Not the best game, but hey, at least the B-team scored six runs. St. Louis station is now replaying it. I think I'll pass.
Zambrano went to Venezuela this week because his grandmother passed away. I really think they should have started Marshall or someone else and given him an extra day. Oh well.
Brewers free fall continues -- as I write this they are getting killed by the Reds 9-1. Ouch. I think that since Sabathia won't re-sign anyway, they should just pitch him every day.
Question: Who would you rather have on your team: Alfonso Soriano and Mark DeRosa or Gary Matthews and Ryne Sandberg? How about Mark Grace and Shawon Dunston or DLee and Ryan Theriot? Who would you rather have in your bullpen? Kerry Wood or Mitch Williams?
Final question: was Tommy John better before or after the surgery?
Go get 'em tomorrow, Ted Lilly. Need to clinch early. Magic number is going to be one if a few minutes.
best to cb
js
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Yeah, now THAT was awesome!
Yes, indeed. Props to Soto for the big ninth inning bomb and the three guys before him for keeping the game alive.
Mini props to DLee for the walk off single. He still has the same number of homers as does Jim Edmonds -- in TWICE the number of games played...so I'm not totally happy with him, but today is today and he did what we needed him to do. He went 1 - 6 with a walk off single. And a killer DP earlier, but I will not mention that.
Major props to Kerry Wood. Not for the three strike out 11th, although that was dominant and very cool, but for the runners on second and third with no outs in the 12th -- and getting out of it without surrendering a run. THAT won the game for us. That was an iron nut sack performance and it does show that he has what it takes to close.
Edmonds is starting to heat up -- and it's a good time for him with playoffs starting soon. Old guy still has a little fire, too. 19 homers and over 50 rbi's in 78 games. Do the math. Not too shabby.
I wonder if they showed today's game on Fox Sports Cozumel? If not, Doc missed a good one. That'll teach him to take a family vacation during September. What's HE thinking?
I think that Kosuke Ofordome proved conclusively today that he should be strictly a late inning defensive replacement. An expensive one at that, but let's face it -- the MAN CAN'T HIT.
The Brewers now have a very difficult row to hoe even to make the playoffs. (Yes, I wrote it right. It's "row" to hoe, not "road" to hoe. Who hoes roads?) The question, as raised by Doc Rototiller, is who would you rather play? Let's look at that, shall we?
Dodgers -- arguably the hottest team in baseball right now. Clicking on most cylinders. Pretty decent starting pitching. Lowe has been tremendous down the stretch, and has playoff experience. Minus their closer, but Broxton throws 100 and is getting better by the game. Plus you now have to deal with Manny in the middle of a decent young lineup. Better than their record, I'd say.
Mets -- Santana and then what? Pedro for 5.1 innings? Awful bullpen. No closer. Inconsistent offense -- but they've been mashing lately. Delgado seems to have forgotten that he's 47.
Phillies -- not as good as they have been playing. Scary offense. Decent pitching...not as strong as it looked against us a couple of weeks ago.
Brewers -- Sabathia. Can he pitch every game? If not, they're done.
Houston. Oops. Hasn't won since the no no. Big Z "roont" them.
I think we end up with the Mets. I think we'll beat them, and then play the Dodgers for the NL Championship. Look for me at Dodger stadium. I'll be the guy with the Cub shirt.
best to cb
I'll be in St. Louis all weekend. Talking trash if we beat up on the Cards.
js
Mini props to DLee for the walk off single. He still has the same number of homers as does Jim Edmonds -- in TWICE the number of games played...so I'm not totally happy with him, but today is today and he did what we needed him to do. He went 1 - 6 with a walk off single. And a killer DP earlier, but I will not mention that.
Major props to Kerry Wood. Not for the three strike out 11th, although that was dominant and very cool, but for the runners on second and third with no outs in the 12th -- and getting out of it without surrendering a run. THAT won the game for us. That was an iron nut sack performance and it does show that he has what it takes to close.
