OK. Soft-tossing lefty, Pittsburgh Pirates, Lou's special lineup. 2-1 loss. Record against Pirates, one of the worst teams in baseball, actually hardly a step above AA, 2-8. Pirates record against everyone else, 18-48, that's .272, fans, that's barely winning one in four games.
Of course, it was all Zambrano's fault. They were playing a man short, which of course accounts for Theriot hitting into a double play on the first pitch with runners on 1st and 3rd as well as Soriano, Soto, and Nady (Nady???) striking out in the 9th with the tying run on base, and it also accounts for Colvin (whom I like and think will become a good player) misplaying a line drive into a triple to account for one of the two Pirates runs.
At least the Zambrano affair has reached some sort of conclusion or papering over. Apparently, Z will seek counseling until after the All-Star break when the Cubs will likely be at least 15 games below .500 and everything will be just peachy and probably he will not need to apologize to the team because by then they may have realized he was right after all.
It may just be me, but I somehow get the impression that Hendry has a lot more invested in Zambrano in general (they go back a long ways) and that Lou is not entirely on board with this rehabilitation project. I also think, despite Z's unusual motivational theories (see his conversation with Kevin Millar here, or at least Millar's account of it) that Piniella is the problem. Just looking at the shots of this brooding presence on the bench and contrasting it with, say, the loose demeanor of Ozzie and the Sox over the weekend and you see what I mean. This team is really up tight top to bottom and that may have a lot to do with the personality and style of their manager. Maybe I'll devote an entire post to this theory later this week.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Time to Move On, I Guess
This afternoon we learn that Lou Piniella met with the team to discuss the Zambrano situation and just things in general. It turns out the players only complaint was that Lou did not post the subsequent day's lineups soon enough after each game, so that no one knew who would be playing in the next game because they would already have left the stadium. Lou promptly blamed the media for keeping him after hours answering questions about why the Cubs stink.
Wow! That's a pretty hard-headed team meeting and I'm certainly glad Piniella and the team, or what remains of it, had a chance to clear the air. Apparently, the team is quite content to trot out every day and lose in ever more ignominious fashion so long as they know the night before who will be on the hook. Today's lineup was a little bizarre to say the least. Only one left-handed hitter against a right-hander who lives by throwing soft stuff about a foot outside. This year's stats show Garcia is slightly better against lefties, but his career stats are about even, and, anyway, the Cubs right-handed hitters generally cannot hit anyone at all, which proved to be pretty much the case today as usual.
We also found out that Zambrano, if he returns at all, will be relegated to the bullpen, which makes no sense whatsoever, but what does with this team and its management? Two or three observations worth discussing. Should the Cubs forget about this year and concentrate on next year? I think so. If they do, they might actually wind up winning more games this year than they expect.
With that in mind, the move of Gorzelanny into the rotation unless it is to compensate for a trade of Lilly is the wrong one. Cashner should start now. The more innings he gets under his belt at the major league level, the better he is going to be. Also designating Tracy is the wrong move. For some reason, Lou just loves Baker, but unless you are shopping Theriot and want to keep him as a platoon player, he has no real role on this team. Baker does hit lefties well enough, but he has only one hit (one hit!) all year against a right-hander in 33 ABs.
Tomorrow should bring another game and another loss if past performances have anything to do with it. Danks, another lefty, has always dominated the Cubs and there is no reason to suppose that domination will not continue unless they are rained out.
Wow! That's a pretty hard-headed team meeting and I'm certainly glad Piniella and the team, or what remains of it, had a chance to clear the air. Apparently, the team is quite content to trot out every day and lose in ever more ignominious fashion so long as they know the night before who will be on the hook. Today's lineup was a little bizarre to say the least. Only one left-handed hitter against a right-hander who lives by throwing soft stuff about a foot outside. This year's stats show Garcia is slightly better against lefties, but his career stats are about even, and, anyway, the Cubs right-handed hitters generally cannot hit anyone at all, which proved to be pretty much the case today as usual.
We also found out that Zambrano, if he returns at all, will be relegated to the bullpen, which makes no sense whatsoever, but what does with this team and its management? Two or three observations worth discussing. Should the Cubs forget about this year and concentrate on next year? I think so. If they do, they might actually wind up winning more games this year than they expect.
