Massive Memorial Day Weekend Cub Bullpen Failure is nothing new
Ahhhh, boy...
Well look, Rafael Dolis is only 24, it's his first go-round in the bigs and under more normal circumstances his responsibilities would probably be much less.
Bogaerts Knows How to Whistle, Blows Out Three-Run Blast at Fitch Park
Jair Bogaerts crushed a 420-ft HR over the CF fence to cap a four-run 5th inning and James Pugliese (four innings of one-hit shutout ball with five strikeouts) and three relievers combined to throw a three-hit shutout, as one squad of Cubs blanked one squad of Giants 4-0 on Field #2, and Javier Baez and Jeimer Candelario each doubled and drove-in two runs, Dong-Yub Kim doubled and tripled and scored two runs, Brian Inoa doubled and tripled and knocked-in two runs, and Wilson Contreras belted a solo HR, but Stephen Yarrow blasted a solo home run and Hector Mercedes hammered a three-run shot to propel the other squad of Giants to victory over the other squad of Cubs by a score of 11-9 on Field #3, in a Memorial Day Weekend Cactus League Extended Spring Training doubleheader extravaganza played this morning at Fitch Park in Mesa, AZ.
Both games were seven-inning affairs.
Metaphorically Speaking, What 2012 Represents: Rebuilding vs Deconstruction
From the previous thread, I came upon Old and Blue's complaint that he hates the phrase, "rebuilding year".
Professor Pentland and the Homer's Odyssey
Jeff Pentland played with Reggie Jackson and has tutored Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Carlos Beltran and Matt Kemp, to name-drop just a few. He has advanced degrees in biomechanics. His playing days were on both sides of the chessboard; pitcher and hitter. What he doesn't know about the art/science of hitting may not be worth knowing.
No wonder the Dodgers fired him as their hitting coach last year.
It's not like there wasn't a precedent. But gurus like Pentland are never out of work any longer than they care to be. This year he signed on with the Seattle Mariners (again) as the hitting coach for their Triple A affiliate, Tacoma of the Pacific Çoast League. The Rainiers hit only .235 in April but this month they're banging away at a better than .300 clip and carrying a 13-game homer streak as Pentland settles in. He stepped away from the batting cage while the Rainiers are in Des Moines taking on the Iowa Cubs and talked with TCR.
- Read more about Professor Pentland and the Homer's Odyssey
- 90 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Cubs Win One on the Rocks
Yasiel Balaguert singled three times, drove-in a run, and scored another, Sergio Burruel reached base three times on two singles and a walk, scored one run, and knocked-in another, and Dong-Yub Kim doubled twice and scored two runs, leading the Cubs to a 6-4 victory over the Rockies in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.
- Read more about Cubs Win One on the Rocks
- 28 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Trey & Whitey Toast the Brew Crew
Trey Martin belted a bases-loaded triple and Kevin Encarnacion crushed a two-run triple to highlight a nine-run 3rd, Jeimer Candelario doubled twice, walked, and drove-in a run, and Rob Whitenack threw six strong innings, allowing one run (unearned) on three hits (all singles), with no walks and seven strikeouts, to help the Cubs cruise past the Brewers 12-1 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Maryvale Baseball Complex Field #7 (AKA “Paul Molitor Field”) in Phoenix, AZ.
- Read more about Trey & Whitey Toast the Brew Crew
- 36 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Rizzo Shoots & Scores!
Glad tidings from breezy Principal Park where the I-Cubs climbed all over the Tacoma Rainiers and snapped a four-game skid with an 18-8 slapstick win this afternoon. Anthony (Ratso) Rizzo (who else?) paced Iowa with a record-tying performance in support of Chris Volstad's first outing for the team.
- Read more about Rizzo Shoots & Scores!
- 14 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Angels Can't Even Contain Baez, Much Less Stop Him
Javier Baez drove-in six runs with a two-run HR and a grand slam, Yasiel Balaguert knocked-in four runs with a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly, Dong-Yub Kim drove-in two runs with an RBI single and a solo HR, and Wilson Contreras ripped a two-run double, leading the Cubs to a 14-4 demolition of the Angels in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.
Sunday Funnies: How's your faith hanging there, Cub Fans?
Click to see the gif.
Cubs 2012 Extended Spring Training - Stats Update (5/20)
2/3 of the way through 2012 Extended Spring Training, here are the Cubs Cactus League game statistics.
Recent comments
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
I think if you had ranked players by how much the team could ill afford to have them miss significant time, Steele would be right at the top of the list.
crunch (view)
steele MRI on friday. counsell expects an IL stint.
no current plans for his rotation replacement.
hellfrozeover (view)
I would say also in the bright side column is Busch looked pretty good overall at the plate. Alzolay…man, that hurts but most of the time he’s not giving up a homer to that guy. To me the worst was almonte hanging that pitch to Garcia. He hung another one to the next hitter too and got away with it on an 0-1.
crunch (view)
amaya blocked like 6-8 of smyly's pitches in the dirt very cleanly...not even an exaggeration, smyly threw a ton of pitches bouncing in tonight.
neris looking like his old self was a relief (no pun), too.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
In looking for bright spots the defense was outstanding tonight. The “stars” are going to need to shine quite a bit brighter than they did tonight offensively though for this to be a successful season.
Eric S (view)
Good baseball game. Hopefully Steele is pitching again in April (but I’m not counting on it).
crunch (view)
boo.
crunch (view)
smyly to face the 2/3/4 hitters with a man on 2nd in extras.
this doesn't seem like a 8 million dollar managerial decision.
crunch (view)
i 100% agree with you, but i dunno how jed wants to run things. the default is delay. i would choose brown.
like hellfrozeover says, could be smyly since he's technically fresh and stretched.
anyway, on a pure talent basis....brown is the best option.
Childersb3 (view)
Use pitchers when you believe they're good. Don't plan their clock.
I'm sorry. I'm simply anti-clock/contract management. Play guys when they show real MLB potential talent.
If Brown hadn't been hurt with the Lat Strain he would've gotten the call, and not Wick.
Give him a chance.
But Wesneski probably gets it