Second Star – Greg Dobbs
Third Star – Brett Myers
I noticed in the starting lineup that Fukodome is batting second and playing Center Field and Ward is playing in Right tonight. Tomorrow against Cole Hamels, Fukudome will get the day off. Speculation is that Johnson will play Center and DeRosa might play Right.
So here is what I am wondering- Is it possible that the team is prepping to send Pie back down and bring Murton back up and play Johnson and Fukudome everyday with Murton, Ward, and DeRosa giving them spells? What would you think if they did?
Recap:
The Cubs have their five game win streak snapped and are only able to get three runs on solo shots by Lee and Ramirez- who went back to back in the first- and Soriano who tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth.
The game looked good when Lee and Ramirez gave the Cubs a two run jumpstart. Brett Myers had an ERA over 7 entering the game but the Cubs bats were generall silent for much of this game. Lee and Ramirez were each 2 for 4 and Soriano and DeRosa were 1 for 4. The rest of the team went hitless. The lineup was different than normal with Fukudome playing Center and batting 2nd and Ward playing right and batting fifth. Ward is very good off the bench but it is probably not a great idea to play him in the outfield very much.
I think the scenario in the first two paragraphs of the recap is very possible, but we will see.
The Phillies are a real good hitting team even without MVP Jimmy Rollins. (Who I just traded Brandon Webb and OF Chris Young for in my fantasy baseball league…I had absolutely no SS). They got 10 hits and five runs. Pat Burrell hit a two run home run to tie the game in the fourth and doubles to give the Phillies the lead 4-3 in the sixth.
Big Z worked out of a runners at the corners nobody out jam in the first. He was moving along well into fourth when he threw a pitch to Pat Burrell that was driven to Harrisburg. He did not have amazing stuff like he did in the first two starts but he did look OK. His line 6ip, 9h, 5er, 1bb, 6k. Not the greatest but at least he is not walking a ton of guys like in the past.
Pretty average loss. But I do think some groundwork is being laid for some potential changes. Fukudome bats second…we’ll see.
Now, there is a story that Hill is going to be used from the bullpen for a little while to regain some control and might start next Thursday against the Reds or might not start for over a week. Marshall will start Sunday if Marquis is still down with the flu.
What do you make of all of these things?
Ideally, I’d like to see the Cubs give Pie A LOT more opportunity to prove himself than 10 games.
That being said, as an unabashed member of the unofficial Matt Murton Fan Club, I am for anything that gets Thunder Matt back to the bigs where he belongs!
so much for Fukudome in the 2nd spot getting on-base for the big sluggers! 3 solo homeruns is all that could be mustered.
I could not watch the game. Can anyone provide some insight into how Fdome did in CF? If he does well, drop Pie down and bring up Murton. I am also a member of the Murton fan club. I think that if he is given a solid chance in RF, he could easily provide us average defense and a .290 average / 15-18 HR’s / 75-85 RBI’s. I would take those stats from our RF.
Echoing AnnoCatuli08, I agree that 10 games is to short a time to be dropping the gavel on Pie. I like Murton too, but this is early April. Give Pie some more time.
This is not a particularly galling loss. Obviously things could’ve gone better, but most team don’t win ‘em all.
By the way, Pie is the only Center Fielder on the roster. I know defense doesn’t matter and all… but
Brandon Webb AND Chris Young (OF) for Jimmy Rollins?! I don’t care if you have Rey Ordonez as your shortstop, come on Rob!
Jerious, I know you always like to facetiously point out that defense doesn’t matter…however, no one here as ever said that defense doesn’t matter. No one here has ever implied that defense doesn’t matter. Some people, myself included, have just made the determination that the offense gained in some spots will make up for the defense lost in others. If this offends you, I’m sorry. I agree that defense is important, but your facetious quips about it are beginning to become tiresome.
Has Murton’s OF defense improved since last year? Can he gun down opposing runners at the plate? We need Soriano and Fukudome at the corners and Johnson at center. If Murton gets called back, he can spell the starters every so often and a key pinch hitter late in the game.
I do like Murton’s all out effort, tho.
Tommy:
We do not know if Murton’s defense has improved because we are still waiting for Pie’s bat to improve. Here is the question I struggle with. Why is it that we are willing to give Pie a roster spot and hope his hitting will improve and not Murton and hope his fielding will improve? I think that it is easier to improve defense than hitting. What has Pie’s shown us that warrants this great trust? At least Murton has shown us that he can hit major league pitching and can make the routine catches.
Jerious: FYI, Pie is not the only CF on this team. We now have three: Pie, Johnson, and Fdome. Sounds like one too many.
Jose,
If you notice, Pie wasn’t mentioned at all in my comments. I like Johnson as my CF.
What does that have to do with anything?
Jose, I can tell you from experience, that if you’re bad at defense, most likely you won’t improve, at least not enought to make significant improvement. Especially by the time they get to the MLB level.
this is by far my favorite type or recap. simple and to the point. keep up the good work rob
Tommy:
My comment was not meant as a shot at all. What I was trying to uncover is why we keep giving Pie a chance to improve at the major league level and not Murton. Right now I would rather have Murton on this team than Pie. I like your idea of Johnson, except that several people have posted that he is injury prone. If that is the case, I would rather have him as our 4th OF.
Matt:
As of no surprise to, I have to disagree with you. I think that it is easier to teach defense than hitting, or that the very least, hide your fielding problems. My best example is ARam. He was terrible at third base when we first got him. But I think that he has improved defensively. In fact, didn’t he lead all third baseman last year in fielding percentages? You can also hide your defensive liabilities easier than your hitting ones. For example is Afonz. He was a terrible second baseman. But at least he is an adequate LF. Just get rid of the stupid hop.