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39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-23-2024
 
* bats or throws left
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PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
* Matt Mervis
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 9 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




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Game 95 Thread / Giants @ Cubs (3 of 3)

Submitted by Cubnut on

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Tm Lincecum SP
Ryan Dempster
  10-2, 2.66, 126 K, 46 BB, 121.2 IP
10-3, 3.13 ERA, 98 K, 47 BB, 118 IP
       
LF
 *Fred Lewis
 SS
 Ryan Theriot
3B
 Jose Castillo 2B
 *Mike Fontenot
2B
 #Ray Durham
 1B
 Derrek Lee
C
 Bengie Molina 3B
Aramis Ramirez
CF
 Aaron Rowand RF
 Mark DeRosa
RF
 *John Bowker
 CF
 *Jim Edmonds
1B
 Rich Aurilia
 LF
 Reed Johnson
SS
 #Omar Vizquel
 C
 Henry Blanco
P
 Tim Lincecum P
 Ryan Dempster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great pitching matchup between two All-Stars to end the pre-ASG schedule for 2008.

Lincecum has been everything the Giants hoped he would be; Dempster has been more than the Cubs could ever have hoped. Dempster remains undefeated this season at Wrigley (10-0, 2.58); Lincecum was undefeated on the road until losing to the Mets at Shea this past Tuesday. He's still a none-too-shabby 7-1, 2.23 away from AT&T Park.

Giants have dropped six in a row. Cubs (57-37) are on track to have the franchise's best record at the All-Star break since 1969, when the club went 61-37.

Regarding Sunday's lineup, Henry Blanco gets his first start and sees his first game action in two weeks. Mike Fontenot starts for the fourth consecutive game at second base and has now gone 15-for-46 (.326) with a .436 OBP and .761 slugging percentage in his last 16 games.

Otherwise...

The blister than kept Kerry Wood out of the action Saturday and left Carlos Marmol out on the mound to allow the Giants to erase a five-run, ninth-inning deficit for the first time in 23 years will also keep Wood out of any action in the All-Star Game.

Update: Carlos Marmol, who has a 9.37 ERA in 20 appearances since June 1st, has been named to replace Wood on the NL All-Star roster for Tuesday night's game. Reader Brian points out that the selection is based on Marmol's having been the pitcher with the next highest vote total.

Tags
Gameday Open Thread

Comments

Submitted by Eric S on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 07:54 pm

Maybe the powers-that-be can schedule Marmol to throw a few innings down in the Dominican League this week as well before heading to Houston for Friday's game? Guess if Lou tried to pass Kevin Hart off as Marmol the league might get suspicious.

Submitted by Jeff_Pico on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 07:11 pm

Not much you can do about this one, just outpitched by Lincecum. Dempster wasn't great but did ok. Another series won. I'll take it. Now Carlos Marmol on the All Star team? Thats ridiculous. I'd hate to see him actually have to pitch and most of baseball ask 'this guy is an all star?' I mean we already have Fuku who will probably look silly in his at bat.

Submitted by navigator on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 07:00 pm

West Michigan Bottom 1st Justin Henry singles on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Guyer. Kody Kaiser doubles (15) on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Guyer. Justin Henry to 3rd. Joseph Tucker grounds out, shortstop Nate Samson to first baseman Rebel Ridling. Justin Henry scores. Kody Kaiser to 3rd. Alex Avila out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Brandon Guyer. Kody Kaiser scores. Ron Bourquin strikes out swinging. 2 H , 2 ER, 1 K West Michigan Bottom 2nd Cory Middleton strikes out swinging. Hayden Parrott singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jonathan Wyatt. Keith Stein singles on a line drive to center fielder Jonathan Wyatt. Hayden Parrott to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Robert Hernandez replaces Scott Eyre. 2 H, 0 R, 1 K

Submitted by navigator on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 07:56 pm

Thanks to Lou Piniella making him his everyday shortstop over the dead bodies of the Cubs organization, at this moment Ryan Theriot leads all MLB (qualified) shortstops in both batting average (.320) and OBP (.394). Not bad!

