(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
So yesterday Joe questions in his post why anyone would think that we would need to add another pitcher to our rotation and I present tonight’s game as Exhibit A as proof of why that is necessary. Now you will ask: Didn’t we win this game? Yes. Didn’t our ace go and get his seventh straight win? Yes. Didn’t we win our eighth straight game and extend our lead in the division to three and a half games? Yes. Things continue to be good. However, Carlos Zambrano began the game with a bad inning and teetered on the edge of blowing a gasket as he is prone to do. He struggled in the first with control, pitch placement, and emotion. The Cubs were in a 3-0 hole after the first inning.
So here is my concern, we know that Big Z sometimes gets amped up and has a bad inning. We all love him but we all still understand that there are times that the basketcase comes out of the man. This sometimes happens, yet I still expect that he will win every time he goes out. But let’s say he has a bad inning against a good team and another ace. You might not get a chance to win that game like we did tonight. So if this is the case, we face a must win game two with either Lilly or Dempster (who we still don’t know if he will have the endurance to be effective at the end of this year). I am just not comfortable with that. Some might be…I am not.
Pitching
Big Z struggled today but showed guts and got the win. He had a rough first inning giving up two singles a walk and a triple- 3 earned. He was not on his game today but these runs are the only ones he surrendered. He threw over 130 pitches in his last game and left after the fifth only throwing 95 pitches tonight. He went 5 innings and gave up 5 hits, 4 walks, and 3 earned runs only striking out 2. He didn’t pitch well today but he kept us in the game and contributed as much with his bat as his pitching in this one.
The bullpen had ups and downs. Jon Lieber held the Padres down for the inning he pitched. Neal Cotts also had a scoreless inning with 2 K’s. People have been raving about how surprisingly good his stuff has been since his return. Wuertz continues to not get the job done. He came in leading 7-3 in the eighth and only gets one out and walks two forcing Lou to bring in Marmol. There is growing fear that Carlos Marmol is going to be overused and today he closes the eighth with ease but struggles in the ninth. Marmol allows two men to reach and gives up a three run homer to Adrian Gonzalez. With the score now 7-6 Lou needs to bring in Kerry Wood who gets the final two outs to end the game. Because Wuertz could not do the job it dominoes into both Marmol and Wood entering a game they should not have been needed in.
The Hitting
Everybody got a hit today except Alfonso Soriano. The Cubs scored their first run in the second following a Ramirez and Fukudome single and a wild pitch. In the fourth Fukudome walks and comes home on an Edmonds single. With two outs Big Z triples home Edmonds to tie the game. Big Z busted it out of the box as he always does. The Cubs added a run in the fifth. In the sixth the first two hitters reached and Zambrano came to sac bunt them over. He lays down a bunt and Z sprints down the baseline and beats it out. This is why I love watching him. The Cubs add two more and lead 6-3. They score their final run when Jim Edmonds doubled home Fukudome in the seventh.
Ryan Theriot went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Fukudome went 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Edmonds went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. Z went 3 for 3 with 1 RBI.
Edmonds is hitting and now his average is over .200. It has jumped thirty points since coming here. I think he was facing a final decision and now it seems like he has won his spot for a while. I think it is pathetic that people still don’t want him here because he was a Cardinal. A couple years back I remember hearing Bears fans on sports radio who hated Rex Grossman so much that they admitted that they wanted the Bears to get knocked out of the playoffs because they could not win a Super Bowl with Rex…HUH??? If you are hoping that Edmonds fails…WAKE UP…you are thus hoping the team will fail because HE IS CURRENTLY ON YOUR TEAM!!!
Big Z also helped himself by picking Jody Gerut off of second when he was in a jam in the second.
The Cubs have not won a road series since being in Pittsburgh in April. Let’s hope that ends tomorrow night.
Jason Marquis gets the start tomorrow and I think that with Sean Gallagher pitching well, Marquis could be facing final chances if he does not improve. They eventually want to return a lefty to the rotation which means Gallagher or Marquis will be replaced. I think that choice is obvious.
The Cubs have 22 out of their next 31 are on the road where their record is much weaker than at home. This will tell us a lot more about our team as we approach the all star break.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:54 am
After watching the game from start to finish, the most impressive thing I noticed was how each batter treats his at bat like a separate event. That is very impressive and what is separates this year’s team from year’s past. Lou really has transformed these guys. Despite Marmol’s and Z’s stuggles last night, I came away more confident in this team than ever before.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:05 am
After Theriot’s exemplary night, he is now 6th in the league in hitting. Why not him in the All Star Game?
I still remember someone here not that long ago claiming Theriot was the problem.
What a great year to be a Cubs blogger.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
The Weakest spot of this team seems to be the defense in left field, IF Lou would sit Soriano on the bench the next time Fonsie loafs on “D” or drops an easy fly, could it light a fire under him to play to his ability ?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Don’t wait for “Sweet Lucy” to sait down Soriano, he is the dreaded “PLAYERS MANAGER” Meaning in will chew-out a non-star but not a big one!!!!!!!!Let’s hope all these “lucky” breaks and playing crippled teams doesn’t castch up to us. Why is it that a petite 110 lbs. high school girl can pitch three or four complete games a week but 6′5″ monster of a man can only go 5 0r 6 innings.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Marmol is being OVER-WORKED and I still worry about Woodsy. His partner Prior is done for the year and should take up playing poker. It is easy on the arm. [Some one else deals!!!!!!]
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Huh? Lou has sat Soriano in two games this week in the late innings for a defenisve sub.
