There's not too much more to be said about the importance of winning at least two games in the series vs. the Dodgers, if the Cubs want to hang in there in the NL Central till Aramis Ramirez comes back. They are still only 4.5 games behind (four in the loss column) and many, many teams have come from such positions at this still relatively early stage of the season to winning postseason berths.
So instead of harping on lineups, etc. I thought I'd share this morning, a few links that are a bit more fun or interesting.
Sotomayor, as the world now knows, acted swiftly and decisively in 1995 when she issued the injunction that effectively ended the interminable strike that cost the game and its fans the 1994 World Series. Sotomayor essentially told the team owners that they could not take it upon themselves to turn back the hands of time and renege on their agreements with the players on salary arbitration, collusion rules and competitive free agent bidding.The author correctly states that the Supreme Court ruling of 1922, giving baseball its still-existing antitrust exemption, has hurt the sport far more than it's helped.
Such is the state of a sport in which the bar is set so low that a court order against changing the rules of negotiation counts as a victory of historic proportions.
Hat tip to Rob Neyer's "Friday Filberts" for the links above.
One final note: a Texas Rangers fan was told her "Yankees Suck" T-shirt was profane. Seriously? They say things "suck" on TV network sitcoms these days. I think the Rangers management ought to lighten up.
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Chad Billingsley has been one of the best pitchers in baseball again this year, tied for the NL lead in wins, fifth in ERA, ninth in strikeouts. He has made four lifetime appearances (two starts) vs. the Cubs, resulting in a 1-1 record and a 3.60 ERA. No current Cub has more than eight AB against him and in that small-sample-size universe, only Ryan Theriot has "solved" him, going 3-for-5. Billingsley has given up only one homer this year (to Brian Giles of the Padres on May 3) and I would expect today to again be a low-scoring game.
Ted Lilly has never lost to the Dodgers, the team that originally drafted him in 1996; he is 2-0 in four lifetime games (three starts). Juan Pierre, who is just about the hottest hitter in the game right now (go figure!) is 4-for-9 vs. Ted; most of the other Dodgers, he has handled pretty well.
Cable only today in the Chicago and LA markets and on EI. For today's other games see the MLB.com Mediacenter.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Overflow comment threads will post today at 8 pm, 9 pm and 9:45 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
0 recs | 129 comments
Al
I think there will be nearly 1000 posts by the time the first overflow thread posts at 8pm :P.
On another note, Let’s take this game today!!
gwood - May 29, 2009
It was going so slow.
I had to bail.
cubswynn - May 29, 2009
TWSS
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
fail
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
nope it works
sue369 - May 29, 2009
FAIL
tony412 - May 29, 2009
Ah, the ever elusive FAIL FAIL. Haven't seen one in the wild in quite some time.
AndrewJStone - May 29, 2009
it's actually a
fail FAIL but yes I had to jump at the oppurtunity
tony412 - May 29, 2009
fAiL
to be different
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
new winning streak starts TODAY...
go get ’em teddy!
12to23to17 - May 29, 2009
Ted Lilly Lives Vicariously through himself.
Fishbone2 - May 29, 2009
Ted Lily pitches to himself, just to get some batting practice in.
tony412 - May 29, 2009
Ted Lilly is the only one who can hit his curveball.
daver - May 29, 2009
Teds curveball doesnt curve
it avoids the bat
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
Ted doesn't whiff
his bat avoids the ball
tony412 - May 29, 2009
Lineup
Soriano LF
Scales 2B
Fuku CF
Lee 1B
Hoff RF
Soto C
Fonty 3B
A.Blanco SS
Lilly P
cubsnlinux - May 29, 2009
Our 2 best power hitters at the top of the lineup!
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
LOL
One is actually making CONTACT at this time
The E-Man - May 29, 2009
which one?
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
What? No Fox at 3B?!?!
The horror.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
Afraid the sun will get in his eyes, apparently
Worf - May 29, 2009
the moon can get in his eyes
defensively
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie...
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
when the ball hits the sky
and Waveland on a fly
that Amauray (Telemaco)
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
Is Fonty
better at 3rd than Scales? Fonty was hitting better when he played 2nd, why the switch?
gwood - May 29, 2009
No Bradley...
What a shock.
CubsBullsBears - May 29, 2009
H's serving a preemptive suspension
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
The famous
Day off after night game plan
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
What, no Theriot
who has gone 3 for 5 against Billingsley? Lou must have confidence in Blanco.
JFCubFan - May 29, 2009
Theriot has appeared in every game so far
I agree you should play him because of his success against this pitcher, but he does need days off every once in a while.
Sobenergy - May 29, 2009
Theriot has the
flu that is going through the club house.
sue369 - May 29, 2009
swine flu?
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
losing blues?
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
guy is 2 for his last 18
and batting second. I’m convinced Lou just throws darts at a board to pick his lineup
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
Wow, Scales batting second.
