SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Now here's a first -- a Cactus League game ended early because of high winds.
The Cubs lost to the Giants 5-3, breaking a six-game spring winning streak, in a game where the game-time wind was clocked at 27 MPH (sustained) and it must have been gusting up to 45+ MPH. When I got into my car after it was all over the temperature gauge there read 63 degrees, but it felt a lot colder than that. The crowd, a sellout of 11,999 (with many Cub fans very audible), had thinned out to maybe 2,000 by the fourth or fifth inning -- the wind was picking up tremendous amounts of dust, visibly blowing the players' uniforms around and making good baseball play nearly impossible.
So it's really not easy to judge anyone's performance tonight. Barry Zito struck out the side in the first inning and for a while, seemed to have that old 12-to-6 curveball that he made famous in Oakland working. But by the third inning, he had allowed a homer to Milton Bradley (a blast into the right-field party deck that would have been a monster shot, wind or no wind, any day), and later, four hits generated two more runs and gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Zito pitched well -- some of those hits in the fifth probably wouldn't have been so on most other days.
Meanwhile, Sean Marshall, who came into tonight's start with only one walk in 19.1 innings this spring, could not find the strike zone. He issued two walks in the first inning, got out of it, then walked one more in each of the next three innings, helping lead to a pair of Giants runs. His overall line doesn't look too bad (two runs in four innings), but the five walks showed a lack of command. Whether that was due to the terrible weather conditions or something else remains to be seen. Marshall's next outing will be against the Angels in Mesa next Tuesday, a day on which we presume it will be less windy.
Bradley had a nice day, with a single and walk in addition to the homer, and making a good catch in right field. Ordinarily, I wouldn't say that catch would be anything other than routine, but nothing was routine on a day when dust and trash were blowing all over the place. Fred Lewis, the Giants' left fielder, made a nice running grab of a Geovany Soto fly ball in the sixth that appeared to be going over his head.
Carlos Marmol gave up the runs that put the Giants ahead to stay in the fifth inning, hitting Lewis, who was the first batter he faced (this sort of thing is getting a little alarming with Marmol!) and then allowing two solid hits, leading to the two runs. Aaron Heilman wasn't much better, and I confess I didn't see it -- the wind and cold was getting so bad by the middle of the sixth that I left, and arriving back home I was a little surprised to see that they had acknowledged the bad weather by calling the game in the middle of the seventh. That meant that Kevin Hart and Angel Guzman, who were to throw tonight, had their outings postponed until at least tomorrow.
When, we trust, the wind will have died down and the sun will return. Nice to see Jessica tonight, along with her friend who lives here who posts at this site as azjazzman. Until then.
0 recs | 65 comments
Never thought I'd hear a guy from Chicago...
…say it’s cold in the desert.
calicubfan - March 27, 2009
on a horse with no name
flachimesa - March 27, 2009
LOL
Man, it was wind. Even the people from San Francisco left early.
Al Yellon - March 27, 2009
...for there ain' no one there to give you no pain...
daver - March 27, 2009
La la la la la la, laa laa laa
N Oakley - March 27, 2009
After nine days in the desert sun, Al's skin began to turn red.........
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
Sorry - two days, two days
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
...the dog was hot and the Big Gulp was cold...
daver - March 27, 2009
After three days in the desert fun, Al was looking for a nice soft bed.....
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
after three weeks watching desert runs,
hendry tried to trade angel guzman
i luvs me some musical parody
tim815 - March 27, 2009
...it felt good to get out of the rain...
Bill Potter - March 27, 2009
In the desert you can remember your name .....
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
But it wasn't raining!
:-)
Al Yellon - March 27, 2009
but it did feel good to get out of the wind, I'll bet
even if America didn’t write it…
Bill Potter - March 27, 2009
santoswoodenlegs - March 27, 2009
blowing winds and the dust
sounds like a few of my kids’ softball games early every spring. Although a balmy 63F would be nice.
blackhawk24 - March 27, 2009
Closer's job
has to go to Gregg. Marmol’s been inconsistant, to say the least, and Gregg still hasn’t given up a run this spring. Dead issue. And if this is the case, I guess I can now start worrying about the 8th inning with Marmol. Maybe this whole slider not working in Arizona has a lot to do with it, I don’t know.
