Game 23 Thread - Volstad vs. Worley

The Cubs have won 5 of 8 and are now proudly just the 5th worst team in baseball. A win today and the Cubs win their second straight series.

Phillies Cubs
#Rollins, SS *DeJesus, RF
Polanco, 3B
 *Campana, CF
#Victorino, CF Castro, SS
Pence, RF
 *LaHair, 1B
Wigginton, 1B Soriano, LF
*Nix, LF
 *Stewart, 3B
Ruiz, C
 *DeWitt, 2B
*Orr, 2B
 Soto, C
Worley, P
 Volstad, P

BABIP was yesterday's stat of the day on Len's new stat Sunday feature, here's what the Cubs look like: LaHair (.607), Campana (.556), Clevenger (.550), Castro (.364), Mather (.333), DeJesus (.327), Johnson (.318), Soriano (.314), Barney (.299), Baker (.286), Stewart (.196), Soto (.154), DeWitt (.100).

How about the pitchers? Maine (.167), Dolis (.171), Dempster (.213), Garza (.221), Maholm (.246), Bowden (.250), Marmol (.261), Russell (.286), Volstad (.297), Wells (.310), Camp (.317), Castillo (.333), Samardzija (.352), Wood (.400).

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Cubs game thread
Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 5:19pm
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Comments

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 5:29pm

it's been a long time since Chris Volstad got a win. Like July 18th, 2011 vs Houston. How long of a losing leash is he on before we see Travis Wood?

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 5:31pm

travis wood is busy competing with himself in AAA...at least his last start was good.

plus, volstad is making $2.6m

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:22am

I totally hate that rule that says if a guy is paid a lot of money he has to play on a regular basis.

Obviously snark, but it does seem to be an unwritten rule of baseball team management.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:24am

And, like, 90% of those hits yesterday by the Phils were cheap as hell.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 5:38pm

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/78...

an end to natural rivalry interleague series as we know it...

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 5:43pm

right when KC starts to get a shimmer of being decent...STL/KC...sigh.

Submitted by B Rock
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:11pm

Would be ideal if Dan Iassogna would work a bit more on his positioning and agility so that he could be in position to make an accurate call timely instead of basically having to guess on it.

Pathetic and Soriano-esque performance on that play.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:19pm

great job castro! wow.

let's play further back next time.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:26pm

yeesh...0-3 phillies, 2 outs, carts off the wheel early.

2 infield singles, a walk, 2 groundballs through the infield. wow.

Submitted by B Rock
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:31pm

Chris Volstad vs. Travis Wood - which flame out 25 year old former top tier pitching prospect would you like to see get lit up every week? I suppose once we trade Garza and / or Dempster at the hdeadline we may not have to answer that question for the second half of the season.

That was an absolute eruption from an offensively terrible Philly team.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:39pm

i have a lot more faith in volstad, myself, especially his stuff.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:27pm

that escalated quickly

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:28pm

and they've batted around...0-4. woo.

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

and castro almost gives up a hit to the pitcher backing up on it before the throw. cute.

thank god that's over...30 pitches through 1ip...4 er. woo.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:27pm

Felix Pie signs with an indyball team - Camden.

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:07pm

Is he really that useless?

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:42pm

WTF INFIELD TONIGHT?

it's not like it's errors...but they aren't stopping anything...except the 2 infield singles where they stopped the ball and did nothing with it.

castro not getting 1 out on that double play setup...that was awesome...didn't even get a chance to throw the ball.

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:46pm

Our infielders specialize in diving OVER the ball. It's not as easy as it looks to miss the ball the way we do!

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 6:53pm

Their infielders are kicking ass however . . .

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:01pm

Byrd with an RBI single, batting .333 in the AL, no XBH's yet.

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:08pm

I will not miss Byrd's totally empty batting average and the opportunities managers gave him because of it. Good team player, but not much of an offensive contributor, and totally overrated in CF in my opinion.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:31pm

can't say I watched that closely, but did Volstad pitch poorly in the first or mostly lucky singles and bad defense?

I can't for the life of me figure out starting DeWitt at 2b with Volstad on the mound.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:38pm

volstad has worked this whole game on the ground aside from a popout or 2.

in the 1st he gave up a couple of legit shots, allowed an infield single via his own fielding, and gave up some cheap hits (including an infield single that might have been a double play with another team's SS...or at least 1 out)...not in that order.

he deserved to give up some runs, but almost everything has been on the ground or low liners. he's keeping the ball down well tonight.

inning 1 - 30 pitches, innings 2-5 - 40 pitches

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:56pm

Geo Soto - one man rally killer

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 7:58pm

He is REALLY killing us tonight. Jesus. Soto needs to switch sides of the plate or something.

