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First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Friday 7/4, 7:15 CT

Let the game begin!

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Let's get 'em!
the stars and stripes hats

are sweet

Not a good start...
Score early and

score often.

They scored early now

let’s see if they score often.

Does anyone remember the last time

that DLee and ARam got hot at the same time? We could sure use that now!

At least DLee has started to warm up. But Aram is in an 0-21 funk. Let’s go Aramis!!

make him throw pitches
HR

DOme

Slowly coming off my shit list!
DOME HR 1-0
Sweet!

Dome turned on one!

at least

nobody was one first

My wife finally brought home (today) my Fukudome

bobblehead that I bought on eBay. Maybe that was the good luck charm?

It had been sitting in her office for 3 weeks.

It's quiet here tonight, huh?

Guess most are out enjoying the day.

I don't think

my five-month old will enjoy fireworks. So I’m going to hang out here until dinner is ready.

We have a party

but it’s after 9, so I hope the Cubs have this all wrapped up early.

I don't enjoy fireworks either.
I like them

but I doubt she does.

I prefer them after a ballgame though. That’s the best of both worlds.

They drive me nuts, the only ones I can handle are the ones on tv.

Hopefully the Cubs will provide them for me tonight :)

btw I do enjoy your minor league posts, I’ve never followed ml ball but it’s interesting to read

Going to see the Boise Hawks

tomorrow night.

My first minor league experience was the Madison Muskies. Now that was a minor league team. Too bad they’re just a memory.

Mallards are now here.. I've been to a few of them

Timber-Rattlers games I use to go to when I was in college, they were a lot of fun.

but I meant more following the Cubs farm clubs.

The early Muskies

were like the freaking Rocky Horror Picture Show. The crowd had set phrases to respond to cues. The lineups would be announced like “Batting third for the Muskies, Tom Romano” and then the audience would chant “WHO?” and the PA annoucer would go “Romano” followed by “OOOOHHH” from the crowd.

Of course, they probably still chant “SIEVE!” after every opposing error. It’s Madison, after all. But that’s another one I remember.

Reminds me of football games at the University of Illinois (U-C).

PA: There is a timeout…
Fans: WHERE??
PA: ...on the field.
Fans: Ohhhhhh.

This is probably

my first gane thread in over a year. I’m going to assume the traffic today will be small enough to make this managable.

high pants for Ramirez

tryin to bust outta that slump

I was just thinking the same thing...
hope it works
Did Ramirez wear his socks like that yesterday?
Don't think so
very slow in here
slowest I've seen it..
I assume everyone's watching?

and nobody needs PxP

I don't think there are many people hear to enjoy it
And I was calling PxP on the radio...
stuck workin on the fourth

with nobody to talk to

What do you do?
work with the mentally disable

but there is only one here today and he’s sleepin so i get to enjoy the game

Glad to hear you can at least watch the game
*disabled
I did that for a summer. Difficult work my hat goes off to you
thanks

i know its cliche but i get as much out of it as they do. it’s humbling

+1 ... on the hat goes off part ... haven't done that kind of work
Hang in here.

We’ll keep you company.

Pre-game thread was at 42 before first pitch and finished at 53

That is very Dodger-like.

Many fans must be at family picnics…I assume.

Dodger-like? You mean everyone's going to show up in the third?
Still a whole lot faster

than the Pirates’ site.

is the radar gun hot?

Z threw one at 97mph..

Must be...

Didn’t look like he threw that hard.

Z looks good
Good inning
Good job Z!!!!
Z looking good...

strikes out Pujols to end inning

good 1st inning

for Z

11 pitch inning for Z

Nice

Sweet work Carlos...11 pitches
Big Z

Throws 11 in a 1-2-3 first. Looking perfectly fine to me

That's our Carlos

that we know and love. Just don’t break a bat over your leg, Big Z.

Lets go Jimmy
Mixed reception for Jimmy Ballgame
mostly cheers

a lot of em standing and cheering

Yeah, but I heard a few boos early on

Was glad to see that the crowd turned it around and gave him a standing o

On CTL tonight Dave Kaplan

said one of the papers in SL had a poll and asked what the fans would do for Edmonds and 60% said they would cheer for him when he came up to bat. One of their sports writers was livid that the SL fans would cheer for Edmonds.

One of their sports writers is an idiot

They do that at all the parks. Braves fans do it regularly.

they traded him

not like he left as a FA. no reason for the fans to hate him

Yep nice to see.
TLR's comments sounded silly.

