Gameday Open Thread
Game 32 Thread / Cubs @ Reds (1 of 3)
- Read more about Game 32 Thread / Cubs @ Reds (1 of 3)
- 58 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 31 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (3 of 3)
- Read more about Game 31 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (3 of 3)
- 19 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 30 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (2 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | *Ted Lilly |
SP |
Kyle Lohse |
1-4, 6.46, 25 K, 13 BB | 3-0, 2.36, 14 K, 8 BB | ||
LF |
Alfonso Soriano | LF |
*Skip Schumaker |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | 2B |
Brendan Ryan |
1B |
Derrek Lee | 1B |
Albert Pujols |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome | RF |
Ryan Ludwick |
3B |
Mark DeRosa | 3B |
Troy Glaus |
C |
Geovany Soto | CF |
*Rick Ankiel |
2B |
*Mike Fontenot | C |
Yadier Molina |
CF |
Reed Johnson | P |
Kyle Lohse |
P |
*Ted Lilly |
SS |
#Cesar Izturis |
Breaking News: The Cubs have demoted Rich Hill to AAA Iowa and replaced him on the roster with Sean Gallagher, who will be available to pitch this afternoon in St. Louis.
Of the now departed Hill and his one-inning, four-walk effort last night in St. Louis, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said:
"Hill can't start like this in the big leagues. C'mon. Every time he pitches, it's an adventure. He's doing his best, but we have no bullpen. I don't know what the solution is, but I can't start him anymore until this thing gets taken care of."
About this afternoon's game: With the stink of last night's loss still in the air, the Cubs try to square their series against the Cardinals. The Cards have won three in a row and five of six; the Cubs have lost six of eight. Still, the Cubs have MLB's third-best record, while the Cardinals, who better get to work if they're going to see that 90-loss season so many of us were planning for them, have the game's second-best mark at 19-11. (The D-backs lead the way at 20-9).
- Read more about Game 30 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (2 of 3)
- 37 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 29 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (1 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | *Rich Hill |
SP |
Adam Wainwright |
1-0, 3.79, 14 K, 14 BB | 3-1, 2.79, 28 K, 9 BB | ||
LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
LF |
Brian Barton |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | CF |
*Rick Ankiel |
1B |
Derrek Lee | 1B |
Albert Pujols |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez | 3B |
Trou Glaus |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome | RF |
Ryan Ludwick |
2B |
Mark DeRosa | C |
Yadier Molina |
C | Geovany Soto |
SS |
#Cesar Izturis |
CF |
*Felix Pie |
C |
Adam Wainwright |
P | *Rich Hill | 2B | Brendan Ryan |
First place is on the line this weekend in St. Louis, as the rivals battle each other for the first time this year. The Cards expected to struggle, particularly early on in the season while their pitching staff got healthy, are on top of the division. Mostly thanks to a patient offense (lead the NL in walks) and a surprising pitching staff, particularly from Todd Wellemeyer and Kyle Lohse.
- Read more about Game 29 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (1 of 3)
- 60 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 28 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (3 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | Yovani Gallardo |
SP |
Carlos Zambrano |
0-0, 0.64, 9 K, 5 BB | 4-1, 2.21, 32 K, 9 BB | ||
2B |
Rickie Weeks | LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
CF |
Mike Cameron | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
LF |
Ryan Braun | 1B |
Derrek Lee |
1B |
*Prince Fielder | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
RF |
Corey Hart | RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
3B |
Bill Hall | 2B |
Mark DeRosa |
SS |
*Craig Counsell | C |
Geovany Soto |
P |
Yovani Gallardo | CF |
Reed Johnson |
C | Jason Kendall |
P | #Carlos Zambrano |
Fonzie returns to the lineup as the Cubs go for 2-of-3 against the Brewers and try to grab some momentum heading into big road series in Saint Loo and Cincinnati.
- Read more about Game 28 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (3 of 3)
- 93 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 27 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (2 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | Jeff Suppan |
SP |
Ryan Dempster |
1-0, 3.48, 11 K, 10 BB | 3-0, 2.90, 21 K, 14 BB | ||
2B |
Rickie Weeks | LF |
Reed Johnson |
CF |
Mike Cameron | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
LF |
Ryan Braun | 1B |
Derrek Lee |
1B |
*Prince Fielder | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
RF |
Corey Hart | RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
3B |
Bill Hall | 2B |
Mark DeRosa |
SS |
JJ Hardy | C |
Geovany Soto |
P |
Jeff Suppan | CF |
*Felix Pie |
C | Jason Kendall |
P | Ryan Dempster |
The Cubs are one loss from dropping out of first place behind the Cardinals and into a second place tie with the Brewers. A loss would also give the Cubs their first real losing streak of the season (I start counting at three) and they'd lose a second consecutive series to their main competition for the Central crown. So yeah, today would certainly be a nice day for a win.
