The official 8-year, $136 million 2007 CUBS thread

Prior, who's trying to shake his shoulder problems, started the game and struggled from the start, falling behind every batter but one and using up his 40-pitch limit in just 1 1/3 innings. His velocity topped out at 88 mph, and that was only one pitch. Scouts in attendance said his fastball was generally 84 to 86 mph.

''That's not going to get it done,'' one National League scout said.

...

Wood, who's moving to the bullpen this year after three straight injury-shortened seasons, looks as worry-free as anybody in camp.

He needed just 12 pitches -- most of them clocked in the mid-90s -- to dispatch Adrian Beltre, Jose Guillen and Richie Sexson in order, including a strikeout of Guillen on a slider.

''I feel great. I've been ready to go this spring,'' said Wood, who like Prior was making his first Cactus League appearance since 2005. ''It's just nice to get some adrenaline running through my body for the first time in a while.

''My heart was racing, but I was able to stay composed and make some pitches.''

If anything, Wood has looked so strong this spring -- and no more so than Monday -- that it might be tempting to start thinking about the starting rotation again with him.

Uniform uniformity

Cubs starting pitchers usually get to select which color jersey the team wears, with the choice of blue or gray on the road and blue or white at home. Carlos Zambrano always has preferred to pitch in the blue jerseys, as he did all of spring training, but the team wore gray Monday.

As it turns out, Zambrano had no choice. Cubs President John McDonough has decided the Cubs will wear gray on the road and white with blue pinstripes at home. The move corresponds with the decision to put names on the backs of the uniforms.

Apr 12 The Associated Press reports Chicago Cubs SP Mark Prior (shoulder) left his extended spring training start after two innings Thursday, April 12, with right shoulder discomfort. The Cubs said Prior is scheduled to visit orthopedic specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum for further evaluation.

I mean, who could have possibly imagined this?

Cubs top prospect Felix Pie will be in the lineup today, batting leadoff and playing center field for the injured Alfonso Soriano, who is expected to be put on the disabled list.

Pie was recalled from Class AAA Iowa and will face San Diego Padres pitcher Greg Maddux.

Well guess what, folks? Mark Prior has been trying to pitch for what looks like two-plus years with the kind of damage in his shoulder that would have you or I thinking about worker's compensation even though our jobs probably require little more than sitting in from of a computer much of the day. You own him an apology, and if he comes back in the way Dr. Andrews believes he can, many Cubs fans don’t deserve to reap the benefits.

There were times I'd wake up and be angry. (2) I had to make myself not think about it. It's their money and they can do what they want to do. They certainly reloaded. I would have loved to have that. But, hey, for whatever reason, I knew my days were limited.

I knew [I would be replaced] sometime after Greg Maddux was gone. We didn't reload at all when everybody got hurt. I was sort of told: 'Play the youngs, try not to overpitch [Scott] Eyre and [Bob] Howry and don't worry yourself to death over wins and losses.' I had never been told anything like that at any level.

"I put [Eyre] in a tough situation there, having to come in trying to save my garbage. And it sucked because we could have got out of here with a split and won a game and gone home. And to have some negative feelings after a game like that, when everybody played so well, it sucks."

sort of endearing when he puts it "trying to save my garbage" tho.

Looks like he'll get a chance to take out (pick up? throw away?) his own garbage very soon.

Bot 7th: Chi Cubs
- A. Pagan tripled to deep right, H. Blanco and R. Theriot scored
- A. Pagan scored on passed ball

Also, LOL at Blanco being the first bat off the bench.

You can't spell "ERA" without most of "Eyre." With three straight scoreful innings this weekend he hoisted his ERA back over 8. Lou seems eager to let him rebound to the 10+ he enjoyed for most of the season.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6712/053107cubsjpg2007053023ty1.jpg

The volume of fan unrest grew throughout the series, with the boos coming early and continuing late Wednesday. Leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano (0-for-4) drew increasingly louder jeers as the game wore on; Lilly was booed in the early innings and again in the seventh when Dan Uggla hit his second homer of the game off him; and the loudest boos rained down with the final out.

