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.