September 2007

Game Chat Ted Lilly vs Homer Bailey Lineups:

Soriano LF	Keppinger SS
Fontenot 2b	Hanigan C
Lee 1B	Votto LF
Floyd RF	Encarnacion 3B
Ramirez 3B	Cantu 1B
Jones CF	Coats CF
Cedeno SS	Ellison RF
Kendall C	Lopez 2B
Lilly P	Bailey P

Game Chat Rich Hill vs. Aaron Harang Lineups: Who Cares?

Game Chat : BR Preview : Game Notes Carlos Zambrano vs. Bronson Arroyo Lineups:

Soriano LF	Hopper CF
Kendall C	Keppinger SS
Lee 1B	Votto 1B
Floyd RF	Phillips 2B
Ramirez 3B	Encarnacion 3B
DeRosa 2B	Valentin C
Jones CF	Coats LF
Theriot SS	Ellison RF
Zambrano P	Arroyo P

The hopes of all Cubdom rest on the broad shoulders of Zambrano, who has pitched well in three of his last four starts. The clinker in that bunch, unfortunately, was a 5-2 loss to the Reds, who have already beaten Carlos four times this season. Zambrano's strikeout numbers are down significantly in '07; he's had particular trouble missing Cincinnati bats (just 11 K in 28 2/3 IP). Importantly, though, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey, and Josh Hamilton--combined 1.112 OPS against Zambrano this year--are all sitting this one out with injuries.

Compare and contrast:

You can just look in their dugout and it's just like panic mode. Guys are pacing up and down the dugout.

--Florida's Cody Ross, speaking of your Chicago Cubs

Randolph, who rarely says anything while walking through the clubhouse with reporters present, saw a cluster of reporters crowded around Wagner and said to no one in particular as he passed by, “We’re still going to win this thing, we’re still going to win it.”

--New York Times

Game Chat : BR Preview : Game Notes Steve Trachsel vs. Scott Olsen Lineups:

Soriano LF	Ramirez SS
Theriot SS	Uggla 2B
Lee 1B	Hermida RF
Ramirez 3B	Cabrera 3B
DeRosa 2B	Jacobs 1B
Soto C	Linden LF
Monroe RF	Olivo C
Jones CF	De Aza CF
Trachsel P	Olsen P

Paul Sullivan reports that following last night's loss, Steve Trachsel was shouting profanities at reporters from across the Cub locker room. It wasn't clear if something precipitated the behavior or if it's just an adorable quirk. Swearin' Steve is 1-2 in his second stint as a Cub, averaging about 4 1/3 IP, 7 hits and 4 runs allowed per outing. With all that's riding on today's result, no way Lou Piniella will let Trachsel anywhere near the fifth inning if he's struggling. Are the Cubs playing "tight"? After last night's game, Lou said he thought they were, and some of what we're seeing on the field--the constant chirping at umpires, the mental mistakes--would indicate the manager is right. Maybe last night's Brewer loss to the Cards will loosen everyone up. Also, I'm thinking that after losing every game they've played against this fifth-place team this year, the Cubs are at some point bound to have a victory land in their laps. Chicago-area native Olsen (3 no-decisions, 3.94 ERA lifetime v. Cubs) gave up eight unearned runs in his last start, against the Mets. That's a new Florida franchise record. I bet his family in Crystal Lake is proud.

...to Tony LaRussa and the team formerly known as the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, for all the untoward things the writers and readers of this site have ever written, implied, or even thought about you. (All those Red Schoendienst jokes were WAY out of line.) We couldn’t have reduced our magic number to 3 tonight without you. In fact, if we drop a few more turds like this one, we might not be able to reduce it any more without additional third-party help. Anyway, thanks for the helping hand. (And getting Yost tossed? Nice touch.)

In a possible preview of the World Series (well, maybe the 2015 World Series), the Cubs played the Angels this afternoon in Arizona Instructional League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, and even though MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was not at the game (at least I don't think he was there), his presence was felt at the end, as the game was called after nine innings tied 1-1.

Game Chat : BR Preview : Game Notes Ted Lilly vs. Dontrelle Willis Lineups:

Soriano LF	Ramirez SS
DeRosa 2B	Uggla 2B
Lee 1B	Hermida RF
Ramirez 3B	Cabrera 3B
Murton RF	Jacobs 1B
Soto C	Olivo C
Monroe CF	Linden LF
Theriot SS	Carroll CF
Lilly P	Willis P

Just 16 days short of four years ago, the Cubs hooked up with Willis in Miami, Aramis Ramirez clubbed a first-inning grand slam, and every Cub fan on the planet was scrambling to figure out who he would have to bribe, suck up to, or kill in order to get himself a World Series ticket. Now only Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano and Kerry Wood remain from that star-crossed Cub team, and the sights will be set a little lower for the moment, with the focus on getting the Cubs one step closer to locking up the NL Central. Willis was a winner in his only start against the Cubs back in May. Lilly lost to the Marlins in the finale of that same miserable series, a three-game Florida sweep in Wrigley that left the home team 22-29, six games behind the first-place Brewers, and looking almost completely hopeless. At cubs.com, Carrie Muskat points out that the 9-4 Cub loss on 5/29 was so bad, it prompted a players-only meeting before the game on 5/30...which the Cubs then went out and lost 9-0 behind Lilly. I'm glad it's now and not then. Among the current Cubs, Alfonso Soriano has had the most luck against the Florida lefty (8-for-17 with a home run). Overall, the Cubs have won 10 of 12; the Marlins have lost 7 of 8.

