Free Cubs Ticket for 9/1 game

I have four tickets to the game against the Pirates on Wednesday that includes a free lunch at Sports Corner before the game (minus alcohol). One of the guys that is scheduled to go with us may not be able to make it. If you’re interested in going in the event that he has to cancel, please send an e-mail to: joe@viewfromthebleachers.com with the following:

• Name (and comment name you use on the site)
• Age
• Why you should be the one we choose to go with us
• Phone # where you can be reached if selected. (I should know this evening.

To be able to win, you must be able to do lunch before the game.

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Friday Discussion: Going to the Game

This one is going to be short and sweet. It’s simply a question on your feelings for the rest of the season. Each game we continue to see Wrigley Field packed, despite the losing record of the team. As a Cub fan, do you think it’s wrong for those people to be showing up?

I ask the question because I am heading to Chicago with the family Saturday and in the process will be catching two games. I’ll be in attendance tomorrow in Cincinnati and then on Wednesday in Chicago against the Pirates.

Am I total tool for buying two games worth of tickets at this point?

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Game 126: Welcoming in the Mike Quade Era

Every single player brought his bat in this one in support of their new skipper. It was one of the games where you almost want them to let up and save some for the next day, if that’s even possible.

• What impressed me the most was the patience and willingness to work the count deep, which in turn saw Livan Hernandez exit the game before getting through even five innings. Last time Livan worked less than five innings against us? NEVER
• Alfonso Soriano made me laugh in his approach to the plate late in the game and as much as I’d like to assume it was because the Cubs were winning big and he was facing his old team, I know better. He’d already hit a double and a bloop triple that went by the right fielder. Late in the game, when contact would have been the thing to shoot for with two strikes, he was swinging away with a big leg kick trying to hit the ball out of the ball park. Even the Nats broadcasters were making fun of it with the slo mo cam.
• Starlin Castro looked flat out fooled in his first at bat against Livan Hernandez when he was expecting a heater and got one of those slow spinners that Hernandez throws. At the same time, he rebounded nicely the rest of the game.
• What are your thoughts on Blake DeWitt? I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far and I found it interesting that Quade hit him at the top of the order. We hadn’t seen Lou do that as far as I could remember, but I’m too lazy to verify that. If there was a time….my bad. =)
• Casey Coleman had me a little nervous with the way he started the game, throwing just under 30 pitches in the first inning. He got out of the jam that was due in part to DeWitt’s error, and really threw a nice game. He wasn’t fancy with the strikeouts and didn’t really try to overpower the hitters. He reminded me a lot of Mike Leake when he faced us in his debut. I’d like to see what he does next time out.
• Really good to see Andrew Cashner put up the kind of outing he did. He’s not been as good as I know he’ll be in the future, but he’s learning. 1.2 IP with a minimal amount of pitches is an ideal outing. Very nice to see.

Finally, a look at the managers over the years for the Cubs who have been successful here.

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Lou Piniella Stepping Down

From the Cubs Media Dept:

CHICAGO – Lou Piniella today announced he has elected to step down as manager of the Chicago Cubs following this afternoon’s game against the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field for family reasons.

“When I previously announced my intentions to retire at the end of the season, a primary reason for my decision was that it would allow me to spend more valuable time with my family,” said Piniella.  “That time has unfortunately gotten here sooner than I could have ever expected.  As many know, the several weeks since that announcement was made have been very difficult on a family level, requiring two leaves of absence from the club.  While I fully intended to manage this club the rest of the season, a family situation at home now requires my full attention.

“As I said last month, I couldn’t be more appreciative of the Cubs organization for providing me the opportunity to be their manager.  I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world and I consider this the ultimate way to end my managerial career.

“I am thankful to the Ricketts family for their support – Cubs fans are fortunate to have an owner like the Ricketts family to lead this organization for the long-term.  I also couldn’t be more thankful to Jim Hendry for bringing me to Chicago.  We enjoyed a great deal of success together and I’ll always value the relationship we had during our time together.  Thank you to Crane Kenney and the Cubs front office for your support throughout the years.

“I couldn’t be more appreciative of my coaches and training staff.  They have been professional and supportive.  And thank you to my players for the successes we shared and their efforts.

“Finally, to the Cubs fans, thank you for four wonderful seasons.  You are the best, most deserving fans in all of baseball and it has been an honor to manage your ballclub.”