Edmonds is starting to heat up -- and it's a good time for him with playoffs starting soon. Old guy still has a little fire, too. 19 homers and over 50 rbi's in 78 games. Do the math. Not too shabby.
I wonder if they showed today's game on Fox Sports Cozumel? If not, Doc missed a good one. That'll teach him to take a family vacation during September. What's HE thinking?
I think that Kosuke Ofordome proved conclusively today that he should be strictly a late inning defensive replacement. An expensive one at that, but let's face it -- the MAN CAN'T HIT.
The Brewers now have a very difficult row to hoe even to make the playoffs. (Yes, I wrote it right. It's "row" to hoe, not "road" to hoe. Who hoes roads?) The question, as raised by Doc Rototiller, is who would you rather play? Let's look at that, shall we?
Dodgers -- arguably the hottest team in baseball right now. Clicking on most cylinders. Pretty decent starting pitching. Lowe has been tremendous down the stretch, and has playoff experience. Minus their closer, but Broxton throws 100 and is getting better by the game. Plus you now have to deal with Manny in the middle of a decent young lineup. Better than their record, I'd say.
Mets -- Santana and then what? Pedro for 5.1 innings? Awful bullpen. No closer. Inconsistent offense -- but they've been mashing lately. Delgado seems to have forgotten that he's 47.
Phillies -- not as good as they have been playing. Scary offense. Decent pitching...not as strong as it looked against us a couple of weeks ago.
Brewers -- Sabathia. Can he pitch every game? If not, they're done.
Houston. Oops. Hasn't won since the no no. Big Z "roont" them.
I think we end up with the Mets. I think we'll beat them, and then play the Dodgers for the NL Championship. Look for me at Dodger stadium. I'll be the guy with the Cub shirt.
best to cb
I'll be in St. Louis all weekend. Talking trash if we beat up on the Cards.
js
Not a very good night
Truly horrid night, in my opinion, starting with Joe West behind the plate. His ball/strike calls are as bad as anyone I've ever seen. Why can't MLB do something about that? Forget instant replay on homers -- how about making umpires call strikes as strikes and balls as balls?
That said, we still stunk offensively. It was not all West's fault. Even Sutcliffe called out DLee...said "he's struck out swinging twice -- you need better than that from your number three hitter." I agree. Have for months. He should not be hitting third. Period. I'd rather see Aramis hit third, Soto fourth and Lee fifth if need be. Get Ramirez the extra at bats.
Marquis set the tone. Hit. Walk. Walk. Only upside to the first inning was that Cecil didn't hit a grand slam, merely a base clearing double.
Another interesting comment last night from Sut -- "they were prepared for Sheets, and they can't seem to adjust to anything else." Are we that stupid? Really? "Um, I know that's not Ben Sheets out there, but I'm gonna purtend it is because that's what I purpared fer all day."
Oh, well. It shouldn't matter much. Need for Harden to do his thing tonight and get us back on the winning track. Cut into that magic number and drop the Brewers further back. Get ready to clinch v St. Louis this weekend. I'll actually be in St. Louis this weekend, not that it has anything to do with it. It's not Cozumel, but hey, it's not a vacation.
Go Cubs.
Best to cb
Sherm
That said, we still stunk offensively. It was not all West's fault. Even Sutcliffe called out DLee...said "he's struck out swinging twice -- you need better than that from your number three hitter." I agree. Have for months. He should not be hitting third. Period. I'd rather see Aramis hit third, Soto fourth and Lee fifth if need be. Get Ramirez the extra at bats.
Marquis set the tone. Hit. Walk. Walk. Only upside to the first inning was that Cecil didn't hit a grand slam, merely a base clearing double.
Another interesting comment last night from Sut -- "they were prepared for Sheets, and they can't seem to adjust to anything else." Are we that stupid? Really? "Um, I know that's not Ben Sheets out there, but I'm gonna purtend it is because that's what I purpared fer all day."
