Randy vs. Randy: Cubs vs. Dodgers, Thursday 5/28, 7:05 CT

by Al Yellon on May 28, 2009 5:00 PM CDT in Chicago Cubs Game Threads

For further discussion of yesterday's incident and what appears to be an imminent suspension announcement for Carlos Zambrano, go to this FanPost. In the meantime, there's a game to be played!

The Dodgers come into Wrigley Field tonight with the best record in baseball and I'm kind of scratching my head trying to figure out how. Their pitching has been good -- they're second in the league in ERA -- but not that much better than several other teams, who are just behind them. Without Manny, they are 12th in the league in home runs -- but have allowed the second-fewest number of homers (so should we expect a homereless series?).

And can someone please explain these numbers to me: .404/.469/.544

Those look like numbers Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera should have, right? But no, those are the current triple-slash numbers of Juan Pierre. They are so wildly better than Pierre's career numbers (.302/.349/.374) that you have to wonder if someone else is inhabiting Pierre's body. And that's all being done despite the fact that Pierre sat on the bench virtually the entire time until Manny's suspension, starting only four games before then.

In case you missed it earlier, Ryan Freel is headed to the DL after pulling his hamstring yesterday. Bobby Scales will return to the 25-man roster. Also buried in that notes article:

Leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano revealed to the Sun-Times before the game that he has been dealing with a sore left knee for most of this month. While rounding the bases on a fifth-inning leadoff double, it was clear Soriano was not 100 percent.

"I've been battling with my knee for three or four weeks," Soriano said. "Nothing serious. A little sore, but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. I get treatment every day to feel better because this game is not easy to play with pain."

And could Jake Fox actually play third base?

Is Fox -- a converted catcher -- ready to tackle third after making one start there at Iowa?

"It's the difference between what I think and what they think," Fox said with a laugh. "I feel comfortable there. I feel the start I had, I felt I played well there. It's just a different spot. In the last three years, I've learned four different positions. It's the same kind of feeling as learning those other positions. I had a good game there. Will I make some mistakes there? Yes I would because I haven't had a lot of innings there, but with the time and hard work, I could play anywhere on the field."

Playing Fox at 3B would get an extra bat in the lineup, but at what cost defensively? Apparently, the Cubs are going to at least work him out there:

Fox took grounders at third before Wednesday's game with bench coach Alan Trammell watching.

"Let's see him over there for a few more days working with Alan, and I'll let Alan make that determination," Piniella said.

I wouldn't do it vs. the Dodgers, because if they do Juan Pierre is likely to have four bunt hits every game.

Oddity: since the Cubs and Dodgers franchises began playing each other in 1890 (when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn), the two teams have won exactly the same number of games from each other, entering tonight: 1012 wins each.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Randy Wells Cubs	vs.	Randy Wolf Dodgers

0-1	W-L	2-1
1.50	ERA	3.02
16	SO	50
6	BB	19
0	HR	7
vs. LA	--	vs. Cubs

When we last saw Randy Wolf, he was in a Houston Astros uniform throwing a six-hit shutout against the Cubs last September 3. That was very uncharacteristic of his career vs. the Cubs; lifetime in 15 starts, he is 3-7, 4.71. This year he's pitched fairly well (3.02 ERA) but has seven no-decisions in 10 starts. He handles most of the current Cubs pretty well -- the only player who'll play tonight who has hit him well is Geovany Soto (3-for-8).

Randy Wells, who has had three good starts this season, will be facing the Dodgers for the first time.

Good news for those of you who hate the WCIU games, which can, apparently, only be seen within a four-block radius of the station's transmitter -- the game is also being carried by the MLB Network, so it is available nationally. For today's other games see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Overflow comment threads will post today at 8 pm, 9 pm and 9:45 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

0 recs | 116 comments

Comments

Uh oh.

It’s this Al guy again. With his facts and figures and article quotes. Geez.

daver - May 28, 2009 reply

LOL

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

that Al guy?

or this one?

Cubbie-Tim - May 28, 2009 reply

I'm hoping for the other "Randy vs. Randy" matchup the next time we play the Giants.

santoswoodenlegs - May 28, 2009 reply

OK

deep breath, let’s get to the game

chitownhawkeye - May 28, 2009 reply

Well, I was certainly feeling a bit Randy today.

daver - May 28, 2009 reply

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

Was so hoping for an Austin Powers montage today.

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

Game on!

Let’s see which Cubs show up today – it’s a great test of where we’re at right now.

Also, Fox at 3rd – he’s a brave man – one goof at third and the groans will be heard further than he can hit a baseball, but what a coup if he can pull off the position. Evidently, Santo started as a catcher too, and the positions are similar.

