Sunday Game Thread / Diamondbacks (11-13) @ Cubs (12-13)

Cubs try to take three of four from Arizona and end the homestand 4-3. Feels a lot like last weekend, when the Cubs were trying to salvage a road trip that started awfully, with three losses in four games at CitiField, then ended on an up note with the sweep at Milwaukee.

Sunday's lineups:

D-backs: 1. Abreu (2B)  2. Drew (SS)  3. Upton (RF)  4. Reynolds (3B)  5. Young (CF)  6. Ryal (1B)  7. Gillespie (LF)  8. Hester (C)  9. Jackson (P)

Cubs: 1. Theriot (SS)  2. Fukudome (RF)  3. Lee (1B)  4. Byrd (CF)  5. Tracy (3B)  6. Soriano (LF)  7. Fontenot (2B)  8. Soto (C)  9. Gorzelanny (P)


Tags: 
Game preview
Submitted by Cubnut on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 10:41am
Return to Homepage

Comments

Submitted by Cubster
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 10:47am

from Bruce Levine's blog...Z may close (if needed) on sunday, Caridad update (going to Iowa this week) and who has to pitch their ass off this week or wind up in Iowa:

Reliever Esmailin Caridad will continue his rehab in Arizona Saturday, then continue on to Triple-A Iowa where he’ll pitch Tuesday. Piniella said that Caridad will most likely join the team’s bullpen next weekend if there are no setbacks in his rehab.

With the addition of Caridad, the team will have to make a roster move. For now there is no plan to move Carlos Zambrano back to the rotation. One of the young pitchers, either James Russell, Jeff Gray or Justin Berg will go to the minors when Caridad returns.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/i...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 1:43pm

I like this Soriano kid - where did we get him?

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:42pm

LOL!

It's sure fun when he gets hot, isn't it?

I'm recording this game but are they not throwing him breaking stuff down and away or is he just laying off that stuff now?

One thing I really do like about Soriano is how he sort of just lays it all out there. Yesterday he said his knee bothered him and he would think about his knee as the pitch came in and that messed with his concentration.

Even his "I'm afraid of the wall" thing doesn't bother me. He is honest, and that's pretty damn cool.

Of course, I'm all pro-Soriano right now.

IF he comes back, this could be a pretty good team. I forget how much he means to us when he is right.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:57pm

He's laying off them, when they're strikes he's taking them to left, and he's pretty much hitting anything he swings at.

We could have a really good team if we get the 2006-2008 Soriano and Fukudome continues to hit like a #3 hitter.

Submitted by Jackstraw
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 5:31pm

The Cubs have six starters hitting over .300, none of them named Lee or Ramirez.

The Cubs have four starters with ERA's under 3.45, none of them named Zambrano or Lilly.

Seems a little bit like Opposite World to me. Maybe everybody but me saw this coming.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:42pm

what did poor Edwin Jackson do to be kept in this game?

Submitted by The Joe
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:43pm

Len and Bob speculate that it's because the AZ bullpen has been shitty.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:54pm

Isn't shitty one of those broadcast words they can't use? WHOSE MINDING THE STORE OVER AT WGN????!!!!!

Submitted by The Joe
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:13pm

Last I heard, they hired Lee Elia to take care of censorship.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:55pm

I think part of it was that they didn't feel like he was tired, and were hoping he could work through his problems. He's a converted OF'er, who's pretty good with the bat, so that may have got him through the third when they had a PHer up for him.

Submitted by The Joe
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:52pm

Parachat sucks. I finally get a chance and it's empty.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:56pm

Everyone knew you were gonna be on it today, TJ :-)

Submitted by The Joe
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:14pm

...a tear falls.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 2:59pm

As TRN just said, where did we get this new kid, Soriano. It's like Hendry just made a big trade.

Submitted by crunch
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:03pm

he's no bobby scales.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:05pm

ba dum bump

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:06pm

More shocking: Tyler Colvin with a .965 OPS or the Cubs have three other guys playing well enough to keep him on the bench?

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:14pm

TRN, wasn't Colvin's minor league record pretty piss poor about walks?

A lot of times when teams have a good overall walk record it means the hitting coach is teaching a philosophy of patience but I thought Rudy came in with the rep of being pretty aggressive at the plate.

I'm beginning to think he really is maybe a really good hitting coach and he knows the hitters on this team are not exactly the most patient at the plate and he's working on that.

Then again, that was what a lot of us liked about Gerald Perry -- he got dudes to work the count. Maybe I'm just underestimating some of these guys. I mean, D Lee has always been good at working the count, Ramirez, too.

But Soriano? Colvin?

Ummm, no.

I'm feeling kind of optimistic, suddenly.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:18pm

Yes, he didn't walk much in the minors - and when he tried to it made him a worse hitter. I think the fact that he is healthy and 25 extra pounds of muscle are the big changes this year - he slugged the ball pretty well in AA last year.

Fukudome is definitely swinging at more pitches earlier in the count this year, so I don't think it's any new philosophy we're seeing.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:07pm

Theriot sucks. doesn't he know a blow out when he sees one? Bring up the kid!