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Submitted by 10man on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 07:04 pm

Actually it is good. His job on the offense is not to hit for power. It's to get on base and score, and he's done that a lot. His defense is not exceptional but it has been adequate. His base running started off badly but he has actually settled down and run more efficiently the past 2 months.

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Submitted by navigator on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:10 pm

I guess you have to be a longtime Cubs fan to appreciate him, but by historic standards 'Riot is an OBP machine. Cubs SS, BA, OBP

Banks     .274 .330
DeJesus   .261 .330
Dunston   .267 .295
Kessinger .255 .315

Theriot   .291 .359

Submitted by Chifan on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:45 am

is the starting pitching match-up for the All-star game.

[ ]

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:14 am

Lincecum got screwed. Here is a link to a table that shows the ranking of the top NL Starting Pitchers, using their rankings in VORP, ERA+, and Win Shares. Lincecum is first in VORP, 2nd in ERA+, and 1st in Win Shares. That he is first in win shares while playing on the Giants should be a big enough sign. By these rankings, Sheets has been the 5th best starter in the league. Also, by these rankings, Hamels and Peavy got screwed, and Dempster got lucky, in the results of the all-star selections.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:38 pm

Lincecume started Sunday, he wasn't in contention for the starting spot. Someone posted it earlier but there were only 3 guys Hurdle was considering starting that could go 2-3 innings, I think Sheets, Z and someone else.

 

 

[ ]

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:41 pm

True... didn't think about Lincecum starting yesterday. Sheets isn't a bad option by any means. Completely random... but who would have thought that Kyle Lohse would be one of the better pitchers in the NL?

Submitted by Mister Whipple on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:09 am

I seem to recall an entertaining PChat during last year's derby. Are we on for a repeat?

[ ]

Submitted by Wes on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:13 am

For the life of me, I don't know why. Of every Cub regular (let's set the bar at 150 AB's this season), Theriot has struck out the least (33 times). In fact, Fukudome has struck out TWICE AS MUCH as Theriot. And Theriot's has 20 more AB's. I suppose you're just trying to start an argument for the sake being this blog's public Theriot defender. The argument I'd make is that his BABIP may not stay at .350 all year. He's got a pretty good LD%, but that might still be hard to maintain. His OBP has always been pretty tightly connected to his BA. If he keeps hitting, he'll be fine. If he goes through another second half swoon like 2007, he won't.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:29 pm

"His OBP has always been pretty tightly connected to his BA" and that is his main "problem". theriot has a "good eye"...but he pretty much just uses to find something he wants to hit, not to get on base by any means necessary. he's gonna try to put the ball in play yet he's got bottom-basement power... if he finds more dirt and grass than gloves...he should be fine. he's got so little room for error or bad luck hitting like that, though. that said...his bat control is amazing. it's pretty much all he's got besides his complementing slightly-above-average speed as far as hit plate performance goes.

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 07:09 am

And his batting average is too tightly connected to the number of hits he gets per at bat... What OBP is not connected to BA when it constitutes the majority of it? The difference between Theriot's BA and OBP is 74 points. Other than the Pujols and Dunns of the world who walk at outrageous rates, this is right in line with pretty much all of the top OBP guys in the NL. Derrek Lee's difference is 66, Utley is 80, Holliday 84, Hanley Ramirez 80, McCann 75, Nady 56, Reyes 65, Hudson 57, Rowand 68, etc, etc. He has a good eye and uses it to find good pitches to hit. Does it really matter if he gets on base more with hits than walks compared to others? I mean he gets on base right? 7th best OBP in the NL last time I checked. So you want him to walk more and maintain his BA? So basically it sounds like you want our shortstop to be Chipper, Pujols, Berkman, Holliday, Burrell, or Giles since these are the only guys getting on base at a better clip right now. I'd love to have those guys in the lineup too, but last time I checked none can play short, few can run at all, and all cost a ton of money.

