The Cubs swept the Reds in Cincinnati with rather more difficulty than one would have supposed necessary, especially in the fifteen inning game Tuesday night. I sometimes think that Maddon does a lot of these strange managerial moves just because he can, which was certainly the case in that game. Still, a sweep is a sweep, no matter how it is achieved.
On Thursday night, the quick hook for Lackey backfired in a big way, allowing the Mets to come back from a three run deficit and win the game. Sure, the key play there was the Baez throwing error, but Lackey left the game with a man on second and it was his replacement, Joel Peralta, who could not get an out. For some reason, Maddon always seems to get a little antsy with his starters in mid-season. He did the same thing last year, maybe with more justification. Peralta seems to be the latest in the Cubs reclamation projects and possibly the most misguided. This guy is 42 years old and has not been able to get outs for quite a while.
Perhaps to make up for the questionable decision of Thursday's game, the Cubs chose to trot Jason Hammel back out after the hour or so rain delay Friday night. Maybe it is just anecdotal, but it seems to me that Cubs starters rarely if ever pitch well after this lengthy a delay. Hammel was just awful, and, oddly enough, Maddon left him in the game to be unmercifully routed for ten runs before he took him out.
Anyway, the Cubs can still salvage a split with Arrieta and Lester due to make the weekend starts.
No comments:
Post a Comment