Bleed Cubbie Blue

BINGO

BINGO

Should've just left Stevens in there to wrok himself out of it.

Maybe he’d still have a 0.00 ERA right now, if it weren’t for Heilman.

You know I saw him grabbing his

shoulder/leg/head/arm/nose last night we should put him on the DL

This is why Lou should be stopped whn yanking Sean Marshall from a game.

agreed

I was amazed when he pulled him after one batter Monday night. He’s been a starter and I thought earlier this year he was considered the long relief guy.

mjk83 - July 29, 2009 reply

Lou doesn't have a "long relief guy".

Or, at least, doesn’t use the guy he has that way. This winds up overworking the entire pen.

The pen is overworked as it is

Today’s game will be decided by which starter goes the most innings.

Agreed.

Wells really needs to go seven today. Marmol & Gregg didn’t throw yesterday so they should be available.

That's the only bonus

I'd rather have our bullpen situation

than the Astros. We are probably going to get one inning too many of the Houston starter, so that will be our chance to score a ton of runs.

Oswalt's problem doesn't help the Astros in the long run

For the short term, these things don’t always make a difference. The Cubs do need to win today so they can keep putting pressure on the Cards.

At this point

it seems clear that Heilman should be the long relief guy – the guy called to go two innings, expecting him to give up a run every three innings.

Lou has never used a long-reliever since he's been with the Cubs.

That’s why Jon Leiber wasted away in the pen last year. It’s one of his biggest failings as a manager, IMO.

Bill Potter - July 29, 2009 reply

to be fair

two of John Leiber’s starts ended up with Cincinnati hitting over 10 HRs.

True.

But then he was buried for the better part of the year, not filling the role he was signed for.

He was awful in those starts, but Lou never used him as a long man (or a mop-up man for that matter), and I think it could have saved some wear-and-tear on some arms.

Bill Potter - July 29, 2009 reply

I remember skipping some work to watch that 11:35 a.m. start...

Brenly said on the telecast that Keppinger kills lefty.

Keppinger was up with two on I think it was first n third. Marshall as unable to retire the lefty bourn. Keppinger was already 2/2 I believe. With the great numbers vs lefty I did not have a problem with it. Also if Sean would have gone 2 innings he would probably be burnt for today’s game. You do sort of have to protect marshall since he is only lefty in the bullpen. You want to at least have him available to go a batter or two the next day.

MandMexpress12 - July 29, 2009 reply

exactly

the misuse of Marshall continues to confound me

I think Lou

believes he can throw Marshall every day and get those 1 or 2 outs that a lefty can get. Will be interesting if BJ Ryan joins the team if Lou then leaves Marshall in the game longer knowing he has another lefty in the pen. Why else does he pull him after a couple batters? Stupidity?

Would it be crazy to hope that Marshall would go back in the rotation

instead of Hart if Ryan comes up?

I was thinking about that.

I really like what Marshall gives you in the bullpen though. I have a hard time messing with that.

mjk83 - July 29, 2009 reply

This drove me crazy at first, too

But it seems clear that Lou wants to use him for very short outings so that he can go to him more often, because he is the only lefty available.

We need to get another lefty before the deadline.

I'm usually not one to defend Lou

But, for his career, Keppinger hits LHP at a .349 clip—as opposed to .259 against RHP.

Given that it was a key situation in the game (6th inning, tie game, runners on the corners), I can understand Lou’s logic in this particular situation.

Turns out that it worked since Guzman got Keppinger to strike out.

wrigley_boy - July 29, 2009 reply

It worked in the SHORT term

but it eventually forced Lou to go to Stevens who had thrown 36 pitches the night before. Again he just does not think ahead. Take the risk on Keppinger and let Marshall pitch TWO or more innings. In hindsight he should have pulled Dempster for a pinch hitter and let Marshall start the 5th but I give you that one was not so obvious as keeping Marshall in . Also not going to Gregg who was WELL rested instead of Heilman with runners in the 8th a mistake that you COULD see coming. Granted Gregg is not my favorite guy to put in with runners on but better than Heilman and he is certainly capable of 4 out performance.

This is a key point.

During pregame interviews, I’ve heard Lou repeatedly mention batters’ splits rather pitchers’ – meaning I think he looks at how the batter hits vs. a pitcher rather than looks at how the pitcher throw vs. lefties/righties. This probably explains why Lou makes many of his baffling bullpen moves.

He is Warren Brusstar

Has anyone seen them in the same room at the same time?

gocubsgo22 - July 29, 2009 reply

Agreed

with the poster above.

However, it’s ben the rare time that the pitching did not hold up and the offense did its share last night.

We’ve been playing well, shake this off, and go get it today!

mondello58 - July 29, 2009 reply

Related to Lou

It’s not really Heilman it’s Bob Howry in his skin ….. and both of these guys are Lou’s Sons……… He loves them.
Just like Hendry loves K. Patterson, Jacque Jones, Milton.

DaTruth - July 29, 2009 reply

Dome's out wasn't an issue for me

That was aggresive base running and sometimes it backfires and sometimes it fires up the team. The throw to second was a basic mental error and to be honest it dosn’t tick me off all that much either. As a realist I just try to remember " If the world didn’t suck we would all fall off".

carolinacub - July 29, 2009 reply

I think "inexplicable" is going a little too far.

The play was right in front of him and the CF fell down. But Dome did stop and start again around first base. If he’s running hard the entire time, he’s probably safe at second.

Once he stops, he probably should have just stayed at first base.

It’s the first inning and you’re the leadoff hitter. Get on base, don’t get thrown out like that.

It was an inconceivable decision

No matter if he was told the CF has a poor arm and what not. A blockhead move.

Inconceivable?

I do not think that you know what that word means…

Hmmmm

No “Princess Bride” fans online this morning.

