Game 115 Thread / Astros @ Cubs (3 of 3)

saturday night games in wrigley would be awesome

Sean Gallagher is expected to go on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. A source told the San Francisco Chronicle that Gallagher felt a "pop" in the shoulder in his July 25 start against Texas.

Jason Marquis, winless in his last six starts (0-4, 5.25)

That is not a really fair look at Marquis.

Four of his last five starts been solid or good, all being "quality starts," which should be more than enough to win on this team.

...then Erin Andrews could cover the games in a cocktail dress.

Hmm... and maybe Bruce Levine can wear a Tux or something.

Oh wait... we don't care what he wears, because he is a guy.

I am so done with Carlos Lee, just go away.

Dave, can you try to go one day without an "Umm"? I challenge you!

Amazing that they continue to throw CLee strikes.

Andrews, meanwhile, said she did nothing wrong.

"These players are not into me like that," said told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "If anything, I think these guys look at me like a little sister or one of the guys."

Riiiiggght. One of the guys they want to nail.

I don't get our pitchers keep giving Lee opportunities to beat us. Intentionally walk him, throw him crap, or put the god damn ball in his flabby ribs, but don't throw him fast balls over the plate. Eeeesh.

I mean, really, this is not that complicated --- 2 outs, 2 on, a .228 hitting SS on deck...and you throw CLee (who is Pujols when he is in Wrigley) something to hit?

WTF?????????????????????

DeRosa's been putting a charge into the ball the last few days. After coming up 2 feet short of being the hero the other night, it looks like he had an extra bowl of Wheaties this morning.

DeRo!

Deee-Roh!!

Now, get Marquis the hell out of there.

I'll take this a step further...I don't even think Andrews is that good at what she does. She generally asks lousy questions along the lines of, "So, how do you feel right now?"

I can't think right now of a "good" sideline reporter, but I don't think she's one of the better ones.

She is, however, smoking hot.

MARQUIS....DFA

1. Mark DeRosa, I think I like you a little.

2. Oh my.

I think the wheels have come off for Backe. Soriano just ANNIHILATED that pitch.

Bob Brenly: This is why you don't send Geovany Soto on what could have been a close play at home plate.

(less than 2 seconds later)

Kasper: SORIANO DEEP TO LEFT, THAT BALL'S GONE!!! A HOME RUN! OH HO BABY!

I might have to ask Brenly for the Mega Millions numbers this week.

Wow!!! Two outs, man on first, then -- BOOM! Eight big runs.

Really, really like having Fonzie back.

Marquis, you just got bailed out, don't piss off your teammates by ruining it now.

Speaking of incredibly attractive women who are respected in their professions, here's possibly the most beautiful woman in the world:

http://www.mychillpill.net/wp-content/uploads/2008...

Well that was fun.

Imagine the last few minutes from the Brewers' perspective. They finish off the Reds and take one last look at the scoreboard, Cubs down 4-1.

By the time they get to the clubhouse and flip on ESPN it's 9-4 Cubs.

That's got to suck just a little bit.

Also, if Erin Andrews were my little sister I might have to rethink my position on incest.

Boy, Marquis barely got out of that one. I hope he isn't planning on throwing any strikes to Carlos Lee next inning.

Theriot out -- hurt, or just a rest? Odd, given that tomorrow is an off day.

Cubs lead the NL in BOTH OBP and SLG, and thus lead the league in runs scored by a wide margin -- 604 runs vs. 558 for the 2nd place Phils. Today's game will likely improve all 3 metrics.

So, while no individual is having a killer year (maybe Fonzie on a pro-rated basis), the team certainly is.

Well done, Jim Hendry.

This may go against the mainstream opinion, but I believe Marquis is an above average starting pitcher for the role he plays on the Cubs - 5th starter. Somewhere on this site there must be a sabermetrician, cruncher of numbers, (where are you Dave from the old site?), who could no doubt prove my point. If you take Marquis' GS, W/L, ERA, IP, SO to BB ratio, etc., and compare Marquis against every other 5th SP in the majors, I would be very surprised if he wasn't in the top 5 - maybe even top 2-3.

The frustration most Marquis-haters have is that they compare him to other teams #2 or #3 starters and that ISN'T the role he's been asked to play for the Cubs. Getting Harden solved that issue. Marquis' job on the Cubs is take the ball every 5th day, pitch 6+ innings, so Z, Harden, Dempster, Lilly aren't over-used and the bullpen isn't blown out every 4-5th game. In his first 20 starts he's logged 117 1/3 IP, 6-7 record, 4.68 ERA.

Marquis is doing everything the Cubs could have hoped from a #5 starter. Is he overpaid for most 5th starters? Hell, yes. But I don't think any of us need to hold a fund-raiser for a team that's going to draw 3.3 million fans this year and is going to be sold for north of $750 million.

The bitch of it is for Marquis is that he almost certainly won't make the playoff roster as they won't need 12 pitchers in the playoffs.

Also, the Cubs should walk Carlos Lee every other time he bats against them this season anytime the Cubs have less than a 6 run lead.

I agree, although I too would like to see the numbers to back it up. I have the impression his ERA and Quality Start stats have been pretty damned solid for a #5.

He pales in comparison to the other Cubs starters, but the Cubs have arguably three aces (Z, Dempster, Harden) and another guy (Lilly) who would be a #2 or #3 on most teams.

I support Marquis. He competes, he hits, he pinch runs, he's solid. He gets paid too much, but since it's not my wallet, I don't care. I just want to see the Cubs win.

FWIW, I'd also rather see Marquis than Howry on the postseason roster. :-)

EDIT - And apparently I failed to hit the reply button... argh.

give him a break hes just trying to support his family
times are tough for the marquis family

Well said George Altman re: Marquis.

Also, it always gets lost in the mix that he makes all his starts. Would Marshall do that? One of the reasons I think Hendry got both Lilly and Marquis was durability. Each has made all their starts for the last 5 years now except one year for Lilly. After the year when the Cubs started either 16 or 17 different pitchers, Hendry got the concept of durability of starters having a trickle-down effect to the bullpen.

What I hated about Marquis yesterday was a 2-out walk to Hunter F'in Pence with Berkman and Lee to follow.

If my math from last week was correct, Marquis has now had 21 starts, and the Cubs are 12-9 in those games, despite his W-L record. Some of that is certainly due to the prolific run totals the team is putting up, but some of it is also because his starts have been competitive.

All that said, if the Cubs continue to win half of Marquis' starts the rest of the year, I'll have very little to complain about.

Watching the highlights -- interesting reaction from Backe after the ball left Soriano's bat. He threw his hands up in disgust -- either at himself, at his catcher, or at his manager for leaving him out there to absorb the pain of an 8-run inning -- perhaps a combination of all 3.