Cubnut's Archives
Game 2 NLDS / Dodgers @ Cubs
SP | Chad Billingsley | SP | Carlos Zambrano |
|
16-10, 3.14, 201 K, 80 BB, 200.2 IP |
2008 | 14-6, 3.91, 130 K, 72 BB, 188.2 IP |
||
0-0, 0.00, 3 K, 0 BB, 2 IP |
Post | 0-1, 4.37, 20 K, 6 BB, 22.2 IP |
||
SS |
#Rafael Furcal | LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
|
C |
Russell Martin |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | |
LF |
Manny Ramirez | 1B |
Derrek Lee |
|
RF |
*Andre Ethier |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
|
1B |
*James Loney |
2B |
Mark DeRosa | |
CF |
Matt Kemp |
CF |
*Jim Edmonds |
|
2B |
*Blake DeWitt |
C |
Geovany Soto |
|
3B |
Casey Blake |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
|
P |
Chad Billingsley | P | #Carlos Zambrano |
It has taken a good 21 hours of self pity and a bracing White Sox defeat to clear my head and even let me think about previewing Game Two.
Yes, last night went down harsh, but from reading Rob's post and many of the ensuing comments earlier this afternoon, it is clear that there are still some optimistic souls in Cubdom. All I can say is, God bless you all.
Starters' Records Since 8/1/08 |
|||||||||
W |
L |
IP |
H/9 |
K/9 |
BB/9 |
ERA |
HR/9 |
No-Hitters Thrown |
|
Billingsley |
5 | 1 |
62 | 10.2 | 8.1 |
3.5 | 3.34 | .73 | 0 |
Zambrano | 2 | 2 | 47 | 8.6 | 6.5 |
5.0 | 7.28 | 1.80 | 1 |
Billingsley pitched twice against the Cubs this season. On both occasions, he matched up with Ryan Dempster. Once, Billingsley threw well (7 K, 2 ER in 6 IP); the other time, he threw not as well. The Cubs won both contests.
Among Cub hitters, only Jim Edmonds has more than 10 career plate appearances against the 23-year-old Billingsley, though Fukudome, Lee, and DeRosa have all tagged him for homers.
Zambrano, meanwhile,
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Cubs to Win World Series, and Other Hopeful Links
--At the Baseball Analysts, Ross Roley explains why the Cubs have a 22% likelihood of winning the World Series. That's the marginally bad news. The good news is, that's the highest probability for any of the competing playoff teams, according to Roley. The Brewers come in second at 16%. The Angels, with the best record in baseball, weigh in at just 13%. Predicting the result of a short series is an inexact science at best.
Cubs vs. Dodgers—Stacking Up the Stats
How the Cubs and their NLDS opponents stacked up in a variety of statistical categories. (Team's National League rankings appear in parens; "DER" refers to Defensive Efficiency Ratio and "RZR" refers to Revised Zone Rating. Throughout, * means stats are through Saturday, 9/27. )
CUBS |
L.A. |
|
Hitting | ||
855 (1st) |
RS |
700 (13th) |
184 (5th) | HR |
137 (13th) |
.355 (1st) |
OBP |
.333 (6th) |
.445 (1st) |
SLG |
.400 (13th) |
800 (1st) |
OPS |
733 (11th) |
Pitching | ||
668 (2nd) |
RA |
645 (1st) |
3.87 (2nd) |
ERA |
3.68 (1st) |
2.30 (3rd) | K/BB |
2.51 (2nd) |
711 (2nd) |
OPS vs. |
691 (1st) |
66% (4th) |
SV % |
65% (5th) |
Fielding* | ||
.706 (1st) |
DER |
.693 (9th) |
.832 (6th) |
RZR |
.825 (12th) |
Here's another interesting set of numbers—the performance of the Dodgers offense before and after the acqusition of Manny Ramirez:
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Game 161 Thread / Cubs @ Brewers (3 of 3)
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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.
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Cub Ticket Lawsuit Fever—Catch It!
