Bleed Cubbie Blue

Logic

if success = fail at failing
and
success = fail

then it seems

failure = succeed at success
failure <> success

and therefore

fail <> failure ???

eths - August 13, 2009 reply

Boom! There goes my mind.

yeah im mush

heine41 - August 13, 2009 reply

Wha???

CubsGirl - August 13, 2009 reply

May our Lee out play their Lee.

let’s salvage one.

LAcarl519 - August 13, 2009 reply

amen to dat bruddah

tootle - August 13, 2009 reply

at the very least, it's a safe bet he'll out hit him

Interesting thought on Marmol

That had been speculated last year, too. I can’t remember what announcer said it, but it makes sense. And if it’s true, he’ll never be a closer until he learns to control that.

By the way, speaking of AMPED WHATSTODAYSLINEUPGETITPOSTED.

ok.

Shanghai Badger - August 13, 2009 reply

I noticed

that Marmol’s velocity was down early in the inning. Maybe seemed to be throwing some get me over strikes early in the count. This would help support the theory that he is overthrowing his fastball. He did seem to crank it up a little as the inning progressed

TheRiot Police - August 13, 2009 reply

ive only notice marmol really f's up in close/tied games

so because of the cubs offense we get the bad marmol more often

Is ARam in today's lineup?

SecTaylor - August 13, 2009 reply

Lineup, via Waddle & Silvy

Riot Dome Gameboard DLee Fox Soriano Soto Baker Dempster

ScottieG33 - August 13, 2009 reply

now Dome is in the 2 spot

and Bradley in the 3?

boy o boy.

Yeah, I don't get that.

Leave him alone at #2.

I suppose Piniella’s trying to ease him back to an RBI slot, but it’s been working so well for him as it is.

Shanghai Badger - August 13, 2009 reply

It's hard to knock runs in by walking.

That's why I'd leave him at 2

Shanghai Badger - August 13, 2009 reply

also because he's hitting .440 at the spot

I think it could be 11 kinds of crazy

But I will say this… Lou is trying.

by changing things that were actually working

that’s the BAD kind of trying

and if Dome is going to be that high, why not put him back at leadoff?

Dome has a higher OBP than Theriot. Hell, Soriano has walked more than Theriot.

He's still playing the hot hand in Baker

Good to see that.

Mike Fontenot has been locked in a closet until he can hit his way out.

Or a shoebox

that would be appropriate for everyone's favorite Wonder Hampster.

Also because the Phillies are starting a lefty.

Jody Jody Davis - August 13, 2009 reply

good, because Aramis KILLS lefties.....wait....dammit.

Why...

Just why? Bradley has been so good batting 2nd.

CubsBullsBears - August 13, 2009 reply

I don't agree with the lineup, but at least Lou is trying new things.

I thought earlier in the season Lou was just stuck in some ruts.

New is not always better...

Why tinker with the few parts that are actually working? Dome leading off, MB 2nd, and Lee 3rd.

CubsBullsBears - August 13, 2009 reply

The one thing that has bothered me

is having a platoon leadoff position. That to me is not how you get any consistency.

why in the world is Riot 1 and dome 2?

obviously it's because Lou is used to having a power bat lead off whenever possible.

louuuuuuuuu ..... sobs sobs sobs sobs sobs sobs sobs

because our manager is not...........smart

Agree - I'm not pleased with Theriot leading off.

Soriano and Theriot have exactly the same number of ABs this year

Soriano has 37 BBs. Theriot has 33.

Jody Jody Davis - August 13, 2009 reply

Makes me want to

punch a baby

ouch

and Sori at least has a few HR’s in that spot

Earlier in his career

Zambrano had a problem like that too. He would actually be better as the game went on because his arm tired and he had a normal delivery.

(See, I can say something nice about Zambrano)

The problem is, Marmol has at most, one inning to figure it out.

Ted Lilly ..... YOU'RE THE MAN!

Tangled Up In Blue - August 13, 2009 reply

Today's game...

Hopefully the Cubs can salvage one here, but with Lee on the mound I don’t have a great feeling. However, these are the games that the Cubs seem to win.

I just hope they play with a little bit of fire today and don’t wait until they are down 9 to start cutting into the lead.

