Matt Garza's 9th inning hair

What a dominant performance by Matt Garza.
The Philadelphia Phillies get one eensy weensy perfectly placed bloop single from Jimmy Rollins to lead off the game.
Then it's just Garza magic for 7 innings - one walk, no runs, Cubs 3 Phils zeeero.
Rafael Dolis gets 3 straight in the 8th.
And then it's Carlos Marmol.


If an outfielder can record an assist, Marmol records inconsists.
He gets an out, walks two, gets another out, and Hunter Pence singles so now the bases are loaded.
Marmol then walks Ty Wigginton and a run in before Shane Victorino finally grounds out.

Victorino was the tying run.

Think that doesn't make Garza's hair go white?
It's such a nightmare.
It feels like Marmol's been pitching for hours, but you look at the clock and it's only taken him minutes to put the 7 gorgeous Garza innings on endangered species.
He's lost whatever mojo he used to have.
Remember Wild Thing Mitch Williams?
All over the place but still kinda fun.
Carlos' struggles are joyless to the average Cub Fan. 

Okay, on the other side.
Tony Campana.
2 for 4 and scores twice and his speed is Freddy Krueger scary to the Other Team.
He'll just run til he scores, which he did on Hunter Pence in the 3rd when Starlin Castro hit a shallow fly ball that nobody woulda run on.
Because for a shot putter, Pence throws pretty good. 
Campana slid right between the catcher's legs. 
Speed wins.

Now I'm not saying it will happen, but it's possible that the Cubs might just take 3 of 4 in Philadelphia.
And nowadays I absolutely love to say this:
The payroll for the Phils is the second-highest in baseball at $174,538,938.
The Cubs cost $88,197,033.
For yesterday at least, that's some serious entertainment value.

Submitted by CubbyBlue on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:37am

Comments

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:20am

Campana is ridiculous.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 11:35am

we'll be saying the same thing when he's back to a .300 OBP, but it'll mean something completely different.

enjoy the ride, it sure is fun to watch when it's good.

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 12:53pm

He's faster than I ever thought he would be following him in the minors.

This is a good year for a Campana. Fun to watch and I don't care that much whether he's actually making the team better. Maybe he'll lead the league in steals and some GM will think he's that team's next leadoff guy.

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 1:34pm

He's a man of extremes... extremely small, extremely fast, extremely large glove.

Submitted by johann
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:04pm

I in general dislike stealing because most people who try it hurt the team more than it ends up helping. Smart base stealers though I'm all about. I have barely watched Campana but that run home though (though not a steal) was an example of a really smart slide between the catcher's legs. From people who've watched him more, does he generally make smart decisions like that or is he just fast?

Castro, for example, really needs to make smarter decisions.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:31pm

I would ask...Castro is 10 of 13 stealing..which is pretty good? Has he been getting thrown out on the bases a lot?

Submitted by Tito
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:50pm

One CS was when he overslid third. He was safe before that.

Submitted by johann
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:02pm

Yeah I've seen some silly base running from Castro. He's young of course but bad base running just tears my heart out every time I see it. I'm definitely a disciple of the "don't make outs" philosophy.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 11:38am

this morning

0.2 IP, 5 H, 7 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR

GO, 2B, 2B, GO, 1B, HR, 1B (advances to 2B on error by Pin-Chieh Chen), Balk advances runner to 3B, HBP, BB

pitching change to Willengton Cruz

gives up a triple scoring all the inherited runs

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 12:38pm

Um

OUUUUUUUUCH!

Submitted by John Beasley
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 12:40pm

He was under the impression that those earned runs would be redistributed across the pitching staff.

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 12:43pm

Is that a communist/socialist Cuban reference? Nice! :D

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:59pm

still trying to figure this signing out.

he's way too young to chalk up, but he showed nothing in Cuba...though pitching over his head.

this was/is theo-corp's 1st "pure scouting" sign...hope it's not wasted money/roster.

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 2:10pm

extremely fast
---
Campana's real competition... (recent blurb per rotoworld):

Reds prospect Billy Hamilton has tallied 29 stolen bases in 23 games this year at High-A Bakersfield.
Hamilton has also greatly improved his plate discipline from where it was last year, boasting 14 walks against 18 strikeouts and a stellar .398/.481/.591 slash line in 104 plate appearances. The 21-year-old shortstop might be the fastest player in baseball and should continue to rise steadily through the Reds' farm system.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 2:50pm

it wouldn't be a competition

Hamilton is on another level.

Submitted by The Joe
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:02pm

I hear that all the time.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 2:55pm

DeJesus RF, Campana CF, Castro SS, LaHair 1B, Soriano LF, Stewart 3B, DeWitt 2B, Soto C, Volstad P

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:29pm

Rollins 6, Polanco 5, Victorino 8, Pence 9, Wigginton 3, Nix 7, Ruiz 2, Orr 4, Worley 1

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 3:44pm

how much longer must campy hit 2nd?

asking him to hit for contact or move a runner is an adventure i'd rather not be on.

Submitted by Newport
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:04pm

I would love to see them swap Campana and the Jesus. Even though Campana is a fairly poor hitter and isn't much for obp, he is so irritating for the opponent on the bases, that it doesn't really matter.

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