I do not mean to pry, but you don't by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?

Have fun storming the castle!

Al,

You usually have great writeups that I anxiously anticipate. This one is off, though. Bourn fell down when fielding the ball and somehow managed to quickly throw a strike to a relay guy who got Dome. It happens. It was an aggressive play and had a very good chance of success. Would you have thrown a fit if he got gunned down trying to steal second? Because given Bourn was on his bum, Dome probably had a better chance getting to second on this aggressive baserunning play then stealing a base.

Dempster made a mental error. It happens.

We lost this game because our pitching was bad. Period. Demp was rusty and Heilman was his usual awful self.

paulucla - July 29, 2009 reply

Agreed

The first half of the game was pretty “wacky” as Len and Bob said. After Aram went deep in the sixth to tie the game 6-6, I liked our chances – especially after having trailed 4-0. Blum taking Guzman deep with two out was the momentum changer in my book.

Wacky?

When was the last time you saw a batted ball go into a pitchers shirt? Yes, wacky is correct.

I loved Ron Santo's comment about that

“There’s something you don’t see every day.”

About 4 or 5 hours before the game

last night in the Joe E. Brown movie “Alibi Ike”. TCM was showing a Joe E. Brown marathon and yesterday was his birth date. A noted goof in the movie from IMDB, “The plot hinges on the lights being turned out at the Chicago Cubs’ ballpark during a night game, so the hero can change into a uniform. Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ home field, did not have lights installed until 1988.”, led up to Brown changing into a uniform that was too large and having a ground ball to him get lost in the uniform top. It was odd seeing it happen last night after seeing it in the movie.

jonsidea - July 29, 2009 reply

Blum usually has our number

That’s the third game winning run he drove in against the Cubs this year. Maybe my memory is fried, but does anyone else in the league that we’ve faced have three game winning RBIs against the Cubs? I’m too lazy to go over box scores, but it seems that Blum is in a league of his own there. You probably don’t want to give him anything to hit now if you have a tie ball game late.

Agree

You cannot convince me that that play “took it out” of the cubs. Yea, it sucks to get thrown out trying to get a double, but they scored six runs, and were very patient.

bilbosbuttons - July 29, 2009 via mobile reply

Dempster was terrible.

He had nothing, just meatballs up in the zone that were getting hit all over the field. He should have been pinch hit for when we had the bases loaded in the 4th. Heilman should not appear in anything but a blowout.

lol yeah, a blowout that we're losing

Yes, I noticed

he was throwing them right down the middle.

Actually, everyone pitching was doing that. Everytime someone took a swing, I was a fraid it was going to go deep.

Azul Cachorro - July 29, 2009 reply

Aaron Heilman is just awful

Why Jim Hendry has had a several year fascination with the guy is beyond me. Heilman is as awful as he was in New York.

Heilman was definitely awful in 2008

He’s still awful in 2009, which leads me to believe that Heilman’s problems are the result of either decline or he simply should not be pitching for a large market team.

I agree with Blou :(

desmoCubbie - July 29, 2009 reply

There isn't a person outside of Heilman

his mother, Lou, and Jim Hendry that doesn’t agree with that statement.

Brian Custer

WanderingWanderer - July 29, 2009 reply

I can forgive college loyalties

as long as its identified as such.

the real problem

is that his inconsistency has become consistent. This outing, he was bad. Last outing, he had a 1-2-3 inning. The outing before, he was bad. The outing before that, didn’t he strike out the side?

Somehow we need to fool his arm into thinking it pitched badly the day before.

Not a bad idea.

I haven’t been able to hate him like a lot of people here, for that very reason. Whenever I groan that he’s coming in, he actually does OK. Yesterday I didn’t groan. I will today.

SO DO I .....

Heilman is getting any better that for sure . Are we the only ones that can see this ???

The Aaron Heilman Sucks Fanclub approves of this here message

You’re invited to apply for membership.

I think I already

have a membership. If not please accept my appication.

You're Chairwoman of the Committee to Run Heilman Out of Town

We would like to see your agenda for the next meeting please.

My committee

is meeting soon. I’ll get back to you.

Committee

I hate meetings but I still want to be on the committee. And I will not show up for any sub-committee meetings either.

wccubfan - July 29, 2009 reply

I never thought I'd say this... but...

I miss Michael Wuertz

Take it up with Lou.

Check Wuertz's numbers with the A's.

He’s getting a lot of attention in trade talks.

Because he went to

Notre Dame!

cubdreamer - July 29, 2009 reply

Hey

Take that back

ndcubs - July 29, 2009 via mobile reply

and the BCB leader in CLPCL

makes his usual appearance after a Cubs loss

CyberCyclist - July 29, 2009 reply

Dempster should have been pitching in Iowa last night

I applaud him for sucking it up and trying to help the team last night, but when a mediocre pitcher pitches hurt its going to get ugly. I’m sure he will improve from this start, but man oh man that was brutal.

The offense did a good job, and Lou pulling Mike Fontenot had to make a lot of people happy.

In a perfect world, Dempster might have rehabbed in Iowa

In that same perfect world, Ted Lilly would not be on the DL.

Yep

Hindsight is a wonderful thing…But at the same time with the success of the rotation during these injuries (against tough teams) and a manager who is always looking to rest for the players, another five days or so certainly wouldnt have hurt. Aaron Miles should have been called up to start this game…. :) A new day!

I don't fault Kosuke for the baserunning play

It was a play of aggressiveness based on his read of Michael Bourn’s play on the ball. Those are the kind of mistakes you can tolerate.

I wonder if Milton Bradley makes that play

or Soriano what the reaction would be from people here. Al was right to call out Fukudome because it was a horrible mental error.

You and I already

know what the reaction would be if either of the two you mentioned had done that.

Exactly

It was a bad play early in the game. Why he gets a pass from so many people today is beyond me.

