Clevenger and Dolis Up

The Tennesee Smokies lost in the Southern League championship yesterday and the Mobile Bay Bears take the series 3-1. The upside for two members was a call-up to the Show to watch the other Cubs players over the last 10 days of the season. Congrats and here's your steak knives.

- The Red Sox death spiral would bring about interviews with Theo Epstein and his entourage a lot sooner, so you know where my rooting interests are. Not that I needed the further enticement to root against the Red Sox.

- Some absurd rumor that Ricketts have soured on Billy Beane because the Moneyball concept is not playing that well with the fans. I don't think 99% of Cubs fans really know what the "Moneyball" concept is, not to mention it's not all too dissimilar to what about 50% of teams are currently running now including the golden boy, Theo Epstein's organization.

- It doesn't appear an extension is happening for scouting director Tim Wilken, but he was told after Sunday to continue to operate as usual and will be kept on for the 2012 season.

- Marco Hernandez and Gioskar Amaya were named among the Top 20 prospects that played in the Arizona Rookie League.

- If Q-Ball has his say (and hopefully he won't in about 10 days), he'd consider Samardzija for the rotation but thinks Marshall is too valuable in the set-up role. Pretty much the opposite way I see it...I think trying Marshall in the rotation has a lot more upside, while I think Samardzija was more lucky than good this year.

- The Cubs still holding at the 7th spot in the draft, a half game behind the Royals for the 6th spot, but just a game ahead of the Pirates for the 8th spot.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 3:57pm
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Comments

Submitted by Tito
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:02pm

Wood shelved for the season, torn meniscus. Sullivan says Wood wants to come back in '12.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:07pm

wow. also, he's having surgery to repair it.

----

PWSullivan Paul Sullivan
Wood was squatting on Saturday and felt knee pop. Torn meniscus. Still hopes to return in 2012. Also raised $400,000 at bowling event.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:09pm

better than the ACL as I'm sure Cubster will tell us. I recall Todd Walker tearing it and being back in 6 weeks if not less. A lot of times you can still play on it, but certainly not worth the risk at this point.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:11pm

yeah, as far as knee tissue injuries go, this is one of the more common ones.

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:53pm

better than the ACL as I'm sure Cubster will tell us.
---
Definitely better than tearing the anterior crucuate ligament.

Ted Lilly was back in 3 weeks for a torn meniscus, you might remember (see link below) that was when he was bored rehabbing his sore shoulder and added the knee to the mix to spice things up...but that only happens if your name is Teddy Roosevelt Lilly.

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2009/07/25/ted-...

and of course, TRL had his shoulder scoped while rehabbing his knee.

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2009/11/05/ted-...

Of course, Kerry Wood's had all the shoulder scoping he could ever hope for (right, Dr. Kremchek?). What the heck, might as well. After all, it's just Cubbery.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:03pm

muskat tweets that Wood said he'll either pitch for Cubs next year or retire

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 8:51pm

I'm sure he won't be retiring. The Cubs ought to offer at least a couple million for his services, if he really wants to play.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:49am

He'd make a decent pitching coach some day. He learned from one of the best pitching coaches around.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:58am

And, an expert in Towel Drills, of course.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:15pm

In the CSN link Rob posted in the article, Wilken was told to go ahead and renew contracts of his scouting department.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:25pm

was there an impression that all new scouts would be hired to work for the same scouting director?

Submitted by rokfish
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:16pm

Wonder if he bowled last nite.

Kerry and his wife do great charity work for Childrens memorial in Chicago.

Submitted by tharr
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:36pm

It strikes me that it is too late to look at either Samardzija or Marshall for a start this late in the season. However, I question your feeling that Shark has been more lucky than skilled this year. Even his control has improved as the year has progressed.

With the lack of quality FA starters this year, it makes sense to search our deep bullpen for a guy or two. It makes little sense to me to keep Marmol, Wood, Marshall, Samardzija, Cashner, Russell, Carpenter and possibly Beliveau and Dolis for the late innings.

Personally, I'd stretch Cash, Marshall and Shark in ST and see how they look. Use the depth we have to our advantage in an off playoff year.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:43pm

I don't think they were going to try either this season.