I'm not watching it, but apparently Barrett and Zambrano just threw some punches at each other during the game. Good lord I love this team.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a315/Matt_2108/chippernonoign8au.gif

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano shoved catcher Michael Barrett as the two were being separated in the dugout during the middle of the fifth inning of Friday's game against Atlanta.

The Braves had just scored five runs in the top of the fifth to increase their lead to 7-1. One run scored on a passed ball and throwing error by Barrett.

Zambrano was seen pointing at his head and yelling at the catcher in the dugout before the bottom half, then shoved him. Neither came out for the sixth.

Scott Eyre relieved Zambrano, who allowed 13 hits. Koyie Hill, who had just been called up from Triple-A Iowa, replaced Barrett.

Pretty hilarious. The TBS guys are speculating that they got into it again in the tunnel. Zambrano left the park by the 7th.

Look for a dramatic overcorrection from management soon. Trading both when their trade value has never been lower seems like a very Hendry move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMNfsqn6Gak&NR=1

After the fight, Barrett followed Zambrano into the clubhouse where he promptly got his ass kicked and had to go to the hospital.

Smartest Cub pugilist since Farnsworth? Doubtful!

does Zambrano fight AJ Pierzynski next?

Make it happen.

from mlb.com:

Barrett was not in the lineup Saturday but was available. He needed six stitches in his lip after the fight in the clubhouse.

What could possibly go wrong?

Zambrano's guarantee
Zambrano has vowed to throw 98 m.p.h. Wednesday to prove to skeptics he has no shoulder problems.

Soriano, god dang, what the fuck,

he was due i guess!

And then Soriano gets plunked today in his first at-bat for attempting to stretch a single into a double the previous day during a well-in-progress blowout.

YOU'D THINK GETTING THROWN OUT AT SECOND FOR ATTEMPTING TO STRETCH A SINGLE INTO A DOUBLE WOULD BE ENOUGH OF A MESSAGE BUT OH NO! DON'T TRY IT EVER AGAIN -- STAY AT FIRST NEXT TIME AND FEEL THE WRATH OF BEING ELIMINATED BY A POTENTIAL FIELDER'S CHOICE.

What happened after Soriano was plunked?

F Pie walked, A Soriano to second.
D Lee singled to right, A Soriano scored, F Pie to third, D Lee to second advancing on throw.
M Barrett struck out swinging.
J Jones intentionally walked.
M DeRosa singled to right, F Pie and D Lee scored, J Jones to second.
M Fontenot singled to right, J Jones scored, M DeRosa to second, M DeRosa thrown out at third attempting to advance on play.

Retaliation LOL

Does DeRosa getting thrown out @ 3rd mean he'll get plunked, too?

It WAS a four-run lead. We'll see tomorrow.

Lilly gets tossed for hitting Renteria... but the ump squad never issued a warning, total BS.

Someone had some advice that Piniella should've started Marmol

Hmm, ILX ate that. Anyway, the jist was: start Marmol, bean Renteria, insert Lilly after the benches cleared.

I'm sure it would've been a dumb thing to do in terms of fines and suspensions, but it would've been awfully badass.

4-13 in one run games. They'd be .500 if Barrett could catch a fucking baseball.

What if...

Derrek Lee didn't break his hand last year...

does anybody know where i'm coming from or is this more spaceman Shasta-esque?

They'd still be awful.

Dusty might still have a job, that team completely fell apart after Lee went down.

Oh and Lee would be hitting more HRs too.

Another way to lose: Zambrano takes a no-hitter into the 8th, Cubs lose 1-0.

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1105/post6781157916388ce4.jpg

That's the THIRD game the Padres have won on two hits this year.