Just in time...

to watch the Cubs dwindle away their season…

Now that's the kinda fightin' spirit I like to see!

carmen_fanzone - August 13, 2009 reply

The last week has been a killer

They look awful.
It’s times like these that make things difficult for fans

Agreed

It’s not easy to Lose and not break a sweat…but the Cubs have seem to do that this week

Is it true they haven't won a series vs.a winning team since APRIL?

no

I could've sworn I saw that in an article right before the Phils series

they're wrong

we beat Houston down to .500 at some point, but it was after April.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090811&content_id=6364690&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

here it is:

“The Cubs have not won a series against a team with a winning record since April, which is a trend that has to end if they expect to make the postseason.”

its wrooong

so we've won ONE series against a winning team since April

that’s still not remotely impressive

I don't think anyone

is suggesting that it’s impressive. Just that it’s untrue.

actually, it may not be

The sentence didn’t say “the Cubs haven’t beaten a team that didn’t have a winning record at the time” It says a team with a winning record. The stros might have had a winning record when that series started, but they don’t now.

So TECHNICALLY the statement is true. I guess it depends on how you read the sentence.

this

Better than nothin'.

Doesn't that make them...

a .500 team? They lose to teams over .500 and beat teams under .500

The Cubs beat Milwaukee 3 of 4 in July

when the Brewers were above .500. But your point is noted.

And Milwaukee has decided they like that side of the .500 mark

The below .500 side?

Sure. But I think it’s also important to look at how the Cubs played against teams during the course of the season – Milwaukee was playing good baseball when the came to Chicago, and the Cubs took 3 of 4.

Early May sweep of Marlins

was, I believe, the last series win against a team CURRENTLY above .500.

STLCubby - August 13, 2009 reply

that seems like forever ago.

This whole above or below .500 thing is rather murky, isn't it?

Yes

at least with respect to teams that bounce above and below .500 during the year. But you’d like to think the Cubs, if we consider them a playoff caliber team, could take a series every now and then against a legitimate contender.

STLCubby - August 13, 2009 reply

It'd be nice.

And there’s still time: 4 at LA, 4 at San Francisco, 3 at St. Louis and 1 vs. the White Sox.

Never know what can happen in those 12 games.

Agree.

But the “at” part scares me.

No strong evidence to suggest that they can turn it around, but still blindly optimistic that they will.

STLCubby - August 13, 2009 reply

That's kind of how I feel, too.

The “at” part is scary, but if the rotation actually gets back together, things could be looking up.

HARDASS ALERT!

“I do what I want to do and say what I want to say,” Arroyo said, according to the report. “But society has made this such a tainted thing. The media has made it where people look at it in such a super-negative light. I’ve always been honest. I’m not going to stop now.”

Keep doing what you're doing

if you like being on waivers

what is "it"

some context might be nice

whoops sorry

here’s the link

wow, it's official. Bronson Arroyo is a freaking dumbass

Maybe the Cardinals will sign him....

“It might be dangerous, but so is drinking and driving. And how many of us do it at least once a year? Pretty much everybody.”

way way way wait...he actually said that?

I gotta read this.

indeed

now I’m clicking.

LOL

Somewhere in a MADD meeting, a mother’s head explodes…

carmen_fanzone - August 13, 2009 reply

At the end of the day, you think anybody really [cares] whether Manny Ramirez’s kidneys fail and he dies at 50?

Any one wanna bet what was really said instead of “[cares]”? :P

I think Manny’s mommy might care. But that’s just mommy being mommy.

I liked the part right before that

But as far as looking at Manny Ramirez like he’s [serial killer] Ted Bundy, you’re out of your mind.

I mean, Manny’s eccentric, but really?

well

has anyone actually ever looked in his fridge? DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN!

How does he “think” he’s on the list? I thought the players who were on the list were told they were on the list?

I think there's some debate on if they were told

Ortiz said the same thing that he hadn’t been notified in 2003, either. Supposedly, players were told that the government obtained the results and names, but didn’t actually tell players if they were on the list (you know, since the list was supposed to be destroyed).

that interview was just one poorly thought out comment after another

Somewhere Bronson’s agent is doing repeating face palms

you can't do repeating facepalms

unless you remove your palm from your face…. and in that note bronson can’t do them either as he can’t fit his hands where his head currently resides.

tootle - August 13, 2009 reply

I thought (and was sort of hoping)...

the you were going to post the link to this.

hahaha

That's hilarious! More evidence of harm from PEDs...That singer looks like he's a had a tub of coffee.

DudeVf11 - August 13, 2009 reply

Thanks for the link. Is this guy Jerry Springer's off-spring?

I appreciate the honesty in his comments and I’d agree with him on the incentives. I might say it differently but it’s much more reasonable to me to have the opinion that most players were baked on PEDs. The list is irrelevant to me, the game is pretty much the list.

DudeVf11 - August 13, 2009 reply

Just wait, he's going to write a folk song about it.

I thought it was more like Christian Rock

chilango2 - August 13, 2009 reply

OT RIP Les Paul

link.

A true legend.

Always wanted one of his namesake guitars.

I've got one for PS3

Close enough.

