Cubnut's Archives

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SP	Josh Fogg	SP	Carlos Zambrano
	1-1, 7.00, 6 K, 3 BB		1-1, 3.20, 18 K, 2 BB
CF	*Corey Patterson	2B	*Mike Fontenot
SS	Jeff Keppinger	SS	Ryan Theriot
RF	*Ken Griffey	1B	Derrek Lee
2B	Brandon Phillips	3B	Aramis Ramirez
LF	*Adam Dunn	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
3B	Edwin Encarnacion	LF	Mark DeRosa
1B	*Joey Votto	C	Geovany Soto
C	#Javier Valentin	CF	Reed Johnson
P	Josh Fogg	P	#Carlos Zambrano

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As reported by the Trib's Paul Sullivan, the Soriano-less Cubs will have Mike Fontenot leading off, Mark DeRosa will be manning left field, and Eric Patterson will be in the wings. (This will be the first time in Fontenot's Major League career he has been penciled into the leadoff spot.)

As for E-Pat, he was hitting just .222 at Triple-A, with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 12 K/3 BB in 36 at-bats for the I-Cubs. He stole one base.

Tonight's head-scratchers and eye-openers:

Wrigley Field will be drowning in Pattersons tonight as the Cubs' Eric will be in the dugout opposite the Reds' Corey. E-Pat has been called up from Triple-A Iowa as Alfonso Soriano and his strained right calf muscle go on the 15-day DL.

More momentarily in the Gameday Thread.

Do you remember that supercharged night back in 1999 when former Cub manager Jim Lefebvre, then manager of the Brewers, returned to Wrigley Field for the first time as skipper of another club, in a much anticipated showdown with Jim Riggleman?

I don't either.

But Johnnie B. Baker, Jr., is no Jim Lefebvre, and Lou Piniella is no Jim Riggleman. These guys are managerial heavyweights, and as much as Baker and Piniella claim there is nothing special about Baker's return to Wrigley beside the fact that both the Reds and Cubs will be trying to get a leg up on an NL Central rival, we all know much, much better.

Here, then, is a comparison to help you distinguish the combatants:

The five hits that did the most to enhance the Cubs' chance of winning during the past, exhausting, extra-inning-filled week, as measured by FanGraphs' Win Probability Added (WPA):

#5 Big Hit: Sunday v. Philadelphia, 3rd inning--Derrek Lee socked a two-run double off 67-year-old Jamie Moyer to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead they would eventually surrender. WPA .182

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SP	Jason Marquis	SP	*Jamie Moyer
	0-0, 6.75, 2 K, 1 BB		1-0, 4.66, 4 K, 4 BB
LF	Alfonso Soriano	RF	*Geoff Jenkins
CF	Reed Johnson	CF	Jayson Werth
1B	Derrek Lee	2B	*Chase Utley
3B	Aramis Ramirez	1B	*Ryan Howard
RF	*Kosuke Fukudome	LF	Pat Burrell
2B	Mark DeRosa	3B	Pedro Feliz
SS	Ryan Theriot	C	Chris Coste
C	Henry Blanco	SS	Eric Bruntlett
P	*Jason Marquis	P	*Jamie Moyer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marquis was bypassed in the rotation on Friday because of a strep throat. His only 2008 appearance was last Saturday, when he pitched 5 1/3 very bumpy innings against the Astros (8 hits, a walk and 4 ER). He's 4-3, 4.64 lifetime against the Phils and beat them last year in his only start against Philly since joining the Cubs.

Moyer pitched for Lou Piniella's Seattle teams and went 98-48 between 1996 and 2002. He actually had two stints with the Cubs. After they released him in the spring of '92, the Cubs were kind enough to offer him a coaching job within the organization.

He has gone on to win 197 Major League games since then.

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SP	Ted Lilly	SP	*Cole Hamels
	0-1, 9.72, 5 K, 2 BB		1-1, 1.20, 10 K, 5 BB
LF	Alfonso Soriano	CF	#Shane Victorino
CF	Reed Johnson	RF	Jayson Werth
1B	Derrek Lee	2B	*Chase Utley
3B	Aramis Ramirez	1B	*Ryan Howard
C	Geovany Soto	LF	Pat Burrell
RF	Mark DeRosa	3B	Pedro Feliz
2B	Ronny Cedeno	C	Carlos Ruiz
SS	Ryan Theriot	SS	Eric Bruntlett
P	*Ted Lilly	P	*Cole Hamels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lilly is coming off his shortest outing as a Cub, that is, in games that weren't meaningless end-of-season affairs or didn't involve his getting a quick thumb from the home plate umpire. In Monday's game, you'll recall, the Cubs staked Lilly to a 7-0 lead, then the lefty couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. Eventually the Cubs won 10-8 in 12 innings. Thank God for Jon Lieber and Evan Meek.

From the cubs.com report about the outing:

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Dusty Baker may juggle the Red Legs' pitching rotation heading into next week's visit to Wrigley Field.

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SP	Ryan Dempster	SP	*Zach Duke
	1-0, 1.50, 5 K, 2 BB		0-0, 3.18, 1 K, 1 BB
LF	Alfonso Soriano	CF	*Nate McLouth
CF	Reed Johnson	2B	Freddy Sanchez
1B	Derrek Lee	LF	Jason Bay
3B	Aramis Ramirez	1B	*Adam LaRoche
RF	*Kosuke Fukudome	RF	Xavier Nady
2B	Mark DeRosa	C	#Ryan Doumit
C	Geovany Soto	3B	Jose Bautista
SS	Ronny Cedeno	SS	Brian Bixler
P	Ryan Dempster	P	*Zach Duke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's true--the Cubs are unbeaten this season in games started by Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis. (I know, we're talking about two games, but still, I'm pleasantly surprised.)