Polanco is a madman tho, amazing D tonight.

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:02pm

No offense intended to retarded people, but, is Hunter Pence retarded or something?

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 7:19am

Hate that guy.

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:19pm

Campana 7 steals in 9 games.

He was running on the grounder thru the hole by Castro (rbi), Soto/Soriano would have been out at 3rd if they were on 2nd with the same grounder, 7-5 putout.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:19pm

M'F'N TIED!

LAHERO!

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:20pm

LaHair's Hair on Fire...4-4 ballgame!

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:25pm

+1

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:20pm

LaBomb!

tie game

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:24pm

Anthony who?

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:25pm

rizzo vs righties - .837/.999/2.489
rizzo vs lefties - .001/.002/.001

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:27pm

Ha! Nice ...

Submitted by The E-Man
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:47pm

MIKE C agrees! What?! A player coming from the Cubs minor leagues that can actually play??

Submitted by MikeC
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 8:40pm

To bad you can never read posts to understand what they mean.

The argument was always over never passing on elite talent to give a 29 year old non-prospect a chance.

And don't get the cart before the horse, its May 1st. Free swingers like LaHair can get exposed badly in the coming months. The question has always been his ability to adjust which is why he is a 29 year old non-prospect.

Don't be an Obama and totally disregard facts in order to start race wars.

Submitted by superjimmer
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:28am

Edit: Funny good intentioned video removed.

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 6:41am

Don't take the bait.

Submitted by superjimmer
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:27am

You're right!

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 11:28am

Don't be an Obama and totally disregard facts in order to start race wars.

brought to you by Fox News.

Submitted by MikeC
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 6:17pm

Why would you bring up Fox News when NBC falsely edited the George Zimmerman tape? Leading to several firings. The same edit apparently was done in Miami in an unrelated incident, also part of the NBC family. Ohh and lets not forget that Zimmerman is a "White Hispanic" according to the New York Times.

Maybe you need to readdress your Fox News hatred and attack the organizations and the President of the United States engaged in race baiting before anyone knows the facts of the case.

And do we really need to bring up Eason Jordan, Dan Rather, and the Duke Rape case. The biggest cases of journalist integrity have been done by some of the biggest liberal news organizations. But hey if you need fake evidence, covering up dictators crimes, or need to crucify someone in the press guilty or not CNN, CBS, NBC, and the New York Times got all the reporters who will do whatever it takes to get the story "fake but accurate."

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 6:38pm

lulz.

seriously, though...enjoy your race war.

*shakes a rain stick making a bunch of scary noises*

Submitted by Newport
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:22pm

When did this race war start? Being the only white guy at work, I'm fucked!

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:24pm

just stay cool and don't freak out if you see someone with Skittles and tea.

Submitted by Newport
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:44pm

I would probably be the one with the Skittles and tea. Or more likely a Snickers and Coke.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:35pm

I'd rather attack the people that believe the president is trying to incite a race war.

/grabs tinfoil hat, stocks up on canned goods and ammo.

Submitted by Charlie
on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:18pm

LaHair is a "free swinger"? He K's plenty, but that alone doesn't make him a free swinger.

That said, he's not going to continue to hit 35% of his fly balls out of the park, so, yes, his numbers will definitely be falling at some point.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:41pm

sigh.

4-6 phils

Submitted by superjimmer
on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 8:45pm

So hard to tell when to stop with the cat & mouse and just concentrate on the hitter. I mean you don't want to look like you give Pierre second base, but you can also just say, fuck you, I don't care about the runner cause I'm gonna retire the hitter. Awful lot of concentration went to pierre ... With 2 out

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 6:50am

I wonder if that's why we got an appearance from the pitching coach, who I rarely see trot out there. I was thinking that whole time, forget about Pierre and get this guy out. I don't actually remember the timeline of when Bosio came out, though, so it may be a laughable comment.

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

I-Cubs (9-14) just lost to Memphis, 5-4

Rizzo 2-4, 2 rbi, 1K
Jackson 1-3, 2 walks, 1K
Cardenas 2-3, 1 walk, 1 HR

TWood 5IP, 5R, 1BB, 4K, 2HR

Submitted by The E-Man
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:50am

So comforting to know we have such great pitching prospects in AAA.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 12:42pm

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/5/1/2991317/apri...

