I’m sad to say, as a kid, I once ‘found’ the magazine in the house and looked at ALL the pics. That said, I remain a straight man.

(and, as a straight man, I’m STILL thankful Steve did not do a ‘full frontal’)

Full frontal?

Would that have made him Steve Stones?

Why

did you cover up his butt? If you’re going to post a picture like that, you might as well go all the way.

Boogie Nights
Is that Steve Stone?
what?

you don’t recognize his sleek calves?

oh gawd......
*dies laughing*
Click for more if you dare....

OMG!!!!

my laptop just blew up
blew up

or threw up?

There's a poster on here...

who’s mother dated Stoney….we teased him that he was Steve Stone’s love child…:)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My eyes! My eyes!

Zee goggles do nothing!
No to 13 pitchers

Trust the Pen Lou, just not Marmol and Wood.

The Stone photo, I am speechless.
Thanks for changing the subjest

SO! Eight game winning streak huh?

hey, how about them Cubbies!
Top of the hour Sportscenter on AM 1000

Bruce Levine is reporting that either Kevin Hart or Jose Ascanio will be called up today. No mention of who would be hitting the road to make room.

Hoff or Fontenot, likely.

Lou wants 13 pitchers.

That's ashame

I’m in the “13 pitchers is too many” camp.

Normally, so am I, but

if this move keeps Lou from trotting Marmol out there every damn day, then I’m fine with it, so long as it only lasts a week or so.

Yeah, no that's true too

‘Lil confused by the Kevin Hart thing, though. Weren’t we stretching him out down there, or with Gallagher stepping up as of late has that been altered again? Wouldn’t Ascanio make more sense if you’re just looking for another warm body in the Pen?

If Marquis is on as short a leash as I imagine,

Hart may be up to take a start or two. Or, if (insert grain of salt here) Steve Stone is correct, Hendry is in the midst of making a move for a pitcher, a move which would involve Marquis and some young pitching, so perhaps Hart is up to be showcased a bit.

Was not aware of that

When was Stoney goin’ on about that potential move?

During the first hour of Boers and Bernstein.

Like I said, take that with a grain of salt….

No doubt

But interesting, nonetheless.

It couldn't be Ascanio yet

There’s a rule that when you send a guy down to the minors, you have to wait at least 10 days before you can call him up again, unless you DL someone. I doubt it’s been 10 days since Ascanio went down, so it has to be Hart.

Yeah, that's what it's sounding like

According to ESPN Radio, anyway.

It would make no sense to bring up Ascanio. I’m guessing Lou wants a 13th pitcher to eat up some innings for relief of the already overworked pen. Well Ascanio pitched 2 innings last night (47 pitches)...he wouldn’t be able to use him for at least another day. As opposed to Hart, who is plenty rested as he was scheduled to start well…tonight

Ok

Interesting note about Ascanio throwin’ last night (and that many pitches) and the fact that Hart was scheduled to go today. Was not aware of that. Makes a ‘lil more sense now. Good nugget.

Hart it is

Now they (ESPN 1000) are saying that it will be Kevin Hart…still no mention of the corresponding move.

Probably Hoffpauir.
Makes the most sense

I think Lou likes his little Fontenot for his late inning switches and tomfoolery.

13 pitchers would be one if you were using all 12 already
especially since

there is no guarantee that Lou will not trot out Marmol is one of the others gets into a jam

stone

Ah, that’s better

whew. thanks.
even this picture can't stop me from really wanting that shirt.
Al said

marmol is showing signs of overwork… I dont think so. That HR pitch the catcher (can’t remember if it was Blanco or Soto) set up high, MArmol woulda nailed the mit, but Gonzo just climbed the ladder with Marmol and cranked it. It was a good hit, not so much a bad pitch.

13 Pitchers?

If they could all hit like Z it wouldn’t be such a problem but what benefit can we get from that many? There won’t be enough innings for them before taking into account Lou’s fixation with Marmol. Lou’s doing a poor job of handling the rotation and managing his roster. Al’s right about asking why Marmol was in that game last night.

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