Zombie: A Tool or Five?
Is there anything Carlos Zambrano can't do on a baseball field [other than keep cool]? What is he, an ace or an ass?
Dave van Dyck speculates in this morning's Chicago Tribune that if Zombie [call him Big Z if you like; I call him Zombie - it will make a good stage name when he becomes a pro wrestler] misses his Friday start in Milwaukee one of three Iowa Cubs will take his place: Randy Wells, Mitch Atkins or Jose Ascanio.
Atkins' first two starts were poor and as a result he still carries a bloated and somewhat misleading ERA of 6.99. The last three have been better.
Wells has been solid from the outset in compiling an ERA of 3.13.
Both Atkins and Wells have K/BB ratios of 3:1 and are big, imposing righthanders.
Ascanio has made five starts and sports a sparkling ERA of 1.25 but only in his last outing did he go five innings. His pitch count that night was 81, the first time he's been that high as he transitions from relief to the rotation. Of the three candidates van Dyck names, Ascanio seems the least likely from here.
This morning's Des Moines Register says Wells will start the opener of the I-Cub homestand tonight versus Nashville. The team's website tabs Atkins. A complicating factor might also be that the team's last two games over the weekend in Memphis were rained out.
Atkins' last appearance was on April 30, Wells' was April 27 and Ascanio was May 1.
There's always Samardzija...MW
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Ward Returns to Chicago!
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 9:45am Permalink
The White Sox signed first baseman-outfielder Daryle Ward to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Ward hit .250/.300/.393 in 28 at-bats this spring before the Reds sent him packing. He played for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League during the month of April.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:09am Permalink
The problem with Samardzija, and apparently Ascanio, is that they aren't properly stretched out. You can't have them start knowing basically best case scenerio is they get 5 innings. I'd rather take a flier on Wells.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:33am Permalink
Mike Wellman:
Dave van Dyck speculates in this morning's Chicago Tribune that if [Zambrano] misses his Friday start in Milwaukee one of three Iowa Cubs will take his place...
Isn't that Heilman's job?
And besides, I don't think you'll find many ball players as exciting as Zambrano. I think many of us want our Cubs to be high-energy ball players like that. I'll take the risk of him hurting a leg trying to beat out a bunt. That's effing awesome.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:37am Permalink
I think Samardzija and Guzman are the 'long' relievers right now. Heilman is being used as the 7th inning guy mostly.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:35am Permalink
These type of spot starts you just have to see what happens. Chances are you aren't going to see any of them put up great numbers in their first major league starts. If no one goes on the DL, I'd say Samardzija is the choice for 4-5 innings and then Guzman and Patton after that.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:52am Permalink
Too bad for Heilman he's been an effective late inning reliever. If he had been stretched out, or stayed stretched out, he'd make plenty of sense. How long has it been since Samardzija made a start? He ought to still be at least as stretched out as Ascanio, right? I believe AZ Phil mentioned in a recent post that Randy Wells would be the most likely replacement starter at this point in the season (if anyone is called up from Iowa to start). If Phil thinks it's a good idea, I'm for it.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 11:28am Permalink
Denise Richards I guess butchered "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" this weekend. While it wasn't as bad as some reporters are making it out to be. Hopefully the Cubs can stop this action and just play a recording of harry doing it. This story shows Richards and then gives a good take on the whole thing.
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/05/03/denise-richards...|wbml-aol|dl4|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fmlb.fanhouse.com%2F2009%2F05%2F03%2Fdenise-richards-latest-illustration-of-why-wrigley-tradition-nee%2F
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 11:42am Permalink
Uh no..it was just putrid....unbearable to listen to, and she read every word off a card. Other than that, she was hot!
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:40pm Permalink
It really was that bad.
And the radio interview was just as bad, if not worse.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:42pm Permalink
I was bad, but not Gordon-Ozzie-Ditka bad. BUT, I absolutely hate the tradition and especially hate the interview that follows.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 9:26pm Permalink
Tonight's interview with the Red Stars player may have been historic: she was so uninteresting, Len dismissed her even before the second out of the half inning. As much as we hate these interviews, Kasper and Brenly must hate them more.