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and General Manager Jim Hendry released the following statements:

“The Chicago Cubs are honored to have had Lou Piniella as our manager for the last four years,” said Ricketts.  “My family and I respect Lou’s decision to retire from the game he loves and thank him for his years of dedicated service.  He is an icon in the world of baseball and we are grateful for his time with this organization.”

“Lou helped raise the bar here for this entire organization and for that we’ll be forever thankful,” said Hendry.  “We understand he needs to be with his family and respect his decision to retire at this time.  We salute his tremendous career and wish him and his family long-term health and happiness.”

One of only five skippers to win at least three Manager of the Year Awards, including 2008 with the Cubs, Piniella retires the 14th winningest manager in major league history.  He enters this afternoon’s game with 1,835 wins in his near 23 big league seasons as a manager.  Piniella is the first Cubs manager in more than 70 years to post a record of .500 or better in each of his first three seasons leading the club.

Piniella enters his final game with the Cubs with a 316-292 record in his three-plus seasons in Chicago.  Only seven managers have won more games than Piniella in club history, while his .520 winning percentage is the best since Charlie Grimm’s .547 combined mark from 1932-38, 1944-49 and 1960 (minimum 500 games).  Piniella is the first Cubs manager in 100 years to lead the club to consecutive post-season appearances in 2007 and 2008.

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Game 123: Questioning Decisions

Strike One – Watching the 9th inning yesterday gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. When Carlos Marmol walked the first hitter, it’s always a red flag that maybe bad things are on the horizon. Ryan Dempster did it in the 4th and the 6th innings and one of those runners came around to score. Instead, Marmol pumped three straight fastballs to Derrek Lee and simply over-matched him. Things looked good at that point until two more walks to McCann and Gonzalez. At that point, I pull Marmol. I don’t care if his strike out rate is a shade over 16 per 9 IP. When you’re wild like that it’s not going to end well more often than not and in my mind it’s better to scrap the closer at that point and go with anyone who can throw strikes and induce a ground ball. That guy was Sean Marshall, who is the only one on the staff (starters included) that have a GB/FB ratio over 1.00. He was available, has shown he can be reliable in tight situations and would have come in to face two favorable matchups. He would have turned Cabrera around to hit righty, which is not his strength, and faced a left handed Ankiel.

Strike Two – I can’t seem to understand the logic in recalling Wellington Castillo to replace Geovany Soto on the roster when he doesn’t get a lick of playing time. Since being recalled, he’s seen one start and just six plate appearances in favor of non-hitting, Koyie Hill. I love Hill. I like that he’s on the team….AS A BACKUP. If you’re going to elect to give him the starts in Soto’s absence, then why recall a kid that could use more at bats in the minors to get the experience? Let him ride it out till the end of the minor league season and then recall him to get a big league look. Instead, they should have made room on the 40-man roster for Robinson Chirinos to come up by putting John Grabow on the 60-day DL.

Strike Three – Along the same lines, now that Lee is gone, you’ve got to see what you have with Tyler Colvin at first base. At this point, it doesn’t matter if he gets killed over there because the losses that pile up just mean we draft a little closer to the top in June. Let him give it a shot to see if he can be the answer over there next year or if that is a postion we need to look outside the organization (via trade or free agent) to fill.

That’s Strike Three and I’m Out….

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Funtastic Friday: Discussion(s) Time

I sat down last night after watching the Cubs lose yet again and begin to put my thoughts together on a recap. There really wasn’t much that came to mind so I decided to instead throw some random questions out for discussion on this Friday morning. Let’s begin.

Fun Times At Wal-Mart – The other day I was at Wal-Mart, and after fighting my way around all the freak shows that shop there, I reach the checkout to pay for the few items I had in my cart. I was heading to a buddy’s house that weekend for a night of bocce, corn hole, and risk. I know it’s sounds like we’re a bunch of losers, but it’s fun nonetheless. All that said, I was charged with bringing supplies for the burgers. One of the items I had in my cart was a package of really good Sara Lee hamburger buns. These things were prime time. They were the Cadillac of buns, only out done by J-Lo. The cashier, who will remain nameless not to protect her identity but because I didn’t look at her tag, proceeds to pick up the buns to scan them and then squeezes them and comments how soft they are. I don’t know how you would react to this travesty, but it royally pissed me off. I picked out those buns strictly because of how beautiful they looked. Her squezing them before I had a chance to lay hands on them is like some dude getting freaky with your fiance’ on your wedding day. It’s just not right for someone to do that when that priviledge is reserved for you and only you. To make matters worse, I swiped my debit card and entered my pin only to have this goober hit the wrong key on her end, causing me to do it over 3 times and look the lime moron that can’t get the debit card machine right.