Canadian Cubs Fan - March 27, 2009
100% agreed.
I think Marmol will be fine; last night’s conditions were terrible for all the pitchers.
Al Yellon - March 27, 2009
Late night TV
For those that were up that late, the game was carried last night by MLB TV. Brutal conditions for certain. I can’t recall ever seeing the players uniforms whipping in the wind like they did last night.
krummy12 - March 27, 2009
Network
I meant MLB Network.
krummy12 - March 27, 2009
The Giants announcers...
were describing the conditions as Candlestick Park-like. Given that both of them played there, I think they’d know.
Too bad they called it, I was hoping for extra innings so you’d get a “Croix de Scottsdale” or something…
bison - March 27, 2009
It was worse than Candlestick.
I went to Candlestick a few times. Never left a game early there.
Al Yellon - March 27, 2009
gosh I hope Bradley stays healthy
drodd - March 27, 2009
+10
daver - March 27, 2009
I liked the one comment
in the 6th (?) about how there must be a bar nearby showing the game since 70% of the fans have left due to weather conditions
Cubbie-Tim - March 27, 2009
Nice
I’m sure the many bars right there in the Scottsdale area were eager to please the early crowds.
StevenABQ - March 27, 2009
Those announcers were informed and fair
I was really surprised by the Giants call team.
chilango2 - March 27, 2009
Anybody know
who those announcers were last night?? Was watching while falling asleep and the color guy’s voice sounded so familiar. Couldn’t keep the eyes open long enough to hear them identify themselves.
DamonBerryhillsMitt - March 27, 2009
If it was the Giants announcers...
… that would be Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.
Al Yellon - March 27, 2009
Kruk & Kuip are two of the best around.
Fair and funny
Employee22 - March 27, 2009
Yeah, the
little that I heard of them last night, they seemed to do a nice job.
DamonBerryhillsMitt - March 27, 2009
They are very good. They compliment each other and let the other
guy talk. They made a few good points about the Cubs and their ability to score runs. You can clearly see that the Cub offense show be in full tilt this year, I just hope the pitching holds up.
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
Krukow & Kuiper are indeed very good.
And Krukow, having been an ex-Cub, understands a little about what makes the Cubs what they are.
Interesting bit of trivia; Kuiper, who had 3379 major league at bats with the Indians and Giants, hit one major league home run.
It was off Steve Stone on August 29, 1977. And to this day I don’t think Kuiper lets Stone forget that.
Al Yellon - March 27, 2009
That little tidbit just made my day.
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
+1
Joyous fact.
chilango2 - March 27, 2009
Ok
thanks.
DamonBerryhillsMitt - March 27, 2009
Kruk and Kuip...
Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow.
bison - March 27, 2009
I caught the first five and a half innings of last night's game on MLB Network...
…and, Al, your assessment is spot-on. The conditions were ridiculous. Sean Marshall’s uniform was flapping like a flag at the top of the
SearsWillis Tower. And I thought Randy Winn was going to throw out his back catching a few of those pop flies to right.Zito did look strong in the first inning, but he seemed to struggle as the game went on. He really just doesn’t appear to have much confidence anymore. As the game proceeded, I thought the Cubs did a good job of waiting him out and forcing him to throw a lot of pitches. Kudos to GHH for lining that RBI single after striking out in his first two ABs.
Sean Marshall definitely struggled with his control. But the Giants announcers noted that he really wasn’t missing by much. And, quite franky, I thought Sean should’ve gotten at least one or two of those check swing calls. In any case, as Al said, I’m not sure how accurately you can judge any pitcher’s performance under those weather conditions.
Most of all, however, I want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to The Game. Maybe I’m getting carried away here, but I thought he put on quite a clinic last night. He showed power, drilling that solo bomb to right where the wind could do it the most good, as well as the ability to go with the pitch (running out an infield single) and to draw the walk. He looked solid in right field, too.
PLUS, we saw a little bit of that Milton Bradley fire when he got thrown out at second to end the top of the fifth (IIRC). I’m not sure whether they showed a replay – I turned off the TV and went to bed at that point. But it was a pretty damn close play and Milton was clearly very pissed off. As long as he doesn’t get kicked out of regular season games for such outbursts, that’s the kind of competitive fire I like to see.
daver - March 27, 2009
Milton Bradley can flat out rake
We haven’t had a pure hitter like Bradley since perhaps the heyday of Mark Grace. The ball screams off of Bradley’s bat. I only wish Lou would reconsider and put him in the #3 hole with Aramis Ramirez hitting behind him. In fact, this is the lineup I’d really like to see.