FIRST BASE

The Good: Chicago
Cubs and White Sox first basemen -- largely Brian LaHair and Paul Konerko -- rank 1-2 in OPS, both above a thousand.

LEFT FIELD

The Ugly: Chicago Cubs
Alfonso Soriano is batting .237/.250/.263 with zero homers and earning $18 million.

(By the way, do you know how many homers all of the Cubs' outfielders have hit this season? One. By bench player Joe Mather.)

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 12:47pm

Alfonso Soriano is batting .237/.250/.263 with zero homers and earning $18 million.

(By the way, do you know how many homers all of the Cubs' outfielders have hit this season? One. By bench player Joe Mather.)

In the words of, of all people, Elton John:

It's sad, its so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd

I bet that's the first time Elton John's been quoted around these parts.

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 12:54pm

I still say Theo isn't Jim Hendry, he won't watch this shit much longer. The money is a sunk cost, it is obvious Soriano is finished and has no value to any other team in baseball. Hence, he'll get released by the All-Star break at the latest, IMO.

Hell, Vlad Guerrero is just a year older than Soriano, he is and always has been a MUCH better hitter, and like Soriano, he was an OF (and a damn good one) who old age has delegated to DH status. Vlad can't get a job this year. What does that tell you about the potential demand for Soriano?

Released by July 1, book it.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:24pm

I think Soriano's future is tied closely to Rizzo, Jackson and LaHair.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:37pm

yup, I think Sori gets axed in off season

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:39pm

He could get traded (cut) this season, but that would be because Rizzo, Jackson and LaHair are all playing every day for the Cubs.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:23pm

I don't think he will get traded (no one would want him) and I believe Jackson, La Hair and Rizzo will all be up this year, but Theo will keep Sori around and cut him in off season.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:26pm

Where will he keep him?

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:50pm

formaldehyde

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 3:01pm

Haha, good one.

I think Pujols' situation has to have the Angels sweating a bit. Even if he snaps out of it, and he probably will, it's a reminder that these gargantuan contracts are very dangerous. Hitting a baseball at the level these guys do is one of the most difficult things in the world to do. It'll be interesting to watch what happens to Votto, Pujols, and others as the contracts age and ferment.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:32pm

If they can't trade him and he has no place to play, why keep him on the roster until the off season?

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:52pm

Just a hunch, nothing other I think Theo would cut him in off season so he doesn't have to answer questions about it from press during the season.

Wouldn't be surprise if it plays out like you say.

Submitted by superjimmer
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:40pm

Agree with both of you guys! Weirdly enough . . .

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:50pm

When he was signed, everybody knew he would be an albatross in the final years of the contract. I still wish he didn't suck so much.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:52pm

Interesting point there on the Vlad -- wow, sure shows what a crazy contract this was. Hendry gambled they'd win a world series and it didn't happen, and the decline began in earnest right after.

I can't imagine they'll keep watching this crap either, and Soto, too, as far as I'm concerned. He's had his year and a half or so, and he just doesn't hit anymore. We'd be better of with Hank White at this point.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:23pm

Cozart 6, Stubbs 8, Votto 3, Phillips 4, Bruce 9, Rolen 5, Heisey 7, Hanigan 2, Arroyo 1

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:50pm

vs. Murderers Row

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

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:56pm

is Barney hurt?

and how sad is it that I'm pining for Barney?

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:59pm

It's staying-home-from-the-prom-and-listening-to-skrillex-because-you-cant-find-a-date sad.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:43pm

http://windycitizensports.wordpress.com/2012/...

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 2:58pm

"Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there."

Haaa...so silly.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 3:39pm

Dear HOF,

Peace Ooooooouuuuut!

Sincerely,
Roger Clemens

"(Reuters) - New York Yankees' pitcher Andy Pettitte testified on Tuesday that former teammate and close friend Roger Clemens admitted to taking human growth hormone during a conversation they had while working out together in 1999."

...

"Clemens mentioned that he had taken human growth hormone, it could help with recovery and that's all I really remember about the conversation," he testified.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/01/us-...

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 3:52pm

"What was your biggest adjustment going to the AL last year?" - sean casey @mlbnetwork

"I uh...didn't make an adjustment last year. I made one this year." - adam dunn

Submitted by Jace
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 4:10pm

Mongo only pawn in game of life....

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