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Submitted by Jumbo on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 07:14 am

Does it really matter if he gets on base more with hits than walks compared to others? I mean he gets on base right? ____________ I think the point is that his BABIP is very high. If his hits stop falling in then his OBP will go down, but that's true of anyone. The difference between Theriot's hits that keep his BA up and the folks you listed is that they smash doubles into the gap, homers out of the park, and don't rely on singles falling in to maintain their BA. Theriot gets those hits, too, but his are dispersed between singles that sneak through the infield or bloop into shallow right (speaking in generalities here)

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 07:25 pm

I just don't think we can sit here and say there is no way that he can't maintain his current pace. People said this last week when his BA dipped to .306 and now it's back up to .320. And DeRosa maintained a .343 BABIP for all of last year. The major league leader last year was Chone Figgins at .399, he had 24 doubles, 6 triples, and 3 homeruns last year. He reaches more than Theriot does on infield and bunt hits, but he is a singles hitter who maintained an astronomically high BABIP for a season. And I don't think doubles and homeruns are easier to hit than singles anyway. Now I am guessing Theriot's BABIP will drop over the rest of the summer, as will his BA and OBP. I doubt he will end up at .320 to end the year. But I think he will hit .300 with a .360 OBP, play good defense and add some speed to the lineup, all for very little money. And I am happy with that.

[ ]

Submitted by Jumbo on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 07:17 am

That's just what you would expect from a really good hitter with virtually no power. BABIP isn't something that's very useful in evaluating hitters. It's more of a pitching stat, where very low BABIP is a red flag. --------- I'm no stat-expert, but if BABIP is indicative of a pitcher's success, it would seem to be an indication of a hitter's success. If Theriot had hit a bunch of at-'em balls instead of dropping in, his low BABIP would make us think he would improve to the mean, just as an abnormally high BABIP would make us think his luck will end soon. It could also mean that a low BABIP means poor/weak contact, and high BABIP means good/hard contact. I wouldn't think that a no power hitter would have a naturally high BABIP when compared to an equal hitter with more power. I don't get that at all.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 07:33 pm

"So basically it sounds like you want our shortstop to be Chipper, Pujols, Berkman, Holliday, Burrell, or Giles since these are the only guys getting on base at a better clip right now." not even slightly. not even close. im saying the guy's game is putting a ball in play. his "eye" is used to wait for a pitch he wants to swing at. the guy's hitting zone is not bonds-like and small...its kinda big. if he finds more dirt than gloves he'll look good...if he doesnt, he wont. THAT is what im saying. and while his bat control is awesome, that's a hell of an unstable crutch to lay almost all of your entire batting game on. all it would take is a bad week or two (especially in the leadoff slot) to make awesome into ugly...especially since all he does is hit singles.

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Submitted by WISCGRAD on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 07:08 am

Where am I going with this? You bitch about Theriot every day on here and have been doing so for a long time. Hitting, defense, base running, you never seem to run out of ways to criticize his game. And it never seems to be about what Theriot is, but rather what he isn't. So where are you going with it? If you don't want his removal, are happy with him, and don't want anything different, then why does pretty much every thread have you ripping on him in some fashion? Give it a rest man.

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 07:27 pm

no i dont bitch about theriot every day...or every other day...and it's more about what he IS than what he isn't so i dunno where that is coming from. yes, i call him a singles hitter with average D. that's his thing. that's not bitching. he is what he is. i have absolutely no control over that. i think i give a pretty damn fair and realistic view of the man and have for years. why can't i talk about the guy? ive said PLENTY about what he is...way more than than what he isn't. and if im speaking the truth about the guy what the hell does it matter? i'm not ripping on him...he is what he is and that is HIS own doing. you want me to jump down your throat about how you want him to be the allstar shortstop and best thing in town? no, of course not...cuz it's retarded for me to say you're saying that. and no, im not gonna give it a rest cuz you're not comfortable with the way i talk about theriot as long as its a topic of discussion.