I've enjoyed his guitar playing and the massive contribution and innovation in recording technology....

but I’ve never been a fan of the Les Paul guitar. Leo Fender got it right the first time.

Eh, I like 'em all.

You gotta admit, Jimmy Page looked pretty damn cool playing that low-slung Les Paul back in the day.

The first Led Zepplin album was recorded with a telecaster.

Yeah, but I'm talkin' live, man, live!

Not practice?

No! Live, man, live!

Those were the days my friend...

The Physical Graffiti tour was my first rock’n roll concert – I must have been 12 or 13 at the time.

eths - August 13, 2009 reply

Very cool.

They’d already broken up by the time I reached “concert-going age,” but I’ll always have “How the West Was Won.”

Whoa, my iPod is on shuffle and it just started playing a Zeppelin song.

Seriously.

that's John Bonham

sending you a message from beyond the Stairway to Heaven…

I think he's saying...

…“Watching today’s Cubs game will be like slamming your head into my giant, flaming gong.”

But I shall not listen to you, Bonzo! I shall not surrender!

If they ask you to Come to Chicago

you may be in some trouble…

I'm kind of a Fender man myself

but I have to admit, a Les Paul through a Marshall stack sounds awesome.

HoodooMan - August 13, 2009 reply

showing the resilience of a telecaster.

Yet another reason I prefer a tele....compare the above pic to this video...

Dead serious - my iPod is playing a Stones song right now.

(And that clip is classic.)

I'm holding a telecaster on my lap right now.

tell her to get up

you can’t see the TV.

Can't see youtube at work

but I’m guessing it’s a Townsend bashing. Ever seen how much trouble he had with his Strat at Monterey Pop? Took him about 6 smashes to destroy it.

HoodooMan - August 13, 2009 reply

Close, but no cigar.

Based on your above comment

it must be the Stones.

HoodooMan - August 13, 2009 reply

i cant play a guitar

but les pauls are kick ass

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2009/8/13/988011/the-5-stages-of-being-a-cubs-fan

Which of the "5 Stages of BEing a Cubs Fan in 2009" are YOU in?

Zeke - August 13, 2009 reply

Ted speaks:

@payoff_pitch: Ted Lilly: “I don’t think that just because Carlos and I get back into the rotation, St. Louis is going to lay down.” #Cubs

Of course they won’t lay down, Ted! But you will RUN THEM DOWN! And then you’ll back up your Lillymobile and RUN THEM DOWN AGAIN!

Wow. Wow. talking crap to the team you're looking up at?

Did he attend the “Jimmy Rollins School for Winning Friends and Influencing People” during his DL Stint?

how is that talking crap?

He is basically saying StL is going to finish strong.

I think you may be misreading this.

Dude, you are so right on

take that and suck on it

yup, I saw the comma as a period.

I thought he was saying St. Louis was going to lay down

Uh, yeah, read it again. He's not talking crap.

I'd like to rescind this statement due to poor reading comprehension on my behalf

Sorry, I'm too Amped Up

To make a post today.

LEE AMP HIM UP!

the guitar shown above isnt amped up

Make sure to turn it all the way up to 11.

Because 11 is one louder than 10.

Flatley - August 13, 2009 reply

This is for Cliff Lee

A Spellcheck Special:

This is why the Cubs will win today

CubsFanInWisconsin - August 13, 2009 reply

it sems as though the offense is nothing without Rami in the Lineup

he’s been out most of this last week and look and the win-loss, its pathetic. the first, what 2 weeks or so after the ASG we had the best record in baseball. ARAM leaves and we are shit again. This team needs to fix that problem.

Can you believe what that fan did last night?

It totally Amped up Philly.

OMG - it was nutdrinkingamp12!!

That guy hassles everyone!!!

Question

I know the guy who appeared to have poured/dropped his beer was ejected, but wondered if there was/would be any other punishment.

Just curious and wondered if anyone knew.

lji001 - August 13, 2009 reply

yes,

apparently he’ll be forced to rewatch the last 8 Cubs games.

Oh man...

That would be awful

lji001 - August 13, 2009 reply

well the guy that threw the beer wasn't ejected, another guy was...

dtc0405 - August 13, 2009 reply

Do you mean any other punishment against the guy who DIDN'T throw the beer?

If so, I doubt it. But:

@PWSullivan: Cubs, Victorino file formal complaints with Chicago police. Search for fugitive beer-tosser is on. http://bit.ly/3vjJRz

I wonder if the "wrong" fan is going

to get an apology or free tix from the Cubs now.

Doubt it.

Quite frankly, he asked for it. He was clearly celebrating what the Tosser did and generally exacerbating the situation.

heh

“the tosser”

/British humour

Ha, yeah. There's a cool band called The Tossers, too.