So maybe you and a group of acquaintances divvy up some Cubs season tickets. Now that the boys are going to the playoffs and playing an as-yet-undetermined number of games at Wrigley, what do you do? What else—you sue!
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Game 158 Thread / Cubs @ Mets (4 of 4)
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Game 157 Thread / Cubs @ Mets (3 of 4)
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SP | Carlos Zambrano |
SP | *Oliver Perez |
|
14-6, 3.77, 128 K, 68 BB, 184 IP | 10-7, 4.10, 168 K, 97 BB, 184.1 IP |
|
LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
SS |
#Jose Reyes |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | LF |
*Daniel Murphy |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
3B |
David Wright |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
CF |
#Carlos Beltran |
RF |
Mark DeRosa | 1B |
*Carlos Delgado |
CF |
Reed Johnson |
RF |
*Ryan Church |
2B |
Ronny Cedeno |
C |
*Brian Schneider |
C |
Henry Blanco |
2B |
#Argenis Reyes |
P |
#Carlos Zambrano |
P | *Oliver Perez |
After a lifetime spent listening to ballgames on the radio, I have come to associate certain parks with a certain tone, a certain pitch in the crowd sound. Obviously, my ear is well attuned to the way that Wrigley Field crowds come across on-air. Same with Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park, and the Metrodome. (Loved hearing all those Twins fans Tuesday night!)
Shea Stadium is another one of those parks. Unlike what you hear over the radio from those other parks, however, the crowd sound that goes out over the airwaves from a raucous Shea isn't one of collective joy. It's much more coarse, much more dangerous, a wild, unruly roar—like the sound of inmates rooting on two guys aiming to shank each other in the middle of the yard.
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Game 152 Thread / Cardinals @ Cubs
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SP | Adam Wainwright |
SP | Carlos Zambrano |
|
9-3, 3.20, 84 K, 26 BB, 121 IP | 14-5, 3.41, 127 K, 65 BB, 182.1 IP |
|
CF |
*Skip Schumaker |
LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
LF |
Ryan Ludwick | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
1B | Albert Pujols |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
2B | Felipe Lopez | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
3B |
Troy Glaus |
CF | *Jim Edmonds |
RF | *Adam Kennedy |
RF |
Mark DeRosa |
SS |
*Aaron Miles |
2B |
*Mike Fontenot |
P |
Adam Wainwright |
C |
Henry Blanco |
C |
Jason Larue |
P | #Carlos Zambrano |
In his post-game press conference Thursday, a giggly Lou Piniella implied he was planning to go out last night to tie one on in celebration of the spectacular comeback victory. (I believe the exact quote was, "This is going to be a bad night for me.") It's a relief then, looking at today's lineup, to see Lou didn't stumble into the lockerroom still drunk and blindly pencil Koyie Hill into the leadoff spot as his second baseman or give a spot start to Michael Wuertz.
Geovany Soto gets the day off owing to irritation of a joint in his left hand. He is listed as day-to-day.
Our man Zambrano makes his first start since last Sunday's no-no at Milwaukee. I took a look at the last ten National Leaguers to throw complete game no-hitters before Zambrano to see how they fared in their very next outing.
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Game 151 Thread / Brewers @ Cubs (3 of 3)
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The Chicago Cubs—Your 2008 NL Central Executioners
Out of the corner of my eye last night, the one corner that wasn't marveling at how grotesquely obese Prince Fielder has become, I noticed what was happening to a couple of our National League Central friends:
The Cardinals, who were officially eliminated from the division race last night, were continuing to get their brains beaten in (six straight losses, five straight road losses, and 10 road losses in their last 11 tries), and the Astros were continuing to not hit (a 5-1 loss at Florida, which means Houston has scored two runs in three games).
Most everyone agrees that the Cards overachieved all season long and that they haven't been viable contenders for quite a while. However, if LaRussa & Co. had any flickering hopes, the Cubs went a very long way toward snuffing them out with their series win in St. Louis last week.
As for the Astros...
Brewers Fire Yost...the Chicago Way
Dan Fox offers a historical perspective on the Brewers' firing of Ned Yost while in the thick of the race for the post-season.
