…Or so it seems that way. Today was the first televised game I was able to catch and I have a few personal notes from the game:

–Robnett is either incredibly quick–or–has great baserunning instincts–or–is the only Cub to realize that A.J. has a weak arm at this point in his career and was determined to take advantage of it. I don’t know where Robnett will eventually fit into the system, they seem to have an over abundance of maybe Minor League outfielders these days(Fuld, Robnett, Snyder, Colvin) as well as viable Major league choices(Gathright, Johnson, Fukudome, Taguchi?). Len did mention that Robnett has only stolen twenty bases in five minor league seasons, so I don’t know if he has:

A) Never taken advantage of his speed

-OR-

B) Stole on Pierzynski’s weak arm.

But he looked to be quick beating out an infield single before his second of the two stolen bags. Maybe he has the instinct to steal bases, I don’t know. If he does pan out then we got something for a sometimes nothing in Wuertz who for the record was effective when:

His slider was on

Which was more off than on in the past year.

Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot can hit. These guys may be the hokey joke about short and white with no range, but these guys CAN hit. I know Fontenot has the questionable record against left-handers, but, as long as Miles can produce(if Mike fails against left-handed pitching) then Derosa shouldn’t be missed regardless of the numbers he puts up this year.

Micah Hoffpauir can also hit, but his swing still has a bit too much of an uppercut to it at times, which leaves it susceptible. Is he a solution for when Derrek leaves?  Doubtful. Even with the bat, is his glove good enough? I don’t think Lee’s glove will be fully appreciated(even if it is just slightly above average now) until a real butcher is installed there. Will Micah be that? Don’t know, but Theriot’s arm and Ramirez’s penchant for throws in the dirt could become alot more glaring once he leaves.

Chad Fox can still get outs. Is he going to make the team? I doubt it. He lacks any real dominant stuff, or from what I saw today. I’ve seen him before, but in such a small sample size, that today I really paid attention. He has the ability to get outs, but if there is even a slightly better option I don’t see anyway they can justify taking him.  He’s Borowski stuff, without Borowski numbers.

They lost.

7-6, but it doesn’t matter. Spring Training.

I caught about an inning of Smardzija, but from that and the ongoing commentary he was off. I say he goes down to AAA and stretches out, works on his pitches, and the Cubs ignore their tribune-ish urge for marketing and do it the INTELLIGENT way, drop the hype and let the kid pan out or not.

We might lose Angel Guzman. He just doesn’t look sharp enough to make the team as it is and he’s out of options. Kind of sad for a kid who has been built up as much as he has and has some incredible pitches.

Lilly pitched four innings today for Team USA, two hits, a run, and awesome ensued.

That’s what I pulled from today’s game that I was actually able to watch. The  major pieces(Fontenot, Theriot, Bradley with a double in the other split)look good, and barring a complete fucking collapse from alot of players then we should be in good shape for the season.

Here’s the Box.

First Pitch is at 3:05 pm central time in Las Vegas VS. The White Sox. Game is On WGN America.

Heilman takes the ball in the first.

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You kind of have to look past the “awesome” copyright anti-infringement measure…

But I understand. It’s cool ….

And for the rest of you villagers–put down those torches and pitchforks.

I know we lost four to two to that blabber-mouth D*&ck and his pet.

It’s Okay

It’s only Spring Training.  (more…)

At least it’s starting to feel that way.

I know it’s only spring training and were only four games in, but Cub fans can’t help but notice that same old feeling that ended abruptly in three nights last October–knowing your team is going to win.

It’s an odd feeling, to be a Cub fan and not peek with one eye as you open the paper/web page(assuming you couldn’t catch the game–f*&cking job) only to find out that the team lost a five run lead in the ninth after going scoreless in the first six innings against a Wandy Rodriguez or a Dave Bush( yea…Dave Bush…Fuck that guy)

It’s even sweeter to know your team dropped a thirteen run bomb on their Crosstown pseudo-rivals (more…)

Cross-Town Classic…Sort Of

Cub prosperity has hit even the hardest working Sox Fans

“What’s it been like, a hundred years?”

“Say hi to Bartman for me”

“Joe Crede is waaayyy better than Ramirez.”

“..yea, if you mean by greatest fans a bunch of beer drinking fratboy yuppies who don’t even know the score to the game”

“CUBs S*&CK”

These are just a few of the inane, biased, and trite things you’ll hear come out of a Sox fans mouth when one even begins to screw up their lips and begin to breathe the dreaded C word.

Oh, forgot this one.

“Yea, if  by that you mean the “attendance world series.”

Which is a personal favorite of mine. Now I’m not saying all Sox fans are dumb and that all Cub fans actually watch the game–I’ve actually heard some pretty funny things come out of Sox fans mouths in regards to the Cubs.