I still don't trust Samardzija, walks too many, goes deep into the count on every hitter, just seems lucky to me. His BABIP this year is pretty lucky and an overall 5 BB/9 is gonna take way too many pitches for him to be a useful starter.

But sure, stretch him out in spring training, no harm in that. Just make sure he's #7 or 8 on the depth chart.

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 8:54pm

Exactly. They ought to all get stretched and it ought to be Cashner, Marshall, then Samardzija in line to join the rotation. The order should only change if something disastrous occurs or if somebody has a massive breakout. And they ought to bring back at least one Rodrigo Lopez type of fill-in starter in waiting at AAA or swingman for the bullpen.

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:36pm

Things are not going well for Ryan Theriot in St Louis. LaRussa implies that Riot is too strong fat ("He wanted to hit more power and bulked up some.") and it's cost him quickness.

Theriot counters that the Cards put too much pressure on his defense in ST and it made him "timid" at shortstop for the first time in his playing career. Then it gets good,

The Cardinals led the division until July 27, four days before the Furcal acquisition. Speaking only about his own role, Theriot noted, "When I was playing shortstop we were in first place. I know that. It is what it is."

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/profe...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:55pm

whiny little bitch isn't he?

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 9:21pm

Oh my: "When I was playing shortstop we were in first place. I know that. It is what it is."

Wow. That guy makes friends everywhere he goes, eh?

Submitted by The E-Man
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 9:59am

While at the game last night, I was thinking about Barney and the "Theriot Light" moniker CRUNCH labled him kiddingly.

So, as of last night, their stats are nearly identical. It is pretty funny actually. But Barney is several years younger.

My guess is he will remain employed in the MLB, if Jerry Hairston can...

Submitted by George Altman
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 4:51pm

If anyone else had charge of filling out the lineup card for the last nine games, would there be any reason to play Hill at all unless it was the third catcher in an extra innings game?

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:01pm

I'll be surprised if Clevenger gets one At Bat.

Today's beaut from Q was that there would be no "kids days" because the Brewers may clinch in Chicago.

So I guess he is trying to guarantee it with that fantastic squad of vets that has done so well this year.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:02pm

Project Higher Draft Pick is back on track...

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 8:17am

Dammit, Soto!

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 5:23pm

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/6301

so the sign-in pops up over the page and darkens the screen behind it, but you can still read the entry one line at a time with some precise scrolling.

Might want to work on that...

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:05pm

I'm betting you could read the whole thing if you just installed a browser that didn't support modern browser standards. Not worth the effort to me, just saying.

Also, I get no pop ups if I go from my RSS feed.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:19pm

yeah, i circumvented it in about a second with an element/script hiding script. nice.

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 8:22pm

You didn't need any software to do that...

All, IF YOU WANT TO READ THE DAILY HERALD JUST DISABLE JAVASCRIPT IN YOUR BROWSER.

e.g. in Chrome [Options]->[Under the Hood]->[Content Settings]-->[Javascript]:Do not allow any site to run JavaScript

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 8:30am

Good one. I didn't think of it because I don't like disabling JavaScript as a rule, but yes, you can just use a browser option to disable it temporarily (I use Firefox web dev tools). I don't know why they don't use paywall stuff server-side. I imagine they'll catch on soon enough, so enjoy while you can. For now, it's completely JavaScript-based, which means you can also post a comment if you are so inclined if you disable Javascript (George Altman, are you reading this?).

Submitted by George Altman
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 4:22pm

Thanks, yes.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:27pm

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-pass...

"Epstein once told me his goal is to make the postseason seven of every 10 years and hope the team gets lucky enough to win one or two. In his eight full years, Epstein’s Red Sox have six playoff appearances."

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:28pm

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball...

says Jackson could be in 2012 plans and doesn't think Szczur is too far behind

"He kind of had to rest now," Wilken said of the former Villanova wide receiver. "He was in wide receivers' football camp last year in January, and it's been a long year for him. I think he held up pretty good. He played real well in the playoffs. And I think he can be a very exciting player. I don't think he's come anywhere near his ceiling."

