So Far, Not So Good

The Cubs probably should have won Friday's game, but did not owing to really a lack of clutch hitting and some bullpen breakdowns by guys who have been pretty reliable recently.  Saturday's game was a mess.  The Cubs didn't figure to win with a call-up pitching, but their performance early in the game when they had some chances was pretty dismal.  They played with a sense of desperation that is rather uncharacteristic of the team thus far.  One thing I don't get is Castro's base-running when he was caught trying to score from third base in the third inning.  You are supposed to get into a rundown in that situation, not give up.  As a result, Baxter was thrown out at second when he was doing the right thing trying to advance.  Actually, he might have been safe, but by then I suppose Maddon had just given up anyway and failed to protest.

Lots of rumors floating around about pitching trades.  I sure hope they do not trade for Papilbon.  The last thing they want to do is give up good prospects for a relief pitcher who is past his prime.  Their real need is for another starting pitcher who can dominate for seven innings on a regular basis as Arrieta and Hammel have done.  That guy, incidentally, is not Niese, whom the Cubs have been tied to on the rumor mill.  Niese has an onerous contract and has never been much good.  On paper, he is not a significant improvement over what they have now in the fifth starter role.  The Cubs have the money and the prospects to do better.  Even a rental type would help out if they don't want to give up better younger prospects.

Lets hope for some improvement tomorrow.  Apparently Ramirez is going to be activated from the DL.  Roach will likely be sent back down.  Roach had been the most effective starter at Iowa this season, so if he is the best they have, there is not a lot of hope down on the farm, at least in the short term.  I think the Cubs have really missed Soler in the lineup.  Hopefully he can start a rehab assignment soon and make it back before the All-Star break.

Dodger Series - and More

The Cubs game away with a split in the LA series after a promising beginning that saw them win in games started by Kershaw and Greinke.  After that it was kind of downhill, with sub-par starts from Hendricks and Lester and virtually no hitting at all.

Thanks to a good friend's generosity, I was able to attend Tuesday's game and watch from the fourth or fifth row right behind the Cubs dugout.  Great seats.  As for the game, a great one.  I really like close games and this one was as close as you can get.  The Cubs eventually won it in ten innings with Denorfia supplying the game winning sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.  Lots of thrilling plays and great defense.  The photo above shows the infield just before the winning play.

This was the my first visit to the park this season.  Some thoughts on the field itself.  The scoreboards are definitely monstrosities and pretty much out of character with the stadium itself.  The beachers look bigger and more straight up than I remember.  The big board in left is loud with a harsh and tinny sound and pretty garish when it is not displaying replays.  I still find myself picking up the count from the old center field scoreboard, but as the game went on I found myself looking more and more towards the one in left.  One thing it does improve is being able to figure out what is happening on close and controversial plays or when someone gets hurt, which you could never do at the old park.

Call me old school if you like, but I thought the guy who grabbed the foul ball out of Gonzalez's glove was a jerk, especially with an infant in his other arm.  The whole video went viral and he got his five hours of fame, but had he done it to a Cubs defender, he would have been chased out of the park and probably charged with child endangerment or something.  The other weird thing was that fans started the wave on at least two occasions.  Come on, this isn't Anaheim, guys.  Next they will start howling in the eighth and ninth innings after a rain delay.

The Cubs are apparently hunting for a veteran starting pitcher, especially since Wada has been injured again.  Many names have been tossed around and pretty much all of them with the exception of the Mets cast-offs would be OK provided the price is not too high.  The Cubs face a rather crucial series in St. Louis this weekend and I would imagine the results might have something to say about how all-in they want to go, especially this early on in the year.  They have been playing good ball lately, as have the Pirates, but St. Louis wins nearly every day, so nobody can pick up any ground.  Still, the Cubs would be in first place or percentage points out in either of the other divisions right now and they would be the other wild card team if the season ended today.

There is a lot of hand-wringing going on about the starting pitching.  I'm not too concerned about Hendricks but Lester has me a little worried.  This may seem counter-intuitive, but Hendricks is really a rookie and he is a finesse pitcher who is still in the process of maturing on the mound.  Also, he is really the fifth starter anyway, so what do you expect.

Lester, on the other hand, except for that stretch in May, has really been awful.  You wonder if he is just having a hard time adjusting to the NL style of play or whether there is something wrong physically.  One thing that is really annoying is not just his apparent inability to hold runners, but the fact that he cannot even throw over to first base.  This is really strange.  For the Cubs to contend, even if they get another solid arm, Lester needs to get straightened out.

Kind of a Funk

The Cubs have gone into kind of a funk this week.  They have sandwiched some pretty awful losses around a 17-0 rout of the Indians.  Actually, things really seemed to go south Thursday night after the rain delay in Cleveland.  For some reason, the umps stopped the game when the Cubs had the bases loaded after tying the score at 3.  It was raining, but normally they will play out the half-inning unless there is a deluge.  When play resumed, Montero proceeded to strike out.  The Cubs then struck out six or seven times in a row and eventually lost 4-3.

