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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
# bats both

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 114 Thread / Astros @ Cubs (2 of 3)

Submitted by Rob G. on

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Rich Harden
 SP
*Wandy Rodriguez

1-1, 1.11, 39 K, 8 BB, 24.1 IP
6-4, 3.61, 83 K, 27 BB, 92.1 IP
LF Alfonso Soriano
 2B #Kaz Matsui
SS Ryan Theriot SS Miguel Tejada
1B
 Derrek Lee RF Hunter Pence
3B
 Aramis Ramirez LF Carlos Lee
CF
 Reed Johnson 1B #Geoff Blum
2B Mark DeRosa 3B Ty Wigginton
RF *Kosuke Fukudome CF *Darin Erstad
C Henry Blanco C Humberto Quintero
P
 *Rich Harden P *Wandy Rodrguez

Apparently the new trend for the Cubs is to get shut out the first game of a series. I can't say I approve. The amazing Rich Harden goes for the Cubs who saw his strikeout rate go down after striking out nine in seven innings in his last outing. He'll oppose Wandy Rodriguez, the Astros ace, who seems to have figured out how to pitch on the road this season - a 4.03 road ERA vs 3.31 home ERA. This compared to his 2007 split of a 6.37 road ERA vs a 2.94 home ERA.

The weather looks a little nicer today and I do hope all of our Chicago readers are safe and sound after yesterday's storm. Sure, the clear skies means there will be baseball, but it also means we won't see a repeat of Elvis sliding on the tarp. Suspiciously, the Astros' "Fat Elvis" - Lance Berkman - is out of the lineup today.

Tags
Gameday Open Thread
Rich Harden

Comments

Submitted by blockhead25 on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:28 pm

the 2 shut outs this homestand, the Cubs have come out hacking away in the first couple innings, including Soriano swinging at the first pitch of course. Show patience, good things will happen.

Submitted by navigator on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:29 pm

If you watch the highlight video, he makes a totally unnecessary jump. Quick adjustment, nice catch but more goofy than great.

Submitted by GoBobbyGo on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:29 pm

I realize this is completely off topic (and that since the baby I never post; in fact I had to register for the first time), but that Miller Lite commercial I saw between innings - was that at Moody's?

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:26 pm

In order to make the playoffs and make a deep run, I think Bob Howry has to get on track. That's the only possible explanation for Lou leaving him in today, and let's just hope it doesn't backfire. --edit-- Backfired. Fucking Carlos Lee.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:28 pm

on the bus with Eyre for Howry?

I like Lou for the most part, but he's gotta give up on Howry right now...he should have about 1 month ago.And F U Carlos "Cub Killer" Lee...

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:33 pm

Not being able to scratch a run across when you have first and third with no outs is probably the bigger problem than Bob Howry's batting practice fast balls. How about a hit and run with Theriot on first?

Submitted by Dmac on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:45 pm

I think we all agree that Howry's toast for the remainder of the season, or at least should be, after numerous chances. How about a Guzman call - up, maybe before 9/1?

[ ]

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:23 pm

I'd put Aramis in the 3 hole, Edmonds or Soto in the 4 hole, and Lee in the 5-6 hole. Maybe even just swap Lee and Aramis. The only problem I have with Lee in the 3 hole is that his power has been fairly limited the last couple years, and with Theriot getting on all the time in front of him (but only to first base), there are WAY too many opportunites to hit into double plays (opportunities that he rarely lets pass by these days). I think by now we all realize Lee's 2005 was an aberration that won't be repeated, and his 20-25 HRs just aren't enough for the 3 spot.

[ ]

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:30 pm

Well... lineup simulators have found that you should put your 4th or 5th best hitter in the 3 slot. Your best hitters should be in the 2 and 4 slot, and then depending on the skill sets the next three should be in the 1, 5, and 3 slots. I am not sure that I completely buy it yet... but the numbers back it up. I don't mind Lee hitting 3rd at all. No question he has been in an extended slump, but it isn't like there are a lot of good options to replace Lee in the 3 slot. ARam hits into his share of double plays also... Further - Lee's double play propensity this year doesn't align with his stats for his career, so there is, in reality, no reason to expect him to continue to hit into double plays. And... FWIW.. Lee's GB% is only slightly higher this year (45%) than the previous two years (42%, 43%), so it would appear that there is a lot of luck involved.

[ ]

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:00 pm

I don't know what the lineup simulators say when your 4th or 5th best hitter hits a grounder to short every other AB. I just looked at his spray chart on MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_hitting_chart.jsp?c_id=mlb&p… Unfortunately it only lets you look at one ballpark at a time, but the chart of his ground-outs has a huge red splotch over the shortstop. I don't know if it's because he's getting jammed on inside fast balls or he's not going the other way with outside pitches. Probably a bit of both. It's hard to complain too much since the team's in first place and he had four hits today, but it's just disgusting how many times Theriot takes a walk or gets a seeing eye single, only to be doubled up on another DLee grounder to short. There are a few solutions: 1) Put someone in front of him with a higher slugging percentage than Theriot so there's not always someone standing on first (e.g. swap Sori and Theriot). 2) Hit-and-run more often 3) Start making Lee bunt (obviously not going to happen) 4) Drop Lee in the order The only one I see legitimately happening is number 2.