Oh, well. It shouldn't matter much. Need for Harden to do his thing tonight and get us back on the winning track. Cut into that magic number and drop the Brewers further back. Get ready to clinch v St. Louis this weekend. I'll actually be in St. Louis this weekend, not that it has anything to do with it. It's not Cozumel, but hey, it's not a vacation.
Go Cubs.
Best to cb
Sherm
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Trivial nonsense
This doesn't mean much...but it interested me, so I'm sharing it. Read it or not.
Baseball -- broken down BY DIVISION -- won/loss, win % and average w/l for all teams in division
AL West: 294 - 308 .489 74 - 77
AL Central: 377 - 376 .501 75 - 75
AL East: 405 - 346 .540 81 - 69
NL West: 348 - 408 .461 70 - 82
NL Central: 464 - 437 .515 77 - 73
NL East: 370 - 373 .498 74 - 75
So, it is obvious that the two best divisions in baseball are the AL East and the NL central. No big surprise there. Therefore, we are looking at the Cubs and either the Rays or Red Sox in the World Series. The Angels W/L is obviously skewed by playing in the weakest division in the AL.
By league?
AL: 1076 - 1030 .511 77 - 74 7 of the 14 teams are .500 or better
NL: 1182 - 1218 .493 74 - 76 8 of the 16 teams are .500 or better
Just thought you'd like to know.
Baseball -- broken down BY DIVISION -- won/loss, win % and average w/l for all teams in division
AL West: 294 - 308 .489 74 - 77
AL Central: 377 - 376 .501 75 - 75
AL East: 405 - 346 .540 81 - 69
NL West: 348 - 408 .461 70 - 82
NL Central: 464 - 437 .515 77 - 73
NL East: 370 - 373 .498 74 - 75
So, it is obvious that the two best divisions in baseball are the AL East and the NL central. No big surprise there. Therefore, we are looking at the Cubs and either the Rays or Red Sox in the World Series. The Angels W/L is obviously skewed by playing in the weakest division in the AL.
By league?
AL: 1076 - 1030 .511 77 - 74 7 of the 14 teams are .500 or better
NL: 1182 - 1218 .493 74 - 76 8 of the 16 teams are .500 or better
Just thought you'd like to know.
MVP
Cub MVP for the year? Very difficult choice. Obviously, Ryan Dempster is near the top of the list...as Mojo says in a comment yesterday. I also have to nominate the following: Aramis Ramirez -- clutch hitting all year with big RBI count. Ryan Theriot -- his defense has been solid, he's been on base all year and has kept his average over .300 all season. Mark DeRosa -- has had a personal career year with average, power numbers, and runs batted in. Not to mention above average defense at multiple positions. Geovany Soto -- outstanding offensive year for a catcher (not to mention a rookie) and is getting so much credit from the pitching staff for being a terrific receiver. Have to give him some of the credit for the success of the staff.
So who is the team MVP? Pretty cool that Dempster could go from closer to starter with such success. He's been just great. But he's not the MVP. Sorry. He's the team Cy Young, if there is such a thing. There should be. It isn't DeRosa or Theriot. They've been great, but their accomplishments are slightly behind those of Soto and Ramirez.
Ramirez is our horse. He's our stud in the lineup. He's the guy you want at bat in the late innings. He's played better defense this year than ever before (except for one game with 3 errors. It happens.) But he's not the MVP. Sorry, Rammy.
Geovany Soto is the MVP of this year's team. He's the rookie of the year, too. He has handled the best pitching staff in baseball all year. And he's taken control, which is unusual and very special. His offense has been amazing...considering his position -- and offense for a catcher is just icing on the cake. This day and age you either get a good defensive catcher OR a catcher who can hit. This kid is both, and he's getting better. Zambrano said that Soto pretty much called the whole no hitter. So there you have it. Our team MVP. Geo Soto.
Nice job, Cubbies, beating CC Sabathia and the Brewers. Wood does not deserve a save for that. How about giving him a "near blow?" (get your mind out of the gutter.) New stat for closers that come in with a two or more run lead and end up winning by the skin of their teeth. I really wish he'd cut that out.
