Cubs | The Baseball Zealot

A Night of Baseball

Last night I got together with my buddy Brando for the first time in weeks. It was six hours of total baseball. The Shot Heard ‘Round the World We sat down and watched The Shot Heard ‘Round the World. That’s the HBO Sports movie about Bobby Thomson’s homerun against Ralph Branca. Very good documentary. I’m … Continue reading “A Night of Baseball”

Last night I got together with my buddy Brando for the first time in weeks. It was six hours of total baseball.

The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

We sat down and watched The Shot Heard ‘Round the World. That’s the HBO Sports movie about Bobby Thomson’s homerun against Ralph Branca. Very good documentary. I’m a sucker for watching any footage about baseball’s past and this one didn’t disappoint. Check it out if you get a chance.

By the way, I never heard about the controversy regarding the Giants stealing signs during the 51 season and playoffs. That charge was levied by NYG catcher Sal Yvars and denied by everyone else. Anyway, that was new to me.

For those interested, here is the box score of that game.

Cubs/Cards game

After that we settled down to watch the Cubs defeat the Cardinals. The Cubs managed to eke a victory out. Up by a run, Demster managed to force Pujols to ground out with a runner on second.

Far be for me to spit at success but Brando and I got into a discussion about whether it was the right move to pitch to Pujols. Brando felt strongly that Pujols should have been walked intentionally. I’m not a big advocate of the intentional walk especially when it puts the winning run on base. But as an APBA league manager who has had Albert on his team since he was a rookie, I knew what Brando was getting at. A.P certainly should not have gotten any good pitches to hit and the second Dempster pitch looked pretty juicy.

For what it’s worth, Bleed Cubbie Blue felt the right decision was made to pitch to Pujols.

Hindsight is 20/20 and the Cubs went 3-1 for the series.

Sandberg to the Hall!

Today Ryne Sandberg is in Cooperstown, NY. He’s had a long journey but his induction is well-deserved. I hope he’s enjoying himself. It’s like a party being thrown in your honor. A very big party. With thousands of people.

As a Cub fan, I’m thrilled. I remember vividly Ryno’s selfless play without the ego we see so much of today. The kind of attitude we need more of now.

As most baseball fanatics do, let’s break his career down by the stats:

Games	2164
AB	8385
Runs	1318
Hits	2386
RBI	1061
Doubles	403
Triples	76
HR	282
Walks	761
Strikeouts	1260
Stolen Bases	344
Batting Average	.285
Slugging Average	.452
On Base Percentage	.344
Gold Gloves	9
All-Star Selections	10

… and one MVP in 1984.

Which leads me to a trivia question. Who was the last NL non-pitcher to win the MVP without hitting 20 homers? The answer of course, is Sandberg. Terry Pendleton came close in 1991 with 22.

If we look at Sandberg’s stats in a vacuum, they look pretty awesome. However, consider that:

Sandberg hit these numbers not as a firstbaseman or leftfielder but as a secondbaseman, a much more demanding position.
His play at second base was clearly superior (hence, 9 Gold Gloves).
and probably most importantly, Sandberg was one of the best if not the best secondbaseman of his era.

So, Cub fans rejoice! We have one more in the Hall.

Wood to the DL… then to the pen

Word from the Cubs organization is that Kerry Wood is headed to the disabled list again. That’s no surprise. Baker alluded to this to the press yesterday so it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. The question is for how long. I guess that depends on Wood. What is a surprise, at least to some, … Continue reading “Wood to the DL… then to the pen”

What is a surprise, at least to some, is that he when he comes back, he’ll be pitching out of the pen. This idea has been floating here and there for a while now. I think it’s high time the Cubs give it a try. Wood might respond well to it. Baker said it best:

”Usually it (the discomfort) comes up somewhere between 60 and 70 pitches or something like that,” Baker said. “That’s the thinking behind it. Woody wants to try that before we take a more serious measure. … This might be better for him in the short run, so we’re going to try it.”

The idea here is that the Cubs season is salvageable and Wood may be able to contribute to the team in this role. Who knows? Woody just might be a born short reliever and no one knows it yet.

But first thing first. Wood needs to get healthy.

Cubs Tie Series With the Cards…

…but given the lineup the Cards used, the Cubs actually had a fighting chance. Rolen, of course is out with a sore shoulder, Pujols was taking the day off due to a shoulder strain, Yadier Molina is out with a broken hand and Walker has a sore neck. It’s gotta be one of the weakest lineups … Continue reading “Cubs Tie Series With the Cards…”

Unfortunately, brand spankin’ new John Rodriguez was in the lineup. Rodriguez, who has 2 taters in the last six games, continued his tear, hitting 2 doubles before injuring himself by tripping over a nail in the Cardinals dugout. Don’t worry Cardinals fans. He thinks he’ll be back soon.

But the ultimate result is that the Cubs won and that the two teams will play the rubber game tomorrow.

Derrek Lee hit his 32nd homerun today. That ties his career high from last year. And he’s got some 65 games to build on that. For those wondering, he is 17 rbis away from is career high also from last year.

Gerut-Dubois Trade

I don’t yet know what to think of the Cubs trade of Jason Dubois for Cleveland OF Jody Gerut. On the face of it, it looks like a good deal and that’s what I’m hearing from a lot of people. My take on Gerut… He is solid defensively and can play both corners. He is … Continue reading “Gerut-Dubois Trade”

I don’t yet know what to think of the Cubs trade of Jason Dubois for Cleveland OF Jody Gerut. On the face of it, it looks like a good deal and that’s what I’m hearing from a lot of people.