Santo seems quite happy with them, however, as though he is receiving company in his living room.
Loved this Santo question of Peter Cetera—"So what are your hobbies?"
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 9:54pm Permalink
In another inning:
Santo: "....well...."
Long pregnant pause
Hughes: "and the pitch to..."
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:24pm Permalink
Yeah, that was great. I hope it becomes a tradition. "Well, sorry you have to go." I don't have to..." "Thanks for being here, good bye."
Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 11:49am Permalink
According to Bruce Levine's sources.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:10pm Permalink
Bummer, dude. Oh, well. It's May. Not really that big of a deal in the long run.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:11pm Permalink
http://espn.go.com/chicago/columns/blog?post=41356...
Here's the post from Levine. Of course equating Zambrano's injury to Sutcliffe is a little premature. So I'm assuming we'll get to see a couple of starts from one of the Iowa guys. I bet Z only misses 2-3 starts.
As for the 'should he have bunted' question? He's just as likely to pull his hamstring on a groundout to short as a bunt. I'm just glad this happened in a game he started and not a PH appearance. Baseball is a game of risk you can't wrap the guys up in bubble wrap.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:39pm Permalink
I agree. He's a ballplayer, if he gets hurt running to first, you can't really fault him for that.
I think it was Kruk who said something to the effect "that's why power hitters don't bunt". Saying, if you bunt for a hit, you are guaranteeing a sprint to the base as opposed to a basehit where he doesn't necessarily need to go full speed. I think it's a good point, but I'm still fine with Zambie doing what he does.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:24pm Permalink
He was bunting for a hit, not a sacrifice.
With questions on his conditioning he should not be doing sudden sprints when not neccessary.
It was dumb
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:57pm Permalink
The reason Kruk didn't bunt was because he was too fat. The reason power hitters don't bunt is because they don't want singles, they want doubles and HR's. Some power hitters who are reasonable athletes will bunt, particuarly to get rid of a shift. I remember Edmonds doing that a couple of years ago.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:47pm Permalink
I for one am in favor of giving Samardzija the start. He needs the innings anyway (he should be starting in Iowa). Otherwise, reports no Randy Wells seem to be positive.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:07pm Permalink
I agree 100%. Z isn't going to be out 4 wks. It's not an arm injury. Also agree that shit happens. Of course you be careful with these guys but if they can help the team, ie pitcher PHing, well that's what he's there to do.
Re: Z out 2-4 week
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:32pm Permalink
We all know the Cubs and their injury reports, so let's just hope it is 2-4 weeks and that Z gets 100% healthy and it is not something he needs to deal with the rest of the year. Even 4 weeks is not the end of the world, and with a $140MM payroll, the Cubs should be able to handle it. Unfortunately their minor league system is not very good, but with 2 off days the next 2 Mondays, we should be able to skip that spot a few times.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 12:44pm Permalink
Did anyone ask Fergie or Mad Dog to take Z's spot in the rotation? Was anyone at the game yesterday? How was the ceremony? I missed the ceremony but saw the game.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:10pm Permalink
I was at Atkins start in Memphis last Thursday. He didn't look good at all. Sam Fuld saved his bacon on several occasions. Atkins was giving up line drives in the gap all game. There was a light rain/drizzle all night to effect the hitters, and it still didn't matter. Topped out at 90 pitched mostly at 86-88.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:19pm Permalink
That's cool, Dr. The only MiLB game I have seen ever was at Wrigley last summer.
One of these years I want to hit Peoria, Indianapolis (I've been told its a great park), and Lansing.
Re: Z
Meh. As I posted the other day, I love the guy, and he "tweaked" his hammy with a perfect bunt! Sean Marshall cannot even get a fucking bunt down when he squares up, let alone a thing of beauty like Z,
Until there is DH in the NL, this stuff will happen. I don't have a problem with the way it did.We knew that we'd have a starter go down at one point or another. It sucks that not only did we trade Marquis, but Hendry DFA'd the pitcher we traded for! That makes perfect sense to me...