I hear that Fielder gets really, really, really mad when the fans call him Cecil. Therefore, he is forever now Cecil to me. When asked about the pitch he took for strike three to end the game, he said "I'm hungry."
When Sabathia was asked about the pitch to Soriano for the homer, he said "lay off me, I'm starving."
Ned Yost watched the game with Willie Randolph.
I predict an excellent start from Jason Marquis tonight. He's been getting a little extra rest, and it has made a difference these last several starts. He's always had a tough second half...not this year thanks to the extra days off. Look for him to be solid.
Magic number is four for the division and five for home field advantage through the playoffs.
Go Cubs. Look for Fukudome to play well tonight. I have a feeling.
best to cb.
Oh, and I sent a team of thugs to Cozumel to keep Doc there until after the series.
JS
So who is the team MVP? Pretty cool that Dempster could go from closer to starter with such success. He's been just great. But he's not the MVP. Sorry. He's the team Cy Young, if there is such a thing. There should be. It isn't DeRosa or Theriot. They've been great, but their accomplishments are slightly behind those of Soto and Ramirez.
Ramirez is our horse. He's our stud in the lineup. He's the guy you want at bat in the late innings. He's played better defense this year than ever before (except for one game with 3 errors. It happens.) But he's not the MVP. Sorry, Rammy.
Geovany Soto is the MVP of this year's team. He's the rookie of the year, too. He has handled the best pitching staff in baseball all year. And he's taken control, which is unusual and very special. His offense has been amazing...considering his position -- and offense for a catcher is just icing on the cake. This day and age you either get a good defensive catcher OR a catcher who can hit. This kid is both, and he's getting better. Zambrano said that Soto pretty much called the whole no hitter. So there you have it. Our team MVP. Geo Soto.
Nice job, Cubbies, beating CC Sabathia and the Brewers. Wood does not deserve a save for that. How about giving him a "near blow?" (get your mind out of the gutter.) New stat for closers that come in with a two or more run lead and end up winning by the skin of their teeth. I really wish he'd cut that out.
I hear that Fielder gets really, really, really mad when the fans call him Cecil. Therefore, he is forever now Cecil to me. When asked about the pitch he took for strike three to end the game, he said "I'm hungry."
When Sabathia was asked about the pitch to Soriano for the homer, he said "lay off me, I'm starving."
Ned Yost watched the game with Willie Randolph.
I predict an excellent start from Jason Marquis tonight. He's been getting a little extra rest, and it has made a difference these last several starts. He's always had a tough second half...not this year thanks to the extra days off. Look for him to be solid.
Magic number is four for the division and five for home field advantage through the playoffs.
Go Cubs. Look for Fukudome to play well tonight. I have a feeling.
best to cb.
Oh, and I sent a team of thugs to Cozumel to keep Doc there until after the series.
JS
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
What a difference a week makes
Lilly pitched almost as well as Zambrano.
Derrek Lee hit a homer.
The red hot Astros aren't.
Howry pitched a perfect ninth.
Edmonds homered.
A week ago, things were starting to look a little sketchy. Hurricane Ike blew in and took away the blahs, apparently, and all is right in Cubnation for the moment. The Cubs take two of three from the Cardinals, who may now begin their vacation because they are done. We sweep the Astro's in Miller Made Park (much to their chagrin and whining -- more on that in a moment) and suddenly we look like the best team in the NL, and perhaps baseball, again.
Provided that DLee ever homers again, we have a legit shot at six guys with 20 plus homers, which is remarkable. Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, Soto, DeRosa and Edmonds (Edmonds needs two more.) Even more amazing to me, though, is that Fontenot needs one more for ten...and he hasn't had that many at bats. I think he's a twenty homer guy in a full season, too.