With that in mind, the move of Gorzelanny into the rotation unless it is to compensate for a trade of Lilly is the wrong one. Cashner should start now. The more innings he gets under his belt at the major league level, the better he is going to be. Also designating Tracy is the wrong move. For some reason, Lou just loves Baker, but unless you are shopping Theriot and want to keep him as a platoon player, he has no real role on this team. Baker does hit lefties well enough, but he has only one hit (one hit!) all year against a right-hander in 33 ABs.
Tomorrow should bring another game and another loss if past performances have anything to do with it. Danks, another lefty, has always dominated the Cubs and there is no reason to suppose that domination will not continue unless they are rained out.
The Zambrano Mess
Just when you think things cannot get any worse for the North-Siders something like yesterday happens. Lets get this out of the way for starters. Zambrano is his own worst enemy. He is a hothead and all this stomping around was childish and completely out of line. That being said, I have to say that the remarks of Bob Brenly during the game and Ozzie Guillen afterwards are much more pertinent than all the blather from Piniella and Hendry.
Brenly said essentially that at least Zambrano was showing some fire and emotion and that the Cubs so far were a "dead ass" team. The particular plays that Z was reacting to were dubious. It didn't look like Ramirez or Lee had a great chance on either double, but on the field it may have looked different, and, more importantly, Z may have been overreacting to all the plays these two guys have not made or botched up during the course of the season that were much more clearly their fault. I've seen plays like that made by major league players or at least attempted with a little more enthusiasm. The foul bunt that Soto and Ramirez failed to catch, well I've seen that play made all the time.
In any case, much of this debate is beside the point. From a fan's point-of-view, watching these guys stumble through the season to this point, all I want to express is that I have a lot of sympathy for Z's misplaced anger. They do stink. They don't seem to care. That's really all Brenly was trying to say. And actually it appears from subsequent reports that Z was calling out the whole team, not Lee in particular. Lee seemed to be the nearest object of attention and perhaps in a lucid moment flashed back on all the dumb errors he has made in the last month that cost the team ballgames and how he is barely hitting his weight and thought they were directed at him personally.
The Cubs are now in a really bad situation. Watching Piniella's post-game interview, my own observation was that it was the typical self-serving nonsense we always hear from this guy. He did succeed in working Hendry into a corner with all this stuff about abiding by the boss's decision, blah, blah, blah, so that Hendry was left with little choice initially in his reaction.
As a fan, I don't see what the big deal is about calling out your teammates. Z has a point, though of course doing so after a shaky start is not the most opportune time to do it. If anyone else had done this, the press and the media and the fans would be rushing to his defense and saying it was about time the players had figured out what a bunch of losers they seem to have become.
If you read about baseball from an insider's viewpoint and even in some of the biographies of great players and histories of great teams, it seemed to happen all the time in the past. Apparently it was sheer hell to play on the Yankees in the Joe DiMaggio era.
Anyway, where does this team go from here to get through the season and beyond? Clearly Piniella has lost control of the team. That happened sometime last season. However, he is making noises about wanting to come back for several more seasons so he can win 2,000 games. With this team, that could take a really long time and, honestly, that would be an intolerable situation.
Just from a business point-of-view everyone will be better served by patching things up. They still owe Zambrano $45 million, so even if they want to move him they probably cannot do so. Better to let the PR guys and maybe Ricketts take over from here. Bring Z in to make a public apology, how his temper got away from him, how frustrated he is. Behind closed doors, this team needs to get together and air their grievances, maybe without Lou or Hendry around, maybe with a respected figure like Maddox or someone else in their organization present.
Long term maybe Ricketts or a trusted lieutenant needs to come home, stop putting up statues of macaroni and clean out the management from top to bottom. They are, after all, the ones who put together this sorry excuse for a baseball team.
Brenly said essentially that at least Zambrano was showing some fire and emotion and that the Cubs so far were a "dead ass" team. The particular plays that Z was reacting to were dubious. It didn't look like Ramirez or Lee had a great chance on either double, but on the field it may have looked different, and, more importantly, Z may have been overreacting to all the plays these two guys have not made or botched up during the course of the season that were much more clearly their fault. I've seen plays like that made by major league players or at least attempted with a little more enthusiasm. The foul bunt that Soto and Ramirez failed to catch, well I've seen that play made all the time.