But that isn’t what I’m about here(and I’m just way too tired to reach my usual level of mediocrity)

(more…)

What’s going on Cubs fans? The Chicago Cubs continue to play some very good baseball as they kicked off a three game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with an 12-3 victory over the Pirates. The Cubs came out and swung the bats very well against the Pirates pitchers and really put the the Pirates in a big hole.

Aramis Ramirez hit another three run home run and finished the game with four rbi. Kosuke Fukudome also had four rbi in the game as he went 3-4. JIm Edmonds, Henry Blanco, and Ted Lilly all helped out at the plate as they each had a rbi as well. The Cubs batters took four walks and struck out five times in the game as they were very productive.

Lilly pitched seven innings to get the victory. Lilly gave up seven hits and three runs while striking out seven Pirates to get the victory and improve to 13-7 on the season. Bob Howry gave up a single in the eighth inning but did not allow a run and then Kerry Wood pitched the ninth inning to finish up the game.

The Cubs will try to win the second game of the series Tuesday night. Go Cubs!

Cubs Baseball Blog

A brilliant effort from Jason Marquis, and an 8^th inning homerun from “Mr. Clutch”, Aramis Ramirez, got the Cubs back on track with a 3-1 victory Friday afternoon.  Marquis, who pitched like a starter fighting to keep his rotation spot, threw 7 scoreless innings giving up 3 hits and no runs.  Giant’s pitcher Matt Cain was just as brilliant through 7 as he gave up 3 hits, no runs, and struck out nine Cub batters. 

With the flags barely moving, it was evident early in the game that we would not see the same type of day that led to 7 Red’s homeruns just a day before.  Both starting pitchers were dominant on the mound and through 7 innings the game was scoreless.  After a double from Cub’s leftfielder Daryle Ward, Piniella put in Ronny Cedeno to pinch run, and decided to pinch hit for Marquis in the bottom of the 7^th despite the low pitch count he had attained.  The move would cost Marquis a chance for the win as Kosuke Fukudome failed to plate the run.  It was obvious that Marquis was well aware of the looming probability that he might lose his rotation spot with the acquisition of Rich Harden, and he pitched well enough to earn another start.  With one out and nobody on, Giant’s manager Bruce Bochy decided that Matt Cain’s day was done and pinch hit for him in the 8^th.  Bob Howry pitched a perfect 8^th inning that set the stage for the ensuing drama that was about to take place.

Cub’s shortstop, Ryan Theriot,  kept his eight game hitting streak alive on a bloop play in the 3^rd and then led off the bottom of the 8^th inning with his second single of the game.  Mike Fontenot then bunted Theriot over to second to put the go ahead run in scoring position.  Giant’s pitcher, Tyler Walker, then proceeded to intentionally walk Derrek Lee to pitch to Aramis Ramirez with runners at first and second.   Ramirez then took the very first pitch and hit a hooking bomb towards the leftfield foul pole and out onto Waveland Ave to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.  The homerun was the 17^th of the year for Ramirez and drew a curtain-call from the 41,000 fans in attendance. 

Cub’s closer, Kerry Wood, got the call in the 9^th and got into immediate trouble when he let the first three batters he faced reach base.  Ray Durham would score for the Giants making it 3-1 and leaving runners at 1^st and 3^rd with no outs.  Wood then caught Aaron Rowand looking for strike three, as Bengie Molina stole second putting the tying run in scoring position with one out.  John Bowker then flew out to Kosuke Fukudome and the runners held.  As the fans got to their feet, Rich Aurilla hit a ground ball to Derrek Lee, who then tossed it over to Wood for the 3^rd and final out.  The save would be Wood’s 24^th tying him for first in the National League with Giant’s closer Brian Wilson. 

Cub’s fans get ready to welcome in Rich Harden tomorrow as he will face Giant’s pitcher Kevin Correia who is 1-5 with a 4.96 ERA.  Make note that the game time has been moved to 12:00pm Central time so get their early! 

 Carlos Zambrano pitched 8 brilliant innings in route to his 10^th victory of 2008 on a beautiful night in Wrigley.  Zambrano located his pitches very well having both the slider and sinker working nicely.  Coming off the DL only last week, Zambrano gave up a homerun to Adam Dunn, with one out in the 2nd inning, and then sat down the next 20 Reds batters he faced.  

Offensively the Cubs got it going early.  After going down 1-0 on  Adam Dunn’s homerun the Cubs answered as rookie All-Star Geovany Soto led off the second with a double, and then scored from second on an error by Cincinnati Red’s shortstop Jeff Keppinger.  Soto’s hustle was reminiscent of his inside the park homerun in Houston earlier this year.

After Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot made a brilliant play to end the top half of the 6^th inning, Aramis Ramirez took the very first pitch of the bottom half and sent it to souvenir city to give the Cubs their first lead of the game.  Red’s pitcher Johnny Cueto would then go on to strike out the next two batters and escape any further damange.  The Cubs offense struck again the very next inning.  After Cub’s left fielder Reed Johnson led off with a single, Zambrano attempted to bunt him over to second.  Zambrano was called out at first even though he beat the throw by a country mile.  This brought Lou out of the dugout and sparked the Cub’s offense.  With two outs, Kosuke Fukudome doubled in Reed Johnson to give the cubs a 3-1 lead.  Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez then both followed with RBI hits off of Red’s reliever David Weathers and the Cubs went in to the 8^th inning with a 5-1 lead. 