Of course Edmonds is no longer a Cardinal and should not think of himself as a Cardinal.

Lot of people

on their feet for Edmonds.

Pat and Ron

say its a huge reception for him.

LaRussa: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Cmon, of course Jimmy’s a Cub now. WTF did DUI expect him to say?

soto

just missed that one

Offense looks better tonight
more relaxed
There you go Geo
I DESPISE that runt Sullivan

He has such disregard and little respect for Cubs’ fans, and he’s not a very good writer.
Flame away.

listening to that interview...

...yeah, he seemed like a dick.

Broken bats...so dangerous.

so many broken bats this season-why doesn’t MLB use aluminum bats like little league and college teams?

way more dangerous
Why?
the ball accelerates off a metal bat

where a wood bat it slows down. It’s super dangerous for the pitchers because the ball gets back at em so much faster

Besides, I hate metal bats

It’s the one thing I hate about watching college games. Baseball hitting bat should not go “clunk”

or "ping"
hate that sound..
No aluminium bats

They’re evil

However, your point is well taken. It’s more about using ash instead of maple, and MLB’s working on that

Len called Riot "Scrappy"

How long before he calls DeRo “Sexy”?

Theriot with a deep fly to second base...

:)

haha

cue cwyers…

Ok, did anyone think a trade was being announced when Sullivan came on? Damn you Len!
I got my hopes too high :(
I did.
I remember last year when Hendry came on, just to get our hopes up with Kendall.

But didn’t that moment of exitement feel amazing?

No

I was sure he was just gonna try to feel superior-Napoleonic Syndrome-to his TV counterparts.

time for Z

to break some hitting streaks

I hate Chris Duncan
just thought

I’d throw that out there

he made the All Ugly All Star Team

his dad, the pitching coach nominated him

Shelley's

playin first

Name that Molina
bengie?!
Sorry, wrong answer

But we have a lovely parting gift for you

Tony LaRussa will buy you a round at a local bar

come on Z

in a bit of a jam

Hey all. Looking good so far,

let’s get this last out!!!

Pitcher in 8th sport: Verdict?

I think it might be good with Z

i think its stupid
besides z's case I don't like it
I don't really think it makes that much difference

I think it’s mostly LaRussa being like Belichek

“Look at me! I’m so smart, I’m reinventing the game!”

Like I said, though, I think it would probably be good with Z

Two Innings, No Hits that leave the Batter's Box

Nice Comeback from the DL, Big Z. Let’s keep the walk number down.

Whew..got out of that one.
that pitcher batting 8th worked out well that time.
Z is truly back; he has a single
I know.

I love it. :)

I'm torn,

I like Z getting hits, but I don’t want him running the bases.

You sound like Hank Steinbrenner ;)
Wow

I didn’t know anyone could sound that idiotic.

How about

Reed Johnson just knocking it out?

I see your point

but I would like to see some early runs.

It is nice to see him be able to run some energy off
I love your sig
Perhaps.

With Marquis, he seems to have bad innings after running the bases. Hopefully, Z won’t do that.

that is the great Cardinal D at work...
Horrible AB

for Johnson. Need a better look than that!

He just got back

he’ll adjust.

I'd prefer to see Johnson

as a spot starter only. Hopefully Fonzie will be back next week.

Definitely agreed.
Fast healer ... I think he's like Wolverine
Maybe he IS

the Wolverine? Have you ever seen the Wolverine and Soriano in a room together?

I thought Sori was Dominican -- not Canadian
He's a man of mystery

n/t

hell he could be Austin Powers for all I care lol
Can anyone explain to me the reason for the different hats?

It happened last series against the Giants too

they are a stars and stripes edition

for the 4th. every team is wearing them i believe

Fourth of July.

It’s a camo pattern.

so MLB can make a few mil off of them

I am sure one penny of the hat

revenues goes to the military or some (too small) small amount

Actually, I think the proceeds go to a soldier charity of some sort
I'd like to ask again....

Does anyone remember if DLee and ARam have been hot at the same time this year? I can’t seem to remember a time that they were both hot, even for 5+ games at the same time.

They are both batting around .290, but they always seem to ham & egg when each other warms up.

Hopefully

they’ll make up for it by both getting hot all of August & September….and beyond.

Actually, I like both of them being hot at separate times

It makes sure somebody’s hitting the ball

I hate Schumaker

nice name…Skip.