In any case, much of this debate is beside the point. From a fan's point-of-view, watching these guys stumble through the season to this point, all I want to express is that I have a lot of sympathy for Z's misplaced anger. They do stink. They don't seem to care. That's really all Brenly was trying to say. And actually it appears from subsequent reports that Z was calling out the whole team, not Lee in particular. Lee seemed to be the nearest object of attention and perhaps in a lucid moment flashed back on all the dumb errors he has made in the last month that cost the team ballgames and how he is barely hitting his weight and thought they were directed at him personally.
The Cubs are now in a really bad situation. Watching Piniella's post-game interview, my own observation was that it was the typical self-serving nonsense we always hear from this guy. He did succeed in working Hendry into a corner with all this stuff about abiding by the boss's decision, blah, blah, blah, so that Hendry was left with little choice initially in his reaction.
As a fan, I don't see what the big deal is about calling out your teammates. Z has a point, though of course doing so after a shaky start is not the most opportune time to do it. If anyone else had done this, the press and the media and the fans would be rushing to his defense and saying it was about time the players had figured out what a bunch of losers they seem to have become.
If you read about baseball from an insider's viewpoint and even in some of the biographies of great players and histories of great teams, it seemed to happen all the time in the past. Apparently it was sheer hell to play on the Yankees in the Joe DiMaggio era.
Anyway, where does this team go from here to get through the season and beyond? Clearly Piniella has lost control of the team. That happened sometime last season. However, he is making noises about wanting to come back for several more seasons so he can win 2,000 games. With this team, that could take a really long time and, honestly, that would be an intolerable situation.
Just from a business point-of-view everyone will be better served by patching things up. They still owe Zambrano $45 million, so even if they want to move him they probably cannot do so. Better to let the PR guys and maybe Ricketts take over from here. Bring Z in to make a public apology, how his temper got away from him, how frustrated he is. Behind closed doors, this team needs to get together and air their grievances, maybe without Lou or Hendry around, maybe with a respected figure like Maddox or someone else in their organization present.
Long term maybe Ricketts or a trusted lieutenant needs to come home, stop putting up statues of macaroni and clean out the management from top to bottom. They are, after all, the ones who put together this sorry excuse for a baseball team.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
It Took 13 Innings
It took 13 innings for the Cubs to figure out how to win an agonizing game by finally successfully playing small ball. An uncharacteristic base on balls for Alfonso Soriano, followed by a perfect bunt from Kosuke Fukudome, followed by another astonishing walk to Ryan Theriot and then a nice hit from Marlon Byrd. I thought for a while this game might go on as long as the fabled Isner/Mahut tennis match at Wimbledon.
Speculation is that either Baker or Tracy will be designated for assignment to make room for Ramirez. I'd tend to favor retaining Tracy. He is left-handed and can play 1B or 3B. Baker is good enough against lefties, but he is completely one-dimensional as a player and cannot actually play any position very well. Tracy was at least a fairly competent regular player at one time. Lou has already announced he will need 12 pitchers to carry him through the stretch of 20 games without an off-day leading up to the All-Star break. Maybe so, but I've never understood this bit of Cubs reasoning. Pineilla always likes 12 pitchers and sometimes 13 as a kind of security blanket, but right now he has two pitchers he almost never uses, viz., Stevens and Gorzelanny, and two pitchers he should never even think about using in Grabow and Howry. Go figure.
The upcoming series with the White Sox will determine the rest of the season and the disposition of the Cubs as the trading deadline nears. The Sox are coming in off a long winning streak and a tremendous emotional high. The Cubs could not be playing worse ball and the pressure will be on Ramirez to produce immediately. Given the history of this series, that probably means the Cubs will take at least two of three and maybe even sweep.