Submitted by Dmac on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:19 am

I hope that Lou finds some places to rest the Riot during the 2nd half - for whatever reason, he really slumped last year. OTOH, he likely has next to no confidence in Cedeno, so his options may be limited. Soto is another concern, but I'm probably getting paranoid over his mounting playing time as well.

Submitted by navigator on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:55 am

HOT JOSH DONALDSON (A ADVANCED [promoted] STOCKTON PORTS) 7/17 .412 .444 .824 1.266 2 hr 8 rbi HOT ERIC PATTERSON (AAA SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS) 9/19 .474 .524 1.053 1.576 3 hr 8 rbi NOT MATT MURTON (OAKLAND A'S) 1/12 .083 .154 .083 .237 2 rbi MM is still making weak contact, mostly topped infield groundouts.

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Submitted by Wes on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:32 pm

Yeah, he hits a ton of singles, but this year he also gets on base better than any other shortstop in baseball. That's in either league. I don't understand why that's not valuable. He gets caught stealing half the time, but he's still tied for 5th among shortstops in steals. Yeah, he doesn't hit for a ton of power, but why are you pining for power from the SS position when this team leads the NL in runs and slugging? Do we need so much more power that our SS has to hit 15 or 20 HR's? Why is power out of the leadoff spot a necessity, anyway? Wait until Soriano comes back and then you can feel fuzzy all over again.

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Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:02 pm

Every team needs to have a few guys who make the league minimum and can still contribute. Theriot's value goes far beyond just his OBP or solid defense. The fact that he does those things on a dirt cheap salary means Hendry can go after bigger name FAs with his remaining dollars. That was one of the reasons I wasn't very happy to give up Gallagher (but obviously Harden is awesome and I'm glad to have him). The more young, cheap players we can get to contribute in a significant way, the more money Hendry has left to get guys like Soriano, Fukudome, etc.

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Submitted by Logan on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:35 pm

He does not have solid defense. Its like watching Todd Walker out there. Look at some of the graphs comparing his defensive range compared to other shortstops, he's ranked near the bottom for the past two years. He has to play in at least 4-5 steps just so he can make throws to first. That's why every time you see what should be a routine ball hit to his left, he flops on the ground in some vain effort just to look like he tried. The one thing he is good at judging fly balls hit to his right that go into left field. Other than that, its deplorable. OBP is valuable, but so is defense at one of the most critical positions on the field.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:41 pm

went 0 for 2 with 2 K's at the Futures Game yesterday. Did anyone watch?

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Submitted by Chifan on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:03 pm

The first K vs. Cahill wasnt that bad, he did a good job of working the count which rarely happens in ASG so its nice to see OK plate discipline. That slider Cahill threw was nasty as Wes mentioned. I watched the game until the Cubs come on (which was 1/2 the game) and Cahill was the player I was most impressed by. The 2nd AB you could tell he was trying to drive the ball hard and struck out on 3 or 4 pitches.

Submitted by Tito on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:59 pm

The Riot's arm is also NOT worse than Eckstein's. It's not strong, but it's not a rag arm. I'm right-handed, and I can throw left-handed better than Eckstein can throw right-handed.

Submitted by Dmac on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 07:27 pm

"Other than that, its deplorable. OBP is valuable, but so is defense at one of the most critical positions on the field." It would help if you offered some tangible proof for Theriot's alleged suckiness in the field. Right now you're just farting in the wind, my friend.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    PCA called up.

  • crunch (view)

    welp...

    bellinger...fractured rib.

    a not-very-ready PCA will probably be called up when it would be much better for him to be in AAA getting regular ABs.

