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SP	Edgar Gonzalez	SP	Sean Gallagher
	1-2, 7.20, 11 K, 12 BB		0-0, 4.50, 1 K, 1 BB
2B	#Augie Ojeda	LF	Reed Johnson
LF	Eric Byrnes	SS	Ryan Theriot
CF	Chris Young	1B	Derrek Lee
1B	Conor Jackson	3B	Aramis Ramirez
RF	Justin Upton	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
SS	*Stephen Drew	C	Geovany Soto
3B	Mark Reynolds	2B	Mark DeRosa
C	*Miguel Montero	CF	*Felix Pie
P	Edgar Gonzalez	P	Sean Gallagher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather is bleak enough in Chicago to force both managers to change their starting pitchers for the game. Instead of the Big Unit vs Big Z, it's going to be Gallagher vs. Gonzalez. That is, if they get this in. The radar map actually looks like it should clear up relatively soon.

Either way, Z will be pushed back tomorrow. Let's hope he still breaks out the pink shoes and pink batting gloves when he does pitch.

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SP	Max Scherzer	SP	Ryan Dempster
	0-1, 5.40, 12 K, 2 BB		4-1, 2.72, 29 K, 20 BB
2B	#Augie Ojeda	LF	Alfonso Soriano
SS	*Stephen Drew	SS	Ryan Theriot
CF	Chris Young	1B	Derrek Lee
1B	Conor Jackson	3B	Aramis Ramirez
RF	Justin Upton	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
3B	Mark Reynolds	C	Geovany Soto
C	Chris Snyder	2B	Mark DeRosa
LF	Jeff Salazar	CF	Reed Johnson
P	Max Scherzer	P	Ryan Dempster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cubs go for their first series win in a few weeks and have already bucked their recent trend of dropping the first game, winning the second and then losing the rubber game. I look forward to the new trend of sweeping a couple series in a row.

Felix Pie must be on his way to Iowa as he's out of the lineup again versus a righty, losing playing time to a suddenly mortal Reed Johnson.

When judging the performance of a prospect or minor league position player at the plate, player development people usually look most-closely at what the player has done over his last ten games rather than over the entire season, since the whole point of playing in the minor leagues is for a player to improve as the season progresses. (For starting pitchers, it's the last three starts, and for relievers, it's the last six outings).   

Here are the 20 hottest Cubs minor league position players at the plate over their last ten games (BA/OBP/SLG):

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Pitchers Duel

W - Lilly (3-4), batter's interference calls

L- Haren (4-2), jerks who didn't start Lilly in their fantasy leagues

S - Wood (6)

Box Score, Photos

 

Things to Take from This Game

1. Lilly Comes Through

Facing the best offense in baseball, one dominated by right-handed hitters, Lilly shut down the Diamondbacks to the tune of three hits, two walks, one earned run on a Chris Young Home Run, and ten strikeouts. He spotted the fastball well, with more velocity as the day went on, and had his harder curve and/or slider working for him. A really remarkable performance for Lilly.

2. Haren's good, not great

Haren also pitched very well. The key moment came in the fifth, when with a runner on second and two outs, he walked Johnson to get to Lilly. Lilly then singled through the middle for an RBI, and Soriano dropped a double in down the left field line. Lee added a home run off of Cruz in the eighth, completing the day's scoring

3. A Dominant Ninth for Wood

Wood threw nine strikes in the ninth, completely overpowering Young, Jackson and Upton. Easily the most dominant I've seen Wood, this year.

The this-is-what-I-get-for-not-being-a-fantasy-baseball-homer details, below.

 

 

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Marcus Hatley threw four shutout innings (thus becoming the first EXST Cubs pitcher to throw four), and George Matheus drove in two runs with a triple, scored the third run later that same inning, and made two outstanding defensive plays in the field, as the EXST Cubs defeated the EXST Giants 3-1 this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa. 

Prior to the EXST game, Chicago Cubs RHP Angel Guzman (on the 60-day DL after undergoing TJ surgery last September) continued his rehab, throwing a two-inning "simulated game" on Field #2.

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SP	Dan Haren	SP	*Ted Lilly
	4-1, 3.12, 36 K, 8 BB		2-4, 5.97, 29 K, 14 BB
LF	Eric Byrnes	LF	Alfonso Soriano
SS	*Stephen Drew	SS	Ryan Theriot
CF	Chris Young	1B	Derrek Lee
1B	Conor Jackson	3B	Aramis Ramirez
RF	Justin Upton	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
3B	Mark Reynolds	C	Geovany Soto
C	Chris Snyder	2B	Mark DeRosa
2B	Chris Burke	CF	Reed Johnson
P	Dan Haren	P	*Ted Lilly

 

 

 

 

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."

— Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) in Airplane

 

Timing is everything, and for the Cubs to be playing like hell when the 23-12 Diamondbacks show up at their door, well, the timing could be better.