Carlos Marmol came in to pitch for the Cubs in the top of the 9^th and got into some early trouble.  After appearing to tweak his foot, while making the second out of the inning, Carlos then gave up a hit and walked the next two batters to load the bases.  Lou then made the call for All-Star closer Kerry Wood to come in for a chance at his 23^rd save.  Wood did not disappoint an ecstatic Wrigley crowd by getting Red’s second baseman Brandon Phillips to pop out to Derek Lee for the last out of the game.

Carlos Zambrano gets the win as he pitches 8 strong innings giving up only one hit and one run while striking out 5.  He moves to 10-3 on the season and looks to pitch next in the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.  Cueto is credited with the loss as he moves to 7-9 on the season.

Ted Lilly will take the mound tomorrow in hopes of becoming the third Cub pitcher to win his 10th game of the season as he faces Cinicinnati right-hander Bronson Arroyo.  The Cubs will be looking to sweep the Reds and win their 4^th straight. 

Written By:  Murray Shaw

The Chicago Cubs were finally able to win a road game as they beat the San Francisco Giants 9-2 on a cold night out in San Francisco.  Mark DeRosa had a huge night at the plate and Ted Lilly pitched into the ninth inning to really save the Cubs bullpen.  It was a great night for pretty much everyone on the Cubs roster.

DeRosa hit a two run home run in the fifth inning, and then added a grand slam in the eighth inning to really blow the game wide open for the Cubs.  DeRosa finished 3-4 with six rbi and two home runs in the game while he played third base.  Aramis Ramirez will be missing the entire Giants series as he has to take care of some personal matters down in the Dominican Republic.

Matt Murton had two rbi and Kosuke Fukudome chipped in with one rbi as well for the Cubs.  The Cubs could have made the score a lot worse, but they left 24 runners on base in the game.

Lilly pitched great in the game.  He pitched into the ninth inning until he ran into some trouble in the ninth inning when he left the game with two runners on.  Kerry Wood was then brought into the game and he gave up a double to Rich Aurilia that scored two runs.  Both of the runs were charged to Lilly in the game.  Wood was then finally able to close out the Giants.  Lilly is now 9-5 on the season after throwing his best game of the season.

The Cubs will try to make it two in a row on Tuesday night as Jason Marquis takes the mound against Matt Cain.

Cubs Blog

So that was the player Jim Hendry was trying to trade for all off season.  Brian Roberts led the Orioles with three hits and a rbi and as the Orioles defeated the Cubs 7-5 and snapped the Cubs 14 home game winnings streak.

The Cubs attempted a ninth inning rally and had the bases loaded with zero outs but Ronny Cedeno, Kosukue Fukudome, and Henry Blanco all struckout to end the game.  They were swinging at some very bad pitches for some reason.  You have to be more patient at the plate in that situation.

Jim Edmonds was the guy that got the Cubs back into the game as they were down 7-1 until he hit a three run home run in the seventh inning.  Aramis Ramirez then followed that with a two run single in the eighth inning to put the Cubs within striking distance but that was as close as they would get.  Fukudome did hit his sixth home run in the season as well.

Starting pitcher Sean Marshall struggled on the mound in the fourth and fifth innings as he only lasted 4 2/3 innings after giving up seven hits and four runs.  Marshall did strikeout seven batters but the fourt and fifth inning really hurt up.  Michael Wuertz wasn’t much better as he allowed two hits and three runs to score in only one inning of action.

The Cubs will now try to start another winning streak on Wednesday night.  Hopefully they can tie the series up at 1-1 with Ted Lilly on the mound.

Cubs Blog

The Chicago Cubs had a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning but Carlos Marmol and Scott Eyre both sucked it up and the Cubs ended up giving up seven runs in the inning and losing 8-3.  It was the first time in the past four days that Marmol was on the mound pitching so he was well rested but clearly didn’t have his usual control.  He walked two batters and hit two batters before being pulled out of the game.

Eyre on the other hand came in with the bases loaded and quickly gave up a grand slam which blew the game wide open.  He then gave up a triple, double, and a sac fly before finally recording an out.  Jon Lieber then came in and finished up the game by throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Starting pitcher Sean Gallagher didn’t pitch that bad at all.  He did get out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning with only giving up one out but that was really his only mistake of the game.  He lasted six innings while giving up four hits and one run.  It’s too bad Gallagher wasn’t able to get the win.  Oh well I guess Marmol was due for a loss…

Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Theriot, and Mike Fontenot all had a rbi for the cubs.  Derrek Lee did go 3-4 to kind of get out of his slump.

Cubs Blog