That was fun

when Kosuke’s grounder got stuck in Fulchino’s jersey. Never saw that one before.

I don't think I have ever seen that one, either.

It looked like the umpire called the play dead

And awarded Koske first base. Did anyone else see this?

gocubsgo22 - July 29, 2009 reply

No, I thought he got a base hit.

Hard to tell

What I remember: Pitcher- Pathetic look toward ump. Ump waved right arm horizontaly as if to say throw it to first, its in play. This will be in the next baseball comedy.

The ump did make a gesture...

…that seemed to indicate he called the ball dead and awarded Kosuke first base. Maybe someone else can confirm.

Ump definitely called the play dead

After Fulchino realized ball was inside jersey, he turned towards the ump while fishing the ball out and kinda shrugged his shoulders. Ump stepped out behind plate and raised both arms up which I assume means play is dead. I think he also pointed towards 1st base but I’m sure by that time Dome had already reached the bag.

I checked the box score and Dome did get credit for a hit on that play.

I did some checking

It looks like Dome was awarded a hit and the ump pointed to first base indicating that is where/when the play was called dead. If the pitcher could not “locate” the ball in his jersey, Dome would not have been able to advance past first. Very strange.

gocubsgo22 - July 29, 2009 reply

I know there is an official rule covering this.

But I can’t find it right now.

maybe when Pat does the fashion report

from now on, he has to tell us if the top button is buttoned, or if a ball could get down there…

Ronnie thought that it was his girth that popped that button open.

the ball gets lost in the vines,

it’s a ground rule double. Maybe this should be, too.

CyberCyclist - July 29, 2009 reply

No

That was just a little come-backer. No way should that be ruled a double.

sorry,

I forgot the sarcasm/joke indicator :)

CyberCyclist - July 29, 2009 reply

I don't know why?

if we’re just basing this on distance? if a batted ball were to hit the pitchers rubber and bounce into the stands, I believe it would be ruled a ground rule double. why would this be different? I’m not trying to be difficult here, but I don’t see the difference? and I don’t know the answer….I’m just asking?

MOCubsfan - July 29, 2009 reply

that would be

a very interesting hit.

it's baseball

it’ll happen eventually. be nice to know the answer when it does.

MOCubsfan - July 29, 2009 reply

A ground-rule single?

In a recap that was pretty thorough in what-went-wrong, I found a glaring hole.

Once again, Lou made the very basic mistake of thinking that Micah Hoffpauir belongs – in any capacity – on a major league field. Since May 23, his last 100 ABs, SwingnMissMicah is “hitting” .190/.229/.340 with 24 Ks and 2 GDPs. His ABs are consistently embarassing to watch.

Agreed.

Time to send Micah to Iowa and bring Sam Fuld back. Fuld can play the outfield positions and hit better than Hoffpauir; if you need a backup 1B, Jake Fox can do that.

I'm on board with this

simply so Fox can get the at-bats that Hoffpauir is taking away.

Yes!

Sounds good to me

Maybe when Soto returns?

Yes!

FTW

Rec’d

I would have no problem with this move.

25985 and counting... ;-)

Hmm what a good idea

wish I had thought of it myself.

ISWYDT

He shouldn't be allowed to face a lefty ever

We have too much of that on this team though. Fontenot, Fukudome, and Hoffpauir all cannot hit against left handed pitching.

The Micah Hoffpauir Major League Era has come to a close

Hardly surprising. This is what happens when the best fruits of your minor league system are oldish journeyman types like Hoffpauir, Fox, Fontenot, Hill, Fuld. At some point the gig is up.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Hoffpauir just yet

Baseball is a game of adjustments. If he needs to go down to Iowa to work on that so he can help the team down the stretch, I’m fine with that.

or hill

With the exception of LBR, all get looks here and there..the life of a bench player. A little AAA swap for a while may do some of the guys good. Hill, batting left handed and stuck in the 8 slot for eternity makes for a confident opposing pitcher. Where is Murton these days?

Baseball is a game of adjustments

and Micah Hoffpauir has shown an inability to adjust. His approach at the plate always forecasted that would be a problem.

D-Lee's adjustments last season...

He finished second in the league in GDP, but he was our best hitter in the postseason. Sometimes it just takes a while.

D-Lee has a longer track record of success and more consistent ABs to work out those adjustments

Sending Micah back to AAA would give him a chance to adjust by the time rosters are expanded.

Nice pivot and jab -

“the best fruits of your minor league system” and you find a way not to include Carlos Marmol, Angel Guzman, Ryan Theriot, Geo Soto.

But we are agreed that the only reason Micah Hoffpauir’s ML career isn’t over, is the favoritism of Lou Piniella.

Geovany Soto was a one year wonder in my estimation

And I don’t believe I was talking pitchers. Ryan Theriot? He too is a former aging “non-prospect” who was given opportunity. But in the case of Theriot he was one of the rare types who has been able to carve out a viable role ala David Eckstein and Craig Counsell who can be considered his best comparables.

The “can’t miss” prosects of this system continue to fail spectacularly while the Triple A filler types have become pipeline material to Chicago. That’s a problem. A big problem.

This is very very true

But it's important to recognize what the problem is.

The farm system is developing players. The drafting system was – and for the sake of argument I’ll concede that it may still be – drafting poorly at the top levels, either for the dubious reason of “bad luck” or because the Cubs were missing important factors in the Ryan Harvey era.

If all we got was a little more than one year out of Soto – and it’s way too early to conclude that – then that’s a lot more than anyone expected to get out of him. That the system keeps producing over-achievers like Randy Wells is something to be glad about.

i just analyzed our 2008 draft

30 players from that class have stats this year. Many of them are performing well. Results may vary. But we seem to be drafting players who can play baseball now, instead of YouTube specialists (“See how far he hit that ball in a high school game?”)

