Cubnut's Archives
Game 93 Thread / Giants @ Cubs (1 of 3)
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SP | Matt Cain |
SP |
Jason Marquis |
5-7, 4.30, 112 K, 50 BB, 119.1 IP |
6-5, 4.78 ERA, 49 K, 37 BB, 92.1 IP | ||
LF |
*Fred Lewis |
SS |
Ryan Theriot |
2B |
#Ray Durham | 2B |
*Mike Fontenot |
RF |
#Randy Winn |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
C |
Bengie Molina | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
CF |
Aaron Rowand | C |
Geovany Soto |
1B |
*John Bowker |
LF |
*Daryle Ward |
3B |
Rich Aurilia |
RF |
Mark DeRosa |
SS |
#Omar Vizquel |
CF |
Reed Johnson |
P |
Matt Cain |
P |
*Jason Marquis |
On Rich Harden Debut Eve, the Cubs have made a roster move as they open a three-game set against the Giants.
Michael Wuertz, who allowed four runs in an inning-and-one-third against the Reds on Thursday, was sent down to Iowa. Kevin Hart, 2-1, 3.35 for the I-Cubs with 48 K's against 15 BB and a BAA of just .205, gets the call-up.
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Game 92 Thread / Reds @ Cubs (3 of 3)
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SP | Bronson Arroyo |
SP |
*Ted Lilly |
6-7, 5.82, 91 K, 38 BB, 99 IP |
9-5, 4.47 ERA, 105 K, 39 BB, 112.2 IP | ||
CF |
Jerry Hairston, Jr. | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
SS |
Jeff Keppinger |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
RF |
*Ken Griffey Jr. |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
2B |
Brandon Phillips | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
LF |
*Adam Dunn |
C |
Geovany Soto |
3B |
Edwin Encarnacion |
CF |
*Jim Edmonds |
1B |
*Joey Votto |
LF |
Mark DeRosa |
C |
David Ross |
2B |
*Mike Fontenot |
P |
Bronson Arroyo |
P |
*Ted Lilly |
Cubs go for the sweep as Bronson Arroyo matches up against the Cubs' new #4 starter.
Lilly was hit hard in his only start against the Reds this year (6 H, 5 ER in 6 IP), a loss back in mid-April; Arroyo, who seemed to be starting against the Cubs every time you turned around last season, going 0-3, 3.58 in five outings, is making his first appearance against the Wrigleys in 2008.
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Game 90 Thread / Reds @ Cubs (1 of 3)
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SP | Aaron Harang | SP |
Ryan Dempster |
3-10, 4.47, 102 K, 27BB, 118.2 IP |
9-3, 3.24 ERA, 93 K, 43 BB, 111 IP | ||
SS |
Jerry Hairston, Jr. | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
CF |
*Jay Bruce |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
RF |
*Ken Griffey Jr. |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
2B |
Brandon Phillips | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
LF |
*Adam Dunn |
C |
Geovany Soto |
3B |
Jeff Keppinger |
CF |
*Jim Edmonds |
1B |
*Joey Votto |
LF |
Mark DeRosa |
C |
*Paul Bako | 2B |
*Mike Fontenot |
P |
Aaron Harang |
P |
Ryan Dempster |
With just one nightmarish half-inning having prevented them from a
sweep of the Cardinals this past weekend, the Cubs return to the 33-10
Confines for three games against the Reds, who just completed a
four-game sweep of the Nationals, which is very similar to winning four
games from an actual Major League Baseball team.
Ryan Dempster puts his perfect record at Wrigley this season (9-0)
up against Aaron Harang, who the Cubs have already thumped twice this
year. (For that matter, Dempster had one of his lesser home starts of
the season against the Reds back on April 15th, allowing five walks,
five hits and four runs in a game the Cubs won anyhow, 9-5.)
In all, the Cubs and Reds have split six games this game, with each club taking two of three on its home field.
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It Might Be, It Could Be, It Is...A Deadline to Bid on the Cubs
Crain's Chicago Business reports Tuesday that prospective purchasers of the Chicago National League Ballclub have been given a deadline of July 18th to submit their initial bids.
Jim Edmonds Makes Sense of Ozzie Guillen
Cubs centerfielder Jim Edmonds, whose return to St. Louis Friday night was honored by Cardinals fans if not by Tony La Russa, shared a revelation with Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times:
Edmonds would have been traded to the White Sox this past December if he hadn't exercised his right to block such a deal.
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Game 80 Thread / Cubs @ White Sox (1 of 3)
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SP | Ryan Dempster |
SP |
José Contreras |
9-2, 2.63, 85 K, 38 BB, 102.2 IP |
6-6, 3.96, 56 K, 26 BB, 97.2 IP | ||
DH |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
SS |
Orlando Cabrera |
LF |
*Eric Patterson |
C |
*A.J. Pierzynski |
1B |
Derrek Lee | LF |
Carlos Quentin |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez | RF |
Jermaine Dye |
RF |
*Daryle Ward |
DH |
*Jim Thome |
CF |
*Jim Edmonds |
3B |
Joe Crede |
C |
Geovany Soto |
1B |
#Nick Swisher |
2B |
*Mike Fontenot | 2B | Juan Uribe |
SS |
Ronny Cedeno |
CF | *Dewayne Wise |
It's time for Round Two of the Cubs versus White Sox, a.k.a. Team Inferiority Complex.