The Cubs are winning, and still the complaints. Will it ever end?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
The complaints is about over using Marmol. He should have never brought him out for the ninth last night. Sending down Ascenio was a mistake. He looked like the power arm we could use in that type of a situation. Why not use Howry last night in the ninth? He needs work to get into his late season form. Lou needs to relax with a 4 run lead let others get outs. Marmol came in against Arizona a couple weeks ago when the team was up by 5 in the ninth. It was unnecessary since he had pitched two days prior. He has done the same thing with Wood a couple times. Like against the Rockies last Thursday. I just don’t get it.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
My biggest gripe is when people complain about wins over average or less than average teams. You know the always popular, “the winning record doesn’t mean much because the Cubs are winning over teams like the Rockies or the Pirates or the Padres.” Hello? They are supposed to beat teams like that right? And that is what they are doing, right? I don’t care who they are playing, they still have the best record in baseball. While that is not ground to get completely giddy, there is no doubt the Cubs are a fun team to watch right now, no matter who the competition.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Umm… because it is two completely different arm motions? It has nothing to do with size, height, weight, gender, etc.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Probably because Howry had already pitched two days in a row, and the second day he pitched 1 2/3 innings.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Lou sat Soriano again last night bringing Johnson in I think in the seventh. That is three games that Soriano was replced in the later innings. I dont think Lou is a players manager. I think he is a smart manager and a good manager…the best we have ever had…BY FAR. He protects the players and still makes the changes he needs to make. The guys see, to trust him and like playing for him, but they also know they need to perform. Young guys get chances and old guys are not thrown under the bus. Last night he comes out to settle Z down in the second inning and it works. I think that he outmanages the opposing manager 75 percent of the time. I cant imagine why anyone has problems with him.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The real test will be the road trips coming up. If we can maintain our winning percentage, then I will begin to believe that we have a shot.
I agree with Matt, Lou has sat down Afonz late in the games. I think he is sending a message.
Tommy:
you are right, I can remember taking a lot of heat for my love for Theriot. FYI, stay away from any Eckstien comparisons. Those do not go over very well either.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I think hell just froze over. LOL!
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Might be a dumb question, but i have noticed on more than one occasion now so i thought i would ask……The Padres starter got the loss (giving up 4 runs) i realize the Cubs never relinquished the lead, but i thought it used to be that if your team “covered” your runs you were “off the hook.” in this case once the Padres scored 4, and whoever gave up number 7 would get the L???Have I always been wrong or did this change.
thanks and keep up the great site!
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:04 pm
The loss goes to whichever pitcher gave up the runs which led to the team being behing for the final time in the game. thus yesterday the loss was given to the guy who gave up the run that caused the padres to be behind 4-3 because even though the final score was 7-6 the padres never caught up to the cubs after being behind 4-3. I hope that makes sense. Once a guy can be the loser in a game he is the loser until someone replaces him.
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Like I said before, Soriano will not always sit the last inning(s) of games. It was just to make a double switch. Lou even said it in the paper today. It just happened to work out that way.
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I dont believe that. I think it is the way Lou is making Soriano feel better about it. It has happened three times in the last week. How many times did it happen before then?
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Wait, when you’re talking about adding another pitcher to the rotation, you mean one *better* than Zambrano? Who the heck would that be? It doesn’t matter who the other four pitchers are, Z will still be the starter for that first play-off game.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Ken:
Good point, but then what? We really do not have a proven #2 pitcher. We just have a bunch of pretty good #3 pitchers. I would like us to add another pitcher that fits the #2 role.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:34 pm
I’m not sure their all #3’s, Jose. I think Lilly is a 3, Demp, Gallagher are number fives. We need a 2. Badly. Someone that can give you that 2-0 lead in a five game set.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I was giving them the benefit of the doubt since they have been pitching well this year. Either way, we need a solid #2.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Absolutely my point. We do not have a number 2 starter. You do not need someone better than Zambrano, although someone less hectic would be a little more comforting since you have so much riding on him as ace. Nonetheless he is great. We need a number two. A guy who goes like 12-7 on the year and other teams do not want to face in the playoffs. Guaranteed no one fears Ted Lilly and I fear that Dempster might tire at the end of the year. So in some way it is Zambrano gets the win or you are in a whole lot of trouble. When Prior went in 2003 you knew Wood was behind him and then there was Z. This rotation does not hold a candle to who they were until theire arms shredded. I cant imagine going into a five game series with this rotation and thinking we will win with it.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Absolutley agree Rob. The rotation in 2003 was scary compared to this year. I felt comfortable three of the game in each series, and even felt pretty darn good if Matt Clement had to take the bump fora game.
This year. Not so much.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I might be old fashion, but 12-7 smells like a #3 pitcher to me.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Carlos is just being Carlos. I don’t understand why people get so worked up about his personality. He had a bad first inning probably because he went 130 innings in his last start, not because he was too amped up. Nobody seems to worry that he’s too amped up when he gets out of trouble by punching out 3 straight batters with the bases juiced? He’s always amped up and agitated by something or other. His occasional bag innings are not related to his personality, otherwise he’d have a whole lot more bad innings. Manny Ramirez is always gonna be Manny Ramirez. Carlos is always gonna be Carlos. Both of them are just plain fun to watch. Instead of hoping he was a stoic like somebody else, just appreciate him for the indestructable, elite pitcher his is.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I’ve never smelled a number three pitcher. What’s that like?
June 4th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Smells like 12-7.