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 9:10pm

He had a sub 700 OPS in high A. They should release him.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:44pm

in Fielder sweepstakes

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers...

then negates what little credibility he has with this

They could also take a poke at the NL Central-rival Brewers by stealing their biggest star and set themselves up for three-fourths of a superb under-30 infield, with also 21-year-old shortstop Starlin Castro and 25-year-old second baseman Darwin Barney.

some GM talk in there, mostly that Cubs will want to interview some of the big name GM's and that means waiting for the playoffs to end for them.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 9:12pm

Castro and Fielder is superb, regardless of who plays second.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 7:49pm

Soto with first Cubs HR in 2011 to hit Waveland

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 8:19pm

That makes me kind of sad. I know, extra revenue and all that, but count me among the crowd who enjoyed Wrigley more 10 years ago.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 8:28pm

greg maddux-lite is being greg maddux tonight...rather than the lite...very very lite...

Submitted by CPH2133
on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 9:25pm

Okay crew,

I haven't been around in forever but I have a favor of the community.

I was at Wrigley this weekend and saw a hat with a logo I've never seen. I can't even find a picture of it online or the hat itself. The hat was sold out of my size so I couldn't buy it there.

I found it in the cubs team shop right as you walk in the left field line (didn't see it in any other shops in Wrigley).

The logo was a read cub throwing a baseball with a high leg kick. It kinda looked more like a monkey if you ask me, but who knows.

If anyone can track down that logo, a place to buy that hat online, or wants to buy that hat at Wrigley for me (7 3/8ths), I'd gladly pay them for the hat, shipping, and extra for their inconvenience (via paypal).

Let me know. I'll check here or you can email me cullenharris11@gmail.com

Thanks!

P.S. - The lady said it was the 1934 logo. I can't find it anywhere. Not a mention of the logo anywhere.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:47am

This one looks like a monkey here:

http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?product...

What you are looking for?

Submitted by CPH2133
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 1:29pm

That's the logo, which I've never seen before, but the hat had just the red monkey throwing a baseball centered in the cap.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:07am

I think that is BS, personally.

Even the 1927 Little Cubbie logo was only on the unis and not on the cap.

from 1927-1936 it was this little Cubbie holding a bat under the arm in sillouette. You see them now on the popular black cap of today.

Submitted by garsky
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 11:02am

Rotoworld reports that Berkman and the Cards can't agree on a contract; I think he'd be worth a look as next year's first baseman if the pie-in-the-sky Fielder dreams don't work out. Probably could be had for 2/$25ish.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 11:22am

I suppose money trumps all, but Berkman hates the Cubs and Wrigley. He has intimated this before.

Of course Favre hated the Vikings...

As I said, money can trump all (Donald).

Submitted by garsky
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 11:46am

From the article:

"It's always about money," Berkman said. "No matter what people say, it's always about the money."

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 12:31pm

It's a pretty good rule, but Wood, for one, is an exception.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 1:02pm

ballsy to say so coldly...true as hell, though.

that said, there's already early rumblings from the cj wilson camp that he wants to work in a south/south-west climate.

Submitted by Craig A.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 1:25pm

"It's always about money," Berkman said. "No matter what people say, it's always about the money."

Is that because agents are on commission? I would think that an athlete who has already made a lot of money would care more about who he is working with and whether they have a chance to win than a small increment in income.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 2:28pm

Agents don't make the decisions the players do.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:46pm

Agents don't make the decisions the players do.

----

Amend that to, "Agents don't make the decisions, the players do...and the players union (Tom Glavine), or if the agent is Scott Boros."

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 8:53am

Amend that to, "Only the player makes decisions. If he decides to allow other to make his decisions for him that is his decision."

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 2:36pm

there's guys out there making 10-20+ million a year who will go shill something for someone in exchange for 10-30K...or free meals...etc.

hell, manny ramirez was trying to sell a grill he had in his garage taking up space for a couple grand a few years ago via ebay. you'd think he'd be more prone to kick it down to a friend or donate it for a write-off...or something rather than having ebay buyers coming to his house to clean his garage.

myself...i wouldn't do 1/2 the stuff some of these guys do for a few grand if i had 10s of millions in the bank. then again, i won't ever have to worry about that or know what it's like...heh.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 12:43pm

Berkman allegedly would have accepted the Cubs offer last off-season had their not been so much deferred.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 7:16pm

Anyone else have the feeling the Cardinals will be a sleeper team that goes after Fielder?