Former Cub Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox home opener Tuesday against the Tigers. In a tearful press conference--lot of that going around this week--Buckner said he had finally been able to forgive the media for the brutal treatment he and his family had received following Buckner's fateful error in Game Six of the Sox' 1986 World Series loss to the Mets.

For a whole generation of fans, Buckner's connection to that Mookie Wilson-hit ground ball has obscured the fact that the guy was a terrific baseball player. The onetime Dodger played seven full seasons on the North Side after the Cubs had acquired him and Ivan DeJesus in a January, 1977 trade for Rick Monday.

The five hits that did the most to enhance the Cubs' chance of winning this week, as measured by FanGraphs' Win Probability Added (WPA):

#5 Big Hit: Saturday v. Houston, 3rd inning--Derrek Lee cracks a solo home run off Roy Oswalt to tie the Astros, 2-2. Lee would later employ his game-tying skills to more good use. (See #4 Big Hit.) WPA .120

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SP	Roy Oswalt	SP	Jason Marquis
(2008)	0-1, 5.06, 6 K, 1 BB	(2007)	12-9, 4.60
CF	*Michael Bourn	LF	Alfonso Soriano
RF	Hunter Pence	CF	Reed Johnson
1B	#Lance Berkman	1B	Derrek Lee
LF	Carlos Lee	3B	Aramis Ramirez
SS	Miguel Tejada	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
3B	Ty Wigginton	2B	Mark DeRosa
2B	Mark Loretta	C	Geovany Soto
C	Brad Ausmus	SS	Ryan Theriot
P	Roy Oswalt	P	*Jason Marquis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here's where we are:

The Cubs need to win a game started by Roy Oswalt or be assured of having lost the season's first two series, at home, to division rivals Milwaukee and Houston.

Yeeech!

The good news is, the Cubs have had at least a few productive offensive games against Oswalt (11-10, 3.97 lifetime v. Cubs), which is more than they can say about their encounters with Chris Sampson.

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SP	Chris Sampson	SP	Rich Hill
(2007)	7-8, 4.59	(2007)	11-8, 3.92
CF	*Michael Bourn	LF	Alfonso Soriano
RF	Hunter Pence	SS	Ryan Theriot
1B	#Lance Berkman	1B	Derrek Lee
LF	Carlos Lee	3B	Aramis Ramirez
SS	Miguel Tejada	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
3B	Ty Wigginton	2B	Mark DeRosa
2B	Mark Loretta	C	Geovany Soto
C	J.R. Towles	CF	*Felix Pie
P	Chris Sampson	P	*Rich Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profiling the Astros:

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SP	Jeff Suppan	SP	Ted Lilly
(2007)	12-12, 4.62	(2007)	15-8, 3.83
2B	Rickie Weeks	SS	Ryan Theriot
CF	Gabe Kapler	LF	Alfonso Soriano
1B	*Prince Fielder	1B	Derrek Lee
LF	Ryan Braun	3B	Aramis Ramirez
3B	Bill Hall	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
RF	Corey Hart	2B	Mark DeRosa
SS	JJ Hardy	C	Geovany Soto
P	Jeff Suppan	CF	*Felix Pie
C	Jason Kendall	P	*Ted Lilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun is shining over Lakeview, The Cub Reporter made it through April Fool's Day without hearing from a single corporate attorney, and the Cubs are only one game out of first. A good day to be alive.

Kosuke Fukudome's Cub debut was so riveting Monday afternoon, it was almost enough to distract from Kerry Wood's ninth-inning failure and the larger disappointment of losing the opener to the Brewers.

But terrific as it was, Fukudome's plate performance didn't quite match up to what one of his countrymen, Kaz Matsui, did when he first took the field for the Mets four years ago. On that evening, Matsui slugged the first pitch in his Major League career 429 feet, well over the center field fence in Atlanta's Turner Field, and set his new team off on a 7-2 season-opening victory. In addition to the homer, Matsui ripped a pair of doubles and walked twice, so he reached base five times in five PA's.

Given the way Matsui eventually stunk up New York, it could be argued that his Met career went straight downhill following that first game.

In any case, here's a review of the most prominent Japanese hitters to cross the Pacific and how they fared in their first regular season games on American soil:

For an Opening Day loss to a bitter in-division rival in which our ace had to leave the game prematurely, our leadoff man looked overmatched, and our new closer was tagged for three runs in an inning, that was a pretty satisfying game. All the credit goes to you, Kosuke. Thanks.

But former and perhaps future Cubs had a hand in games all across the land, and there were other Cub connections evident on this, the true Opening Day 2008.

Here is a Cub-flavored summary of today's already completed games:

D-Backs 4, Reds 2. Dusty loses his first game in the Cincy dugout. Corey Patterson goes 0-for-4, but doesn't strike out. Not once. In the whole game.

Nats 11, Phillies 6. Following their one-game home series against the Braves, the Nationals traveled to Philadelphia to play the Phils. I can't find any way to connect this game to the Cubs, except for the fact that scheduling a Cubs-Brewers game in Chicago in late March when there's a perfectly adequate domed stadium 90 miles north of Chicago is asinine...much like scheduling the Nationals for a one-game home stand and then sending them on the road.