That speaks volumes about how much confidence Lou has in Mike Fontenot right now. Honestly, I think I might bat Soto second in this lineup.
daver - May 29, 2009
I'd bat Dome second, Hoff 3rd, and Soto fifth
but that’s just me
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
That's a little high for Hoff - especially against a good pitcher like Billingsley.
But there really are no perfect solutions here.
daver - May 29, 2009
So where does Lilly bat?
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
leadoff, cleanup, and anywhere else he wants
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
Say it with me: ANYWHERE HE WANTS.
daver - May 29, 2009
maybe, but Dome is a better #2 than anyone else in that lineup
maybe move Lee to #3 and Hoff to 4
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
Yeah, that would work - Lee has hit like a No. 3 in May.
Soriano
Dome
Lee
Hoff
Soto
Fontenot
Scales
Blanco
Lilly
daver - May 29, 2009
Lee hitting like a #3 in May is (sortof) hilarious
since he hasn’t hit there all month, but when he was hitting 3rd, he was hitting like a #8 hitter
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
Fonty has not batted higher than 5th this year
Didn’t notice that until now, but that’s an interesting statistic. Going into this year, I thought he would be a great #2 hitter. I guess Lou has different ideas.
Sobenergy - May 29, 2009
Same here.
daver - May 29, 2009
TODAY"S FUN FACTS:
Cubs rank, 15th NL, BA with RISP .243 (San Diego, 16th)
Runs Per Game, as of 5/27: 3.10
Oh JOY! Great Job Fellas!
“Its Still Early”
The E-Man - May 29, 2009
And they 0 - 19 when scoring less than 4 runs
yeesh, so lets get some offense going.
KaliCub - May 29, 2009
0-19!!!
Geesh!
The E-Man - May 29, 2009
that is an incredible statistic
and does not bode well for post season…unless they start pulling out the low scoring games.
Spydey - May 29, 2009
Got to get to the postseason first...
SouthernCub - May 29, 2009
Feels like we're still
in preseason mode
tony412 - May 29, 2009
no...the offense IS in postseason form.
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
But we have a ton of LH bats!!
Shouldnt they be hitting if we are in postseason mode?
jkobus - May 29, 2009
ahhh you mean the new and improved postseason mode
that one was recalled for defective bats
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
You didn't see the big hole in the middle of bats last night?
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
yeah
I meant getting there. wasn’t very clear.
Spydey - May 29, 2009
ah, then I agree
Though that’s a two-part problem. Part of the reason that we don’t have any wins with less than 4 runs scored is that we haven’t had many games with less than 3 runs allowed.
We’ve only had ten games this year in which we’ve held the opponent to less than three runs. We’re 8-2 when we hold the other team to two runs or less.
SouthernCub - May 29, 2009
also winless when comitting an error
and brain farts do not count
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
Soriano committed an error...
…in that last game vs. PIT
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
aha
so we finally got a win wiht an error, sorry.
so we are, what, 1-15?
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
and now we can win a 2-1 game and our lives will be complete.
Keep hope alive!
KaliCub - May 29, 2009
This pitcher is really good
I’d say 50/50 chance he tosses a no-hitter today.
Thankfully Ted will toss a perfect game.
nji232 - May 29, 2009
I'd put the Cubs odds of winning this game at 50%
cubswgnrocks - May 29, 2009
bold move by you
Mapmaker - May 29, 2009
never
tell me the odds.
drewishdrewid - May 29, 2009
51% because we're still fired up
KaliCub - May 29, 2009
52%
the Lilly factor
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
Ted Lilly
actually trained George Foreman. And Rambo.
“That TED…
He’s a baaad mutha@*$
"
The E-Man - May 29, 2009
Anyone have some Excedrin?
that article about Milton’s K zone gave me a headache.
tony412 - May 29, 2009
Go Cubs GO
cubsluver22 - May 29, 2009
The Dodgers are a team built to win.
Imagine what will they be like when Manny returns? sheesh
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
scary thoughts
cubswgnrocks - May 29, 2009
will he count for 1 1/2 roster spots
if preggy?
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
Well..
The hormone he was taking was supposed to aid in that
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
He gets to ballpark really early
because he can ride in the carpool lane by himself.
KaliCub - May 29, 2009
That's just Manny being Manny
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
or Manny being Fanny
KaliCub - May 29, 2009
To Quote
That’s my Mammy, I oughta bust you in the head with brick
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
Yours is better,
Manny being Mammy is downright hilarious.
KaliCub - May 29, 2009
nice
Cubbie-Tim - May 29, 2009
It really is scary!
Look what a void Aramis’ injury has left on our team. The Dodgers, on the other hand, lose their best hitter in Manny and are just tearing it up.
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
better manager, and a roster put together the right way
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
The Dodgers also had a spare high priced former talent
who chose this moment to start playing baseball again in Pierre.
N Oakley - May 29, 2009
At the risk of sounding like a sabermagician...
