Cubnut's Archives
Cubs, Sox Prepare to Make Geek History
Thursday's Chicago vs. Chicago showdown at Wrigley Field will be the first Major League game to be streamed live to mobile phones, specifically to iPhone and iPod Touch users who have installed the MLB.com At Bat 2009 app and the new Apple 3.0 operating software.
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Bradley's Error Will Live On in Cub Lore Forever...or Maybe Not
Though we're in early June, the Cubs are still very much in the thick of the division race (mathematically, at least), and Milton Bradley's bone-headed play in right field didn't cost the Cubs a victory on Friday or even a single run, the symbolic potential of this play is truly awesome.
A Public Safety Alert for TCR Readers In and Around Chicago
Be forewarned—the entire downtown area is overrun with Nordic boys wearing Kirby Puckett jerseys. I know; I have seen it for myself!
This afternoon's Twins starter, Kevin Slowey (8-2, 4.21), is prone to the gopher ball. (That's "gopher" as in home run, not Golden Gopher.) Cubs starter Randy Wells is prone to getting screwed by the non-performance of his offense and/or his bullpen.
Hey, Randy Wells, Aren't You Dan Haren?
Arizona's Dan Haren was lifted from Sunday's start at San Diego after the seventh. He held the Padres scoreless for 6 2/3 innings before allowing a solo blast to Kevin Kouzmanoff. In all, Haren was charged with 1 run on 4 hits. He fanned 5, walked 1, and at one point, retired 13 Padre hitters consecutively.
He was deprived of his fifth win of the season, however, when the Arizona bullpen failed to protect a 6-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. (The Diamondbacks eventually won, 9-6, in 18 innings.)
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No Hitting Means No Margin for Error—Cubs Lose to Reds, 4-3 in 11
I didn't get to see all of Saturday night's loss, but the portion that I did catch was more than enough for me to get the gist:
The Cubs' woeful offense—over the last two nights, for example, the team is 0-for-17 with RISP—offers no cover for defensive mistakes and boneheaded baserunning.
If the starting pitching weren't so good, the Cubs wouldn't even be competitive.
Is Bum Knee Behind Soriano's Slide?
Carrie Muskat wrote yesterday that Alfonso Soriano has been playing with a sore knee since April 23rd, when he "banged his knee against the wall" while running after what turned out to be a Joey Votto home run.
"It hasn't been the same since," Soriano said. "It's getting better."
Lou Piniella said athletic trainer Mark O'Neal hasn't told him that Soriano can't play. He'll take it day by day.
"Soriano is a tough kid and wants to play," Piniella said. "If it persists, we might have to get him out of there for a few days."
In 31 games since April 23rd, Soriano, has hit .233/.266/.431/697 (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS). He has hit 7 HR, though none in his last 10 games. His current line of .253/.313/.495/807 is a season low, across all categories.
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Once Again, It's Homer or Nuthin' (Mostly Nuthin'); Cubs Lose 2-1 to L.A.
Today at Baseball Prospectus (subscription), Joe Sheehan wrote about how the Cubs have become one of baseball's most home run-dependent teams and tonight, we saw, yet again, where that generally gets you.
A pinch-hit home run by Bobby Scales in the eighth inning against Randy Wolf accounted for all the Cubs' scoring Thursday night in the team's most recent, painful defeat.
Recap of Monday Night's Game at Wrigley, By Way of the Twilight Zone
Monday night's game seemed otherworldly from even before the first pitch.
A Wrigley Field home game on a holiday at night? It made scheduling sense, given that the Cubs had to fly all the way east from San Diego following Sunday's game, but it still felt wrong.
Then the lineups were published and owing to a combination of illness, injuries, and an opposing lefthander, we saw Reed Johnson hitting cleanup and an infield of Freel, Theriot, Miles, and Hoffpauir. In other words, the stuff of split squad spring training games.
LLLLLL: Padres 3, Cubs 1
After losing to the likes of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Jake Peavy earlier in the current losing streak, the Cubs fell Saturday night at San Diego to young Josh Geer, who came into the game with a 5.61 ERA and no victories in five starts.
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Harden Goes to DL So Randy Wells Isn't Going Anywhere
Reader Osiris flagged this bad news by way of Paul Sullivan in the Tribune:
The Cubs placed Rich Harden on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain on Friday, and inserted Randy Wells into the rotation for Saturday's game.
This will allow the Cubs to activate Carlos Zambrano without having to make another roster move, i.e., demote Wells. Harden felt "a twinge" when he pitched last Sunday against the Astros.
I'll Just Never Understand Those White Sox Traditions
From my longtime Cub-loving and Sox-hating friend, Dave.
It's a Threepeat—Cards Beat Punchless Cubs to Complete the Sweep
Let the autopsy report on this ghastly series read: three games, two runs, 14 hits, three losses.