We are fighting with Cinci and Milwaukee for best system in the division, now that St. Louis broke open their piggy bank. We have passed the Earl Cunningham stage, people.

tim815 - July 29, 2009 reply

Now Blou is back

since the Cubs are losing and you expect him to be rational and keep with the facts ? What are you thinking? Pitchers we don’t need no pitchers out of farm system . The guy who has been our most consistent bat all year is just a fluke.

In this case (not defending his stances on specific players' opinions) but

he’s been around. He has not eaten crow or nothing, but he’s still defending his points of view.

AGREE 100 % ....

Back to Iowa he goes ..Not sure if Lou will see it this way though .

Get Fuld back up here

Micah had a nice run, but he is taking at bats away from Fox

jkobus - July 29, 2009 reply

If...

You send Hoff to Iowa, then who is the power hitter off of the bench? Fox? He is the backup catcher right now, so he would not be the first option to come off the bench. While Hoff has struggled he is still capable of hitting the occasional HR. He is basically this team’s Daryle Ward. Sam Fuld, while he is a nice player has no pop. Unless Lou plans on using Fontenot off of the bench full time (he has some power) or Soto comes back soon, sending Hoff down makes little sense.

Seems to me right now

Hoff has no pop. That’s the problem. Why not give someone else a shot at it.

Pinch Hitting

Is not an easy thing to do, he has basically had to learn it on the fly this season. His power will come back. If you know of a better lefty power option that can come off of the bench who is already in the organization right now, I’d be all for it. Here is a hint… It’s NOT Sam Fuld, he just hit his first HR of the season last week at AAA.

.703 OPS and a 79 OPS+

He has homer potential, sure, but the whole package doesn’t add up to much production.

Fox can definitely pinch hit and get put into the outfield if we’re worried about someone backing up Hill if he gets hurt during a game. Lou seems incapable of thinking of this though.

I agree with that

But Lou is keeping him around because he’s left-handed, that should be obvious.

Micah Hoffpauir is no Daryle Ward.

Ward knew how to work an AB. Micah knows how to swing his mighty thunder stick and hope the pitcher didn’t throw the ball 2 ft from the strike zone again.

Keeping Hoff up is what makes no sense. There’s nothing he brings to an AB that Carlos Zambrano doesn’t bring. It’s that simple.

That is a good point

About Z, I never thought of that, they are pretty similar hitters once you think about it.

I tried making this point in the off season -- about Hoff vs. Ward.

people didn’t listen then either.

Unfortunately

We saw last season that Daryle Ward is no Daryle Ward anymore, either.

Still took a lot of walks despite the bad average

.319/.402/.721 on the season with an 84 OPS+. I’d take it over what we’re getting from Hoffpauir right now.

As someone pointed out in the game thread last night

It’s good to see everyone who was screaming for Lou to play Hoff over DLee has turned their backs on him.

Um

For the record, I have a very consistent record on both Hoff and DLee. Not that anyone should care…

In defense of Lou,

Jeff Keppinger is hitting .324 against lefties and just .261 against righties. I really don’t have an issue with Lou bringing Guzman in to face him in last night’s situation (runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs). If Marshall would have stayed in and Keppinger would have driven in those two runs, I think people would be wondering why a righty wasn’t brought in.

giddyup - July 29, 2009 reply

Keppinger is a Cub killer in the mold of Blum

This is very very true

At least when Carlos Lee kicks our asses I know its coming from a good player.

Kudos to Houston for not throwing at people last night

Roy Owsalt realizes the antics of his closer, and make the right decision to play baseball.

Who else saw Valverde do the "You can't see me"?

Boy that guy really pisses me off! Same with that Hunter Pence clown.

Valverde is an idiot

He deserves to be beaten about the face and neck. Pence really doesn’t bother me, other than he’s goofy and gangly looking.

dedfishflote - July 29, 2009 reply

Noted

Stros rubbed it in a bit. Good for them. Winning is better than giving someone a bruise. I wish Alf would stop that nonsense.

Valverde takes hot dogging to the next level.

Normally I can’t stand showboating of any kind, but with him I find it amusing to watch because it’s so over the top. If he was on my team though I would hate it.

I've been told

That hotdogs are hard to digest. I agree. Someone on here sugested skinless weiners..

I wish Valverde would choke on his own arrogance.

and then Miguel Tejada would walk by and trip over it.

Blue W - July 29, 2009 reply

Whoever coined the phrase...

“the quiet dignity of Jose Valverde” in yesterday’s recap thread should get some sort of award.

hokie316 - July 29, 2009 reply

and that was after strike 1

lol

It's impossible...

to look at that picture and not burst out in laughter.

Did I hear Ron

say on the radio that het met him and was suprised how nice of a guy he is

yes he did

Not to pick on Ron because I love him, but it cracks me up when he calls someone else out for showboating considering he was one of the biggest ever with the ole heel click.

didnt he do it on the

way back to the clubhouse in left field??

cozmotaylor123 - July 29, 2009 reply

he was

requested to do that in every game, and it’s not like he did it after throwing someone out. It was at the end of every game.

I believe he did it once and it was such a big hit that they asked him to keep doing it.

personally I think it's silly

like when the players bump after a game now

Silly

And good, clean fun

Think he still does it in the booth after every game?

Oh… Nevermind…

Did he do it at the very end of the game?

Yes

K’d Z

Oh man...I'll have to find that highlight. (Or lowlight, as it were.) Thanks.

Part of the celebration & irrational exuberence

everyone felt at the time before the frickin’ Mets spoiled the party.

JFCubFan - July 29, 2009 reply

And this

Is the 40th anniversary season of that run.

Bittersweet for me. I was 10 years old, and it made me a Cubs fan.

and your thoughts on Z and/or Soriano?