Dempster will take to the mound to try and help accomplish that and he did start the one lone victory in the opening series. We'lll happily take another six inning, two walk, five strikeout, one earned run performance if you have it in you. He hasn't had a lot of experience versus the members of the current Brewers (possibly the reason for his last success), but do watch out for Jason Kendall who's 13 for 28 versus Dempster for a 464/583/536 line.
- Read more about Game 27 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (2 of 3)
- 34 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 26 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (1 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | Ben Sheets |
SP |
Jason Marquis |
3-0, 0.96, 24 K, 4 BB | 1-0, 3.47, 15 K, 9 BB | ||
2B |
Rickie Weeks | LF |
Reed Johnson |
CF |
Mike Cameron | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
LF |
Ryan Braun | 1B |
Derrek Lee |
1B |
*Prince Fielder | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
RF |
Corey Hart | RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
3B |
Bill Hall | 2B |
Mark DeRosa |
SS |
JJ Hardy | C |
Geovany Soto |
P |
Ben Sheets | CF |
*Felix Pie |
C | Jason Kendall |
P | *Jason Marquis |
No, you're not imagining things--this is the Brewers' second visit to Wrigley Field in the season's first month while the Cubs have yet to visit Milwaukee and won't do so until after the All-Star break.
While the Cubs (16-9) were losing two of three on the road to the Nationals and scoring 10 runs this past weekend, the Brewers (14-11) were dropping two of three at home to the Marlins and scoring six runs. The Brewers, who led the NL in batting with RISP (.303) going into the series, went just 1-for-26 against the Marlins in those same situations.
- Read more about Game 26 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (1 of 3)
- 18 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 25 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (3 of 3)
- Read more about Game 25 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (3 of 3)
- 16 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 24 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (2 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | Carlos Zambrano |
SP |
*Matt Chico |
3-1, 2.67, 27 K, 5 BB | 0-4, 6.04, 17 K, 10 BB | ||
CF |
Reed Johnson |
2B |
#Felipe Lopez |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | SS |
#Cristian Guzman |
1B |
Derrek Lee | 3B |
Ryan Zimmerman |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez | 1B |
*Nick Johnson |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome | CF |
Lastings Milledge |
LF |
Mark DeRosa | RF |
Austin Kearns |
C | Geovany Soto |
C |
#Johnny Estrada |
2B |
Ronny Cedeno | LF |
Wily Mo Peña |
P | #Carlos Zambrano | P | *Matt Chico |
And so it falls to Cub ace Carlos Zambrano on this, Hack Wilson's 108th birthday, to reverse the curse:
The Chicago Cubs have never won a game in Washington's Natonals Park. For the love of God, they've never even held a lead!!!
The Chicago offense went hitless in seven AB's with men in scoring position in Friday night's 5-3 defeat. Ryan Theriot, however, was able to extend his National League lead in Caught Stealing.
- Read more about Game 24 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (2 of 3)
- 18 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Game 23 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (1 of 3)
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | Ryan Dempster |
SP |
*Odalis Perez |
3-0, 3.00, 16K, 11 BB | 0-3, 3.38, 20 K, 12 BB | ||
CF |
Reed Johnson |
2B |
#Felipe Lopez |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | SS |
#Cristian Guzman |
1B |
Derrek Lee | 3B |
Ryan Zimmerman |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez | 1B |
*Nick Johnson |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome | CF |
Lastings Milledge |
LF |
Mark DeRosa | C |
#Johnny Estrada |
C | Geovany Soto |
LF |
Wily Mo Peña |
2B |
Ronny Cedeno | RF |
*Rob Mackowiak |
P | Ryan Dempster | P | *Odalis Perez |
WIth tonight's first-ever visit to Nationals Park, the Cubs will have played in three different cities in three different time zones, necessitating somewhere around 2,700 miles in air travel, all in a little over 72 hours. Gotta love those schedule gremlins.
Even with yesteday's loss to the Rockies, the first-place Cubs have won 8 of 10. After opening the season 3-0, the fifth-place Nationals, who needed 13 hits against the Mets on Thursday to raise their team average to .233, have lost 16 of 20.
- Read more about Game 23 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (1 of 3)
- 9 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Recent comments
crunch (view)
happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).
he will be reevaluated tomorrow.
Childersb3 (view)
I guess I'm not looking for that type of AB
Just a difference of opinion
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.
I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.
Childersb3 (view)
Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH.
He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.
You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)
crunch (view)
bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.
the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?
I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.
Charlie (view)
Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.
The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.
I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.
Arizona Phil (view)
Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical).
And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical).
And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day.
That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled).
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Indeed they do TJW!
For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.
That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.