Archive - Jun 21, 2008

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First, the Z news:

The Cubs have placed Carlos and his shoulder strain on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 19th (Zambrano's second career trip to the Disabled List, the other coming in 2002), and they have recalled Eric Patterson from Iowa. Patterson is in Lou Piniella's lineup this afternoon, playing left field and hitting second.

As for the game at hand, the first-place Cubs go for their 13th consecutive win at Wrigley and try to improve on their overall 30-8 record at home, while trying to extend a four-game winning streak over the White Sox, the longest streak either team has enjoyed since interleague play began in '97.

The White Sox—with a mark of 17-21 away from U.S. Cellular Fans Beating Up Opposition's First-Base Coach Field—try to avoid their 8th consecutive road loss.

And everybody hopes that those isolated thunderstorms find somewhere else to play besides the corner of Clark & Addison.

Hello again from Des Moines, the soggy branch office of the Chicago Cubs National League ballclub.

A bizarre homestand that began last weekend with a flood-delayed game played behind closed doors as a public safety precaution ended last night with the season's largest crowd witnessing the latest episode in the unraveling of Rich Hill.

One night after Sean Marshall required only 87 pitches to get 24 outs, Hill scatter-gunned 45 before he was taken into custody after a mere two-thirds of the first inning.

He hit batters, batters hit him, he walked #'s 29, 30, 31 and 32 in 28 Iowa innings, threw in a wild pickoff throw that seemed almost gratuitous and generally made a[n] [Steve Bl]ass of himself before being ushered to the showers by tepid applause that was as unwarranted here as it would have been at a gallows.

How appropos that the opponent for the Iowa Floods was the New Orleans Hurricane.

The visitors' operatic lineup sparkled with Gustavos and Casanovas and Rauls and Valentinos and Pascuccis.

Understudies to Marshall on Thursday night, they killed Hill in the first act on Friday before the concessionaires had beaten back the first charge of a crowd in excess of 11k.

Marshall apparently won't be here much longer. He's ripe and ready for the call. As for Hill, he's best-suited right now for casting as Nuke Laloosh in a 'Bull Durham' remake.

The anti-climactic pitching note of the evening was the appearance of a young moose named Estrada for the I-Cubs. Recently promoted from Tennessee where his #'s were ordinary, he's listed at 6'8" and 260#. So far in two stints here he's allowed five hits and two runs in seven innings while walking zero and fanning 10. File him under future reference.

Following the good example of their parent club the I-Cubs now hit the road still in first place - high and, more importantly, dry...MW