Archive - May 12, 2008

Juggernaut

W - Zambrano (6-1), singling up the middle

L - Wolf (2-3), the pitiable foes who resist us

Box Score, Photos

Things to Take from This Game

1. Crooked Numbers

The Cubs put up six in the fifth and five in the sixth. For the life of me, I am not sure I've ever seen as many singles up the middle as I saw in this game. The big innings featured a home run, two doubles, five walks and six singles, five of them back up the middle. Len tells us that the Cubs lead the world in innings scoring 5 or more runs, with 13 so far this year.

2. (Sort of) Efficient Z

Zambrano cruised through the first and second innings on 9 pitches each. Even after laboring through the third, he needed just 95 pitches to go seven, before letting the bullpen protect a 9 run lead

3. Soriano heats up.

Soriano followed up yesterday's big game with another. A home run, a double, two RBI and two Runs scored. Welcome back.

4. Kouzmanoff's error

With the bases loaded, two outs and a full count in the sixth, DeRosa grounded one to Kouzmanoff, playing deep at third. Perhaps forgetting that the runners were all moving, he went to step on third for the inning-end force. Ramirez, however, just beat him to the bag. Kouzmanoff then threw wildly to first, and all three runners scored, blowing the game open at 11-2. How many consecutive games can Ramirez influence (for the better) with his feet?

If the recap seems a bit flat, it's because the mlb.tv feed wasn't great. It's also because my mind got the cyber-equivalent of being dropped in a blender with some mango and vanilla soy milk and served as a smoothy, due to reading and recapping nine full innings of parachat. The offensive-juggernaut game details, and a parachat recap that, even after careful editing, might be in violation of the Geneva Conventions, follows....

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Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

The struggling Padres roll into town, their league-worst offense versus the league's best. Yes, the Cubs do have the best offense in the league. Repeat. Enjoy. Savor. A look at the game notes that are chocked full of offensive goodness, shows that the Cubs lead the NL in OBP, 2nd in walks, first in runs scored (in the majors), and first in pitches seen per plate appearance. The Cubs are also tied for third in the NL with 10 come-from-behind victories. It's rather unique in my lifetime to have a good Cubs team and then look at the underlying numbers and realize that this is indeed a good Cubs team, and not a fluke. I'm not saying that the wheels might not come off at some point, I mean, they're one Carlos Zambrano arm injury from that happening, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

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The five hits that did the most to enhance the Cubs' chance of winning during a week that began with a disappointing series against a team in the throes of a long losing streak, but ended with a sweep of the club with the best record in the National League, as measured by FanGraphs' Win Probability Added (WPA):

#5 Big Hit: Tuesday, v. the Reds, 4th inning — After Geovany Soto whiffs with men at second and third, Ronny Cedeño connects for a two-out, two-run single to extend the Cubs lead to 3-0, which turns out to be more than cushion enough for Carlos Zambrano. Cedeño's hit was far and away the Cubs' biggest one during the three games in Cincinnati. WPA .172

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The EXST Cubs had a road game this morning, but Angel Guzman (September 2007 Tommy John surgery) and ex-catcher Jake Muyco (recently converted to pitcher) remained at Fitch Park, throwing "live" BP on Field #2 to three of the position players who did not make the trip (Bryan Jost, George Matheus, and Josh Vitters).  

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Steve Johnson, Chicago Cubs Yesterday & Today (Minneapolis: Voyageur Press) 2008. 144pp. $26.95

Any new addition to the collection of Chicago Cubs anthologies, encyclopedias and coffee table books is faced with the elemental problem of distinguishing itself from the dozens of other works competing for your beer money. In the case of Steve Johnson's Chicago Cubs Yesterday and Today, published by Voyageur Press, the pitch is twofold. First, instead of a chronological ordering that begins in the past and proceeds linearly towards the present, Johnson organized Yesterday and Today topically, juxtaposing pictures from different eras in Cubs history for side-by-side comparison. Hence the title. Second, Johnson presents an extensive and diverse selection of historical photos, many in color, from the archives of the Chicago Historical Society, the Hall of Fame, and private collections. While the execution of the whole "then and now concept" was about as consistent as a young Kerry Wood - full of promise, if alternatively brilliant and off target - the photo selection is more Greg Maddux - consistently great.

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False Modesty
"I'm not the ace. All five (starters) are the ace."
- Carlos Zambrano

"To me? On the first and 15th when the paycheck comes, that tells you the ace."
- Lou Piniella

We're Scared That You're Under Contract Through 2014
''It's more I'm scared because I was running a lot today and it was a little cold out. I think I'm OK. I have to play a little more and feel confident about my leg.''
- Alfonso Soriano

Questions Such As, "How Much Do You Hate Kevin Orie?"
"I've answered more questions about [the 20-K game] in the last three, four days than the week after it happened."
-Kerry Wood

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