I didn't like some of Lou's moves

1. Bottom of the 4th. Dempster is on a pitch count and getting rocked. The Astros’ starting pitcher is out of the game. We’ve scored 3 runs in the inning, and have the bases loaded with 2 outs. Having Dempster bat here is a sure out. I think you have to pinch hit here and commit to Marshall throwing a few innings (though Lou rarely does this). The rally was killed before the at bat, really. Dempster is an easy out at the plate and gives up 2 more runs the next inning.

2. Pinch hitting Jake Fox and putting the Hoff in RF. Why pinch hit our only emergency catcher? What if Hill got injured? PH Fox and put him in RF and he can come catch if we had to have another catcher. Plus Fox hits better than Hoff.

3. Putting in Heilman in a close game. It’s a one run game in the bottom of the 8th, 2 men on and 2 outs. Kevin Gregg is one of TWO bullpen guys that didn’t throw last night. Bring in your closer to try to get out of the jam and throw the final 4 outs. Maybe Gregg wasn’t available here, I’m not sure why he hasn’t been pitching. Either way, Heilman was / is not the answer.

Add this to Dempster giving them at least an extra out and a run, and that was a craptastic performance.

sparky39762 - July 29, 2009 reply

Your points.

1. Yeah, they could have done this — if you could ever convince Lou that Marshall could actually go three innings.

2. Agreed. If Hill got hurt — you’d have had a real problem.

3. Gregg HAS been pitching — threw in three straight games Fri/Sat/Sun. Lou’s not going to use his closer in the 8th inning when the Cubs are losing. But you’re right, Heilman wasn’t the answer either.

You're wrong about Heilman - He's the best pitcher ever!

His college coach says so

dedfishflote - July 29, 2009 reply

Disagree per above

Gregg should have gone in. He can do a 4 out performance and there was no one else left besides Shark so go for it.

I repeat.

Lou (and most managers) won’t do that with a closer when the team is behind.

Should have stayed with

Stevens. Heilman is never the answer.

cubdreamer - July 29, 2009 reply

Might be the answer

If the question is “who do you cut from the roster ?”

Seriously I don’t hate Heilman like everyone else. Try him in a blowout at the START of an inning and go from there.
He is a LONG relief guy not someone to put in in the middle of an inning.

I hate Heilman because Lou uses him in the wrong spots

He has allowed 15 of 31 inherited runners to score, that is beyond awful. How does no one let Lou know that he shouldn’t be coming in with runners on? Bring him in at the beginning of an inning or when the bases are empty, thats it.

jkobus - July 29, 2009 reply

Point 1 is especially critical.

The Cubs had Wright on the ropes and the Stros didn’t have another arm ready. With the sacks jacked, it was clear Wright was very comfortable throwing to Dempster. Much easier to throw “get me over” fastballs to the opposing pitcher than say, oh, a Jake Fox who could have done some damage and put the game out of reach.

Dempster was supposedly on an 80-pitch count for the game, and he left the top of the 4th with about 65 tosses. Get him out in the bottom half, go for the jugular, and leave the bullpen to close it out.

tville - July 29, 2009 reply

they'd already burned reed johnson in a gutsy move

then they’d be really short on the bench.

not saying you’re wrong.

tim815 - July 29, 2009 reply

Using Johnson at that point........

……….was part of the problem because it meant Lou would have to “burn” two players. Why not have Baker or Blanco hit for Fontenot? Fortunately, Reed delivered, but killing two spots on the bench in the 4th inning doesn’t make much sense.

tville - July 29, 2009 reply

But it was Reed

Because he has good numbers against lefties.

And it paid off.

Are Johnson's numbers against lefties...........

…………….that much better than Baker’s and Blanco’s that it was worth reducing the bench by two players?

As we know, it worked, but given the way Wright was throwing, Neif! might have been successful in this situation.

tville - July 29, 2009 reply

i agree. that was a bad move, and it was obvious.

DEMPSTER BATS IN FOURTH ???

Gotta wonder what Lou was thinking here ?? Made no sense to me at all . Strikes out as most of us thought he might do ….

I thought this was the wrong move on Lou's part.

You almost HAD to pinch hit for Dempster (he clearly had a lot of rust last night). They had Wright on the ropes and the whole ’Stros pen. Who knows if the pinch hitter would have gotten the job done but that was their best chance to break the game WIDE open and make a shambles out of the ’Stros pen for the rest of the series. I think it furthers the point that Lou wanted to get Dempster his work in… not the place to do it.

wright was also really wild and dempster is super aggressive.

i don’t know if i would have used fox, maybe baker. but that was one of the biggest at bats of the game.

Well I am going to the game today (and I'm pumped)

but I was hoping to see the Cubs flag in that top spot…

cubswgnrocks - July 29, 2009 reply

CLOSE YOUR EYES.....

And try to forget last night ..IT just might do the trick.

and pray the mighty Dodgers

can dig a hole and plant the birds in it today.

JFCubFan - July 29, 2009 reply

Mental mistakes are stacking up for Lou,

and he has had a rough couple of nights. On Monday, letting Z pinch hit for himself, putting Fontenot in to squeeze instead of Fox in to get a sac fly, were dumb mistakes.

Last night, letting Demp bat w/bags loaded in the 4th was indefensible. Wright was holding on by the barest of threads, any professional hitter would have coached a walk in that situation. Plus, letting Soriano steal, completely let Wright off the hook – Hill was then IW, and Lou gave up and let Demp bat. Clearly it wasn’t Demp’s night, in even the best case he only had 1 inning left, and in fact gave up the Tejada HR in the 5th.

BatCubFan - July 29, 2009 reply

+1

I have a feeling they used this as Demp’s rehab stint. IF he wasn’t coming back from injury and Dempster was pitching like that on a normal night, I think he would have been lifted.

I don't think that was a double steal...