Speculation is that either Baker or Tracy will be designated for assignment to make room for Ramirez. I'd tend to favor retaining Tracy. He is left-handed and can play 1B or 3B. Baker is good enough against lefties, but he is completely one-dimensional as a player and cannot actually play any position very well. Tracy was at least a fairly competent regular player at one time. Lou has already announced he will need 12 pitchers to carry him through the stretch of 20 games without an off-day leading up to the All-Star break. Maybe so, but I've never understood this bit of Cubs reasoning. Pineilla always likes 12 pitchers and sometimes 13 as a kind of security blanket, but right now he has two pitchers he almost never uses, viz., Stevens and Gorzelanny, and two pitchers he should never even think about using in Grabow and Howry. Go figure.
The upcoming series with the White Sox will determine the rest of the season and the disposition of the Cubs as the trading deadline nears. The Sox are coming in off a long winning streak and a tremendous emotional high. The Cubs could not be playing worse ball and the pressure will be on Ramirez to produce immediately. Given the history of this series, that probably means the Cubs will take at least two of three and maybe even sweep.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Even More Pathetic
Another game, another sloppy, listless effort with the same result, although this time, since Wells ran into a few troublesome jams, the game was not close. Now I do not suggest that the Cubs were likely to beat Cliff Lee, one of the best left-handers in the league, but they should have made some kind of effort to play something that resembled baseball. They got the first two runners on base on numerous occasions with allegedly good hitters coming up, but they did nothing. Nady, who is an abomination in any position, played 1B (badly I might add), but he saved the real stuff for the batter's box, grounding into two DPs and striking out twice. Quite a night. Not to be outdone, however, by Derrick Lee, who pitched in with a strike out and a DP of his own. Really all of these guys just get bug-eyed when they come up with men on base and start swinging for the fences. It was an interesting contrast to see how the Mariners played the innings where they had a chance to score. Quite a contrast.
I keep harping on this whole issue with Piniella's platoons because it just bugs me no end. This lineup does not perform well against left-handers despite the fact that it should and it contains a lot of dumb, defensively challenged players who wind up allowing runs and opportunities. Now given these facts, I would rather play a lineup that included some other players, even left-handed hitters who have some idea of how to play baseball. Maybe they will go 0 for 4, but then, the right-handers are going to go 0 for 4 as well, so what is the difference. As an aside, I would point out that Tyler Colvin, a left-handed hitter, provided the only offense in the form of a home run.
Steve Rosenblum, in his Rosenblog, has a biting and largely correct analysis of the Cubs in his latest entry. Well worth a read. Curiously enough, the Cubs answer to this whole disaster of a season, the second in a row, is to shop Kosuke Fukudome with some sort of agreement to pay most of his salary. I know it is an unpopular position to take, but Fukudome, even though he is overpaid for his production, is a baseball player who catches the ball, throws to the right base, runs the bases with some degree of sense, takes pitches, and gets on base. These are rare qualities in a Cub, so I guess he doesn't fit in very well.
What should the Cubs do? Fire Hendry and Piniella. Right now. Rosenblum makes so much sense here. Trade Lee, Lilly, and Nady. These are players who do not fit into next year's plans and are not under club control next year. Lee and Nady are contributing nothing right now. Lilly is inconsistent and can easily be replaced by several players already on the roster. Do everything possible to move Alfonso Soriano. No team will ever win a championship with Soriano as an everyday player. Stop picking up one-dimensional players: Soriano, Baker, Nady, etc.
I keep harping on this whole issue with Piniella's platoons because it just bugs me no end. This lineup does not perform well against left-handers despite the fact that it should and it contains a lot of dumb, defensively challenged players who wind up allowing runs and opportunities. Now given these facts, I would rather play a lineup that included some other players, even left-handed hitters who have some idea of how to play baseball. Maybe they will go 0 for 4, but then, the right-handers are going to go 0 for 4 as well, so what is the difference. As an aside, I would point out that Tyler Colvin, a left-handed hitter, provided the only offense in the form of a home run.
Steve Rosenblum, in his Rosenblog, has a biting and largely correct analysis of the Cubs in his latest entry. Well worth a read. Curiously enough, the Cubs answer to this whole disaster of a season, the second in a row, is to shop Kosuke Fukudome with some sort of agreement to pay most of his salary. I know it is an unpopular position to take, but Fukudome, even though he is overpaid for his production, is a baseball player who catches the ball, throws to the right base, runs the bases with some degree of sense, takes pitches, and gets on base. These are rare qualities in a Cub, so I guess he doesn't fit in very well.