Question(s): Am I wrong for being mad at her for defiling my buns before I had the chance? Should I have turned to the people behind me and exclaimed that I’m not the one holding up the line with this debit stuff, it’s the cashier?

Snake Bite? – Keeping in theme with the dorked out guys game night, I returned home late that night and went to bed. That next day one of the guys that was in attendance told me about what happened to him when he returned home that night. He opened the door to his apartment and was greeted by a copperhead snake in his living room. Not a dead one as part of some sick practical joke, but rather a very alive one. If you know me or have read the site for awhile, you’ll know the fact that I’ve never seen a snake live in the wild. My only encounters with snakes are at the zoo when they’re in cages and when they are at someone’s house as a pet. Let’s just say I have a very healthy fear of snakes that would make Indiana Jones blush and so I’m very grateful for this fact. When I asked my friend what he did, he told me that he scared the snake into the bathroom, locked the door, and went to bed. That raises a couple questions in my mind.

Questions: Should this story have me even more afraid that I’ll run into a snake in the very near future? Would you have the guts to chase the snake into the bathroom or would you run like a little girl to your neighbors house? What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom, knowing the snake is probably still in there and hiding for an ambush when you open the door?

Leading off with Lou – I’m growing tired of the lineup that Lou routinely trots out there day in and day out with Tyler Colvin hitting leadoff. Obviously it’s the goal of every hitter in the lineup to get on base any way possible as many times as he can. However, it’s more important for the leadoff hitter over all others simply because over the course of a game and the overall season, he’s going to get the most chances to come to the plate. For some reason Lou has found it appropriate to put Colvin in that spot despite his low on base %, propensity for stike outs, and low batting average. Don’t get me wrong, I like Colvin. He’s on of my favorite Cubs. I don’t don’t like him in that spot.

Question: What do you think of Colvin as the leadoff hitter? Who would you have hitting leadoff?

Random Picture of the Day

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A Guide To How Waiver Wire Deals Work After July 31

With the Cubs dealing Mike Fontenot to the Giants yesterday, some people are asking themselves: “Wait, I thought the trade deadline already passed!!!” It did, sort of. You see, there really is no “trade deadline”. You can make a trade any day of the year. The reason we talk so much about the July 31st deadline is because after that deadline, the process becomes a little more complicated. Let’s talk a little bit about how it works.

What are waivers?
Every team is allowed to place any player on the 40 man roster on waivers at any time during the season. When that player’s name is placed on the list, every GM in baseball sees it and has to gauge whether or not that player would be of use to them. If so, they can place a claim on them. If there claim is granted, that player will then go to the team whose claim was granted and they will pick up the rest of that player’s salary for the remainder of the contract and pay a $50,000 claiming fee. Basically, it’s a way to move players you don’t want without getting anything in return. Generally, only small name players are claimed. It can also be used as a way to gauge what teams are interested in a particular player.

Each team is allowed to place up to seven names per day and no player is allowed to be placed on waivers more than twice in a season. The first time, they are placed on revocable waivers. The second time, they are placed on irrevocable waivers.

What’s the difference?
There are revocable waivers, which basically means that a team can pull a player back (or change their mind) from the waiver wire in the event a team claims that player. There are also irrevocable waivers, which means a team must allow that player to leave if they are claimed.

So how do trades happen?
When a team is interested in dealing a player after the July 31st, non waiver deadline, they place that player’s name on the waiver list. If after 48 hours, no team has claimed that player, they have cleared waivers for the season and can be dealt after the non-waiver deadline with out fear that a team can claim them and block the deal. At that point, a GM may contact various teams to see what the interest might be. If a player is claimed by a team when placed on waivers, then they are the only team who can trade for that player. In other words, if the Cubs placed Derrek Lee on waivers today and the Cardinals claimed him. The Cubs would only be able to work out a deal with the Cardinals after July 31st. If no deal can be reached, then the team simply pulls that player back.