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 11:04am

//As they sat in the offices of the San Carlos, Calif., nutritional supplement company he started, Victor Conte and bantamweight boxer Nonito Donaire were brainstorming names for Conte's newest consumer product - an energy drink designed to stimulate "mind and body for more powerful and effective workouts."

"What if we called it PED?" Conte joked.

"I think it's great!" Donaire said.

The acronym was too good to pass up.

For those in anti-doping circles, the three letters will not be lost in translation - PED is most often the acronym associated with "performance-enhancing drugs" - but these days Conte can afford to poke fun at his BALCO past and his once-sullied reputation.

Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning, or SNAC, is Conte's company, and business is booming. PED - which stands for Performance Energy Drink - is about to hit the market, joining a list of other SNAC products, including ZMA, that fuel Conte's highly successful supplement business and allow him to do what he says he enjoys doing most, work with world-class athletes. Donaire is one of several elite athletes who train under Conte, and word has traveled quickly: if you want .exceptional performance results, the man you need to see is Victor Conte.

"He's helped me become a better fighter and athlete," Donaire says of Conte. "My performance level has increased dramatically."

Yes, the BALCO founder who pleaded guilty and served four months in jail for his role in the biggest sports doping scandal of the 21st century - the ring that ensnared the likes of Olympic track star Marion Jones and home run king Barry Bonds and led to an effort to rid sports of doping that has stretched into the current investigation of cycling king Lance Armstrong - can now scarcely field the myriad calls lighting up his cell phone.....//

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/iteam/2011/...

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 1:02pm

Marmol pitching, McGehee batting, Soto catching and calling the pitches.

Marmol throws two quick fastball strikes. McGehee takes the first and swings late at the second--very late, like he's sitting on the slider (which a lot of guys do with Marmol).

McGehee takes a slider outside and then hammers the next one, a fat one.

What am I missing? Isn't the rule that you throw the fastball until they show they can catch up with it, by fouling it off, for example? McGehee looks overmatched, until Marmol starts showing off his effing slider, which he loves to do.

So Marmol proves once again that stupid loses. Soto seems like a smart hitter. As a catcher, not so much.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:36pm

Isn't the rule that you throw the fastball until they show they can catch up with it, by fouling it off, for example?

or hitting it out? and I've never heard that rule, but that could be me.

also if he took the first and you think he was waiting for a slider on the 2nd, maybe they figure he was expecting the fastball the third time?

and if he hung the slider as you suggest, that's just poor execution not poor decision making.

his fangraphs page shows him getting hurt pretty badly on his fastball this year, with his slider still as unhittable as ever. Also when your slider is considered one of the best sliders in the game, you're probably gonna want to throw it a lot. And then there's the thing about his declining fastball velocity.

other than all that, yeah, Soto needs to remember to call for the good slider, not the hanging one.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:50pm

Soto needs to remember to call for the good slider, not the hanging one

Not to mention the 97 MPH fastball.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 5:04pm

"or hitting it out?"

Usually a hitter doesn't go from swinging late to hitting a home run, unless the pitcher helps him out by throwing something off-speed.

For example, Marmol has yielded two grand slams recently. Lee hit a slider. Bogusevic hit a fastball. Marmol started Bogusevic with three fastballs. The first two he missed, the third he fouled off. (That happens to be the scenario I mentioned in my comment: if he's late, throw the fastball until he fouls one off.) Then Marmol threw two sliders, but they were very low and Bogusevic laid off, although he almost bit on the second one and I remember Brenly praising him for resisting that pitch. The sixth pitch was a fastball that he connected on.

Big difference between Bogusevic on any of those fastballs and McGehee on the only fastball he swung at last night. You might look at McGehee's at bat if you can find the time. He looked very uncomfortable when Marmol was throwing fastballs. He couldn't pull the trigger on the first one, and swung awkwardly late on the second. When Marmol went into slider mode, McGehee got comfortable: he had no trouble laying off the first one, even though it was just outside, and the second one was like knocking apples off a tree.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 5:16pm

Marmol started Bogusevic with three fastballs. The first two he missed, the third he fouled off. (That happens to be the scenario I mentioned in my comment: if he's late, throw the fastball until he fouls one off.

a sample size of one does not make a working theory...