Wow. That was bad. Even for Riot
CATCH THE BALL

Theriot

Theriot

drops the F%$#@’n ball…Skip out by a mile…ridiculous.

How many times has Riot dropped a throw this year?
Join the anti-Theriot fan club

took me a while, but I’ve come around.

There is always room on the anti-Theriot bandwagon!
I'm with ya!

n/t

I'm still on the fence

But I was a long way away…I’m a lot closer now

Why is that not interference?

...on the batter?

all he did was swing

he didnt do anything to prevent the throw

You're right...

just synapse interference on Theriot.

I think the word is incompetence

but I don’t want to go there. I want to stay positive.

We got out of it. Any extra out makes Z throw more pitches.

his body went across the plate
only in his attempt to hit the ball
Walk Albert

no shame in pitching around him…don’t care about the first inning K.

Pitch around him. Don't IBB here
No matter...pop out.

but why “pitch around” instead of IBB? Pujols doesn’t chase crap.

I've never liked giving up bases that early in the game

If you pitch around him, you have the slight chance that he’ll, for example, pop out on the infield. If you don’t you’re just giving him a chance.

As long as you keep it out of his wheel house, I just like at least trying to get the out as opposed to flat out conceding the BB.

ARRRGHH

Theriot sucks at SS

Santo doesn't have a man-crush on Theriot
what did Santo say?
Let's get some more runs!!!!
What happened to Riot?

I missed the play while I was searching my parents house unsuccessfully for a cubs hat. :(

Dropped Geo's throw

blown hit & run, he would have been out by a mile. 3rd time he’s done this this year.

Gah!!!

Poor Geo. :(

Maybe he needs

he needs comforted. :D

BIG Z PITCH COUNT UPDATE

42 pitches through 3 innings. Not bad.

how Theriot just didnt catch it. It dropped out of his glove and then he went on to

grumble about about how guys in his day knew how cover bases.

C'mon Jimmy

Let’s get a hit!

Should we introduce a new scoring term for Riot: Dropped stealing? Something like that
Doesn't look like an error was scored for the play.

Dunno.

Yep. That would be a good stat to keep
I'm thinking about protecting Geo's stats, mainly
If the Cubs are playing the Cardinals

how am I supposed to scoreboard watch in the slow moments? The Brewers have already won. I’m supposed to care about Florida/Colorado?

No.

No one cares about that game.

The PCL?
Samardzija

gave up a two-run home run in the first.

Yeah, good point.

they got em back in the 2nd
if anyone can keep that one I trust you would be the person who could
Mets v. Phils

is tied 2-2, top 8

I kinda like the Rays

When they’re not sweeping us :(

So I keep up with them

But they’ve already won, 11-2, over KC. Remember when the Royals won the first three games and everyone went crazy?

nice long at bat by Edmonds
yes it was
GEO!!!!!!!!!!
Good AB Soto

YARD

atta boy Geo
The Smokies are down 6-0

but Peoria is up 4-0 looking for their 11th win in a row.

you're the minors expert

why do the I-Cubs have a 4 game home set against salt lake but they dont play them in SLC?

Soto is such a stud!!!!!
DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
really you agree w/ on that... lmao

you know he should have a fan club. LOL

GEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! homerun 2-0
Soto!!!!!

Yeah, Baby!

Geo: Screw this up, Riot ;)
way to bring it full circle.
That HR was so pretty.
All Cubs HRs are pretty
nah

Theroit’s HR would be scrappy.

They're always pretty when the Cubs hit them at Busch
Palmeiro was a Cub????

Why did we let him go???

To keep Gracie
You're right

it wasn’t that we traded Palmeiro-either he or Grace had to go. It’s that we got crap back-Mitch Williams to replace Lee Smith, who was traded for absolute crap (Al Nipper.)

Jim Frey was an idiot.

And this would distinguish him from most of the Cubs GMs for the last 100 years how?
Too true re: Frey.

I’m sort of glad we kept Gracie though. He’s one of my all time favs.

In 1988

for Mitch Williams.

He left because the Cubs wouldn't reimburse him for his pharamcuetical bill
OK, somebody's gotta tell the Sandberg story
Nah

It’s a holiday.

Rookie HR ball in St. Louis.

I like it.

DeRo looks totally lost against Looper.

He’s something like 1-11, so I guess it’s understandable.

well...hopefully, Looper will be pounded out

before DeRo has to face him again. What is his pitch count? I am too lazy to open the MLB Gameday.