Dempster had a great line. When asked about going head to head with Sabathia this week...and asked why he got that assignment, he said "probably the way I swing the bat against lefties." I hope he gets two hits off CC. Speaking of the Brewers -- let's put them away this week once and for all. It is now conceivable (if we don't let them off the mat) that they won't even make the wild card. Which is one of my three 2008 baseball wishes. The other two are that the Cubs win the World Series (that one was obvious) and the other is for me to sing Take me out to the ball game during the stretch at one of the series games. It would be great, wouldn't it, to see the Brewers give up five solid prospects for a pitcher who doesn't get them to the off season (by no fault of his own) and then lose him to free agency? That would tickle my funny bone.
Monumental tank by Milwaukee this week in Philly. It could be the Mets and Phillies who make the playoffs now, along with the Cubs and Dodgers.
Houston is whining. I mean, sure I feel bad about the Hurricane. That's a tough thing to have happen to your city. But come on. You are pros. It shouldn't really matter where you play. Cecil Cooper is complaining to the Comish that Miller wasn't neutral enough. Doesn't he know Cub fans come out like that to every city in the league? It could have been KC. Same thing. They still get no hit. They still lose. They still listen to thousands of Cub fans make noise v the fourteen Astro fans. Doesn't matter where you are.
I gots to do some work. Props again to Lilly for a great effort. Go Cubs.
best to cb
Nice to hear from Smitty and Raker on the SAME day yesterday. Wow. I felt special.
Cozumel rocks.
js
Derrek Lee hit a homer.
The red hot Astros aren't.
Howry pitched a perfect ninth.
Edmonds homered.
A week ago, things were starting to look a little sketchy. Hurricane Ike blew in and took away the blahs, apparently, and all is right in Cubnation for the moment. The Cubs take two of three from the Cardinals, who may now begin their vacation because they are done. We sweep the Astro's in Miller Made Park (much to their chagrin and whining -- more on that in a moment) and suddenly we look like the best team in the NL, and perhaps baseball, again.
Provided that DLee ever homers again, we have a legit shot at six guys with 20 plus homers, which is remarkable. Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, Soto, DeRosa and Edmonds (Edmonds needs two more.) Even more amazing to me, though, is that Fontenot needs one more for ten...and he hasn't had that many at bats. I think he's a twenty homer guy in a full season, too.
Dempster had a great line. When asked about going head to head with Sabathia this week...and asked why he got that assignment, he said "probably the way I swing the bat against lefties." I hope he gets two hits off CC. Speaking of the Brewers -- let's put them away this week once and for all. It is now conceivable (if we don't let them off the mat) that they won't even make the wild card. Which is one of my three 2008 baseball wishes. The other two are that the Cubs win the World Series (that one was obvious) and the other is for me to sing Take me out to the ball game during the stretch at one of the series games. It would be great, wouldn't it, to see the Brewers give up five solid prospects for a pitcher who doesn't get them to the off season (by no fault of his own) and then lose him to free agency? That would tickle my funny bone.
Monumental tank by Milwaukee this week in Philly. It could be the Mets and Phillies who make the playoffs now, along with the Cubs and Dodgers.
Houston is whining. I mean, sure I feel bad about the Hurricane. That's a tough thing to have happen to your city. But come on. You are pros. It shouldn't really matter where you play. Cecil Cooper is complaining to the Comish that Miller wasn't neutral enough. Doesn't he know Cub fans come out like that to every city in the league? It could have been KC. Same thing. They still get no hit. They still lose. They still listen to thousands of Cub fans make noise v the fourteen Astro fans. Doesn't matter where you are.
I gots to do some work. Props again to Lilly for a great effort. Go Cubs.
best to cb
Nice to hear from Smitty and Raker on the SAME day yesterday. Wow. I felt special.
Cozumel rocks.
js
Monday, September 15, 2008
A thought
As the no hitter continues -- Lilly goes three up and three down in the bottom of the first -- I started to wonder. What if no one ever gets another hit against Cub pitching? What if no hitters become so common that Lou starts pulling guys because of pitch counts and letting the bullpen mop up with no hit relief? Could happen. I was just thinking it and thought I'd share.
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