Submitted by crunch
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 3:32pm

"i miss you guys!" - mark grace

Submitted by Rob G.
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 5:06pm

Adrian Gonzalez says he'll boycott ASG next year

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/05/02/padres-gon...

Submitted by crunch
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 5:51pm

the practice of "media outlets" having a 1/4-1/2 page of auto-expanded user comments needs to end. uggg.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 6:12pm

Interesting in this article serves two purposes. It gives us Adrian Gonzalez's opinions on various topics, and it is probably the strongest argument I've seen for players postpone their baseball careers for at least three years and attend college.

Submitted by T-Dubs
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 11:59pm

I agree that the reader comments are ridiculous, but what is it about Gonzales's statements that sounds ignorant or uneducated?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 9:08am

The statements about the law or the umpiring? The law being discriminatory, for one, is an apallingly stupid thing to say. Of course it's discriminatory, all laws are, that's their intent. But even putting that aside, the law isn't discriminatory, it's the way that he thinks that the law will be enforced which is. It's not like if the AZ police find a caucasian Slovakian in the country illegally they're going to let him go because he's white. That would be discriminatory.

Submitted by Ryno
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 6:40pm

Sorry parachat's been so empty. I will take some of the responsibility. I've been busy and whatnot. Saturday I was at the Detroit-Anaheim game. Damon hit a fun walk-off homer. Kazmir is pretty damn good (even though they lost the game). And if I were Cabrera's wife, I'd beat HIM for his shitty defense.

Submitted by Wes
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 7:31pm

I got a really good laugh out of that domestic violence joke. Well done.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 6:41pm

Johnny Gomes: .217 .254 .367 .620

Marlon Byrd: .351 .367 .585 .952

You did good on this so far, Hendry.

Submitted by crunch
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 6:44pm

byrd was f'n cheap, imo, for a CF/LF and "good enough" RF type with his build and swing.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 6:58pm

Shouldn't you be comparing Gomes to Nady (.194 .342 .290 .633)? I don't remember a lot of people lobbying the Cubs to sign Gomes to play center field.

Submitted by crunch
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 7:00pm

i thought he was a pretty good deal, too... :(

...prove me wrong nady.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 7:41pm

I thought at the time the Nady money would have been better spent on Capps or Greg - going to be hard for this current roster to prove me wrong on that.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 8:06pm

Well, NEAL, I am basing this on the three players that were reported to have been considered as the "Bradley Replacement" - Gomes, Dye, and Byrd.

Nady was strictly a LRisk/HRew "insurance" type player coming off injury.

However, I still think "Nads" will come around - but if the current guys keep up their pace, it will be tough for him to get much PT.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 9:24pm

OK... to the rest of us, though, Bradley's replacement was going to be a center fielder who could push Fukudome to right field. Ankiel was mentioned, I liked Crisp - but search around a little, you won't find anyone who thought those two guys you mentioned were candidates to be a starter for the Cubs in 2010. The Cubs went after Dye, after they signed Byrd, for example. What they were looking for, other than a center fielder was someone who could platoon in right field with Fukudome. The candidates for that were Dye and Nady, and some media and fans tried to throw Gomes' name into the conversation, though I don't think the Cubs seriously considered it.

Submitted by Cubster
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 9:32pm

And I recall Gomes briefly campaigning to be a Cub (which means the media was stoking the rumor mill more than Gomes being a strong consideration by Cub management).

Submitted by The E-Man
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 11:43pm

I see your point. Management did want to push Dome back to RF, which the Byrd signing allowed. Dye, Nady, and Gomes were candidates for platoon partners - as well as insurance for Fukudome should he stink it up at the plate as he did last year after the first month. Recent reports have said there were "conversations" between the Cubs and Dye, but it did not amount to a formal offer at any time. At least that's what "Bruuuuuce", says.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 12:09am

Cubs allegedly offered Dye the same contract Nady signed for before they signed Nady

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 7:17am

I doubt the Cubs offered Dye the same contract. I'm not going to say why, because then I'll be in trouble, but you know.

Submitted by Ryno
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 8:53pm

I am surprised by Byrd. He's much more than I expected him to be.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 9:15pm

So far he's Joe Dimaggio. I like it, but I wouldn't expect it to last.

Submitted by Ryno
on Sun, 05/02/2010 - 10:05pm

I don't expect the astronomical ball mashing to last, no, but I expect him to continue to make the opposing pitcher work to get him out and I expect him to play hard defense.

Submitted by MikeC
on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 11:59am

I wanted Gomes, cheap source of power, who knows where his batting average would be, but you could do worse in RF. Bobby Scales anyone?

Byrd's splits scared me, but hey so far so good. At least he shows up to play baseball and you don't have to worry about walking on egg shells to get through the day with him.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 1:02pm

FREE BOBBY SCALES!

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 1:11pm

Yeah, everybody gets worried about Texas player's splits, but you've got to keep in mind that the three other teams in their division play in pitcher's parks.

Byrd's done about what I expect with the glove and been a good RBI man on a team that needs one - can't complain about him... give me a month, though.

X
You may login with either your assigned username or your e-mail address.
The password field is case sensitive.
Loading