73
I just looked it up...finally

thanks!!!

Looper at 73 pitches

thanks for the help. :-)

This throw brought to you by HGH
those throws by Ankiel

that they just showed were impressive

I'm listening on the radio

sounds like Z’s doing okay… does his stuff have the good movement?

decent

a little rough around the edges.

did you hear Soto's hr?
loved it

:-)

New icon?
yep
One of those ppl you?
i'm in the middle

:-)

the 2 girls w/ me are my best friends at our first game at wrigley.

When was your first game? Mine was 2005
Memorial day

this year

i went sept of 01

first game after 9/11 when Sammy carried the flag around after hitting a HR

Mine was July 2002

We beat the Braves. :D

Yeah, I have yet to see a home win

That game, they lost to the Rockies. Ugh

And I think the next day was when Prior got nailed by that comeback liner

although his first ab

with that long foul ball… i coud’ve killed pat

oh, dude.

I’m sure! I missed it, was driving home as fast as I could! :D

he's looking good, with good control.
except for maybe this inning...
I was going to say, interesting timing there. :P

Still got the K though.

2 down and one to go
There's another K!

Go Z!!!!!!!

z how many pitches so far?
60
Heck, he's got 70 more left at the rate he goes ;)
He's a horse....
Need more runs.....please
Seconded!!!!
Yes

let’s get greedy.

So if Gallagher is moving to the pen does that mean Marshall stays in a starting role for now?

Not what I would have expected, at least not until we had another arm…and even then…

yes. Marshall is throwing Sunday
Not sure,

Marshall is moving Marquis back due to the Cards’ LHBs.

The rotation s/b Z, TR, Demp, Marquis, ?, but I’m not sure if Marshall is that guy “long term”.

Cool, that makes more sense.
We need a 6 run lead

so we can give Marmol a chance to pitch. I’m sure Lou won’t use him in a close game for a while, but he needs to get back on the horse ASAP.

I swear Im gonna email Jake the neighborhood guy

and tell him that Im happy that locally we have no one as irrating as he is.

Remember when they had the stand-up comedian commercials

And the comedians weren’t funny at all?

true they werent funny

but I could take them or leave them. Jake the other hand, I hate.

I know relax its just a dumb commerical :)

I want Rami to bust out of this slump

with a vengence. You’re a new daddy, go wild!

Me too!

I’m hoping San Fran was just jet lag. :P

How about his 0- at The Prison
Worried about his wife?

I just want him to bust out of it and be okay. I love that dude.

likewise!

I have his jersey. Maybe I need to put it on during this game. though that may get me strange looks from my wife if I put a Cub jersey on tonight (I have Marmol & Aram)

I'm trying to decide which jersey to buy for this season.

The contenders are Rami, Soto and Dome. I can’t make up my mind.

It's a choice????
Really you can't

go wrong with any of those.

i chalked that up to stress at the time

my b-i-l was a basketcase while my sister was getting ready to go inot labor and they lived together. :-P

Browsing through Viva El Birdos' thread:

Cardinals fans are mad at Brenly the way we get mad at Joe Morgan. Funny how perspective varies from one place to another.

seriously? wow
everyone gets mad at morgan

thats the one thing thats universal

BB is a Cub announcer.

He is not paid to be impartial, like Joe Moron

Um, really?

When was the last time you heard Brenly say something like, “If some of those fly balls hadn’t been caught, they would have been hits”

or calling a ball in the dirt

a Passed Ball

That's the way

Nice stroke, Riot.

TWSS
ha. nice!
scrappy hit
Damn.

Z almost legged that out.

That looked weird
good as a bunt
Carlos Two for Two!!!

almost…

Let's go DOME!!!!
How cool would another

homerun be?

I would love it!!!

I missed the first one. :(

Let's stay the only 50-win NL team
wow

Dome looked bad there

Wow.

That was a bad swing. Let’s go Z!

I'm willing to bet

that you and I are the only ones on here who’s favorite MLB team is the cubs and NBA the Jazz

nope

jazz fan here too.

YAY! And that's 3. :D
Are there more than 2 Jazz fans to begin w/?
Dude.

We are a small, but dedicated community. There is a reason it’s so hard for the visitor to win in SLC

And there's a poster called UTCubs running around, might be a fan too. :P
looper at 90 pitches

already

90 pitches already wow
NEW THREAD IS UP
overflow

up

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