DisCUBbobulated - May 28, 2009 reply

This whole comment is a TWSS fest!

santoswoodenlegs - May 28, 2009 reply

+1

100yearitch - May 28, 2009 reply

Well.. I'm normally pretty good at backing up what I say with facts..

Can you humor me a little prattle on a blog?

DisCUBbobulated - May 28, 2009 reply

Catcher and 3B are sorta similar

Need a strong arm and ability to get in front of/knock balls down.

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

TW.. Oh never mind

gaclaudy - May 28, 2009 reply

Yeah

it was impossible to phrase that without setting up a twss

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

Ok.. some data if it pleases.

Some converted catchers playing third:
Brandon Inge
Todd Zeile
Ron Santo

Jeez.. tough crowd.

DisCUBbobulated - May 28, 2009 reply

God, I'm so glad they did the suspension and waived the appeal....

….so we don’t have to discuss it for the next 3 weeks.

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

We are going to

CRUSH THE DODGERS! THEY ARE OUR GATORADE DISPENSER!

drewishdrewid - May 28, 2009 reply

To heck with Randy vs. Randy

how about Pinella vs. Torre?

Time for some revenge for the NLDS beat down we took.

100yearitch - May 28, 2009 reply

Dodgers v Cubs

Series Preview from the other sides perspective. The Dodgers have been an ’offense’ive juggernaught this year. Even without Manny they are putting up ridiculous numbers. Even without Russell Martin, James Loney are Andre Ethier hitting very well they are still putting up big numbers. Most of the production is coming from three guys, Orlando Hudson, Casey Blake and Juan Pierre with some help from Matt Kemp. All four of these guys have incredibly high BABIP (Read: Buying Into The BABIP Babble) rates. They are so high, that they can’t in fact be very sustainable. Perhaps Matt Kemp’s is, because his career BABIP is very high, due to legging out alot of infield singles. But Hudson and Pierre have seen their BABIP rise to over .400. The Dodgers often score in the first inning, so a key is to shut the door on them in the first two innings. When they get ahead their pitchers often gain a big advantage and can pitch to contact a little more than usual. Both Wolf and Billingsley, especially Billingsley have been very good this year. The Dodgers have the NL’s best offense, one of the better starting staffs (and this is without Kuroda) and a solid bullpen anchored by probably the best relief pitcher in the NL in Jonathan Broxton. After Broxton, the bullpen can be a little shaky, but nothing like the walk parade the Cubs bullpen throws out there every day. Good luck.
vr, Xeifrank

Xeifrank - May 28, 2009 reply

What, they don't believe in paragraph breaks in LA?

Just kiddin’ – thanks for the preview. Looking forward to the series.

daver - May 28, 2009 reply

Apparently not

I cannot read this. And I’d like too.

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

Is this any better?

Series Preview from the other sides perspective.

The Dodgers have been an ’offense’ive juggernaught this year. Even without Manny they are putting up ridiculous numbers. Even without Russell Martin, James Loney are Andre Ethier hitting very well they are still putting up big numbers. Most of the production is coming from three guys, Orlando Hudson, Casey Blake and Juan Pierre with some help from Matt Kemp.

All four of these guys have incredibly high BABIP (Read: Buying Into The BABIP Babble) rates. They are so high, that they can’t in fact be very sustainable. Perhaps Matt Kemp’s is, because his career BABIP is very high, due to legging out alot of infield singles. But Hudson and Pierre have seen their BABIP rise to over .400. The Dodgers often score in the first inning, so a key is to shut the door on them in the first two innings.

When they get ahead their pitchers often gain a big advantage and can pitch to contact a little more than usual. Both Wolf and Billingsley, especially Billingsley have been very good this year.

The Dodgers have the NL’s best offense, one of the better starting staffs (and this is without Kuroda) and a solid bullpen anchored by probably the best relief pitcher in the NL in Jonathan Broxton. After Broxton, the bullpen can be a little shaky, but nothing like the walk parade the Cubs bullpen throws out there every day. Good luck

Madison Cub Fan - May 28, 2009 reply

Yes

Thank you!

Big block of text is really hard on my eye. :-)

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

Not a problem girl :)

Madison Cub Fan - May 28, 2009 reply

NICE!

gaclaudy - May 28, 2009 reply

And to think...

People say LA is full of laid back people but here we have a guy who is rush, rush, didn’t even have time to hit the return key

gaclaudy - May 28, 2009 reply

tch....

Matt Kemp is going to pull a hammy doing that… :P

drewishdrewid - May 28, 2009 reply

Um...

After Broxton, the bullpen can be a little shaky, but nothing like the walk parade the Cubs bullpen throws out there every day.

Screw you.

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

LOL

Well, I mean…y’know…our bullpen is kinda…well….

daver - May 28, 2009 reply

Oh, I know, Daver...