You might look at McGehee's at bat if you can find the time. He looked very uncomfortable when Marmol was throwing fastballs. He couldn't pull the trigger on the first one, and swung awkwardly late on the second.

the first pitch was on the outside corner, it's generally a bad idea to swing at a first pitch on the outside corner. You're presuming he had trouble with it, rather than presuming that maybe he just had a game plan, which is to not swing at a pitcher's pitch on the first pitch. The second pitch he was late on a high fastball, yes. The second slider was just a bad pitch that missed its location.

Marmol throwing 90-92 mph is his current problem, no one is scared of his fastball anymore and can look slider on just about every pitch, figure they can catch up to it.

But stick with the Soto's a moron theory, it fits your Koyie Hill is a demigod narrative better.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 7:40pm

The only pitch McGehee has handled worst than the fastball this year is.. wait for it.. wait for it.. the slider http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid...

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 9:27am

"a sample size of one does not make a working theory..."

The well-bruited idea that you don't throw an offspeed pitch to a hitter who is having trouble catching up to your fastball is not based on a small sample size. I'm sorry you never heard it. Maybe Soto never heard it either, or maybe he forgot. He probably gets a lot of advice. He also knows that if you call for a slider, Marmol seldom if ever shakes you off.

I have another theory, by the way, that throwing fastballs is work and throwing sliders is play, and pitchers get lazy.

"Marmol throwing 90-92 mph is his current problem, no one is scared of his fastball anymore "

I've been talking about Marmol (and Dempster, when he was a reliever) losing velocity on their fastballs for a long time. Pitchers have to take care of their fastballs. Howry was a great example of this. It used to take him two months at the start of every season to get his fastball up to 94-95.

(This, by the way, was the origin of the funniest joke in the history of TCR, if not the entire internet, when I said that Hill encouraged pitchers to rely on their fastballs more than other catchers on the team and certainly more than the pitching coach.)

In any case, if you actually watch Marmol's innings rather than get all your input from Fangraphs, you see that hitters are usually late on his 90-92 mph fastball. It's still a great "secondary" pitch for him.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 9:40am

I have another theory, by the way, that throwing fastballs is work and throwing sliders is play, and pitchers get lazy.

Have you ever played baseball before?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 10:07am

Man too bad Kerry Wood was so lazy, he may have never had arm trouble.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 12:27pm

Before what?

Submitted by Charlie
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 3:34pm

Making that claim, I would guess.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 5:43pm

I was just pulling his chain. "Before" doesn't really add anything to that question.

Have I ever played baseball? I was a lazy pitcher in high school.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 4:22pm

I'm guessing this is why Koyie Hill is important to a pitcher.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 5:48pm

It would explain why he's on the roster. I don't think he's Hendry's bastard son. I'm sure they don't think he can hit.

I don't really care about Hill either way, except that he strikes me as one of baseball's likeable working stiffs. Guys like him don't bother me at all. Behind the plate, he seems to know what he's doing. Don't worry, he won't have a long career as an active player.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 9:38am

Don't worry, he won't have a long career as an active player.

Too late.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 10:07am

if you actually watch Marmol's innings rather than get all your input from Fangraphs, you see that hitters are usually late on his 90-92 mph fastball. It's still a great "secondary" pitch for him.

Translation: If you rely on what I tell you, from my very biased perspective, rather than, you know, facts, it's still a great secondary pitch for him.

Is your theory that the average major league hitter can not catch up to a 92 MPH fastball? Because that's wrong. If someone is late on his fastball, it's because he's guessing slider. If he throws more fastballs, guess what - they're going to expect the fastballs more often, and the gulf between the effectiveness of the two pitches will deepen.

Could it be, and this is admittedly, just a theory, that he is throwing fewer fastballs this year, because they're coming in 2 MPH slower than they did in previous years, and he knows with his poor command he can't get away with leaving one in the zone, where maybe he could if it was a 95 MPH pitch?

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 12:50pm

If Marmol establishes a good mix of fastballs and sliders, hitters won't be able to sit on the slider the way McGehee was.