Last night they turned in a real stinker.  Hendricks did not have his best stuff, but basically the Cubs did not help out much in the field.  Castro muffed a double play ball with the bases loaded in the first inning, then stood around moping while a second run scored.  Pretty much inexcusable.  You have to wonder sometimes about him.  Denorfia misplayed two balls later in the game, one a double that he played into a triple by standing too close to the wall, the other a long hard hit that almost anyone else would have caught.

The only bright spot in the AK tour has been Schwarber.  This kid can hit.  The Cubs are making the right call though in sending him down.  He just does not have the experience to catch at the major league level right now.

The other big news is the whole Cardinals snooping scandal.  Who knows what motivates these guys when it comes to cheating?  Also, how much insight could they gain against a team that isn't even in their league anymore, let alone their division?  Maybe this is the Cardinal Way, just like the Patriots who cheat when they do not need to do so.

On a Roll

The Cubs are on a bit of a streak lately, having split a two game series in Detroit and taken three of four from Cincinnati.  Counting the three of four series win in Washington, that give them a 7-3 mark in the last ten games.  Unfortunately, the Pirates and the Cards are playing just as well, so the Cubs have not made up any ground in the standings during this spell.

Destiny was on their side Sunday night as they managed to escape a bases loaded jam with Motte in the ninth and also survive appearances by Edwin Jackson and Brian Schlitter.  They also got a second consecutive improbable walk-off hit from Starlin Castro.  Castro is an odd and rather frustrating player.  Just when you give up on him completely, he seems to get himself together.  The guy can hit when he pays attention and there is no one on first base and he can also make some nice plays when he concentrates.  I'm glad to see that Lester pitched back to form last night, though the Cubs still needed five relievers to get the win in eleven innings.

Cubs hitting and pitching has not exactly been overwhelming during this stretch with the exception of the 12-3 rout in Detroit.  Most of the games have been tight one-run affairs.  Still, good teams find a way to win close games, and this is starting to look like a pretty good team.

The Nationals Series

The Cubs took three of four from Washington and looked good doing so.  Rizzo is certainly on a tear this month.  To my mind, it looks as if Maddon is learning the limitations as well as the plus side of his bullpen, so he is managing it a good deal better even when he has to dip in earlier than he would like.  I especially liked pulling Rondon in the Saturday game when he obviously did not have it.  Most managers would not have made that move with a closer.

Speculation was that the Cubs would bring up Baez for another shot when they play a bunch of road games against AL teams, but that seems finished owing to his injury today.  Baez broke a finger sliding head first into second base and is likely out four to eight weeks.  I rather think that throws more of a wrench into Cubs planning than might be suggested at first glance.  If the Cubs were sure one way or another that Baez is the real deal, they could either promote him and trade off Castro or trade him off.  Now the verdict is likely out, perhaps until after the trade deadline.

The Cubs do not have a real DH-type player on the team right now, but my guess is that with Baez off the table they won't make a move for the Tigers series at least.  The Cubs won't face a left-handed starter in Detroit, and, with Lester starting on Tuesday, Ross will catch, so they can always DH Montero.  On Wednesday, my guess is they will use either Denorfia or Lake depending on who starts in right field.  This leaves their bench pretty short, but the whole point of the DH is you can short your bench anyway, since you don't need to pinch-hit for the pitcher.

The Marlins Series

The Cubs managed to lose two out of three to the Marlins, a genuinely awful team that has seen its best pitcher lost for the season, its closer demoted to AA, and its manager fired and replaced by the GM, for whom they have performed worse, if possible, than they did with the first guy.

Anyway, the Cubs have not been playing all that well lately.  I cannot remember when they last won a series.  Mostly their failures have been the result of an inconsistent bullpen and sloppy play.  Today and yesterday, it was sloppy and careless play.  A lot of the sloppy play can be laid at the door of Starlin Castro.

Earlier this year, when the Cubs played the Mets and there was a lot of trade talk, I took the position that the Cubs are probably better off hanging on to Castro.  Now, I am not so sure.  There have been a bunch of articles about this subject lately, the objective ones coming down pretty much on the side of writing him off.  Castro is never going to be an on-base machine, and he is just not suited to batting any higher than sixth in the lineup.  The real failure is on defense.  Castro has been the regular shortstop for six years now and he shows no real signs of the maturity or professionalism that one would expect of a six-year veteran with above-average range.  In short, he still plays like a rookie.

Rumor has it the Cubs will bring up Baez and use him to DH with an occasional start in the field when they play a bunch of inter-league games on the road later this month.  Baez is hot in AAA, though he is still striking out at lot.  If he is not an absolute embarrassment, as he was last season, Castro's days might be numbered.  I'm not sure the Cubs could not get along with LaStella at second base and Russell at short in a pinch, though LaStella seems to be a slow healer and is still on the DL.

Speaking of the DL, Soler has hurt his ankle and gone to the DL.  This is going to hurt the team a lot.  Soler is not an easy out and he plays good defense in right field.  Lake is likely to get most of the starts there in his absence.  He can hit a bit when he shows discipline, but he is not really a very good outfielder at all.

As another aside, I notice the Mariners traded Welington Castillo to Arizona in a six-player deal that saw them pick up Mark Trumbo.  Probably a plus for Seattle and a plus for Castillo as well, since he is likely to get some regular playing time with the D-backs.