…but WE are the only ones that can make comments like that…lol

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

You went off half highlighted.

100yearitch - May 28, 2009 reply

I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying...

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

When you highlighted his quote

it only highlighted the second line. At least on my view.

100yearitch - May 28, 2009 reply

not seeing it that way on mine...

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

PS Thanks for the BABIP article.

It is something I’ve been trying to come to terms with.

daver - May 28, 2009 reply

Fox...

Was on The Score earlier. He sounds like a very upbeat and likeable guy, brutally honest about his defensive shortcomings, but talked about liking to play the infield.

CubsBullsBears - May 28, 2009 reply

Randy Wolf

Didn’t we last see him on September 14, facing Carlos Zambrano on that special night in Milwaukee?

ChipSet - May 28, 2009 reply

You are correct, sir...

Fonzie homered off him to start the game…

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

So what exactly happens if the new potential owners can't come up with the money?

We go back to ground zero and open it up for bidding again?

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

Yeah

Cuban said he wouldn’t big again on his facebook page, so that is out of the question.

nji232 - May 28, 2009 reply

awww

chitownhawkeye - May 28, 2009 reply

Lineups

Los Angeles Dodgers
J PIERRE LF
R FURCAL SS
O HUDSON 2B
J LONEY 1B
C BLAKE 3B
A ETHIER RF
R MARTIN C
M KEMP CF
R WOLF -L P

Chicago Cubs
A SORIANO LF
R THERIOT SS
M BRADLEY RF
D LEE 1B
R JOHNSON CF
G SOTO C
M FONTENOT 3B
A BLANCO 2B
R WELLS -R P

Xeifrank - May 28, 2009 reply

And yet again

Lou has the middle IF switched. Why on earth is the closest thing we have to a SS playing 2B?

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

We finally have a regular everyday SS...

and he’s playing 2nd base again.

santoswoodenlegs - May 28, 2009 reply

question

do they still play the “Used to run bases like Juan Pierre” line from that Jay-Z song when he comes up to bat?

nji232 - May 28, 2009 reply

answer

sorry, I don’t know.
vr, Xei

Xeifrank - May 28, 2009 reply

damn

I know they used to when he first got to LA, or at least I’m pretty sure I heard it.

nji232 - May 28, 2009 reply

It's true.

I lost any remaining respect I had for Juan.

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

If Jay-Z used my name in a rap lyric

I would play it on a loop in my house at all times.

nji232 - May 28, 2009 reply

I'd then pity your wife or roomates etc :)

Madison Cub Fan - May 28, 2009 reply

yeah that could be painful for others

nji232 - May 28, 2009 reply

That doesn't surprise me...

…coming from the guy who’s still got the Mizzou SI cover as his avatar. I kid, i kid.

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

Prepare to be Gabbert'd.

PurpleLineToWrigley - May 28, 2009 reply

wow

I honestly didn’t realize that was still there, I’ll have to find something else to use. Eventually Mizzou will have to make the SI cover again, right?

nji232 - May 28, 2009 reply

Yes when they are facing the Hawkeyes in the BCS title game...

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

I'll drink to that!

PurpleLineToWrigley - May 28, 2009 reply

you've obviously already been drinking if you think either of those teams

are even going to win their conference

WanderingWanderer - May 28, 2009 reply

Hawkeyes are going to be solid.

Tough road schedule, but we won’t miss Shonn Green too much because Jewell Hampton is for real.

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

That's the problem

the road schedule is brutal. If we split it, I’ll be happy

chitownhawkeye - May 28, 2009 reply

The season or the road?

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

that's quite an imagination you've got there

WanderingWanderer - May 28, 2009 reply

Will they ever be good again?

gaclaudy - May 28, 2009 reply

Absolutely agree.

PurpleLineToWrigley - May 28, 2009 reply

The song is now 3 years old.

It’s time to let it go.

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

Blueprint 3 is on the way...don't worry.

PurpleLineToWrigley - May 28, 2009 reply

I hope it's not like American Gangsta or Kingdom Come

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

But Al...

….I thought Sori is a prima donna who doesn’t care about winning. How on earth could he be playing with a bum knee? I be confused.

cubswynn - May 28, 2009 reply

He's playing hurt to pad his stats

Allie - May 28, 2009 reply

I'm going to throw out a prediction...

Ryan Freel never plays again for the Cubs. Either Scales or Blanco has a good 2 week stretch and we release him when he’s due off the DL.

carmen_fanzone - May 28, 2009 reply

I would be fine with that.

The guy is injury prone, end of story. He has been his whole career, and he was hurt when he got here. What good does that do us? None. Happy trails, Ryan Freel.

PurpleLineToWrigley - May 28, 2009 reply