I think was a completely botched run and hit.

Or… at least I’d like to think it was. No manager should be that stupid to open up 1st base with the pitcher on deck.

I actually think Soriano went on his own...

he had a running lead and Wright was paying no attention to him.

No, you don't ...

R/H or H/R with runners on 1st and 2nd, or with someone as wild as Wright was.

Soriano probably did go on his own which only shows:

  1) what clueless fool he his when it comes to baseball IQ
  2) why Soriano only thinks of his stats – not team
  3) Lou – has either last control over the team or is making too many mistakes

Again the steal left 1b open, giving the astros the gift of walking Hill to pitch to Demp. Lou failed by ordering or allowing the steal, and failed again by letting Demp bat w/bags loaded.

BatCubFan - July 29, 2009 reply

what?

I agree that Demp shoulda been pulled earlier, but if Soriano steals and then Hill is IW, how is that different from Hill pulling a walk, and how the hell does it have ANYTHING to establish that Soriano “only thinks of his stats, not the team”???

He’s getting in scoring position. That’s his job. I’m fairly certain this is the first time I’ve seen someone argue AGAINST successfully stealing a base.

Were we watching the same game?

Here is what I recall.

There had been a string of walks, Wright was as wild as anyone I’ve seen all year, and at that time Houston had no one warming up. RJ had just hit an RBI pinch-hit single (an aggressive managerial move by Lou). So, men on first/second two out, #8 hitter Hill at bat.

Soriano steels third, Johnson follows to 2nd.

And that, completely killed the inning by giving the gift of allowing Hill to be IW, and Lou giving up by letting Demp bat. If we stay 1st and second, or even RJ stays at first. Wright is forced to pitch to Hill. I’m thinking it is very likely another walk (wonder if Demp still bats if Hill draws a walk rather than the IW), at least its a better opp than Demp hitting.

My point then, is a more intelligent approach to the inning is not to steal in that situation. So if Lou allowed it – it’s bad managing. If Sori did it on his own – it’s either dumb or selfish.

BTW, taking, or not taking, the bat out of someone’s hands is a very common baseball strat. Stealing a base is not unconditionally a good move or “his job”. Think Larussa, would allow someone to steal ahead of Pujols, so that he can get IW? Hill is no Pujols, but that move cost us a real good opp to get more runs.

BatCubFan - July 29, 2009 reply

you said it yourself - very likely another walk

So how is the situation any different? Bases are still loaded and Dempster is up. Whether or not Lou decides to PH for Dempster does not depend on whether Hill walks or gets an IW to first.

Disagree with your logic

If it was better to have the bases loaded facing Dempster than 2 men on facing Hill, the Astros would walk Hill regardless of the steals. It may have forced their hand, but that doesn’t mean that we were worse off afterward. Lou should have used a PH at that point anyway, so if there was one piece of bad managing to call out, I would say that was it.

???? Oh your name says BATcubfan.....not badcubfan

Here's my top 10 of players I can't stand...

1) A.J.
2) Braun
3) Manny
4) Yadier Molina (when he throws his bat at strike 2 and claps his hands, oh man that’s the worst)
5) Ludwick
6) Valverde
7) Pence
8) Jose Reyes
9) Heilman (he sucks, and everyone except Hendry and Lou understand that)
10) LaTroy (bad memories)

Try it everybody, it’s fun!!!

Too early for this exercise

Gimme a couple hours, when I’m ready to go postal at colleagues…

thats why I'd bring you candy

Why don't you like Ludwick?

Because he's a 30 year old career minor leaguer...

Who comes up in St. Louis and puts up unbelievable numbers. Only St. Louis could have a player do that.

In fact, that team pisses me off. Al was saying how they haven’t played the Dodgers yet, well they’re kicking the Dodgers ass. Come on L.A.!!

yeah, they are annoying. it just seems like they always get some no name

guy or lousy player to come in and be an all star. see: ludwick, piniero, and franklin this year. not to mention, they are always playing guys out of position and it rarely bites them in the ass.

Signed,

Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan

Yeah, that is annoying...

…but it doesn’t make me dislike Ludwick. He seems like a fairly innocuous “put your head down and play the game” type of guy.

FWIW

He was a hightly touted prospect who was besieged by injuries in his early career….

TheRiot Police - July 29, 2009 reply

My scars are finally healing from LaTroy.

It was fun seeing him ejected the other day.

Heilman doesn’t make my top ten (yet) simply because I like his stirrups.

What about

John Danks?

OK, that took less than two hours

1- Pierzynski
2- Manny
3- Braun
4- Counsel
5- Tejada
6- Pence
7- A.Rod
8- Carpenter
9- Joba
10- Danks

It WAS pretty fun. You were right.

What about Chris Carpenter and John Danks bothers you?

Carpenter's face...

His fart-smelling mug just bothers me. Oh, and the fact that he’s a good pitcher playing for the Cards.

And I made a mistake: it should read Jenks, not Danks. Danks’ only fault is that he plays for the Sox.

Fair enough.

two lists and still no Berkman?

You know, I just feel sorry about Berkman and his yellow belly

Several other key points

HAven’t read every post – so excuse if mentioned:

1. Bourne’s catch of Theriot’s deep cf hit – would have made the score 7-6 Cubs
2. Lou (Retire, please, retire) decides to bat Demp, with bases loaded two outs, already up to 68 pitches. WHY?!!
3. Then, Demp as if on cue, gives up a HR to Tejada in the top of the next frame.

I will say also that Ryan Dempster really cashed in from a career year in ‘08. I realize he’s had a lot of stuff going on this year, but $48MM over four years for this guy??? HENDRY!!!!

The E-Man - July 29, 2009 reply

The Dempster contract is going to look awful at the end of this year

and downright horrid in 2011 and 2012

Agreed...