1. Soriano – LF
2. Theriot – SS
3. Bradley – RF
4. Ramirez – 3rd
5. Lee – 1st (Lou will never demoted him lower than this)
6. Fontenot – 2nd
7. Soto – Cat
8. Kosuke / Johnson / Gathright – CF
You could persuade me to switch the # 2 and # 8 spots when Johnson is in the lineup.
BLou - March 27, 2009
Welcome to my side BLou. Now that we've joined forces, we can rule this blog.
santoswoodenlegs - March 27, 2009
Heaven help us all.
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
The rest of us will form a rebel alliance to stop you.
daver - March 27, 2009
You handle the schtick, I'll tell the naysayers to pound sand
BLou - March 27, 2009
And all is right with the world. Welcome home BLou!
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
That's quite a campaign slogan.
Bill Potter - March 27, 2009
Yeah, I can see the logic in most of that lineup.
My kneejerk reaction is to decry having Theriot in the two-hole but, seeing him hit last night, I must admit that his ability to shoot the ball to the right side does appear to give him an uncanny ability to advance the runner.
daver - March 27, 2009
If Soriano can run effectively
Theriot’s a solid No. 2 hitter given his propensity to hit the ball to the right side – I like the idea of hitting and running with those two at the top of the order.
Bill Potter - March 27, 2009
+1
When Sriano is on, they are very few easy outs in that lineup. When Big Z pitches, the oposing pitcher really never gets a break. This offense should score a ton of runs.
willie mays hayes' gloves - March 27, 2009
How many breaking balls away
is Fukodome gonna see batting ahead of the pitcher?? Only problem I have with this lineup.
muehlman - March 27, 2009
Fukudome
muehlman - March 27, 2009
Agreed
I thought this everytime I saw him get a hit while I was at ST. Geez, he even reached for one that I thought was way out of the zone, and poked it right down the middle. Certainly is a pure hitter.
StevenABQ - March 27, 2009
What do we got? 6, 7 more weeks of spring training until I care what's going on?
dtpollitt - March 27, 2009
Remember, spring training is a marathon, not a sprint.
daver - March 27, 2009
That's not funny
N Oakley - March 27, 2009
I laughed...in a sick, painful way.
dtpollitt - March 27, 2009
Or is it a road race
like this one?
Bill Potter - March 27, 2009
Wow, donuts and long-distance running.
Why didn’t I think of that?
daver - March 27, 2009
Sounds amazing.
I’d never thought to squish multiple donuts together, either.
FWIW, there’s bar that always passes out beers during the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon around Mile 11. It’s always interesting to see who picks one up – especially when people have no idea they’re getting a cup of beer.
Bill Potter - March 27, 2009
How is Soto doing?
Madison Cub Fan - March 27, 2009
He looked pretty good to me last night.
His swing still looks solid – saw him drive a ball up the middle for a single. He’s had only 12 ABs in spring training, but he’s hitting .333/.500/.417, which is very nice. He seems his old self behind the plate, too.
daver - March 27, 2009
except for that throw to second that was wide to the right by about 10 feet.
maybe the wind impacted the throw?
It was an inside pitch and Rowand stood his ground, so in fairness, Soto did not have the opportunity to step into his throw. If anything he probably should have just eaten that one and not bothered with the throw.
LAcarl519 - March 27, 2009
Ah, I must've missed that.
There was also that foul pop off to the first side that Soto and DLee completely lost track of. But, again, the wind really seemed to be messing things up last night.
daver - March 27, 2009
yes. We had those winds in LA a couple of days earlier.
I am not sure why it took so long (the winds) to get to Phoenix…but it was ugly.
Even my little border collies were getting knocked around and they are pretty low to the ground. :-)
LAcarl519 - March 27, 2009
So he looks like he will back to his studly self by opening day?
Madison Cub Fan - March 27, 2009
Yes, complete with guyliner.
daver - March 28, 2009
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