Gameday Open Thread / Cubs @ Diamondbacks

The Cubs and Diamondbacks play in Tucson, their first meeting since the clubs matched up in last season's NLDS. (I don't recall who won.) Carlos Zambrano makes his second appearance of the Spring after pitching two scoreless innings against the Giants last Friday. Kosuke Fukudome had a big day in yesterday's loss to the Brewers, collecting three hits while batting in the two hole. Plus he has learned how to yank Bruce Miles's chain.

And what in the world is Jim Hendry talking about? He must not read Jeff Zrebiec.

Tags: 
Cubs Spring Training
Cubs Trade Rumors
Gameday Open Thread
Jim Hendry
Submitted by Cubnut on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 12:48pm
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Comments

Submitted by jeffy777
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 12:48pm

Don't recall who won, hehe :)

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 1:30pm

Did anyone see where Lou is moving The-riot to the 7th spot? I say kudo's if indeed he does such a thing. In reality, Theriot is the prototypical NL 8th man. He handles the bat well and he takes pitches. Plus he's an adept bunter and can has speed to move around the bases while a pitcher is up.

Submitted by Ginto
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 1:34pm

Exactly, Dr. Aaron. I question Theriot being a starting SS to begin with but to bat him 2nd is absolutely insane (unless it's a temporary deal because he's absolutely on a roll). Much more comfortable with him at #7. Really wish we'd have gotten Renteria. He'd look pretty good in front of Lee, E-Ram, etc...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 2:45pm

No MLB.tv no radio no nada.

Christ, Zambrano hit a HR. Now he's going to be corkscrewing himself into the ground all year and going on the DL with lower back problems.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 3:42pm

but what is Kyle Lohse thinking about right now?

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:07pm

1st PA: 3 called strikes -- out
2nd PA: tries a different tactic, swing at the ball
3 swinging strikes -- out
3rd PA: hits first pitch -- fly out
4th PA: hits first pitch -- ground out

Baltimore Scouts heading back to Phoenix to beat traffic.

Submitted by billybucks
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:12pm

Oh, sure...NOW they shut down Augie.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:20pm

Looks like Wuertz had a solid debut - 1 inning, no hits, 2 k's. It did look like Pie had an outfield assist of some sort at least. Perhaps Arizona Phil will tell us about it later. Hard to tell much from the box score.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:38pm

Don't think AZ Phil travels to Tucson, it's almost a two hour trip I believe from Mesa. Could be wrong though...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:22pm

Looks like Weurtz was sharp. Hopefully he can end ST with an ERA under 7 this year and make the team from the get-go.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:46pm

Well, the 8th inning is not going to help Lou's impression of these young pitchers.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:21pm

I'll forgive Campusano, he's trying to come back from TJ surgery...Lahey apparently wants to go back to Minnesota though.

Submitted by RI Mike
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 4:58pm

Better outing by Z this time? The line looks good in the box, but I neither heard nor saw anything. Any comments?

Submitted by Rich.P
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:12pm

So we lost again, huh?

Submitted by Rich.P
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:12pm

what the hell happened in the 8th?

Submitted by Rich.P
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:13pm

Rob.G - any way of making the site more blackberry friendly?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:20pm

I'll say no, because I have no idea how to do that...

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:22pm

Are you using flat-list display?

Submitted by Rich.P
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:28pm

Not sure. All I know is that it is almost impossible to comment.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 7:15pm

It works fine on my iPhone

Submitted by T-Dubs
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 7:20pm

Agreed - I can't make any sense of it on the Blackberry.

Submitted by misterwhipple
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:14pm

Great site guys! This is so exciting. I hope the Cubs' starting pitching looks as good this year.

Submitted by Nazey
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:17pm

Looking at the box score:

Cubs hitters: 0 walks, 9 K's.

Wow, that's encouraging.

Cubs pitchers: 6 walks.

Even better.

Thank goodness it's only ST right?

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:39pm

I guess our Cubbies are in midseason form.

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:42pm

I'd rather have a seizure than watch bad baseball.
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1518071&vid=212976

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 6:01pm

I get sick going on a merry go round, if this video causes seizures you should not be watching TV.

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 6:13pm

The video failed the Harding Test and was pulled from MTV because it could cause epileptic seizures. I thought it was pretty cool. It gets pretty wild about halfway through.

Submitted by billybucks
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 5:23pm

How come our crappy guys keep losing to the other team's crappy guys?

Submitted by John Beasley
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 6:32pm

It's official: Stoney replaces Chris Singleton on White Sox radio this year.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?y...

Submitted by 10man
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 8:47pm

that's just sad

Submitted by Bleeding Blue
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 9:49pm

I so predicted this! Somewhere in the depths of the TCR archives, I said Stoney would become the White Sox radio guy.