What should the Cubs do? Fire Hendry and Piniella. Right now. Rosenblum makes so much sense here. Trade Lee, Lilly, and Nady. These are players who do not fit into next year's plans and are not under club control next year. Lee and Nady are contributing nothing right now. Lilly is inconsistent and can easily be replaced by several players already on the roster. Do everything possible to move Alfonso Soriano. No team will ever win a championship with Soriano as an everyday player. Stop picking up one-dimensional players: Soriano, Baker, Nady, etc.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Pathetic
I believe I called this shot last night in noting the Mariners, despite their terrible record, had good starting pitchers and a big ballpark. In particular, they are sending out two good lefties in the first two games and Lou is determined to trot out the all right-handed lineup that does not hit lefties nor score runs nor get on base.
Tonight was more of the same. Dempster pitched a good game, making only a single mistake to Guittierez. Soriano will look as if he had a wonderful game in the box score, but two of his hits were bloopers and the other would have been a double for anyone who actually ran out of the batters box instead of observing the play for a while before committing himself. His base-running blunder on Colvin's line drive directly at the Mariners' left fielder was just ridiculous and a further example of how this team and this player in particular simply doesn't care at all how stupidly they play. That play pretty much ruined the only scoring chance the Cubs had until the top of the ninth when they mounted a tepid rally with two men out but failed as usual to deliver.
Tonight was more of the same. Dempster pitched a good game, making only a single mistake to Guittierez. Soriano will look as if he had a wonderful game in the box score, but two of his hits were bloopers and the other would have been a double for anyone who actually ran out of the batters box instead of observing the play for a while before committing himself. His base-running blunder on Colvin's line drive directly at the Mariners' left fielder was just ridiculous and a further example of how this team and this player in particular simply doesn't care at all how stupidly they play. That play pretty much ruined the only scoring chance the Cubs had until the top of the ninth when they mounted a tepid rally with two men out but failed as usual to deliver.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Baseball Gods Smile
Well, they did today anyway. I was encouraged by Carlos Zambrano's fine performance. He had really good stuff and was in command throughout. Of course, you'd expect that in a 12-1 rout. I hope his enthusiasm for the team is borne out in subsequent games.
Actually, a number of players, namely, Baker, Nady, and Soriano continued their sloppy or casual defensive play, though Baker and Nady were effective offensively. Theriot, back or reduced to the 8th spot where he belongs, had a good offensive game. Oddly enough, it was his base-running error in the 2nd inning that was one of the turning points of the game, in that he was fortunate to advance from second to third on a routine chance. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart.
Another lucky play turned the game around in the 1st when Alfonso Soriano, another guy who will never be described as a smart player, swung at a ball over his head with the bases loaded and accidentally topped the ball barely past the pitcher's mound for a "single" that produced two runs when Kendrick made an errant and ill-advised throw to first.
Anyway, after the 2nd it was all downhill for the Angels and all fun and games for the Cubs. Lets hope they play well in Seattle, where they will face some pretty good pitchers in Vargas, Lee, and Hernandez, the first two being left-handers in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Granted Seattle is a bad team, but the Cubs should not underrate them. They are likely to get Ramirez back on Wednesday. Maybe that will help.
Actually, a number of players, namely, Baker, Nady, and Soriano continued their sloppy or casual defensive play, though Baker and Nady were effective offensively. Theriot, back or reduced to the 8th spot where he belongs, had a good offensive game. Oddly enough, it was his base-running error in the 2nd inning that was one of the turning points of the game, in that he was fortunate to advance from second to third on a routine chance. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart.
Another lucky play turned the game around in the 1st when Alfonso Soriano, another guy who will never be described as a smart player, swung at a ball over his head with the bases loaded and accidentally topped the ball barely past the pitcher's mound for a "single" that produced two runs when Kendrick made an errant and ill-advised throw to first.
Anyway, after the 2nd it was all downhill for the Angels and all fun and games for the Cubs. Lets hope they play well in Seattle, where they will face some pretty good pitchers in Vargas, Lee, and Hernandez, the first two being left-handers in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Granted Seattle is a bad team, but the Cubs should not underrate them. They are likely to get Ramirez back on Wednesday. Maybe that will help.
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