My take on Gerut… He is solid defensively and can play both corners. He is fast but not really known as a base stealer. With the bat, he is perhaps above average at best. He had a good rookie season but hasn’t reached his potential and slipped a bit in subsequent years. He has a bit of pop in his bat and isn’t afraid to take a walk. After being out due to injury the first part of the season, he came back and is hitting a solid .275 with a decent OBP (but surpisingly only 1 homerun).

But a trade is much more than how much you can get for what you give up. Those who say that Gerut is a good deal for Dubois may be right in one sense but Cub fans need to ask, “How does this help the team?”

It’s possible that the Cubs see Gerut as their leadoff man of 05. This bears out since they have lead him off in his first game with the Cubs. Are they going to platoon him with Hairston? I guess we’ll see.

I just know that the people who are saying this a good deal are probably the same people who earlier this year, wrote Jason Dubois in as the Cubs’ leftfielder for the next few years. I guess a few dropped fly balls can change some minds.

A couple side notes:

Gerut had a blog when he was with the Indians. Whether it was ghost-written, I don’t know but it’s worth a look.

Gerut, who grew up in the Chicago area, was a Sox fan.

Pawelek Putting Up Zeroes in AZ Rookie League

Mark Pawelek who was the Cubs’ first round pick, is looking good in the Arizona Rookie League. He’s pitched twelve scoreless with 19 strikeouts. Unfortunately, he’s 0-2 by virtue of 3 unearned runs. His control could be better as he has 6 walks but he’s allowed only 5 hits. Hat tip to Baseball Musings for this piece … Continue reading “Pawelek Putting Up Zeroes in AZ Rookie League”

Hat tip to Baseball Musings for this piece of info.

Lessons in Lineups

The Cubs won 11-1 today. And this is the lineup they used. Hairston Walker Lee Burnitz Ramirez Hollandsworth Perez Barrett Wood They’ve used a variation of this lineup for most of July. Either Dusty is reading the Cubs blogs or he is just doing what makes sense. He’s finally realized that Neifi Perez (with his … Continue reading “Lessons in Lineups”

The Cubs won 11-1 today. And this is the lineup they used.

Hairston
Walker
Lee
Burnitz
Ramirez
Hollandsworth
Perez
Barrett
Wood

They’ve used a variation of this lineup for most of July. Either Dusty is reading the Cubs blogs or he is just doing what makes sense. He’s finally realized that Neifi Perez (with his sub-.300 OBP) and Corey Patterson (now in Iowa AAA) are not leadoff hitters and Jerry Hairston can get the job done, thank you very much.

Walker makes an excellent #2 hitter. Let’s keep him there. He has a high OBP and is a good contact hitter.

Now that the table is set, let Lee, Burnitz and Ramirez clear it off. Simple as that.

This isn’t rocket science, folks. Somehow, it has escaped our ~~Clueless~~ Fearless Leader Dusty, till now.

But remember, he is a player’s manager.

Return of Nomar in a couple weeks

Won’t be long before we see Nomar Garciaparra back at Wrigley. At least that’s what we hear from the Cubs’ organization. The target date is August 1. Right now he’s working out in Mesa, AZ and word has it he’s looking pretty good. ‘Course we’ve heard that before from the Cubs upper management. But what … Continue reading “Return of Nomar in a couple weeks”

But what to do with Neifi Perez? The Neifi phenomenon, such as it was, has grown to cult status within the Cubs blogosphere. Some may not be ready to give him up. Well, come August, he may need a break. Despite his hot start, Neifi has cooled off considerably. A friend mentioned this to me so I decided to look it up. Since June 1, his stats are indeed quite messy (.227, .244 OBP, .299 slg, ouch!). I believe the Cubs have squeezed every ounce of production out of Neifi and are anxious for Nomar’s return.

I am the first to give Neifi kudos. He stepped up when the team really needed him and until the end, really produced. The Cubs have made use of of his bat and occasional defense.

But I am ready for Nomar.

Good news on DLee’s Shoulder?

MRI results on Derrek Lee’s shoulder have come back negative. I can faintly hear a collective sigh of relief coming from the Cub Nation. Just to be sure, I think Lee will be taking it a bit easy for a few days. Todd Walker is spelling Lee at first for the time being. And the … Continue reading “Good news on DLee’s Shoulder?”

MRI results on Derrek Lee’s shoulder have come back negative. I can faintly hear a collective sigh of relief coming from the Cub Nation.

Just to be sure, I think Lee will be taking it a bit easy for a few days. Todd Walker is spelling Lee at first for the time being. And the Cubs can lose just as easy without Lee until he comes back. What, it’s been a week since we’ve won?

If it takes Lee the All-Star break to heal up, so be it. Let’s get him back healthy and not string him along.

Derrek Lee’s Departure from Tuesday’s game

Derrek Lee has left Tuesday’s game in second inning with an aggravated shoulder. Instead of doing my best Chicken Little and crying that the sky is falling, I’m taking a wait and see approach. It’s hard to tell what to make of this. As usual, there’s not a lot of information. I’m not an optimist … Continue reading “Derrek Lee’s Departure from Tuesday’s game”

Derrek Lee has left Tuesday’s game in second inning with an aggravated shoulder.

Instead of doing my best Chicken Little and crying that the sky is falling, I’m taking a wait and see approach. It’s hard to tell what to make of this. As usual, there’s not a lot of information. I’m not an optimist but at the same time I don’t believe in making things out to be worse than what they could be especially since we simply don’t have any info.

That said, the Cubs simply don’t need this. Lee has played all 82 games at first base this year so if it is something serious, the Cubs will have some re-arranging to do to take care of this. That of course, says nothing of replacing the best hitter in the NL for the first half of this season.

Cub fans can only hope this is a day-to-day injury that will take care of itself over the All-Star break.