  • crunch (view)

    i have no hard data, but i'm seeing the same thing.

    there used to be some parks where that was rampant (colorado during the todd helton days comes to mind), but i'm seeing it all over the place the past couple seasons.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I’ll spare the details which I’ve stated before but, in short, the Cardinals have lost their sight of their successful identity and strategy over last several dominant decades. From the beginning of the season I saw the Cardinals being in last place or near it again this year, and my prediction is that Mozeliak will be gone after the end of the season.

  • Bill (view)

    I would have kept Cooper rather than Wisdom, but at least I can understand why they did it.  In a team that lacks dominant power hitters, Wisdom can be a dominant power hitter, at least in streaks.  I suppose that there is always the possibility that the streaks longer in both duration and frequency.  I will be content if they essentially make a 100 % DH commitment to Mervis against righties and Wisdom against lefties.  When a regular needs rest, give them total rest, rather than a DH rest.  Do this for at least 2 months, and then re-evaluate at that point.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    This is Cubs adjacent but…


    Jordan Walker just was optioned by the deadbirds. For all the talk of the Cardinals development machine, they’ve really missed on a lot of can’t miss superstars lately. Walker has struggled. Gorman has been okay. They’re already trying to push Carlson out the door. Their pitching system has been so bad they had to go out and sign basically a full rotation over the last two offseasons.

    They’ve still developed a few of those pesky solid players, like Donovan, Edman, and Nootbaar. Their two best prospect to MLB players have been Adolis and Arozarena, neither of which is a cardinal.

    I hope they never figure it out again. Cardinal failure brings me such joy.
     

  • Raisin101 (view)

    Thank you so much! I really appreciate not only all your posts but how eager you are to respond to our questions.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Is it just me or does it seem that official scorers are becoming less likely to call a misplay an error? 

     

    Guess I've hit my cranky old-man phase in life.  "I remember back in the day when an error was an error.  Official scorers have gone soft.  Now where did I put my readers?!!??"

     

    Sidenote, maybe Bellinger should be a little more careful against the Astros.  That was the series last year that a play at wall put him on the IL.   

  • crunch (view)

    i hated the almonte pickup, but he's 9-10 out of 12 for good outings, following a great spring.  hope he can keep it up.

    i already miss cooper, but yeah...the thin OF roster backup the team seems to want to carry probably got wisdom preference over cooper.  i could live without seeing wisdom at 3rd unless it's a blowout, though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Things I've been wrong about:

    -Tauchman is fine as a 4th OF. I knew that. I just want a better LH DH option and he was really the DH for us until Seiya got hurt. I'm glad Mervis is getting a chance at it. Caissie is coming for that job for sure. But Tauchman continues to be highly useful as a 4th OF with Seiya being hurt

    -I wanted Yency to go to get guys at Iowa a chance. Guys like Palencia and Sanders or RileyT. Maybe even Hodge! But Yency has been better the last two plus weeks. He did hit 96 the other day. He was 93 in Texas to open the season.

    -Leiter has his split working enough. It just needs to stay there

    -I was surprised Jed picked Wisdom over Cooper. I wonder if this happens if Seiya wasn't hurt. Wisdom has more power. Cooper is the better hitter. Jed picked Wisdom and Wisdom had an option left as well.

    -Palencia just doesn't miss enough bats. Similar to ManRod, just two yrs younger. ManRod is killing AAA for TB right now!

    Things I got right so far:

    -Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!

    Jed, you missed there.

    -Smyly. If Jed could've traded him before or during ST, then he should have and saved some cash.

    -Mastro.  Not a LH DH. Pinch runner. Defensive utility. Maybe he's better than Madrigal but didn't get a legit chance to prove it.

    -Luke Little is good. He's had one bad outing. That's it. Needs to get better entering with guys on base. But he needs to stay in MLB.

    -Oh yeah....Morel is doing fine at 3B! He'll get better as well!!

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