Lou Piniella made a lineup change on Thursday night, sliding Mike Fontenot from third base to the more familiar ground at second and starting the seldom-used Ryan Freel at third. The moves paid dividends...to the Cardinals:
Is Jake Peavy Chicago-bound, But to the Other Side of Chicago?
The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the White Sox, not our Cubs, are closing in on acquiring the Padres ace.
The sickening details are here.
Hey, We Already Saw This Movie and Didn't Like It Then!—Cards 2, Cubs 1
For the second night in a row, the Cubs failed to support a deserving starting pitcher with any offense and they lost another low-scoring game to the Cardinals.
Cubs Provide the Healing the Cardinals Require: Birds 3, Cubs 0
Joel Piniero, coming off three consecutive losses, recorded the Cardinals' first complete-game shutout of the season. He faced only 28 hitters, threw only 28 non-strikes (never reaching a three-ball count), only allowed one man into scoring position, and dispatched the Cubs in 125 minutes, the Cards' fastest game in almost three years.
Rookie Colby Rasmus, who had just two singles in 25 AB against lefthanded pitching this season, bashed a 2-run homer off of Ted Lilly.
Recent comments
Arizona Phil (view)
Childersb3: Miguel Cruz walked six in 1.2 IP in his last start, so I guess he is improving. Wilme Mora also walked six in one of his appearances a week or two ago, and one or two others have walked five. I don't know what would be the most I have ever seen a pitcher throw in a game out here, because the manager / pitching coach usually gets the pitcher out of the game if it gets too ridiculous.
As for the attendance, probably about 20 of the 25 were early arrivals for the Savannah Bananas game who came over to Field # 1 to see what was going on, and once they saw all the bases on balls (12 walks by Cubs pitchers and four by Angels pitchers) they ran away screaming. I'm used to it so it didn't bother me that much.
Childersb3 (view)
Jed has added Teheran, Tyranski, Kissaki, and now Straily and Nico Zeglin today.
Zeglin is 24 yrs old. Pitched well at Long Beach St in '23 and well in some Indy Ball.
They also added Reilly and Viets in late ST.
Have to search for MiLB arm depth anywhere you can and at all times!!!
Childersb3 (view)
25 in Attendance!!!
Phil, is that a backfield record?
Also, 6 BBs for Cruz in 2 IP. What's the most walks you've seen in one EXT ST outing that you can recall?
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
He has a pulse. Apparently that’s the only requirement at this point.
crunch (view)
cubs sign dan straily...for some reason. minor league deal.
welcome back.
zac rosscup is down in mexico trying to make it happen...maybe they could throw him a contract, too. junior lake is his teammate. shore up a bunch of holes with some washups.
fullykräusened (view)
The great thing about going to live sports events is you don't know if you're going to see something historic. Today I went to the Cub game, after putting the liner back in my coat and fishing my Cubs knit hat out of the closet. I needed all that- my seats are in the upper deck, left, so the east wind was in my face. Both teams failed to capitalize on good situations, but both starters did a good job to accomplish this. So, we go to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs tie it up, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong comes up. We all know he would still be in AAA if not for injuries, and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander absolutely carved up the young fellow up in his first two plate appearances. So this time he hits a fly ball. The wind was blowing in and had suppressed several strong fly balls- including a rocket off Altuve's bat that Canario hauled in (does anybody else remind me of Jorge Soler?) , but the ball kept carrying and carrying. 107mph, legit angle and carry. The crowd went nuts, the dugout went nuts. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the first homer from a long-term Cub.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Which was my original premise. They won the trades but lost their souls. They no longer employ the Cardinal way which had been so successful for so long.
crunch (view)
STL traded away a lot of minor league talent that went on to do nothing in the arenado + goldschmidt trades. neither guy blocked any of their minor league talent in the pipeline, too. that's ideal places to add talent.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Natural cycle of baseball. Pitching makes adjustments in approach to counter a hot young rookie. Now it’s time for Busch and his coaches to counter those adjustments. Busch is very good and will figure it out, I think sooner than later.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
In 2020, the pandemic year and the year before they acquired Arenado, the Cardinals finished second and were a playoff team. Of the 12 batters with 100 plate appearances, 8 of them were home grown. Every member of the starting rotation (if you include Wainwright) and all but one of the significant relievers were home grown. While there have been a relative handful of very good trades interspersed which have been mentioned, player development had been their predominant pattern for decades - ever since I became an aware fan in the ‘70’s
The Arenado deal was not a deal made out of dire need or desperation. It was a splashy, headline making deal for a perennial playoff team intended to be the one piece that brought the Cardinals from a very good team to a World Series contender. They have continued to wheel and deal and have been in a slide ever since. I stand by my supposition that that deal marked a notable turning point within the organization. They broke what had been a very successful formula for a very long time.