I agree.

It looked like he was almost celebrating. I was watching the game on tv and I re-watched when it happened. It did not seem like the one ejected tossed it (or if he did, that it was intentional), but I could not tell for sure on my tv/the replay.

lji001 - August 13, 2009 reply

So for you saber guys,

Al mentioned the babip of the team and them being “unlucky” with their LD%. Or could that also mean our hitters are stubborn and try to pull the ball. And the other team has their spray chart down and the Cubs hit into their normal spots.

Maybe hitting the ball where it is pitched rather than trying to pull everything would help.

Do I have that right? I am a novice when it comes to the new stats such as babip and whatnot.

Not correct...

BABIP is mostly if not all luck. Any pitcher can have varying stats on this from year to year. ie..Dempster had a really low BABIP last year…meaning he was getting a little lucky. This year, it’s obviously not the case. I don’t know his BABIP this year, but you can bet it is much higher than last year.

Player's fielding and positions obviously helps...

but this is mostly a luck stat. One team could be lining out (a la the Cubs) and another could be hitting bloopers (see Matt Holliday’s first game). It’s hard to say how much positioning has to do with it.

So my thesis could be true.

Two teams with lower BABIP than the Cubs

Cardinals & Phillies. Both of them have pretty decent lineups. I don’t think chalking the Cubs up to being unlucky as the reason they’re not performing.

However, LD% does correlate with BABIP, as LDs are typically much more difficult to convert into an out than GB or FB (that don’t leave the park), which does suggest they may be a little unlucky.

Not surprised

the Birds are lower on this list…Pucrap just doens’t ever strike out

Ks have nothing to do with BABIP

It is batting average on balls in play, or:

(H-HR)/(AB-K-HR+SF)

My point is

That not striking out means you’re putting more balls in play…either a LD or a crap swing ground out…which if you’ve seen large albert get out without hitting the ball hard, he usually will put some crappy half swing to the right side

Oh, I gotcha now

Was going down a different train of thought. You may have a point there. He also hits a lot of deep fly balls when he puts wood on it – but misses out on all the HRs which don’t count in the equation either.

So instead of a strike out which is subtracted from the calculation

he gets a ball put in play that will go against BABIP

So does that mean Pujols usually has a lower babip since he doesn't get the

k’s subtracted from this measure.

I'm not saying he does

but it would make sense to me if he did, just because of how many balls he puts in play. Even though he hits .330+, Soriano (if he could hit .300) would have a higher BABIP because he strikes out with the best of them

Its a good point and something I hadn't thought about.

Although

this isn’t really a good excuse for the Cubs having a low BABIP…because they do like to strike out (especially in key situations)

Back to my original thought?

DartmouthCubsFan - August 13, 2009 reply

i think some of it has to do with his enormous power

and the lift he gets on his swing…

most of the balls he squares up leave the yard and thus aren’t in play

this creates a scenario where the balls left in play tend to be his weaker hit balls that are turned into outs

Aren't SOs subtracted from all babip measures?

hey guys and gals

haven’t been around much lately, been really busy. But I’ve been thinking about all of you on the boards during all of these awful cubs losses. I hope everyone is hanging in there.

heine41 - August 13, 2009 reply

Shark sent down to Iowa

Not sure if this was posted yet, but that was quick.

Did you expect otherwise?

No I guess you're right.

They had probably made the decision before he came out of the game.

Did he think he's performance last night warranted another start?

Yes, check the Fanshot bar.

oops. Missed that one. Sorry

That should've been what Lou told him on the mound.

“Nice try kid, now find yourself a bus outta here.”

well played

now

here’s hoping they treat him properly down there. I doubt this is punitive anyway. Who did they bring up?

(Ice) Berg

welp, I thought I'd join yall on here maybe I'll bring good luck

haven’t been on posting on this board consistently since the DC series, so that’s gotta help…right??

Oh and whats up everybody??

Suffering, basically.

Welcome back, Chanman. If the Cubs win today, you will be locked into every game thread from here on out.

haha oh goody

seems like I picked a good summer to have two jobs; looks like I haven’t missed much yet this year.

If today's game

is like the last 4, Ron might do a swan dive out of the radio booth….

Let’s hope for a W !!

jthack - August 13, 2009 reply

Listened to the 1st inning on the radio last night and

I thought Ron was dying by all the moaning going on in the background of Pat’s play calling

haha oh goody

I guess I picked a good summer to have two jobs. Seems like I haven’t missed much this year at all.

I can see you're a little rusty on the whole posting thing.

haha yeah

I need to perform some towel drills, I guess

Are you guys ready to.....