Tag: Cubs

Zambrano doing it with his arm and bat

With all the troubles the Cubs’ starting rotation has gone through, thank goodness for Carlos Zambrano. Carlos won the NL Pitcher of the Month for July. He won all six of his starts with 40 Ks. His 4.15 ERA was somewhat mediocre but can you imagine where the Cubs would be without him?

Not only that, the media stories have mentioned his offensive exploits as well. His two homeruns helped his cause. Zam leads the league in HRs, runs, rbis, and total bases by a hurler.

Last week, I started hearing whisperings of Zambrano being a candidate for the Cy Young this year. To be honest, I never considered the thought. But looking at the stats of the league leaders, I think he’s got a real shot. He’s 5th in the NL in ERA but leads in wins and strikeouts.

Hill’s Rich Outing
To a non-Cub fan, Rich Hill’s 3 runs allowed in 8 innings against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday may not seem like a big deal. But boy, I think that was so important on so many levels. First, we got a glimpse of the Rich Hill who has pitched so well in the minors. His first win after 6 losses in the bigs takes the pressure off of him. Now he knows what a win feels like.

Not only was it a win, it was a strong 8 inning outing, taking the burden off the bullpen. The way the starting staff has pitched (save Zambrano, of course), that’s big.

The next time Hill is slated to pitch, maybe we all won’t collectively groan.

This morning, in the season of bad, was a good time to be a Cubs fan. Tonight, however, reality is setting back in.

Not only have they swept the Cardinals four games (the first time since the ’70s), they have not allowed a Cards win at home all year. They have won six of their last seven.

All this on the heels of the induction of former Cub (albeit former Cardinal, as well) Bruce Sutter into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But as mentioned, good things do come to an end. Not that we Cub fans expected this to keep going but the second-place Diamondbacks are currently walloping the good guys 15-4. Mark Prior lasted 5 innings and well, let’s just say he’s pitching about the same. Chalk up another L.

Trade Winds:

Greg Maddux is leaving the Cubs for the second time. The fact that he got traded isn’t a huge surprise to anyone paying attention. Which I guess makes it a little easier to swallow.

In return, the Cubs got Cesar Izturis from the Dodgers. My take on Iz is that he is a sometimes slick fielding infielder with a soft stick. His career .295 OBP doesn’t impress me. For 2006, he is .252/.353/.302. This is 6th year in the majors so my feeling is that he’s had plenty of time to mature as a hitter.

More than likely, Izturis will play short and Ronny Cedeno will move to second. Which would put Neifi Perez on the bench.

So maybe it’s addition by subtraction.

Nonetheless, I wonder if we could have possibly could have gotten just a bit more. I really don’t think this moves the organization forward.

Todd Walker was also dealt the the Padres for minor league pitcher Jose Ceda. Walker had been rumored to be traded as well.

I honestly don’t much about Ceda. This is the only report of substance I could find on him.

Walker got a lot of crap as a Cub but he had his good points. He had a decent OBP and some pop (for a 2B). And from what I heard, he liked Chicago and Chicago fans.

What just happened today? Did we go back in time? Was that Mitch Williams on the mound who teased the Cardinals with 2 hits and 2 walks before mowing down the last batter for the save? Sure looked like him.

Nevertheless, Dempster does get his 20th save and the Cubs get the win. The Cards have yet to win at Wrigley this year. The Cubs have won 5 of their last 6.

On a slightly different topic, MLB.com’s headline article covering the game calls Greg Maddux a “Wily Vet”. I don’t know why but that makes me feel sad for Maddux. I guess in a way it legitimizes his old age and decreasing effectiveness. He is no longer a “dominating pitcher” but a “Wily Vet”.

I don’t see anyone calling Clemens a “Wily Vet”. But I guess he gets called a lot of other names.

“Managers are expendable. I believe there should be relief managers just like relief pitchers.”
– Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley, 1960

Thank goodness we don’t have the “wisdom” of Wrigley (who brought us the ever successful College of Coaches) influencing us anymore.

Jim Hendry has told us that Dusty Baker’s job is safe.

“I felt like we should put that to bed,” Hendry said. “Very briefly, after the season is over, I’ll try to move expediently on making a decision on what direction to go after that.”

As a Cub fan, that quote infuriates me.

Just who is he working for? If he is planning on making a managerial change (and something tells me many would applaud him in doing so), do it now. With late season personnel changes on the team, it would behoove management for the field manager to acclimate himself to such changes to be better prepared for an ’07 campaign.

Hendry had two options as I see it.

1) Assure Baker that he is his man for the future (not likely)

or

2) Let him go now (or two weeks ago) and find a suitable manager who can help rebuild the Cubs in the next couple years.

What he should NOT do is hang on to Baker for the rest the year (the duration of Baker’s contract) then hire someone new for next year. Why postpone the inevitable?

Let’s give the next manager a head start.

“You’d rather win than pitch good and lose,”

Greg Maddux said that just last night after his less than perfect win against the Mets.

Those words never rang truer this afternoon for Mark Prior and the Cubs. Many pundits out there are unforgiving of Baker for his quick yank of Prior with his “no-hitter” through 5 innings. I for one am a little more concerned about the lack of offensive support.

Given Prior’s health situation and the Cubs’ position in the standings, there could have been worse decisions. Let’s face it, at 103 pitches in the 6th inning, there was no way Prior was going to finish that game. Not without lasting damage.

Prior did his job. And let’s face it, the bullpen didn’t do half-bad. But the offense, not to mention Ronny Cedeno, dropped the ball.

I was chatting away with Mr Coworker today about the Cubs’ future especially in light of the coming trade deadline. He asked me if I had to choose three Cubs who were untouchable, who would they be? Who did I think was so important to the Cubs organization that they should be considered part of a rebuilding phase?

Apparently, he and the other Cub fan on the floor came up with the same three names.

Hmm… well Lee, right? And Zambrano, too. Those two were easy.

I told him I couldn’t think of anyone else.

His answer? Michael Barrett.

And you know what? I think he’s right.

Yes, his stats look good this year but it’s more than that.

The guy plays hard, he’s only 30 years old, is a team leader and calls a decent game.

Of course there’s this, too:

I jest, of course.

The Beachwood Reporter, however feels differently.

… but if you’re a Cubs fan, you don’t know what that might be.

Logging in to MLB.TV’s Mosaic, I immediately saw that the Cubs-Mets game was not blacked out. Woo hoo. The baseball gods are looking out for me tonight.

I watch as the Cubs score 5 in the fifth giving Maddux a 8-4 lead. Boy, it doesn’t get any better than this.

But I forget this is the Cubs and they’re playing the Mets and nothing is a sure thing. As I write this, the Mets have come back for 3 runs in the 7th to make it a one run game.

Every Met starter has gotten so far except Reyes and he’s due up first in the bottom of the ninth.

Let’s go Cubbies!

Update: My karma remained strong and Dempster pulled it out. Cubs win!