Chan Ho Park did the same thing. One good year and then back to your career norms.

Look, I think Dempster seems like a nice guy and I’m very sorry about the terrible situation with his daughter. But from a strict baseball decision, giving a guy $56 million for a career year, not to mention his total meltdown in the biggest start of his career, is crazy.

It is par for the course

for our GM. – sigh -

Look at the Fanpost “Bad Contracts” post.

OY!

Hopefully, SOME YEAR, we will have an understanding owner who will be willing to eat a few of these bad Hendry-isms.

The E-Man - July 29, 2009 reply

The playoff start really soured me on Dempster

and should have shown that he wasn’t a capable of stepping up in the big moment. I don’t know that I’ll ever get the image of that awful start out of my head.

But he can do magic tricks!

It was ONE start against a RED HOT Dodgers team

and he pitched like a scared little girl

i think every cub fan was scared like a little girl going INTO that series

Please don’t let us get swept, please let us make it to the WS, please let this be real.

Now go and try and PITCH that game. Get off your high horse.

Funny

Derrek Lowe didn’t have an issue pitching in that game. Those guys in 2003 didn’t have a problem pitching in “all this intense pressure”.

Dempster crapped his pants don’t make excuses for him.

Just defending someone on my team who will be around for awhile

I can understand choking under the pressure having never been there before. Derrek Lowe had.

The ’03 was EXPECTED to win the world series. Some of the players on the ’03 team had also been to the postseason before, I.E. Kerry Wood.

Not making excuses for him, but you need to realize that these people ARE human

The '03 team was expected to win the world series?

Really? Not how I remember it at all.

I'll add a couple...

4. Marshall giving up a double to Fulchino with 2 outs in the 6th. He’s a bullpen pitcher. That should be an automatic out. If he gets that out, he stays in to face at least Bourn in the 7th.

5. Dempster giving up a single to Wright to start the 3rd. He’s a bullpen pitcher. It’s his first career at bat. Get him out, and maybe the inning plays out differently.

Oh well. On to this afternoon.

hokie316 - July 29, 2009 reply

I think both bullpen-pitcher hits were flukey.

There’s really no such thing as an automatic out. Both Cubs pitchers threw the ball over the plate and dared the ‘Stros relievers to hit it and, well, they did. Fulchino’s double was his first career hit. Just bad luck, really.

yeah, demp's unreliable. he cashed in.

Gals and guys,

It was just a measly little loss. Yes, we saw Heilman sucking it hard and Spellcheck messing up, but losses happen. For some reason, yesterday’s wasn’t painful.

Let’s move on to today, so by 4 or so we had forgotten about last night.

the bigger deal is that the cardinals are a legitimate powerhouse.

their top three, closer, and lineup are all among the best in the majors. meanwhile, pujols is mired in a horrible slump. they are going to win a lot of ballgames.

Yeah, tell me about Pujols slump

my fantasy team scores show it mightily, I can’t imagine what it will do for the Cardinals when he comes back.

Let’s just hope the rest of the team quits hitting once he comes back

I'm not going to get too worked up about the Cardinals

I know Cubs fans seem to have an irrational fear about them constantly. I still think, when fully functional, the Cubs’ everyday lineup/pitching is better.

Agreed, and hopefully we are just at the beginning of our stretch of good baseball

It is so nice to watch and I just laugh sometimes thinking about what our team would be like if BCB would have their way and sold off Lee and kept Hoff for everyday 1b.

What's scary is averaging a walk and a hit per game since the ASG is a "horrible slump" for him

Wow

You have no idea how quickly I’m over this loss. Atleast we’re not losing a series to the Nationals….badly like the Brewers are.

ak123 - July 29, 2009 reply

Their fans are sh*tting bricks up here.

Completely baffled by Lou's management of the roster

There’s so much “concern” over the back-up catcher, that he pretty much refuses to use Fox on most days… who he keeps saying “we need to get this guy’s bat in the line-up”

Then, last night he burns Fox in the 7th, at least giving him an opportunity to drive in runs with the bags loaded (finally a right move)… but keeps Hoffpauir in the game in RF, when he could’ve put Fox there. Now, with 2 innings to go, in what was a 1 run game at the time, your backup catcher is done and your best bat off the bench is done.

By the 8th, Lou had exhausted his entire bench. How do you do that? That’s unbelievable.

Will Fox get a start today?

Day game after a night? It’s about time isn’t it? Koyie has to have some sore legs.

Welcome to my world

After Lou exhausted his entire bench IN A TIE ROAD GAME by the 9th inning last year in Philly is when I realized he was a bad manager. I know most of you think I am nuts but a good manager does NOT use an entire bench in 9 innings or less with a full roster.

NO YOUR NOT NUTS.....

I remember that game . It was Lou 101 all over again he does not think his moves out . Last nights game could have been won …

Also... as has probably been mentioned above.

Dempster wasn’t going to deep into that game regardless of the situation… so Marshall was going to be planned ahead of time as #1 man out of the pen. And, well… he only lets him go 2/3 of an inning. Absolutely dumbfounding.

I don't think many here can defend Lou much longer

Even when they win he seems to do something very questionable. I don’t remember it happening much in ’07, more in ’08, and definitely more this year.

What is he to do?

In 07 and 08 there was at least a glimmer of consistancy. This year there is not. Lou keeps mixing things up looking for a formula that works.

I can only imagine what Cubs fans would say about TLRs moves…

A couple injury notes on last night's Astros pitchers via Twitter:

Oswalt flying to Houston Wednesday to be checked out by Drs. Doesn’t look good.

Wright went to hospital with possible appendicitis.

Both of these are from Astros MLB beat reporter Alyson Footer.

Wow...

And I thought we had bad/weird injury luck.

CubsBullsBears - July 29, 2009 reply

Wright probably just has tummy trouble

from running the bases since he was so shocked to be doing so.