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The Cubs catch a break this weekend, as the Diamondbacks come through town and the Cubs don't have to face two of their best pitchers. Brandon Webb pitched last night, and with all due respect to today's starter Danny Haren, the Cubs have to be happy to miss Micah Owings as well.

Even though Owings isn't pitching, though, we still might see him in the series. He's gotten quite a bit of press this year, but unlike Webb it's mostly been for his bat. Last week against the Astros, he hit a home run. To the opposite field. As a pinch hitter. In the sixth inning. After the opposing team brought in a reliever specifically to face him. Using a sawed-off piano leg as a bat.

OK, not that last one, but still. It was quite a feat. ESPN ran a great chart after that game. Here it is updated through today:

Highest Career OPS (min 75 PA):

1. Babe Ruth 1.164
2. Ted Williams1.116
3. Lou Gehrig 1.079
4. Micah Owings 1.056
5. Barry Bonds 1.051
6. Albert Pujols 1.041
7. Jimmie Foxx 1.037
8. Hank Greenberg 1.017
9. Geovanny Soto 1.011
9. Rogers Hornsby 1.011

While this isn't necessarily a candidate for inclusion in the next edition of How to Lie With Statistics, setting the bar at 75 PA is just the tiniest bit misleading. I mean, look who's tied with Hornsby! Still, that's pretty heady company, and there's no denying that Owings is an excellent hitting pitcher. With the help of the amazing BaseballReference.com Play Index, I pulled up a couple of other charts that put Owings' accomplishments in a bit more context:
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The Cubs get more than enough sentences around here, so here's a look at our divisional brothers:

• Despite all of their pitching injuries, a shaky closer, and having Cesar Izturis in the lineup most days, the Cards continue to soldier on.

• Only two NL teams have worse records over the past ten games than the 3-7 Cubs, and the Brewers, with four-homer-hittin', veggie-burger-eatin' Prince Fielder, are one of them.

• With all of the Reds' young talent, plus Homer Bailey and Jay Bruce waiting in the wings, only a numbskull could get in the way of their becoming a very dangerous team, very soon.

• That bargain Nate McLouth apparently struck with the devil continues to pay handsome dividends.

• Sorry, but regardless of Kaz Matsui's contributions to the Astros' recent hot string, I cannot read or hear his name without immediately thinking of the term "anal fissure."

As for Felix Pie, Paul Sullivan writes/reports/spectulates? in the Tribune that one of the possible "changes" Lou Piniella has recently referred to could be the demotion of Felix Pie to Iowa, with Andres Torres--on a 23-game hitting streak for the I-Cubs that has lifted his average to .352--coming to Wrigley Field. Rogers points out that Pie is hitting .061 (2-for-33 with 22 K's) when the count against him gets to two strikes.

Mark Pawelek threw three shutout innings, and the EXST Cubs strung together four consecutive two-out RBI hits in the top of the 7th inning, en route to a 4-1 victory over the EXST A's in a "Rush Hour Special" (9 AM start) at the Papago Sports Complex in Phoenix. 

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This Ain't Pleasure.

W - Volquez (5-1), Mascots and umpires getting injured in funny ways

L - Lieber (2-2), 3+ hours of my life

Box Score, Photos

 

Things to Take from This Game

1. The Votto (and many others) Game.

Here is a list of Reds starters who did not hit home runs: Patterson, Griffey, Encarnacion, and the pitcher, Volquez. Joey Votto was the worst at not hitting home runs, as he failed to not hit home runs three times, against three different pitchers, to three different parts of the ball park.

2. Lieber? We barely saw 'er.

Lieber was terrible in his first start of the year. The second inning featured four home runs, to Votto, Dunn (back to back), Bako and Hairston. Just didn't have much in the way of stuff, with spotty command inside of the strike zone. It's not like Marshall or Gallagher were any better in relief

3. Can't Hit Volquez.

Volquez issued four early walks (and a couple late ones), but the Cubs couldn't hit him and he settled in after the first couple innings. Ten K's through seven, no runs, four hits.

4. Dusty, Dusty, Dusty....

What an idiot! Here we have one of the most talented young pitchers in the game, part of our core for the next several years, and with a 9-0 lead, and it's raining, and he's thrown 90-plus pitches, Dusty lets him come out for the seventh? With a rested bullpen? And there isn't even anyone up at the beginning of the inning, in case he struggles? What is he thinking? You're telling me there isn't a reliever who can cover a 9-0 lead for three innings? Of course, the young stud struggles through the inning, is painfully, clearly, visibly tired, and needs pitch number 118 to finally get through the inning??!?!

 

Oh, wait. Dusty is the Reds' manager, now? Nevermind.

5. Did I mention it rained?

And there was no one at the park, and it was deathly silent. What a wretched game to watch.

 

The all wet details, below.

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