Marmol has been touched for several home runs lately because hitters are adjusting to him. He has to adjust back. McGehee has faced Marmol many times and surely knows by now that with an oh-and-two count, the next several pitches will be sliders.

Hitters also know that if they ever see Marmol shake off the catcher, a slider is coming.

Marmol just isn't a thinking man's pitcher; and if he's losing his fastball it's because he hasn't worked hard to maintain it.

This might be unfair because I'm not at the games and I don't see what's going on in the bullpen, but I wonder how many pitches Marmol throws in the pen before he decides he's ready, and how hard he throws. On TV, it seems that whenever they show Marmol in the bullpen he is watching the game. Cubbery?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 12:56pm

if he's losing his fastball it's because he hasn't worked hard to maintain it.

or he has an injury, or has worked a lot of innings, maybe his mechanics are messed up, maybe some "dead arm" issues, or just one of those can't quite figure it out things that we don't have the answer for quite yet.

certainly can't be any of that though, it must be his intelligence.

fwiw (and admittedly not much), Q-Ball believes it's his unorthodox mechanics causing the velocity drop.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-18...

"I think mechanically, he's so unorthodox and so tough to keep in line, that to me (is it) probably as much as anything," he said, referring to Marmol's quirky delivery and stride. "All the stuff that makes him who he is, and especially gives him so much deception to go along with the slider form hell he normally shows up with, also makes it tough to get him back on track from time to time."

Submitted by Charlie
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 3:35pm

Who is a thinking man's pitcher with only two pitches and no control? That doesn't make him dumb, either--it makes him wild, which he also was during the times he was ridiculously effective.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 10:22am

I have another theory, by the way, that throwing fastballs is work and throwing sliders is play, and pitchers get lazy.

my theory is that you're wrong about a lot of stuff and find these one-off examples to try and prove points while ignoring the dozens of occurrences or studies that disprove the narrative you're trying to spin...you're like the Fox News of TCR.

In any case, if you actually watch Marmol's innings rather than get all your input from Fangraphs, you see that hitters are usually late on his 90-92 mph fastball. It's still a great "secondary" pitch for him.

says the minor league box score scout....

but seriously think logically for a second about losing up to 5 mph off a fastball because one catcher doesn't call a fastball 2-3 times more a game.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 2:48pm

Castro SS, Barney 2B, Ramirez 3B, Peña 1B, LaHair RF, Soriano LF, Byrd CF, Soto C, Wells P

Submitted by Charlie
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:06pm

When are we finally going to see Barney in his rightful eight spot? Next year?

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:11pm

dewitt at least has some pop in his bat...just saying...plus he's had a really weird season vs. righties...and by comparison vs. lefties, too. a bit of over-achievement meets underachievement.

quade probably likes barney's D more, though...meh/sigh/ultimately no big deal anyway.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:28pm

Gary Hughes will not be returning next year

http://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/116246...

Kevin Goldstein's reply...

A scouting TITAN. He will be missed. RT @PWSullivan: Gary Hughes leaving Cubs. Was Hendry's top assistant.

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:45pm

We could lose everyone in the organization and they wouldn't be missed.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:54pm

He is the guy that campaigned for Fukudome I believe.

That being said, I'm sure plenty of hits in there as well and plenty of good work that none of us hear about it. He's definitely one of the more respected scouts out there.

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 4:09pm

The last gem I heard out of Gary Hughes' mouth was back in June when he said the Cubs could actually be buyers not sellers at the trade deadline.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 9:26am

Wasn't he the guy that blasted the SABR movement on an ESPN round table a few years ago? He sounded like a bitter relic of the past.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 4:06pm

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/699...

While with the Florida Marlins, Hughes was instrumental in hiring Hendry out of college baseball. Hendry had been the head baseball coach at Creighton.

Hughes has been in baseball for 44 years with nine organizations. He was a scouting director for the Montreal Expos, and he was general manager and scouting director for the Marlins when they began in 1991. He stayed with the Marlins through the 1997 world championship.

Hughes has made many contributions to baseball, including starting a special fund for baseball people who become indigent. Along with Chicago White Sox consultant Dennis Ibert, Hughes has raised millions of dollars for this cause with special events in California over the last six years.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:43pm

Isn't he likely to retire instead of move to another organization? I think he's way up there in years, I would think that traveling a lot has to get old once you're 65+. (or way earlier than that).

