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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. Ryan Baltimore Orioles Bob Brenly Bobby Scales Bonehead Booing Boston Red Sox Brett Jackson Bullpen Canadian Concoction Captain Kneejerk Cardinals Carlos Marmol Carlos Silva Carlos Zambrano Chad Fox Chad Tracy Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Cold War Colorado Rockies Contracts Cubs-Cardinals Rivalry Cubs sale Cubs Curtis Granderson Daniel Herrera David Patton Derrek Lee Designated Hitter Detroit Tigers Disabled list Dominance ERA+ ERROR Esmailin Caridad ESPN Sucks Eternal frustration Eternal Optimism Farewell Farney Florida Marlins Free Agency Future Gatorade Geovanny Soto Geovany Soto Gerald Perry Grades Houston Astros I-Cubs Injuries Jake Fox Jason Marquis Jason Waddell Jeff Gray Jeff Samardzija Jim Hendry Jim Wolf Joey Gathright John Grabow Jose Ascanio Kansas City Royals Kerry Wood Kevin Gregg Kevin Hart Kevin Millar Koyie Hill LaTroy Hawkins Legendary Lineup Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Lou Piniella Luis Vizcaino Man Crush Mark DeRosa Marlon Byrd Micah Hoffpauir Middle Infield Midwestern Bias Milton Bradley Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Minor Leagues MLB 2K9 Neal Cotts New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics October Offseason Opening Day OPS+ Payroll Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Playoffs Randy Wells Rant Rich Harden Ryan Dempster Ryan Freel Ryan Theriot Sam Fuld Sam Zell Sammy Sosa San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Sandy Alderson Sean Marshall Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Steroids Strikeouts Suckiness Tampa Bay Rays TBS Texas Rangers Tom Gorzelanny Tom Ricketts Toronto Blue Jays Trade Tribune Company Tyler Colvin Von Joshua Waivers Walks Washington Nationals WTF Xavier Nady RSS Feed Hey, Chicago, whaddaya say? It sure is nice to see a Cubs victory, even if it took three tries. It is better than the 0-14 start to the 1997 season, that's for sure. Tonight's game felt much like last night's, only without the massive home run. One wonders if Chipper Jones did not leave the game early, would we have seen a complete repeat. On to the awards: The Jerome Williams Player of the Game goes to who else but the man with six scoreless innings? Randy Wells picked up right where he left off and got the job done tonight. The offense is struggling mightily at this point, and the Cubs needed a really good start to put them in any position to win. Wells did that, and hopefully he is showing that 2009 was no fluke. Once Ted Lilly comes back, the rotation looks pretty good one through four. Our third recipient of the "Hang Your Head" award goes to Ryan Theriot. The first two games also go into this decision, as he was hitless the entire series. Do not get me wrong, the entire offense minus maybe Marlon Byrd, Aramis Ramirez and tonight Tyler Colvin is struggling. Theriot though has a lot to prove as the leadoff hitter and as a man who has a 20-year-old phenom breathing down his neck. While I do not expect Starlin Castro to be up here in the next week, Theriot needs to not force management's hand on this. He needs to get back to hitting those liners and grounders between first and second. That is how he can be most effective. By the way, I understand and even agree with the move to bring in John Grabow to face Brian McCann. While 5 at bats is a small sample size, McCann has not done a thing against Grabow. With that said, I hope Piniella does not keep bringing Grabow in to face every lefty in the late innings. Caridad looks like a reliever that can throw strikes, and he could be the best option for the eighth. Getting too cute with lefty-righty matchups can cause you to take out an effective reliever and replace him with an ineffective one. Tonight that almost bit the Cubs in the butt. Again. On a final note, Marmol showed me what I already feel about him. He is one of the best pitchers in the league when he has two strikes on a hitter. Heyward and Cabrera looked plain stupid at the plate against him. Now if only he could find a consistent release point. By the way, I hope you like the banner above. I am hoping to fill in some of the empty area on the right 75% of it. Anyways, I'll try and be back tomorrow for the first against Cincinnati. Posted in: Randy Wells, Ryan Theriot Today I thought I would throw some numbers out there about this here Cubs team. I have 6 numbers (3 good, 3 bad) which will be classified as the good, the bad, the ugly... um... the uglier, the better and the best. How's that? We will start with the worst number and move up to the best number so this post will finish on a positive note. After today's game, the Cubs deserve it. Here we go...
Oh, and congrats to Brett Jackson- the Cubs first round draft pick tonight. I put up the list of busts a couple weeks ago, and I am begging whoever is charged with developing this guy: whatever you did with Ryan Harvey, DO NOT do that with Brett Jackson. If you don't, I'm sure thing will work out great. Posted in: Payroll, Bullpen, Derrek Lee, Randy Wells, Brett Jackson My last post was an 'Eternal Optimism' post. Just as soon as I can once again proclaim the amount of latent talent on this team, the Cubs show us a little of everything it takes to overcome talent and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Today is one of those days where NOTHING goes right, except Randy Wells. And with that, the rant. I see very little redeeming about this team. While they are talented, supremely talented, they have managed to be little more than a middle of the road team. You have a guy with a 1.76 ERA (ONE POINT SEVEN SIX), who once again, despite giving up two hits in 7+ innings, did not get a win. Why? Because the manager inexplicably took him out and the bullpen once again faltered. It is at a point where you have to wonder if this is some cruel joke the team is perpetuating on Mr. Wells. The worst part is, you know the league will catch up to him at some point. This will not last. Leave it to the Cubs to be 0-4 with this dude absolutely baffling the opposition. Aaron Heilman and Kevin Gregg are bad. Carlos Marmol isn't much better nowadays. The bullpen is bad. It's nearly impossible to get a great bullpen, but its not too much to ask for a middle of the road bullpen is it? Apparently it is. Milton Bradley is hurt again. He's not worth it. Maybe that will change, but I doubt it. Carlos Zambrano is acting out again. Missing flights, and just in general being a jackass. I have a hard time seeing how he is worth it. This team is talented. That is undeniable. If they ever get their act together, they WILL win the division. But as it stands now, the only thing just as undeniable as the talent is the extraneous crap that prevents them from getting their act together. And the best part? We are stuck with most of these guys for quite a while, so get used to it. Posted in: Eternal frustration, Randy Wells | ||