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:28pm Permalink
Agree E-Man. This stuff will happen. He was hustling down the line, kudos to that. Let's just get him 100% now.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:15pm Permalink
How come a 6'5", 250 pound starting pitcher is capable of a lead off bunt single but neither Pie nor Patterson could ever learn this skill? Hopefully all this means is that if the Cubs make the playoff Z's arm will have a few less innings on it.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:37pm Permalink
"Hopefully all this means is that if the Cubs make the playoff Z's arm will have a few less innings on it."
File under "Silver Linings."
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:30pm Permalink
Indianapolis is indeed a beautiful ballpark. Best minor league park in the country and it isn't close. Great view of the Indy skyline from behind home plate.
I'd wait a year or two if you plan on making a special trip down, however. They're building a new hotel across the street and there's a bunch of construction equipment and stuff behind the LF fence that really detracts from the view right now.
I'll be there tonight. Hoping for an A-Rod rehab sighting so I can boo the shit out of him.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 2:31pm Permalink
Boo him for me, too, WES.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:44pm Permalink
Indy has a skyline?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:58pm Permalink
Yes.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:53pm Permalink
Potential new lineup to debut tonight:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs...
Sounds like it could go Sori-Riot-Fuku-Lee-ARam-Bradley, followed by some combo of the catcher and Font/Miles.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 2:30pm Permalink
I heard Bruce Miles discussing this today on WSCR.
Miles believes that the call-up is Wells...
Waiting with bated breath.
Vizcaino
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 3:08pm Permalink
Any word on Vizcaino? I think the Cubs 10 days are up. Did he get traded, accept assignment or did the Cubs just released him?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 3:20pm Permalink
What is the major league experience among the potential replacement starters?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 3:33pm Permalink
Randy Wells pitched one inning for Toronto after they selected him n the Rule 5 draft, and I think 2 innings for Chicago last year. Samardzija, of course, has some MLB relief experience. Ascanio pitched a few innings for the Cubs last year in relief. I don't think Mitch Atkins has made any MLB appearances. So, minimal.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 3:33pm Permalink
http://muskat.mlblogs.com/
Scales taking grounders at Wrigley... Looks like they'll call up an infielder, then do something else to fill Z's spot on Friday...
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 3:49pm Permalink
scales owns middle/corner IF gloves...that's about all you can say about his ability in the IF, imo.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 3:55pm Permalink
Is he worse than Fonty @ 3B?
Stats anyone?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:02pm Permalink
Forget Fonty. Is he worse than Hill at 3B? :)
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:26pm Permalink
Not only that, Fonty can move to 2B and push Miles out of the lineup. I'm confident that Scales will outperform Miles at the plate given the chance.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:27pm Permalink
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/Fielding/S/Bobby-Sc...
Has his fielding stats. All you can really glean from that is he's not Sandberg/Polanco class at 2nd, and he has played OF as well.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:14pm Permalink
Thanks for the info, Charlie.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:25pm Permalink
I am happy for Bobby Scales finally getting a chance.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:30pm Permalink
I always like when a guy makes his MLB debut. I just have zero expectations from him, which could be a good thing as he could surprise me and play well, even if for only a few days. But a guy who is 31 making his debut just can't be much of a player.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:37pm Permalink
Yeah, I have no expectations. I just hope that he takes it all in, and doesn't stink up the place...
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:20pm Permalink
According to BP, his last three years in the minors translate to about what Henry Blanco did for us last year. He's actually down a little bit on his typical BABIP numbers in Iowa this year, so at least to this point those numbers look legit.
Hopefully he'll perform well enough to send Gathright packing.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:42pm Permalink
You can't predict how well a guy will do in the big leagues based on minor league numbers. We've gone through this before.
I could be totally wrong about this, but I think we'll come to love Bobby Scales.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:44pm Permalink
i'd be surprised if the guy saw more than 5-8ab, honestly.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:36pm Permalink
We have gone through this before, and your conclusion above has been proven wrong, literally hundreds of times.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:41pm Permalink
umm...urr...
...nevermind.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:19pm Permalink
HA HA Yeah it is not even worth it...:)
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:21pm Permalink
Ha Ha yeah.
Here's and idea for you simpletons.