[ ]

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:54 pm

Without looking into every player's spray charts, I can't really prove that DLee hits more grounders to short than other players do. But anecdotally, it seems to me that he hits way more grounders to short than anyone else (at least on the Cubs). I'd even be willing to bet he's at or near the lead in Fielder's Choice 6-4's (the only difference between that and a double play being there were already 2 outs). If anyone knows how to find this information, I'm a bit curious. Otherwise, we'll just have to leave it up to my perceived observations versus someone else's.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 08:59 am

For better or worse, Lee has turned himself into an opposite-field hitter, someone who is happy, early in the count, to get a slap single to right. It's not quite accurate to say that he has been in a slump. In June, when he hit 2 home runs, he batted .283. In July (2 more home runs) he hit .292. It's not even a power slump, since he hits the ball farther to straightaway center than Soriano hits it to left. But Lee's long balls don't go out (except occasionally over the 368 sign). His inside-out swing probably lends itself to grounders to the left side on inside pitches. I'm not criticizing him, it's just who he is and what he wants to be. Some guys just like to spend a little more time looking at a pitch.

[ ]

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 08:11 pm

Not a slump? You do know that there is more to baseball than batting average, right? April: .364/.437/.682 OPS: 1.118 May: .234/.269/.411 OPS: .681 June: .283/.371/.404 OPS: .775 July: .292/.339/.442 OPS: .781 May - July: .268/.324/.420 OPS: .744 His career line: .282/.367/.500 OPS: .867 I have no idea how you can say a SLUG of .420 is not a power slump for Lee. And his OPS over the last 3 months is 123 points lower than his career OPS. Not a slump? Sure... I guess there is a chance that he has just become a .744 OPS hitter, but I doubt it.

Submitted by Dmac on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:07 pm

Neither are very good pitchers right now, but Lou really disliked Eyre as the season progressed. Lou's reaction in coming out to the mound to get Eyre in his last appearance spoke volumes - he looked absolutely disgusted with him.

Submitted by billybucks on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:11 pm

Given all the hype and all the $$, and the fast start, it is remarkable how quickly Fukudome has become an afterthought in the lineup. His K's seem to have accelerated dramatically -- lots of swings and misses on sliders down and in (didn't see today's K). Hopefully, he can adjust.

Submitted by Jeff_Pico on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:40 pm

Weird game today. You think 6-1 with Harden on the mound things are pretty safe. Lou keeps trying and trying to give Howry a confidence booster but so far its backfired just about every time. Soriano was HUGE though, when that guy is healthy and on this team is pretty damn good.

[ ]

Submitted by Mitterwald on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:35 pm

Gaudin pitched two innings last night, Samardzija threw 40 pitches on Sunday, Cotts has been worked VERY hard of late, and Lou goes out of his way to make sure Wood doesn't enter a game in the middle of an inning. So realistically, Lou's only options were Marshall or Howry. And I don't think Lou could have lived with himself if a righty slugger like Carlos Lee took a soft-tossing lefty like Marshall deep. So he put his chips on Howry, especially knowing that Howry rarely walks anybody.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:00 pm

Lou just needs to back off of Howry. Similar to the "dead arm" period that Marmol and Wuertz both went through earlier this summer, from overuse. Maybe Howry would benefit from a little "Wade Miller back spasms" DL trip for a couple or 15 days. Then if he still has trouble. You still have 10 days to try and make a waiver trade. Also it gives you 2 weeks to take a look at an Angel Guzman down the stretch. I personally think Angel will make a difference down the stretch.

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 08:53 pm

Shit. Carpenter. 5IP, 0 runs. 0.00 ERA Fuck You! So it will be Demp and Carpenter on Sunday night, I guess. Maybe his arm will fall off too - like Mulder.

Submitted by Dmac on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 08:47 am

"...the kid gets the mlb pension and health plan for life." Does he really need this, after he signed his big - money contract not that long ago? Seems like the kid already won big after that development - shades of Bobby Brownlie. "Carpenter. 5IP, 0 runs. 0.00 ERA Fuck You!" Someone told me that I was nuts to keep insisting that his return could be an effective one, given some time. I hope I'm clearly wrong about that, but let's hope we can put this club in the rear - view mirror after this weekend.

Submitted by rokfish on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 08:53 am

thats it lets make sure harden doesnt have to run the bases next start . even though i must say the bunt he got a hit on was nice maybe he can give some tips to theriot.

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 08:54 am

Brewers vs. Reds, 11:35 am (Chicago time) today. Homer Bailey for the Reds -- Opp. BA this year = .381. Yikes.

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 08:36 am

Any word on Pie? Next year's OF -- corners are set, and I assume they will want to keep Reed as the 4th OF, but who is the main CF? Maybe they should tell Edmonds to buy a 1B mitt -- he can become the new Ward next year (late inning LH bat), but could actually play in the field, and could be an emergency backup if no other CF emerges?

Recent comments

  • 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!!

  • crunch (view)

    bellinger "right rib contusion"

  • Childersb3 (view)

    South Bend just lost the lead in the bottom of the 9th on the weirdest scenario, ever.

    It's absolutely pouring rain....men on 1st and 2nd, 1out....JPatterson asks for a new ball, but no time out was called....he throws the old ball toward the dugout (not sure if it rolled out of play).....the ump declares the runners get two bases each so one run scores. Then a single up the middle ties the game.

    The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.

    Just weird

  • crunch (view)

    ...and bellinger is gone in the 7th because of that 2nd blown chance and the wall he bounced off of...

    hopefully his rib cage/shoulder feels better tomorrow, we just got happ back.

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