Turns out the 1932 Cubs were the first team to change managers mid-season (Rogers Hornsby out; Charlie Grimm in) and then go on to win the pennant. The 1938 Cubs repeated the maneuver (Grimm out; Gabby Hartnett in) and again, the result was a National League championship.
Cub-related names are all over this phenomenon:
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Game 147 Thread / Cubs @ Astros (kinda), (1 of 2)
[Updated 10:40 by ruz]: Whoooooooo!!!!!!!
Game 145 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (2 of 3)
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SP | *Ted Lilly |
SP | Braden Looper |
13-9, 4.43, 161 K, 60 BB, 176.2 IP | 12-11, 4.09, 87 K, 41 BB, 174 IP |
||
LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
SS |
Cesar Izturis |
SS |
Ryan Theriot |
3B | #Felipe Lopez |
1B | Derrek Lee |
1B |
Albert Pujols |
3B | Aramis Ramirez |
RF |
Ryan Ludwick |
C |
Geovany Soto |
C |
Yadier Molina |
RF | *Kosuke Fukudome |
LF |
Josh Phelps |
2B |
Mark DeRosa |
2B |
*Adam Kennedy |
CF |
*Felix Pie |
P | Braden Looper |
P | *Ted Lilly |
CF |
*Skip Schumaker |
With the NL Central race now firmly under his team's control, Cubs manager Lou Piniella sounds like a guy who is prepared to enjoy a low-stress wind-down to his team's regular season before he has to deal with the high drama of the National League playoffs.
"After that little rough patch on the last homestand, it's good to see us clicking again," Piniella said following Tuesday night's one-sided win against the Cardinals. "We're playing like we expect to win and doing the things that got us here. It's fun to watch this club play right now."
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Game 144 Thread / Cubs @ Cardinals (1 of 3)
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SP | Ryan Dempster |
SP | Kyle Lohse |
15-6, 2.99, 167 K, 72 BB, 183.2 IP |
13-6, 3.76, 106 K, 44 BB, 182 IP |
||
LF |
Alfonso Soriano |
CF |
*Skip Schumaker |
2B | *Mike Fontenot |
3B | Troy Glaus |
1B | Derrek Lee |
1B |
Albert Pujols |
3B | Aramis Ramirez |
RF |
Ryan Ludwick |
RF | Mark DeRosa |
LF |
*Rick Ankiel |
CF | *Jim Edmonds |
C |
Yadier Molina |
C |
Geovany Soto |
2B |
#Felipe Lopez |
SS |
Ronny Cedeno |
P | Kyle Lohse |
P | Ryan Dempster |
SS |
Cesar Izturis |
The Cubs and the Cardinals meet in the first of three at Busch and the first of six matchups between now and the end of the season. The Cubs lead the season series, 5-4, and have won 10 of their last 15 in St. Louis.
Dempster won his only start this year against the Cardinals, allowing 2 ER over 6 2/3 in a 6-2 Cub victory in early August. Lohse is 0-1, 6.92 in a pair of starts this season vs. the Cubs, but is otherwise having a fine year, producing more ground balls, yielding fewer long balls, and allowing fewer walks than at virtually any other point in his MLB career.
Thread for Games 142, 143 / Cubs @ Reds
Update: We decided to try the losing thing all over again. A brutal, brutal, brutal 9th inning made possible by Kerry Wood's lack of control, Ronny Cedeno's inability to field a ground ball, and the offense's inability to take advantage of the myriad opportunities it had to crush a horrible team.
Good news—the Brewers lost and nearly got themselves perfect-gamed by Chris Young of the Padres, thus ending a 2-5 homestand which included a four-game split with San Diego. What's more galling: splitting four with the Padres at home or losing two of three to the Reds in Cincinnati? (There appeared to be so many Cub fans at the Great American Ballpark this weekend, I think these games should go against our home record.)
Update: The losing streak is over; the winning streak has begun.
Jason Marquis gave up just two ER over 7 1/3 Saturday night, and Cub hitters beat the Cub bullpen, 14-7.