Take any 100 consecutive first round picks.
Over the approximate same period, take 100 guys who were AAA All-Stars.
Compare them, anyway you want, then get back to me.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:26pm Permalink
umm...urr...
...nevermind.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:40pm Permalink
...and Z officially goes on the DL.
no idea replacement...looking like scales, though. esp. if he's at wrigley taking grounders.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:40pm Permalink
Are there any AA pitchers (Ala Patton) that are ready to try five innings in the bigs?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:56pm Permalink
I'm sure AZ Phil or Mike W could respond in more detail, but it looks like the only two starters doing much at AA are Casey Coleman and Casey Lambert. Coleman was drafted just last year and is very young; he's also just getting his first taste of AA ball. Lambert has less impressive strikeout numbers, but his WHIP is lower and he's got an ERA of 2.76 in 127.1 minor league innings. However, until this year he's mostly been used as a reliever. Lambert would be more likely to be called up to replace Cotts (or just to be a second lefty) than he would to fill a rotation spot. These guys have to be behind Wells, Ascanio, Atkins, and Caridad on the depth chart.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 4:46pm Permalink
I always wondered how much money these minors leaguers see for a small cup of coffee, so I did a quick calculation. If Scales is with the club for four days, M/T/W/Th before being sent back down, he would get almost 10 grand, plus daily meal money. (Lg. minimum salary 400k over 6+ months is about 2,200 day for rookies). Not bad. Especially if he's only making 25-35k in the minors. Imagine how just getting called up for September can be a huge financial plus to a fringe player.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:08pm Permalink
plus you get mlb benefits. huge perk for the 'cup of coffee-career' guys.
1 day on roster (you don't even have to play) and you get full medical for life.
43 days for pension...etc etc.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 5:43pm Permalink
plus he's now on the 40 man, getting mlb benefits (as noted) and higher base salary
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:21pm Permalink
Musket says:
It'll be LF Soriano, SS Theriot, RF Bradley, 1B Lee, 3B Ramirez, C Soto, CF Johnson, 2B Miles and P Dempster.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:30pm Permalink
sweet...everyone's f'n healthy.
Z, aside, that is.
hope the rust wears off soon...esp. for bradley...
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:43pm Permalink
The irony of Zambrano going to the DL is that we lose our most dangerous pinch-hitter.
:)
That said, I look forward to seeing what Scales can do if he's called up. These are his AAA stats since 2005 (which have steadily improved each season):
1628 AB, 481 H, 94 2B, 20 3B, 50 HR, 215 BB, 398 K
.295/.378/.470 (.848 OPS).
To me, that's a pretty solid, consistent, AAA line over a large sample size.
This shows me he has a good eye, decent power, but will strike out a lot (which might be a big problem).
What I'd kind of expect is for Scales to hit better than Aaron Miles and be able to play 3B, 2B, 1B (behind Lee and Hoffpauir) and in LF and RF (he's played over 250 games in the OF in the minors).
As a switch-hitter, he gives Piniella better options against LHPs than we currently have.
It's possible that Scales only stays on the roster for a few days, but in the best of all possible worlds, I imagine Scales could hit near his minor league numbers (I'd gladly take anything over .330-.350/.400-.450) and play passable defense at multiple positions, allowing Miles to stick to being ONLY the back-up SS (and emergency catcher and also motel-room security) with Scales also being Fontenot's platoon partner at 2B against LHP (instead of Miles).
And for the human element, I don't see ANYTHING but positive things coming from a 31-year old making his MLB debut. Certainly that has to have a motivating effect on the rest of the team.
If Scales could do all these things, I see that as more valuable than Joey Gathright, who has only contributed a few innings with his glove and is 1 for 3 in SBs.
GO CUBS!
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:48pm Permalink
I don't think I've said it on this thread yet, so I'll go ahead and say it... I'm a big fan of Scales' swing. He has great mechanics.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:43pm Permalink
Let me beat crunch to the punch, here.