The Cubs took a 3-1 run lead early, scoring two runs in the first inning and one in the second, but were unable to hold the lead, as the Oakland A's Arizona Instructional League team rallied to defeat the Cubs Arizona Instructional League team 6-4 this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.

Fall Blowout Special

Box Score, Play by Play, Photos

W- Zambrano (17-13), getting your playoff tickets early, exchanging temporary-farewell gifts between players and fans, streaking into the playoffs. L- Gorzelanny (14-9), pessimism. Magic Number - 4 (Brewers lost today.) Things to Take from This Game 1. A fitting end to the regular-season at Wrigley A beautiful day, Cubs chasing down a division title, and a dominant performance by the Cubs pitchers and offense. The grounds crew does a fine job with the Stretch, and the fans are cheering every moment. Let's do it again in October 2. Dominant Performance by the Ace Zambrano had his A+ stuff going today. The fastball wasn't just alive, Z also spotted it very well throughout the game. The only concern is that after running hard on a double and then scoring on a single in the sixth, Z left the game after trying to go out for his warmup pitches in the 7th. Initial report is cramps. Wood pitched two even more dominating innings to follow him up, with impecable command of both the fastball and the sharp, biting slider. 3. Ronny Cedeno, playoff-chasing Hero. Filling in for Theriot, Cedeno had a couple of scratch hits, one for an RBI, and then a real lined shot of a two-run HR to put the game away at 8-0. 4. Lee stays hot. Two hits, three RBIs, including a two-run HR that barely gets out to right-center. He also pulled a double down the line, seems to be hitting the ball with power to all fields, now. 5. One of two things is going to happen. With six games to play and a magic number of 4, either the Cubs are going to the playoffs on the strength of a terrific September, or they're going to give us a new line in our history of epic tragedies. I'm banking on the former. Your rapid response, no-one-has-left-Wrigley-at-the-publishing-of-this-recap details, below

If Eric Patterson had only known how much impact his tardiness would create in the 2007 playoff picture. When Corey's little brother was sent down to the AA Tennessee Smokies playoffs as the consequence of his reporting late to the ballpark, little did he realize he just might have Wally Pipped himself. In a quasi-punitive measure, Cubs GM Jim Hendry sent EPat out and recalled Sam Fuld.

Game Chat : BR Preview : Game Notes Zach Duke vs. Rich Hill Lineups:

Morgan CF	Soriano LF
Bautista 3B	DeRosa 2B
Sanchez 2B	Lee 1B
Phelps 1B	Ramirez 3B
Nady LF	Murton RF
Paulino C	Soto C
Pearce RF	Monroe CF
Kata SS	Theriot SS
Duke P	Hill P

The magic number is 8, just like every other division leader in the NL - spooky. Happy to see Lou take my advice and keep the same lineup versus a lefty.

Game Chat : BR Preview : Game Notes Paul Maholm vs. Jason Marquis Lineups:

Morgan CF	Soriano LF
McLouth LF	DeRosa 2B
Sanchez 2B	Lee 1B
LaRoche 1B	Ramirez 3B
Nady RF	Murton RF
Bautista 3B	Soto C
Paulino C	Monroe CF
Izturis SS	Theriot SS
Maholm P	Marquis P

Welcome, everyone, to Jeff Bennett Day at The Cub Reporter! In their 2007 annual, the Baseball Prospectus gang describes Pirates starter Paul Maholm as "a pitch-to-contact, ground-ball lefty." Sounds like Cub Kryptonite to me. The fact is, however, despite having lost to Maholm twice already this season, the Cubs have hit him hard--8 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings, including homers by Ramirez, Pagan, and a catcher who is now dead to us in a losing cause back on May 10th.

