Archive - Jun 30, 2009
GameCast: June 30th at Pittsburgh
Ted Lilly (7-5, 3.41 ERA) vs. Ross Ohlendorf (6-6, 4.75 ERA)
Story-Lines
Fresh off a fairly long bout with losing, the Cubs managed to beat the Pirates yesterday 3 to 1. Today the Cubs should have a pretty decent shot of winning as their best pitcher this season squares off against a guy who would hemorrhage runs against a more offensively competent team than the Cubs.
We keep talking about momentum as if it is something that even a team as rocky as the Cubs can grasp. I can only direct you to the Colorado Rockies, who were at their low point 20-32. Since then they've rattled off an 11-game winning streak and are 20-6. Momentum.
Then again, as I write this the Cubs are being 1-hit by Ross Ohlendorf. It's probably not a good thing that he has apparently joined the long line of pitchers who've had their best games of the year against the Cubs. You know why it's happened? Inertia. Like the fat kid trying to peddle his bike from a stand-still up a steep hill, it's reallllly hard to get started sometimes.
Who's Hot
Jake "Please Let Me Play" Fox. In the past week the young man is 9 for 23 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 6 RBI. Apparently he may actually belong in the major leagues, defensive incompetence be damned.
Alfonso Soriano. Is he finally awaking from hibernation and crawling out of the Slump Cave? In the past week the Fonz is batting .300 with a .344 OBP -- the sort of numbers that are actually passable for a leadoff guy.
Who's Not
Pretty much everybody else. It's the same old story. Team can't hit, blah blah, shaky bullpen, yadda yadda, crazy guy on roster, etc.
Conclusion
Assuming that today's crazy guy is actually Ted Lilly, and he displays his insanity by owning the Pirates from innings 1 through 9, then the Cubs just might sneak off with their second straight win. But it's a big assumption. This team needs an injection, and not of the steroid variety.
News Flash: The Shark Is Back
Following yesterday's Fuld-for-Miles move, the Cubs have another roster swap to announce.
According to ESPN.com, the Cubs will send Jose Ascanio back to Iowa, and will recall fan favorite Jeff Samardzija to replace him. Samardzija will operate out of the bullpen for the Cubs.
In terms of pure stuff, it seems like Samardzija should have Wells' rotation spot, and Wells should be in the 'pen. But Wells has done nothing but succeed while pitching as a starter, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Jeff's issue has always been control, and if you check his player page with the Iowa Cubs, you'll see that he's still been walkin' dudes, even in his past few games. Hopefully he's able to throw strikes at the major league level.
As a refresher, here's our current bullpen:
Gregg (CL)
Marmol (SU)
Heilman
Marshall
Hart
Patton
Samardzija
Getting Guzman back from the DL will make that a pretty serviceable group, if you ask me.
Game Recap: Cubs 3, Pirates 1 - Looks like they can win close ones after all
On a day in which the Chicago Cubs could've been hurdled by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the standing, Rich Harden stood up and delivered 7 strong innings, minus one blip in the 5th in which he loaded the bases and surrendered a run before escaping. Harden was then relieved by Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg, both of whom delivered hitless, walkeless, scoreless 8th and 9th innings for the Cubs. Apparently 1-2-3 innings are so rare with those guys that it bares mentioning in this recap. Offensively the Cubs were able to collect 7 hits and draw 2 walks, with multi-hit days coming from Milton Bradley and Jake Fox. How about Fox, by the way? Two weeks ago he was a pinch hitter whose defensive skills were so terrible that the Cubs couldn't possibly think of him in a starting role. Except now he's holding down the fort at third (and whether his defensive skills are on par with Keith Moreland, Ron Cey, or a cardboard box he hasn't cost the Cubs any games over where) while batting .347. Speaking of getting hits, Ryan Theriot knocked his 7th homerun of the year last night. Before this season Theriot had 7 career homeruns, so naturally he's on steroids. I wonder what Colin thinks about him these days? The Cubs remain within striking distance of first place. It's probably wrong to expect a sweep, but a series win would be huge considering that the Cubs play their next two sets against two of the three teams ahead of them in the standings. It's not too late to go on a rampage. Another win today would be heee-yuuuuuge.
That was more like the Rich Harden we remember.