There's a reason Aaron Miles has a MLB gig and Bobby Scales doesn't.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:47pm Permalink
Wait, I know this one! Because he's white? Because he did battle with a criminal in his hotel room? Because he had the good fortune to come up with Colorado during a time when they really weren't that good and thus had some gaping holes?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:48pm Permalink
i have no idea where bobby scales love is coming from.
quite bluntly i dont expect him to do anything and i expect him to not get much of a chance to do it, too.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:01pm Permalink
Yes I agree, in fact if we do see him it means bad things because Ramirez and Fontenot won't be playing.
He'll be on the team until Friday, whether he gets more than 5 abs is questionable, but I'm happy that he now gets a nice MLB pension once he gets old.
Good for him.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:54pm Permalink
Well NOW they both do!
:)
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 8:24pm Permalink
Good points. Welcome to TCR.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 5:55pm Permalink
ASG voting going on now, if you are into that sort of thing. I'm not eff-ing around with voting 25 times, but I voted once and Ramirez, Fukudome, and Soriano made my list.
I considered writing-in Bobby Scales but decided against it. *rolls eyes*
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:09pm Permalink
Not going to give it a few more weeks (or months) before you decide who has earned an All Star appearance? Fukudome has had a great first month, but he did that last year too and looked completely out of place at the ASG.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:28pm Permalink
I only had two other Cubs picked at the time, I figured I should pick one more for aesthetics.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:38pm Permalink
That is valid. Carry on.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:38pm Permalink
I try to counter balance the racism and not vote for Japanese players for the MLB ASG or Chinese ones for the NBA's.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:28pm Permalink
You balance out racism by being racist? Interesting tactic.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 6:42pm Permalink
gallagher up and epat down for the As (as well as other moves).
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:37pm Permalink
randy wells starts Friday per Hendry on CSN, tonight.
shitty ab by reed johnson w bases juiced.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:42pm Permalink
That explains why he was pulled after 3 innings (39 pitches) tonight. Also, Brad Snyder hits his 6th homerun of the season. He's batting over .300.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:43pm Permalink
Man, Lou's talk with Theriot did some good, eh?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:44pm Permalink
theriot strikes again
Babe Theriot
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:44pm Permalink
Ok seriously what juice is Theriot on? :)
This is amazing...
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:44pm Permalink
eight homers for the tobasco kids
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 7:46pm Permalink
I'm not at all surprised by Fontenot's power, but where did Theriot come from?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:19pm Permalink
He seems to be swinging the bat like a man for the first time in two years.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 8:15pm Permalink
What trade did Snyder come in again? Pie?
Don't recall...
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 8:18pm Permalink
I believe he was claimed off waivers last fall.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 8:59pm Permalink
Cubs should have at least six runs. bases loaded 3x.
very frustrating...
oh well, still 4-2 good guys now
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 10:06pm Permalink
Question, for Iowa Mike or AZ Phil: Who is Greg Reinhard?
He's from Marinette, and went to UW-Whitewater, so he's a cheesehead and borderline Yooper. He also has a very high K-rate at AAA, and a .55 ERA, after a pretty good campaign in AA last year.
Prospect at all?
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 12:10am Permalink
Cubs got him in the trade for Jae-kuk Ryu along with OF and OF Andrew Lopez. I'm sure he was recommended by Wilken who drafted him for the Rays.
The biggest thing was last year I kind of
figured out what kind of pitcher I was going to be out of the ‘pen.
Along with the slider, I started throwing a split. When I was in Tampa,
they converted everyone to curveball and changeup. I think now I’ve
been able to get back to a slider and split. When I first came over (in
’07), I was still trying to throw a changeup. I’m throwing a slider and
then a split-finger. … I just started throwing [the split] last year. I
was kind of having trouble with the changeup and when I went to Iowa,
Mike Mason asked me if I’d ever thrown one, which I had, so he gave me
the green light.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 6:58am Permalink
Maybe 3/44, but from the bottom notes section of a Cubs.com article it says that Luis Vizcaino was released by the Cubs, so they found no takers for a trade after designating him. Interesting to see who signs him and how well or poorly he does.
Re: Zombie: A Tool or Five?
on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 1:34pm Permalink
That lineup v. Lincecum? This is the equivalet of the Bears punting on first down.