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:47pm

isn't a front office baseball job like retiring? :)

imagine if he wanted he'll easily land an area scout job with minimal traveling if he wanted too. But who knows what he wants to do next with his life...probably have his pick of a number of jobs.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:41pm

The hope of 2003

http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archiv...

list of teams with 3 or more starters under age 30 with 30+ GS and ERA+>99

2003 Cubs one of four teams that had 4.

2007(hill, marquis and Z), 1969 and 1935 Cubs on there as well.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 3:44pm

Congrats to #Cubs Bryan LaHair & Jeff Beliveau who were named the team's Minor League Player & Pitcher of the Year.

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 4:14pm

My hat's off (way UP) to whoever it was at Peoria that fixed Jeff Beliveau's command and control.

Submitted by Jace
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 5:05pm

He just watched Bull Durham...
Breathe through your eyelids like the lava lizard!

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:45pm

Sullivan makes a funny...

If you are one of the few who haven't thrown out a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field this year, tomorrow is your last chance.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 7:32pm

but Marlins new gay pride logo

http://p.twimg.com/AZ0igAKCEAA94kR.jpg

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 9:41am

I don't know what has to do with gay pride, but that is just really damn ugly.

Submitted by Jumbo
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 10:12am

Pretty colorful, I think is the connection

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 10:13am

just similar to this color scheme

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/0...

i was being sincere about there being nothing wrong with that

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 4:50pm

wasn't that flag also used in the Astros uniforms?

http://tinyurl.com/3ujuzrs

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 4:53pm

sure did and it was ugly then too...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 7:35pm

about as good as it gets

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 7:42pm

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

Coleman's Dad doing Mark Riggins job

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 8:52pm

for Castro, plus HR #10.

He's a triple away from double digits in 2B, 3B, HR and SB.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 8:56pm

Half way to Sanberg's 84 season... how many games left?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 9:44pm

with a quad strain, likely to miss his potential Wrigley swan song tomorrow.

Submitted by rokfish
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:16pm

Jeff Baker at 3rd tomorrow ?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:21pm

or Blake DeWitt

can't have them no-good kids meddling in things

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:43pm

lefty Wolf tomorrow, so I'm guessing Johnson in RF and Baker at 3b, but possibly LeMahieu at 3b with Baker in RF and Johnson in CF.

http://muskat.mlblogs.com/2011/09/21/920-ramy...

Ramirez says he's set to hit FA market

Submitted by George Altman
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:59pm

Thanks for 8 1/2 years of the best production from a third baseman since Ron Santo. Now, feel free to take your 33 year old, soon-to-break-down body and sell a multi-year $40M contract to some other dumbass.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 9:19am

In 8.5 years, he has been on the DL every one of them, IIRC.

Some years for long stretches.

I have plenty of good memories (Brewers walk-off, NLDS, NLCS series of '03), but plenty of shit too. He sucked-ass in the last post-season play of 2007/2008, including hitting .000 in the 2007 series. Not a fucking hit in three post-season games.

Mostly shit the last three years, and, of course in his last year he manages to do well.

Thanks for the (somewhat) good memories, and good luck in the future.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 9:20am

You don't recall correctly, but he does get lots of quad strains.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 10:23am

Looking at his career PA's, I would guess that he had DL stints 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 (he missed time for injury - not "official" DL'd), and he will be out 2011 for strained quad, now.

So, you are right in that he did not get injured every year, but more than half his time here.

And, only downhill at this point.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:20pm

Cubs lose

Royals, Padres, Mariners win and Pirates are up in the 5th inning to the Dbacks

Cubs now tied with Royals for 6th spot, move to a game behind Padres for 5th spot, 2.5 behind Mariners for 4th spot, 3.5 behind Orioles for 3rd spot and would get a game up on Pirates to stay out of 8th spot.

it's the closest thing the Cubs have to a pennant race

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:49pm

Looking for A-Ram, Big Z and @OzzieGuillen to wind up together in Miami.

just send the Cubs L. Morrison for Z and we'll call it even :)

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 09/21/2011 - 7:00am

Soriano is a Latino, please take him too!

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