Alfonso Soriano
Alfonso Soriano for DH! (Vote Early & Often)
Alfonso Soriano homered twice and Brett Jackson whacked a three-run home run, leading the Cubs to an 11-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in warm, sunny, and windy (sometimes VERY windy) Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.
An Early Sunday Rainout, so it's TIME TO RANT
They called the sunday (almost) finale of the Giants series early enough that a fan from Kenosha driving to Wrigley didn't have to get much past the Illinois border before turning around and calling a sports talk show to say thanks for the game cancellation update. Postponing the game early was the right thing to do. Playing last night in similar weather was not. I guess a national Fox broadcast causes funny decisions to be made.
Today's rainout has been rescheduled as a day-night doubleheader on Tuesday, June 28th. It's a quirky schedule that has the Giants coming to Wrigley Field twice this year otherwise they would have lost a scheduled day off to make up this game.
I need to vent some frustration and reflect on the week just past...
Cubs Spring Training Notes
- Quade has named his Opening Day starter and it won't be Zambrano's 7th straight start which would have tied Ferguson Jenkins for the Cubs record. Instead it will be Ryan Dempster, followed by Z and then Matt Garza. Z will get the road opener start against the Brewers. Presumambly the last two spots are still open with Randy Wells and Carlos Silva likely occupying them with James Russell and Andrew Cashner on the outside looking in.
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Updates on Beatings, Byrd and Berg
Update:
Lineups for Cubs @ Diamondbacks...
Cubs vs. Ian Kennedy
Fukudome 9, Theriot 4, Byrd 8, Colvin 7, Nady 3, Ramirez 5, Castro 6, Soto 2, Gorzelanny 1
D-backs vs. Tom Gorzelanny
Young 8, Johnson 4, Upton 9, Montero 2, Reynolds 5, LaRoche 3, Drew 6, Gillespie 7, Kennedy 1
The dramatic high point of my Independence Day was seeing a little kid take a dump in our community pool.
Speaking of the Cubs...
— Sunday's 14-3 loss marked not just the Cubs' second defeat to the Reds by 11 or more runs in the course of their four-game series, it was the Cubs' third such shellacking in their past nine home games. (You may have forgotten this doozy from a couple weeks back.)
Not sure what other point to make about this except personally, I'm pretty numb to the whole business. The 14-3's no longer bother me any more than the 3-1's or 2-0's.
Acceptance is the last of the Seven Stages of Grief, right?
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Game #63 recap: Cubs 1, White Sox 0, Lilly Almost
Addendum: In cycling through Cub no-hit history, ESPN's Jon Miller mentioned that the Cubs have not been on the short end of a no-hitter since Sandy Koufax tossed a perfect game against the Cubs back in 1965. That was the game that saw Cub loser Bob Hendley allow the Dodgers just one hit. Joe Morgan intoned that he heard the ninth inning of that game on the radio as he and his Houston Astro teammates drove into the city from the L.A. airport; they were scheduled to play the Dodgers the next night. Morgan said he specifically remembered Koufax striking out Ernie Banks in the 9th to preserve the perfect game. Would it surprise you to know that Morgan was wrong? Nope. Didn't surprise me either.
The Cubs held on to beat the White Sox, 1-0, Sunday night at Wrigley Field. The game saw Ted Lilly and Gavin Floyd locked up in a double no-hit duel until Alfonso Soriano collected the game's first hit, a double inside the leftfield line with two out in the Cubs seventh. Chad Tracy then followed with a sharp ground-ball single that plated Soriano with the game's only run.
A Homely Return Home: Cubs Lose to Florida, 4-2
The Cubs lost for the sixth time in seven tries as the Marlins scored three times in the 7th inning to overcome a 2-1 Cub lead and go on to win 4-2 at Wrigley Field.
You wouldn't think a team could pack so much failure into a simple 4-2 loss, but well...
Alfonso Soriano and the Kaplan Conspiracy
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Soriano Slider Watch
Theories have been abundant on the rapid decline of $100 million dollar man Alfonso Soriano, from age, to bad legs, to just a bad season in 2009 because of bad legs and his age. As our man Transmission showed last year, as well as Joe Posnanski and a few other articles, part of the puzzle was teams throwing more sliders to Soriano as well as Soriano not doing his normal damage on fastballs.
So let's see how Opening Day went for #12 with the caveat that Pitch F/X and its pitch recognition isn't 100% accurate.
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Soriano Blast Is All Cubs Need
Alfonso Soriano had three hits including a two-run HR and Carlos Silva threw five innings of shutout ball, as the Cubs blanked the Colorado Rockies 2-0 before 10,005 fans in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in breezy & (mostly) sunny Mesa, Arizona, this afternoon.
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Buck Stops Here
Travis Buck homered to key a three-run 9th, as an Oakland A's split squad defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny & breezy Mesa, Arizona, this afternoon.
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Recent comments
fullykräusened (view)
My first thought was that Hendricks was IL'd with a broken ERA, but after some quick research, you're right about MLB making at least some effort to discourage the "phantom IL."
crunch (view)
luke little rejoins the MLB party...
crunch (view)
hendricks IL...lower back...
given recent backlash by MLB, i doubt this is a phanton IL.
wtf...also drew smyly to IL...right hip...
crunch (view)
boston, houston, miami...lots of potential suitors for a backup 1st/DH who won't be pain if they need regular ABs
Childersb3 (view)
BOS 1B Casas just hit the IL. Maybe Cooper goes there.
Cooper leaving does open a 40man spot. Probably for an arm at some point.
Horton?
Maybe Caissie
crunch (view)
now that cooper is gone, who's going to the IL? seems like it will probably be a pitcher at this point.
crunch (view)
can't wait to see what A-ball fringe corner OF/1st he'll be traded for...
Childersb3 (view)
Cooper DFA'd
Arizona Phil (view)
Players on the 40 can be recalled and be placed on the MLB Taxi Squad for one day, like for example if a club is unsure if a player might or might not be placed on the IL ("game time decision"). Like maybe Happ, for example.
Also, a player on the MLB Taxi Squad must be returned to his optional assignment the next day if he is not officially recalled to the 26-man roster.
The player is NOT paid at the MLB split rate and does NOT accrue MLB Service Time while he is on the Taxi Squad. Also, it is not considered to be an official recall / option back if he is not added to the 26-man roster.
Arizona Phil (view)
Wesneski has not spent 15 days on optional assignment since he was optioned so he cannot be recalled unless he is replacing a player being placed on the IL or other MLB inactive list (Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical, et al), a player who is traded, or a player who is claimed off waivers.