Wright was rushed to a hospital

With possible dehydration. When leaving Wrigley in the 9th last night there were a bunch of ambulances.

Fukudometer - July 29, 2009 reply

Yep, here's the update from Ms. Footer:

Wesley was dehydrated. No appendicitis.

He won’t be at the park today – not that he would’ve pitched again anyway.

I would be over this loss quickly

But I have to live with a Cardinal’s fan, so all I head last night was about how I should turn the TV to a first place team over and over. Can we win tonight so I dont have to listen to him?

jkobus - July 29, 2009 reply

RE: Dealing w/ Cards fans

The ghost of DeRosa continues to haunt, especially in light of his recent home-run tear in St. Louis. If he had been able to put up the same numbers while staying in a Cubs uniform he would currently be second on the team in HR (19) behind D. Lee (20), second in OPS (.818) [tied w/ Fukudome] behind D.Lee (.904), and second in RBIs (60) also behind D.Lee (64). I agree that the idea of a trade-back was never realistic, but the mind continues to boggle at Hendry’s foolishness in giving up this player.

cwpettis - July 29, 2009 reply

He wanted his boyfriend Miles...

Make it stop ...

Please …

it's not going to stop. it was a bad trade initially that hurt us

and now it’s coming back and biting us in the ass. it’s a legitimate lament. i hate to see him on the cardinals. moreover, i just hate looking at the cardinal lineup. it’s right up there with the phillies.

Take a sedative

and lie down, pull up the covers. It’ll all be OK. At least until DeRo’s face goes up on Mount Rushmore or something.

Is it just me or is Andres Blanco a pretty incredible defensive IF?

…there might be only one or two 2b in baseball that have the range and awareness to make that play. I just cant believe he made it to that ball and made that throw….

JB 23 - July 29, 2009 reply

Blanco is batting .216, .546 OPS

Fontenot is batting .228, .668 OPS. If I were in charge, once GeoBarney comes back, I’d start Blanco consistently. His defense is outstanding and hopefully his batting can be covered by other players.

no question....when Turtle gets back, Blanco should start....

…..I think he’s worth starting from time to time right now…

JB 23 - July 29, 2009 reply

It's not you - Andy White can work the leather.

Just a bad game

Chalk it up, Demp not sharp at all, Lou’s moves looks like he should retire soon, but this happens. This team has it flaws, but the rest of the division has flaws also.
Win the next two and go from there.
Just please no more Heilman, no more.

Grockcubs - July 29, 2009 reply

Can anybody tell me something about this Mitch Atkins who's coming up?

new fanshot
http://espn.go.com/chicago/story?id=4363279&campaign=rss&source=CHICAGOHeadlines

They sent Stevens down for him...

Lou wanted a fresh arm. I know they liked him in ST but he had a rough spring. Not sure if he turned it around or not.

No... he hasn't turned anything around.

He’s got a 6.92 ERA in over 100 innings pitched.

He sucks

LOL - elaborate, please?

I didn't expect to sweep this series

I wish we’d been able to turn on these Astros relievers, but sometimes… well.

Win today, win tomorrow.

+1

Yeah, when I saw that Oswalt had been taken out...

…it felt like Fate was handing the game to the Cubs on a silver platter. For a variety of reasons, they declined.

Blanco is awesome defensively,

compared to the no range Fontenot.

cubdreamer - July 29, 2009 reply

For hansman1982....

santoswoodenlegs - July 29, 2009 reply

When this team is on

they are on. When they aren’t we get last night. I hope we have more on games than last night games.

Hendry: Heilman needs to go. It may hurt for a few days but you’ll get over it. I think Lou is only playing him to show you just how awful he really is. I think he did the same thing with Howry last year.

Go get ’em today Cubs!

Flaws still there

Should have won with Oswalt injured and Wright replacing him. Still concerned about Cubs offense. 9 hits over 13 innings in the first game and 5 last night isn’t enough. Worried about starting pitching. Lily out for now, Dempster rusty and not really having a good season, and Wells might have had some beginners luck. As for the bullpen, there is no way they can handle 3 or more innings on any consistent basis. The Astros can hit.

They’ve done as well as they have because pitching, more often than not, keeps them in games. And this is how it is when the offense falls short.

Less than 8 hits 37 games and 6 wins (16%)
8-10 hits 37 games and 25 wins (68%)
11 or more hits 24 games and 21 wins (88%)

A second lefthanded pitcher in the bullpen might help if the starting staff can’t go as many innings. Hard to use Marshall as both a LOOGY and a long reliever.

AboutTheCubs - July 29, 2009 reply

10 walks man, 10 walks

Walks - and HITS

Astros – 17 hits
Cubs – 5 hits

What's your point?

Our pen had a poor game and Dempster was rusty. it’s no secret the Astros can hit.

The knee jerk reactions around here are laughable (not speaking to you specifically)

I thought the game would be a shootout

We stopped hitting after Rami tied the game 6-6 and they kept hitting. Give them credit.

I did give them credit, by saying 'it's no secret the astros can hit"

Last night, their bullpen was better than ours, thats all

You can worry all you want

but I’m going to enjoy the season. I think I’ll have more fun.

+logic

they scored six runs

I’m not sure you can say the bats weren’t there to win. Scoring six runs should win you the game. Demp was rusty, and the pen was stretched.

Yep, in fact, this teams has won most of the games...

…in which they’ve scored 5 or more runs. Can’t recall the exact stat.

Right. The important thing to take from last night is that we still scored 6 runs

Our pitching won’t be that collectively inconsistent often, and if we keep up with the run scoring, we’ll go 7-3 the rest of the year

Beginners luck?

Love this in-depth analysis.

Are you Steve Stone?

Please just win today

Losing a day game while following at work makes it more painful.

I'll second that.