Game 161 Thread / Cubs @ Brewers (3 of 3)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP	Angel Guzman	SP	*C.C. Sabathia
	0-0, 7.04, 6 K, 4 BB, 7.2 IP	(NL)	10-2, 1.78, 121 K, 24 BB, 121.2 IP
LF	Alfonso Soirano	CF	Mike Cameron
SS	Ryan Theriot	2B	#Ray Durham
1B	Derrek Lee	LF	Ryan Braun
3B	Aramis Ramirez	1B	*Prince Fielder
CF	Reed Johnson	SS	J.J. Hardy
RF	*Micah Hoffpauir	RF	Corey Hart
2B	Ronny Cedeno	3B	*Craig Counsell
C	Henry Blanco	C	Jason Kendall
P	Angel Guzman	P	*C.C. Sabathia

 

First, Paul Sullivan writes that despite his recent travails (5.40 ERA in September), Jeff Samardzija has made the post-season roster and that Chad Gaudin will likely be a spectator.

As for today's game, Mark DeRosa (calf strain) was hoping to get in a few swings so he didn't have to go into the playoffs cold. Alas, he is not in the starting lineup. Geovany Soto (sore hand) is also sitting.

The Brewers begin play tied with the Mutts for the Wild Card, with a one-game tiebreaker tomorrow at Shea in the teams' futures if things don't get settled today. (As I post this, the Marlins and Mets are waiting out a rain delay at Shea.)

 

"It's not going to matter because, well, it is going to matter but it's not going to matter,"

Translated into English, it means that Lou Piniella decided that Carlos Zambrano would not pitch the first inning or two of today's regular season finale at Milwaukee and Angel Guzman will.

Translated into Sullivanese...

...what Piniella was trying to say was that whoever his starter was, he was only planning on pitching him an inning or two anyway, having decided already that Sunday will be a "bullpen day" when almost everyone on the playoff roster will get one final chance to throw before Game 1 on Wednesday. Guzman makes his eighth career start as a Cub, his first since in 2007.

 

(According to cubs.com, Zambrano, the scheduled Game 2 starter in the NLDS, would actually prefer "to throw on the side Sunday, then have a bullpen session Monday at Wrigley Field.")

Soon-to-be free agent Sabathia makes his 17th and most likely last regular season start as a Brewer. Though his NL numbers are sparkling, and the Brewers wouldn't even be within sniffing distance of a post-season spot within him, Sabathia has been entirely mortal in his two starts against the Cubs: 13.2 IP, 18 H, and 7 ER, plus a loss and an ND.

Guzman has appeared in five games for the Cubs, all losses. One of the appearances was against the Brewers at Wrigley,in which he hit Ryan Braun before yielding consecutive hits to Fielder (single), Hardy (double), and Hart (single).