Micah Hoffpauir started in right field, and Dave van Dyck writes that former Rookie of the Year candidate Kosuke Fukudome may want to get used to the view from the dugout.
If adversity really does build character, the Cubs are on their way to having a locker room full of Albert Schweitzers and Abraham Lincolns. Since August turned into September, the Cubbies, losers of six in a row for the first time since last June, are hitting .228 and the pitchers have a cumulative 6.32 ERA.
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Recent comments
Childersb3 (view)
Things I've been wrong about:
-Tauchman is fine as a 4th OF. I knew that. I just want a better LH DH option and he was really the DH for us until Seiya got hurt. I'm glad Mervis is getting a chance at it. Caissie is coming for that job for sure. But Tauchman continues to be highly useful as a 4th OF with Seiya being hurt
-I wanted Yency to go to get guys at Iowa a chance. Guys like Palencia and Sanders or RileyT. Maybe even Hodge! But Yency has been better the last two plus weeks. He did hit 96 the other day. He was 93 in Texas to open the season.
-Leiter has his split working enough. It just needs to stay there
-I was surprised Jed picked Wisdom over Cooper. I wonder if this happens if Seiya wasn't hurt. Wisdom has more power. Cooper is the better hitter. Jed picked Wisdom and Wisdom had an option left as well.
-Palencia just doesn't miss enough bats. Similar to ManRod, just two yrs younger. ManRod is killing AAA for TB right now!
Things I got right so far:
-Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!
Jed, you missed there.
-Smyly. If Jed could've traded him before or during ST, then he should have and saved some cash.
-Mastro. Not a LH DH. Pinch runner. Defensive utility. Maybe he's better than Madrigal but didn't get a legit chance to prove it.
-Luke Little is good. He's had one bad outing. That's it. Needs to get better entering with guys on base. But he needs to stay in MLB.
-Oh yeah....Morel is doing fine at 3B! He'll get better as well!!
crunch (view)
bellinger "right rib contusion"
Childersb3 (view)
South Bend just lost the lead in the bottom of the 9th on the weirdest scenario, ever.
It's absolutely pouring rain....men on 1st and 2nd, 1out....JPatterson asks for a new ball, but no time out was called....he throws the old ball toward the dugout (not sure if it rolled out of play).....the ump declares the runners get two bases each so one run scores. Then a single up the middle ties the game.
The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.
Just weird
crunch (view)
...and bellinger is gone in the 7th because of that 2nd blown chance and the wall he bounced off of...
hopefully his rib cage/shoulder feels better tomorrow, we just got happ back.
Childersb3 (view)
Phil,
Any thoughts on Y. Rojas' stuff and Y. Melendez's game (I believe I've asked about him before, sorry)?
crunch (view)
wow, things are moving fast. hopefully it continues.
crunch (view)
morel with 4 clean plays in 4 innings...showed off his 100000000mph arm a couple times.
cody bellinger not having a good 4th, though...5 run leads are handy when your CF is making your pitcher have a 5-out inning. 2nd blown chance was ruled a hit even though it went in/out of his glove...1st was lost in the lights, also ruled a hit.
crunch (view)
welcome back happ! double off the wall 1st PA back.
crunch (view)
oh yeah, totally, i was just chiming about why i fan like i fan.
i would like nothing more than hendricks to keep on hendricks'ing. guys with his stuff can throw for a long, long time as long as it works.
he velocity is actually up a minor amount this year. it's really "damn" when a guy like him not only has gas in the tank, but it's looking like it was years ago. he added a curve a few years ago and it helped a little bit, but he's throwing it less and less while the fb/change combo are less effective.
Alexander Dimm (view)
CRUNCH—There is no one person in this community I’m talking about. My remarks were not directed at you or anyone, but at a tone I’ve noticed lately.
You have a great, dry sense of humor and there is thought behind your comments. You and I don’t always agree but I always understand your position.
Lastly, and I’ll be quiet, I agree with you on Hendricks. We can dislike the recent performance but still love the guy. Lots of questions about his future.