The Cubs go with a lineup that's long on lefties and rich on suck. Fontenot? Cedeño?? Ward in the field??? Lou is clearly trying to win the game with one hand tied behind his back, thus completely demoralizing the hosts.
Dempster, who yielded just one run (though 10 hits) to beat the White Sox on Sunday night, gets the nod against Contreras, who the Cubs undressed last Saturday (9 ER, 10H allowed in 3.1 innings).
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Game 78 Thread / Orioles @ Cubs (2 of 3)
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For NL Central, These Are the Best of Times
As you may have noticed, the top three teams in the NL Central, the Cubs (48-29, .623), Cards (45-33, .577), and Brewers (43-34, .558), also currently have the three best records in the National League. Who'da thunk?
Here is how the Big 3 rank against the rest of the NL in various categories.
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Mark DeRosa vs. That Orioles Guy
The Tribune reports Tuesday that Mark DeRosa is "still hearing about" the Orioles' Brian Roberts, who will be on the field with his Baltimore mates tonight at Wrigley. (Wild thought—the primary sources of the Roberts reminders are those who ask DeRosa about Roberts and then write stories about his reaction to the reminders.)
For what it's worth, here are the 2008 numbers. First, an offensive comparison of Roberts, DeRosa (his total '08 numbers, not just those accumulated while he's playing 2B), and Cubs second basemen in total:
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Cubs Hits Of The Week (Monday, 6/16 through Sunday, 6/22)
The five hits from the past week that did the most to enhance the Cubs' chances of winning, according to Win Probability Added as calculated by Fan Graphs:
#5.) Tuesday, 9th inning at Tampa, man on first, one out, Cubs trailing the Rays, 3-1. Kosuke Fukudome doubles against Troy Percival, sending Mark DeRosa around to third. It's so obvious the Cubs will at least tie up this game and send it to extra innings. It's so very, very obvious...right up to the moment the Rays retire Reed Johnson to lock down the 3-2 win. Fukudome double = WPA .150
#4.) Saturday, 4th inning vs. White Sox, men on first and second, one out, Cubs trailing the Sox, 4-3. Fukudome hits a ground single to right, scoring Ryan Theriot from second base to tie the game 4-4, with much more run-making yet to follow in this fourth inning. Fukudome single = WPA .159
The countdown continues after the jump.
Game 76 Thread / White Sox @ Cubs (3 of 3)
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SP | Javier Vazquez | SP |
Ryan Dempster |
7-5, 4.13, 93 K, 24 BB, 96 IP |
8-2, 2.76, 81 K, 37 BB, 94.2 IP | ||
SS |
Orlando Cabrera | RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
C |
*A.J. Pierzynski |
LF |
*Eric Patterson |
LF |
Carlos Quentin | 1B |
Derrek Lee |
RF |
Jermaine Dye | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
1B |
#Nick Swisher |
CF |
*Jim Edmonds |
3B |
Joe Crede |
C |
Geovany Soto |
CF |
*Dewayne Wise | RF |
Mark DeRosa |
2B |
Alexei Ramirez |
SS |
Ryan Theriot |
P |
Javier Vazquez |
P |
Ryan Dempster |
The national ESPN spotlight shines this evening on 1060 West Addison, which can only mean one thing:
The Yankees and Mets aren't playing each other this weekend.
According to the Sun-Times' up-to-the-minute Cubs reports via Twitter, Rob Reiner and his kid are in the house tonight. Could there be any clearer indication what an important contest this is?
Regarding tonight's starters...
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Game 75 Thread / White Sox @ Cubs (2 of 3)
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Ex-Chicago-Managers-Get-Another-Chance Week Continues
Ex-Sox skipper Jerry Manuel is already in place in New York. Now, the heads are continuing to roll in Seattle. The M's have canned manager John McLaren and replaced him with bench coach and former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman.
A Short History of the Short History of Cubs Designated Hitters
In the opener of the Cubs' just-completed series in Toronto, Derrek Lee, playing the part of Designated Hitter, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout; Aramis Ramirez, in his regular third base role, went 2-for-5.
On Saturday, Ramirez took over the DH role and went 1-for-5 with two K's and left five men on base; Derrek Lee returned to his accustomed position at first base and went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Always one to jump to a quick conclusion, on Saturday night, I got to thinking that just maybe this DH thing was a little trickier than one might imagine, especially for National League players who don't know what it is to have four or five at-bats in a game separated not by time in the field, but by long idle stretches in the dugout, or back in the clubhouse, doing whatever it is DH's do when they're not sitting idle in the dugout.
Recent comments
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Indeed they do TJW!
For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.
That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.
Childersb3 (view)
The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18. We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.
My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.
If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.
Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.
Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.
Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.
When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.
Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?
But I digress…
Sonicwind75 (view)
Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.
At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.
Childersb3 (view)
AZ Phil:
Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
crunch (view)
masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around. i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.
That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.
Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.
Childersb3 (view)
Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa
Taillon and Wisdom up
Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.