I just said it 2 years early - I thought he'd take the job when WSCR got the broadcast rights and they kicked Rooney down to St. Louis.

Submitted by jacos
on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 7:09am

It's a one year contract just long enough for new Cub ownership to come in after the season.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 7:14pm

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080305&content_id=240...

. Hitting coach Gerald Perry has noticed that Kosuke Fukudome is breaking a lot of bats, including the one he used to hit a home run on Tuesday. Fukudome apparently is taking some of his bats home to keep them in a more humid atmosphere. The dry Arizona weather may be contributing to the breakage. The bats are made of tamo, a Japanese ash, and are individually wrapped.

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been pushed back, and was expected to play on Friday. He's been sidelined with a sore right shoulder.

and Lou showing the sense of humor regarding Z's first appearance vs the Dbacks since the NLDS
"We're going to let him go three innings today," Piniella said. "I'm not going to pull him."

Submitted by Wes
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 7:32pm

I knew a kid who insisted on using only tamo bats. Wasn't from Japan, though. He was from Sheboygan. Some kind of superstition, I think. He played with a Japanese player once and borrowed a bat..so on and so forth and the next thing you knew he wouldn't use any other bat.

Seemed to me he broke an awful lot of 'em throughout the course of a full season, though. Seemed like 2 or 3 times a week he'd come back with a splintered bat.

I always thought ash broke more often than maple. But, my knowledge of bat construction doesn't go much further than fungoes. I think maple explodes more violently, but is generally more durable.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 7:46pm

Goldstein puts the Cubs at #16, up from #21 last year

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7188

Last Year's Ranking: 21
Why They're Up: The struggles of Donald Veal and the graduation of Felix Pie are both offset by Geovany Soto's breakout seasons and what is looking like a very strong 2007 draft.
Strengths: Solid offensive prospects at nearly every level, with Josh Vitters providing big-time potential. Despite disappointing 2007 performances, there are several power arms in the system.
Weaknesses: Very little pitching that is close to being ready to help; Soto's move to the majors leaves little else in the way of power.
Outlook for 2009 Ranking: Down a tad. Soto is now in the majors; Sean Gallagher and Eric Patterson could both be moving on or out as well.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 8:15pm

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080305&content_id=2406366&vkey...

he did play CF today...

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 9:48pm

Is Inge good? I was under the impression he was on of the "good guys", but really wasn't all that great of a ball player.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 10:45pm

inge is probably one of the best 3rd basemen in the game with a lazer arm, but when he dropped below 20hr power he became another marginal pedro feliz type.

if he was only in better physical shape he'd probably attract more interest. he's gonna be 31 this year with some questionable loot tied to him for a couple years.

Submitted by Ryno
on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 12:03am

Thanks. I can see value to bringing him on if a. he can be acquired at a reasonable asking price, b. the salary is tolerable, and c. he's not going to demand to be in the lineup every day.

He could sure up 3B & CF with Ramirez's health sometimes suspect and shallow CF coverage.

I'm going to go to bed tonight and pray to the baseball gods that when Inge wakes up tomorrow, he'll be left-handed.

Submitted by mannytrillo
on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 10:10am

No. And nowhere worth the $6.2 million he is owed in 2008, or the $6.3 million he is owed in 2009 or the $6.5 million he is owed in 2010. Detroit would have to seriously eat like $12 million to dump him.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 8:27pm

http://deadspin.com/364190/the-indians-are-once-again-giving-away-free-m...

Submitted by 10man
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 9:07pm

I could see Zell going for that Indians money night except the Cubs fans would be handed an envelope and they would be asked to give anywhere from $1 to $10,000 to the team. We could call it the Carlos Zambrano Battered Teammates Fund.

Submitted by mannytrillo
on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 10:01am

We actually did that promotion last year in Connecticut sponsored by a bank. Of course, we only gave away like $2,000, but same concept. It obviously went over pretty well.

Submitted by CUBBY
on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 11:58pm

Last night on NHK (Japan's version of PBS) there was a close-up on K-Fuk. Maybe they were waiting for him to have a good offensive day who knows. Anyway the cute little announcer chick was teasing him about how relieved he must be to have had a good day at the plate, but he shrugged it off and tried to be nonchalant, saying his natural talent just did its thing. But then he says he's putting the bat (which he's holding during the interview) in his trophy case to commemorate his first HR (albeit in spring) versus opposing ML pitching. So of course she's able to get him to admit it means something to him at that point.
After that they talk about how hes adjusting to the team and he says all the perfunctory niceties about just being a great bunch of guys and all that. Then she hands him a placard and a marker and asks him to write down the word that best describes the teams situation right now. he wrote "楽", which means "fun" or "enjoyment", saying that right now everybody is just enjoying getting ready and he's having a great time.

as you were.

Submitted by The Joe
on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 12:21am

Cool. Thanks for that; I, for one, appreciate the translations.

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