With Cubs manager Lou Piniella announcing that Rich Hill, Carlos Zambrano, and Ted Lilly will pitch the final three games of the regular season at Cincinnati (with Jason Marquis to pitch the Game #163 tie-breaker at Wrigley Field, if necessary), and with Pirates manager Jim Tracy announcing last night that Cub-killer Zach Duke will make his first start since June 28th on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, the pitching match-ups for the Cubs final nine games now look like this (all still subject to change): PIT at CUBS FRI - Paul Maholm vs Jason Marquis SAT - Zach Duke vs Rich Hill SUN - Tom Gorzelanny vs Carlos Zambrano MON - OFF CUBS at FLA TUE - Ted Lilly vs Dontrelle Willis WED - Jason Marquis vs Sergio Mitre (or Scott Olsen) THU - Steve Trachsel (or Sean Marshall) vs Scott Olsen (or Byung Hyun Kim) NOTE: The Marlins are skipping Mitre's turn this weekend versus the Mets and are talking about removing Mitre from the rotation for the rest of the season, and if that happens, Willis-Olsen-Kim would be the the likely starters for the Marlins versus the Cubs next week. CUBS at CIN FRI - Rich Hill vs Bronson Arroyo SAT - Carlos Zambrano vs Aaron Harang SUN - Ted Lilly vs Tom Shearn NOTE: Lilly would be held back for first game of NLDS if Cubs have clinched by SUN. MIL at CUBS (if necessary) MON - TBD vs Jason Marquis If the Cubs win the N. L. Central (and based on the current N. L. standings)... NLDS schedule: WED 10/3 - Game #1 - CUBS at AZ THU 10/4 - Game #2 - CUBS at AZ FRI 10/5 - OFF SAT 10/6 - Game #3 - AZ at CUBS SUN 10/7 - Game #4 - AZ at CUBS (if necessary) MON 10/8 - OFF TUE 10/9 - Game #5 - CUBS at AZ (if necessary)

Game Chat : BR Preview : Game Notes Aaron Harang vs. Carlos Zambrano Lineups:

N. Hopper CF	A. Soriano LF
J. Keppinger SS	R. Theriot SS
K. Griffey RF	D. Lee 1B
B. Phillips 2B	A. Ramirez 3B
A. Dunn LF	M. Murton RF
E. Encarnacion 3B	M. DeRosa 2B
J. Votto 1B	J. Jones CF
J. Valentin C	J. Kendall C
A. Harang P	C. Zambrano P

These two staff aces hooked up in Wrigley about five weeks ago. The Cubs hit Harang relatively hard, scoring five runs in seven innings. The Reds hit Zambrano harder: 13 hits (11 singles!) and six runs, also in seven innings. The two bullpens were unscored upon and the Reds won the game 6-5. (This was also the game in which Zambrano, remarkably, failed to strike out a single hitter.) Tonight's game marks the first phase of the Cubs' Great Three-Day Rest Experiment involving Zambrano and Wednesday night's starter, Ted Lilly. As previously mentioned on this page, Zambrano has never started a Major League game on just three days' rest. That being the case, last night probably wasn't the ideal night for our bullpen to pitch 4 1/3 innings, though our big guns--Marmol, Howry and Dempster--got the evening off. Perhaps Z can give the entire relief crew a bit of a break tonight.

Game of the Year?

Box Score, Play by Play, Photos

W- Ohman (2-4), five-person infields, on-field celebrations, not backing in to a playoff spot, staying until the end L- Weathers (2-6), Protests, bad calls, leaving early Magic Number - 12 Things to Take from This Game 1. An Incredible Finish. If the Cubs don't make the playoffs, no one will remember this game. If the Cubs do, this will be one of those games people point to as proof of a "magical" season. Having squandered a few opportunities, suffering through bad calls and a mammoth HR that died instead at the top of the ivy, the Cubs rallied for three in the ninth off of Weathers, to win 7-6. Highlights were a Theriot leadoff walk, a Lee single, a Ramirez triple nearly robbed by a diving Hopper, and a Derosa infield single to win it. The dugout emptied onto the field, and the fans screamed along to Go, Cubs, Go!. 2. Another 5-hit game for Derosa. And two of the hits were huge - a home run to follow Floyd's two-run HR in the third, and then the game-winning single in the 9th. 3. Umps calls hurt Cubs. Reds Protest. The umps missed at least three calls that got under the Cubs skin - an unbelievably generous "neighborhood" call at 2nd base on a GIDP attempt where Phillips wasn't within three feet of the bag, a check swing strike on Soriano, and a safe call at first for Dunn, who was out by 4 inches or so. Yet it's the Reds who played the game under protest, on the grounds that Piniella first brought Soto and Eyre into the game, then (and we're talking a matter of a few seconds, here) informed the umpires that it was a double switch. A very strict interpretation of the rules might indicate that this didn't constitute "Immediate" notification, and that when Soto then came to bat, he was batting out of order. Can't imagine that this is anything even remotely worth worrying about. 4. Hill and Co. Hill looked really good early on. He was getting a ton of swinging strike threes on an unusually crisp fastball tonight. Ran into a bit of trouble, seemed to have a brief tweak of the leg, and couldn't get out of the fifth inning. But he struck out 7 and walked 1. Eyre, Hart and Ohman pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless ball - much like the B-team position players giving us a lift yesterday, the B-team relievers gave a huge assist, today. The thrilling, still-in-sole-possesion-of-first-place details, below. (And a recap of a parachat that might be one for the time capsule. Or the incinerator, I suppose.)

With two weeks left in the 2007 MLB season, the Cubs lead the Brewers by one game. The Cubs also trail the Padres by four games in the Wild Card standings, in case that becomes an issue later.