What if more than one team tries to claim a player?
There are two ways that team priority is determined for claims. For waiver wire trades, order is determined in reverse order of record, with the league that that player is in getting first priority. What that means is that when the Baltimore Orioles placed Tejada on waivers, all the American league teams in reverse order of record, got first crack at claiming him. If no one was interested, it went over to the National League in reverse order of record. Essentially, it means our best chance to get a player is to get one from the NL.

Before the July 31st deadline, waivers are determined by order of record, with the league not factoring it at all.

• Waivers are required for assignment to the minor leagues for any player who does not have options remaining.
• Irrevocable waivers are required to remove a player from the 40 man roster (i.e. Brian Dopirak) Hopefully that helps a little. If you have questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

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A Tale of Two Diamonds

Yesterday we saw start # 2 for Thomas Diamond. It’s safe to say that it didn’t quite go as well as the first start. That got me curious about some first career starts for the Cubs. I put together a list of the first career games for starting pitchers for the Cubs since 1990 and ranked them by game score below.

Diamond’s game, while not at the top of the list, was the first time a pitcher had struck out 10 in his debut since Mark Prior did it. That got me thinking about the worst outings ever for the Cubs in their big league debut as a starter. Here is what I found:

And just cause you know you’re curious, here are the worst debuts for any team since 1920:

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Stat of the Week

A hot start can make a big difference in how players are perceived for the rest of the season. However, many times these same stretches occur in the middle of the season and may go unnoticed. A miniscule season ERA or a batting average above .400 for a couple of months at the start of the season makes fans take notice. Ubaldo Jimenez had a red-hot first two months, and thanks to a flashy 10-1 record and a 0.78 ERA through the end of May, he earned the start for Charlie Manuel’s NL All- Stars. However, if Jimenez’s hot streak had come in June and July rather than April and May, would he getting the same amount of Cy Young talk? Here are the best pitchers from the first two months of the season, based on allowing opposing hitters the lowest OPS. (We’ll abbreviate Opponent On-base percentage Plus Slugging percentage as OOPS)

Now, let’s look at the best pitchers in the last two months:

Regular baseball fans know about many or most of the players on the first list. Players like Jimenez, Roy Halladay, Adam Wainwright, and Phil Hughes got off to great starts, earning them attention. These great starts stick in your mind. It’s human nature. But maybe the more interesting names are the guys on the second list. Did you know that over the last two months, Mat Latos and Trevor Cahill are the top two pitchers in the league in opponent OPS? Did you know Gavin Floyd had the second best ERA over June and July, behind only Josh Johnson? In the last couple of months all of these pitchers have pitched at an exceptional level, just like the guys who did the same in the first two months of the season. But there’s no question that it’s still the players on the first list that are getting the most attention.

“Used with permission from John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™, www.statoftheweek.com.”

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Game 107: Learning to Live with Disappointment

I came to a pretty big conclusion yesterday. I, for the most part, am an optimist. I rarely get stressed out over things going on with my life or with the Cubs. Yesterday I came to the conclusion that both are going to let me down. I guess I should have realized it long ago, but for some reason my optimistic glasses always kept that blocked out. They were the Blue Blockers of life for me.

Right now I’m frustrated. I’m frustrated with the team we’re putting on the field each and every day. I’m frustrated with the performance I see when I look at the scoreboard. I’m just sick and tired of watching losing baseball. I marvel at someone like Jake at Bucco Blog who can blog day in and day out about a team that loses as epically as the Pirates.

I’m just exactly sure what you want me to say to either paint a rosie picture for you or recap a game that brought our losing streak to seven. Thomas Diamond pitched about as well as you could hope for considering the fact that he’s not a guy that generally works deep into ball games, but we knew that going in. He had good movement and missed an awful lot of bats, striking out 10 on the night. Fukudome came in off the bench and hit a pinch hit home run, that’s always fun. Former Cub, Casey McGehee continues to piss off Cub fans, despite the fact that he’s not that great. He just seems to make us think he is by playing well against us. Not much else to tell about yesterday.

Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago did chime in with these nuggets though.

