Tag: tom gorzelanny

Cubs show reason not to give up

The Cubs managed to avoid a sweep and more embarrassment as Rich Harden pitched a gem of a game against the Padres.  Harden only allowed a hit in seven frames. 

The best part of it is that Cubs came through with some offense too.  Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez both banged out homers for the good guys. 

Bradley, though he gets a lot of flack, has improved over the season.  His second half number are looking a whole lot better.  Since the All-Star break, he’s hitting .301 and perhaps more importantly, his OBP is .431. 

Wednesday’s win is just one game, yes, but I think if it was a loss, we’d be seeing a whole lot more about the Cubs in today’s sport columns.  And it wouldn’t be a fun read.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been calls already by the sports media for this season’s demise for the Cubs .  Some of it probably fueled by GM Jim Hendry’s statement to the press that sounded almost apologetic:

”If things don’t go well, certainly it’s my responsibility.  ‘That being said, we’ve got a real good team. We just haven’t played up to our capabilities. It’s kind of a mystery to all of us. We’ve got a lot of guys that have hit their whole lives who haven’t hit. We’ve done a very, very poor job all year of hitting with men on base. So it’s frustrating.

Before Cub fans start pushing the panic button, they should consider this:

  • The Cubs have a winning record in the second half of 2009 UNLIKE the first half.
  • It was not two weeks ago that the Cubs finished their best run of the season when they went 14-6.
  • The Cubs remaining schedule is full of teams they can beat up on.  Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St Louis (yeah, I said it, St Louis)

Right now though, the Cubs need to focus on the here and now.  And the here and now is the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Tom Gorzelanny will be facing Jeff Weaver tonight. 

Interesting pre-game stat:  Aaron Miles is 6 for 15 lifetime against Weaver. 

Go Cubs!

Gorzelanny, Baker battle the Bucs for win

Tom Gorzelanny just did what was needed by his team. 

Last night, I checked on Zach Duke’s stats, in particular, how he did against the Cubs.  Going into today’s game, he had a 4-6 record against Chicago.  Yet his 3.09 ERA against them was still pretty tasty.  So I figured it was going to be up to Gorzelanny. 

Well, Duke pitched pretty close to his status quo, allowing three runs in 7 plus frames.  But Gorzelanny was up for the task.  The Pirates only scored one run off him in five innings.  Cubs win 3-1!

The big miracle in today’s win was that the Cubs’ bullpen didn’t implode.  Rather, they pitched pretty dang well allowing two hits over the course of four innings with Gregg getting his 23rd save of the season. 

Jeff Baker continues to produce for the Cubbies.  Today, he went 2 for 4 with his second homer of the year.  This one was a solo shot off Duke in the sixth inning.  In the last six games, the Germany-born Baker has fourteen hits.

Hopefully, Geovany Soto is getting back in the groove.  Soto was 1 for 19 in the first two series back from his month-long DL stint (albeit that one hit WAS a homerun).  In the last two games against Pittsburgh, Soto has collected three hits, two of them doubles.  Let’s hope he can find what he had last year.

Tomorrow:  Rich Harden vs Pirates’ Ross Ohlendorf

Cubs find Bucs very obliging

See?! See?!  What did I tell you?  The Pirates came to town and all is better now. The Cubs who seemed like they were repressed beyond belief, exploded all over the Pirates. 

The 17-2 win was full of highlights but Derrek Lee was the big story.  For the second time this season, he drove in seven runs.  This time he only needed two hits to do it, though. 

The Cubs made sure the game was never in doubt, scoring 14 in the first two innings.  The last time that happened was in 1906.  Hmm, 1906… something happened in 1906.  Something good.  Can’t quite place my finger on it but when I think of it, you’ll be the first to know.

Tomorrow should be interesting with Tom Gorzelanny going against his former ‘mates for the first time.  He and Cubs will be taking on Zach Duke, perhaps a more formidable pitcher than Friday’s starter Charlie Morton.

The question now is Did the Cubs shoot their proverbial wad today?  I’ve seen it happen in the past.  Score in double digits in game one of a series then the bats go flat. 

But hey, these are Pirates, right? 

Go Cubs!