…they’ve been getting ridiculously lucky with their BABIP. Even Dodgers fans are saying so.
daver - May 29, 2009
I think the Dodgers will...
Keep Manny on the bench, you know with Pierre being the long ball threat now. :p It’s gonna to be tough for anyone facing them. What’s the over/under on them setting the MLB record for wins this year?
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
If I remember some people aren't fans of his...
But related to Judge Sotomayer’s ruling on baseball, Mike Lupica had a pretty good column that I saw via ESPN.
Similar vein as the article Al posted, with a mind to explain what the Judge did and did not do.
You can find it here.
(Usual disclaimer: Not trying to start a political conversation; least of all when the more important thing of baseball is right around the corner. :))
CubsWin!Oregon - May 29, 2009
Wow, some somber mood in here today
C’mon guys. It’s nice out and it’s still May. Smile.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
ok
:)
cubswgnrocks - May 29, 2009
:D
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
It is beautiful out
But Im stuck in the office for another 3 hours :( But its ok 21st birthday on sunday :) Just want some W’s to celebrate with.
jkobus - May 29, 2009
Wuts up chilango
Thanks again for that flight tracking site! Thats awesome!
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
My pleasure
On boring days, I fire it up and synch it to this site and fantasize about being an air traffic controller.
How’s it by you, Rob?
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
Doin better than the Cubs as of late.
I’ll check that ATC site out! I love aviation. My Grandpa and Uncle both flew for United
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
When United was UNITED, I bet
I’ve been writing about them for a while now. Their corporate culture is horrible, and their attitude towards their pilots and flight attendants is deplorable. They’re outsourcing their maintenance too, and that’s not good for a large number of reasons.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
Gramps always speaks highly of United...
…but my Uncle had his issues. They’re both retired now and they were both bumbed out when they had to retire!
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
If we smile
Ted Lilly will find us and hurt us. There is no joy in Ted Lilly only degrees of RAGE!
gaclaudy - May 29, 2009
I Win!
You didn’t say; Simon Says, “smile”.
tony412 - May 29, 2009
Per a relatively reputable source on Twitter...
…Theriot is now down with the flu.
daver - May 29, 2009
which is why Fonty
is playing, and Blanco is at short.
drewishdrewid - May 29, 2009
Yep, I'd still rather see Scales at third and LBR at second.
daver - May 29, 2009
i agree
gwood - May 29, 2009
are these guys making out in the clubhouse?
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
I think my pants just got a little tighter
dr stabbingworth - May 29, 2009
gross
WanderingWanderer - May 29, 2009
Tight Pants are NOT gross.
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
Sometimes they are...
…u gotta have a pic to prove that!
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
Yes...
but beware.
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
Gold lame.
daver - May 29, 2009
"How was your pilates class, ma'am?"
daver - May 29, 2009
Lou just said on WGN
Theriot is available to pinch hit.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
Yahoo shows Scales at 3b and fonty at 2b
AzCubfan24 - May 29, 2009
mlb shows hill not soto
illinicubgirl - May 29, 2009
as does yahoo.
AzCubfan24 - May 29, 2009
Lou just said Hill too when he read the lineup to Ron.
Fishbone2 - May 29, 2009
aw crap...better get the audio going...
daver - May 29, 2009
tony412 - May 29, 2009
More like 30-something slacker.
Man, I have so much work to do here, and I’ve been screwing around all morning.
daver - May 29, 2009
Quick question:
I missed this discussion probably: Why is DeJesus the 1B coach instead of Sinatro? Thanks.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
I've been wondering that, too.
daver - May 29, 2009
I thought I remember L&B saying he was "under the weather"...
…when they were in SD.
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
Had to blame
someone for he Cubs not getting to 1B often enough
tony412 - May 29, 2009
This just got pushed on the wires:
Sources say Cubs deal to be done soon, per CNBC.
How many times have we heard the same song and dance?
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
U should make a Fanpost on that!
calicubfan - May 29, 2009
Totally
There’s even a template for those nowadays. Shouldn’t take more than three minutes to fill in the blanks.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
Does the template incorporate Peavy and Roberts?
Clutch16 - May 29, 2009
I almost care more about this than about Z's ejection.
santoswoodenlegs - May 29, 2009
Headed to Boston to see Phish play at Fenway...
Keep up the Cubs tweets so i can keep up! Have a good weekend all.
AndrewJStone - May 29, 2009
Jump
Hopefully to a winning thread.
chilango2 - May 29, 2009
Sotomayor
and what she really did when she ruled against baseball owners in 1995:
Oh really, what she really did was side with the players association. I’ll let George Will speak for me.
Will says that “in fact, what she did was take sides, took union’s side against the management, and in so-doing, wasted 262 days of negotiations. That, far from saving baseball, consigned baseball to seven more years of an unreformed economic system, which happened to be the seven worst years in terms of competitive balance.”
And what was even the purpose of mentioning Sotomayor, if only to speak of this supposed accomplishment?
troutfishin - May 29, 2009
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