The Cubs continue to go south in the standings, having lost seven straight games. The team is currently in the midst of its longest losing streak since dropping eight in a row in May of 2009.• Right-handed pitcher Thomas Diamond struck out 10 hitters on Tuesday night. He became on the second Cubs’ pitcher in 90 years to have double-digit strikeouts in a major league debut. (Mark Prior had 10 K’s for the Cubs on May 22, 2002, against the Pirates.)

• Center-fielder Marlon Byrd had two hits and a pair of stellar catches in the 4-3 loss on Tuesday night. Byrd was asked if losing streaks like the Cubs’ seven-gamer can take on a life of their own.

“I forgot who said it, but winning’s a habit, so is losing,” Byrd said. “It happens, you don’t want it to happen, but you can fall into a funk where everything is just not going your way. [The opponent] scores one or two runs [and] all of a sudden they have 10. We’re going to have to find a way to get up early on teams and pound out some runs.”

• The Cubs are now 13-25 in one-run games on the season. The 25 losses are the most one-run losses in baseball this year.

• The Cubs matched their 2009 record of 38 one-run games on Tuesday night. They were 16-22 in one-run games in 2009.

Bruce Levine – ESPN Chicago

That’s all I’ve got for you today. It’s a new day and Lizzie will be back today around lunch time to update the Beat the Streak standings and announce the winners of the July Stat Madness competition.

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More Cubs Trade Possibilities

I got this e-mail earlier in the week. It was well thought out so I asked him if I could post it. I don’t agree with a lot of it, mainly because teams are pretty reluctant to trade top prospect type guys like Dominic Brown, but it’s a fun piece to read regardless of what you think. I’d particularly like your feedback on the shape of the roster he includes at the end. Thanks to Ben for taking the time to write. (Note: The e-mail came in before the Phillies made a deal with Houston to bring in Roy Oswalt)

Here are some ideas I have been tossing around:

1. Big Z, Lee, Baker to the Mets, Oliver Perez, Castillo, and Ike Davis to the Cubs.

The Cubs would love to dump Big Z.  They aren’t going to offer Lee arbitration, so sending him away now makes sense.  I think the Mets would love to get rid of those 2 contracts, and get actual talent in return.  Davis is a decent young 1B, and a left handed hitter at that.  Getting him, plus getting out of Big Z 2012 salary, makes the deal worth it for the Cubs.  We aren’t going to be good in 2011 anyway, so holding some dead money doesn’t hurt us.

2.  Kouske and Marshall to the Red Sox for Lowell.

Getting out of Kouske’s contract for next year should be a priority.  This is one option.  I have seen the rumors for Scott Downs, and the asking price.  Given that Marshall is younger and cheaper, and possibly better, I think the Sox would be willing to take on 13 million next year.  I hate to give away players, but by the time the Cubs are good, Marshall will be arb eligible, and making way more money.  Lowell could play against tough lefties at 1B for this year, and back up Aram.

3.  Byrd to the Braves for Kris Medlen and Jordan Schafer.

Braves need a good CF, and Byrd fits the bill.  Schafer is not usable for the Braves, and still might be a good 4th OF.  Medlen would slot right into the 2011 rotation for the Cubs.

4.  Lilly, Marmol, and Fontenont to the Phillies for Dominic Brown and a low level prospect.

Not sure if the Phillies give him up, but this would at least make them think about it.  This gives them a good 3rd starter behind Hamels and Halladay, and an 8th inning guy or closer to fill in for Lidge.  Font can play 3rd with Polanco and 2nd till Utley comes back, and is better than what the Phils have on the bench.

5. Silva and Theriot to the Tigers for Casey Crosby.

If the Tigers view themselves as out of it, then they won’t deal.  However, for both teams, this deal makes sense.  Cubs get out of 2011 salary for both Theriot and Silva, and get a decent pitching prospect.

So for 2011, Cubs lineup:

C    Soto
1B  Davis
2B  Castillo
SS  Castro
3B  Aram
LF  Soriano
CF  Brown
RF  Colvin

Not a bad lineup.  Clearly some holes, but some decent speed, good power, and L/R balance.

Starting Rotation

Dempster
Gorzelanny
Wells
Medlen
Cashner

No ace, but good young talent, and no real terrible starter.  Lots of upside.

Given the Cubs farm system, plus players coming back in trades, and the expiring contracts of Castillo, Perez, and Aram after 2011, the Cubs could be a top team in 2012.

Thanks for reading,

Ben

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