SAN DIEGO'S CHRIS YOUNG AND JAKE PEAVY AND CHICAGO'S DERREK LEE AND BATTING COACH GERALD PERRY WERE EJECTED IN THE FOURTH INNING BY HOME PLATE UMPIRE MIKE EVERITT. THE BENCHES CLEARED AFTER YOUNG HIT LEE WITH A PITCH.

Why is the ESPN MLB game notes writer always yelling?

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20070616/fight_54550.jpg

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070616/capt.dfbbd8a258a442fb800220c857e7a041.padres_cubs_baseball_cxc103.jpg

http://kscakes.com.nyud.net:8080/LolCats/Uploads/Saved/agressive-chris-young-is-agressive-defensive-derrek-lee-is-defensive.jpg

http://kscakes.com/LolCats/Uploads/Saved/agressive-chris-young-is-agressive-defensive-derrek-lee-is-defensive.jpg

chris young is suck a fuckin cocksucker. how much of a douchebag do you have to be to piss DERREK LEE off like that??

http://uncutvideo.aol.com/users/amaechislover/42e1051ebb09f99760792ac49b3b68f1?index=0

fwiw they both got in a good punch

It was kind of sad how the play by play guy were talking about Derek Lee's charitable donations right before he was hit by the pitch. They he segued into an excited "HERE WE GO!" when the first punch was thrown.

lol at Zambrano starting to take off his belt in the middle of the fight

Interview with Piniella in teh NYTimes today.

Why are the Cubs doing so poorly? I don’t know. I’ve been here a couple of months.

haha "I just work here"

WTF LOU YOU PRICK?

Q: On the other hand, it might be nice if baseball moved into the future by including more women in its ranks. Do you think a woman could be a good manager?

A: If she had a good bench coach, why not? I would think she would need a good hardened professional baseball guy that would help her with the x’s and o’s during the ballgame. Someone who knew the intricacies in and out of the game.

Q: Plenty of women already know the intricacies of the game.

A: I’m not sure of that. I think some of the sportswriter women probably think they do.

(apologies to GC)

Lou's got a point, I mean how many women do you think could empty their benches by the bottom of the 7th on a regular basis?

the Cubs' run differential is better than even, yes?

Barrett to Padres

^that Cub scapegoat poll is funny^

well, I guess Zambrano's not leaving!

Oh man, the Padres needed a catcher really bad. Great news!

they were doin OK w/ Bard and the Bowen guy? Barrett's catching skills are not acclaimed at Wrigley.

Barrett can't catch. But it's always fun to see the Cubs run one of their best bats out of town ("best" being a very relative term).

wow, terrible move. nice!

I know! Let's hope that by installing a shittier bat in the lineup the delicate balance of chemistry is restored. If we're lucky, some of those one run losses will turn into two run losses, breaking fewer hearts less often.

they were doin OK w/ Bard and the Bowen guy? Barrett's catching skills are not acclaimed at Wrigley.

Bard has really dropped off since last year.

It's basically trading Bowen's OBP for Barrett's power, I think. (Also, trading Bowen's recent success for Barrett's track record.) Barrett and Bowen are roughly equivalent on defense. Barrett's hotheadedness might be a bad thing on another team, but the Padres are like the Good Ship Lollipop. Divisiveness doesn't exist there.

I guess the Cubs didn't intend to re-sign Barrett, so they got a solid backup and a good prospect. I think it's a good deal for both sides.

O/U on when Peavy kicks Barrett in the nads? I'll pencil in July 28th as the median.

haven't Mike's nads suffered enough? (intrascrotal hematoma, OW)

lol @ chemistry. he might have been one of the only hitting catchers in the nl but he hurted my feelings! cubbies had the best chance to catch the brew crew in the comedy central. a little less so now.

O/U on when Peavy kicks Barrett in the nads? I'll pencil in July 28th as the median.

Peavy considers Barrett one of his best friends in baseball, so I'm going to take the over.

I wonder how that relationship changes after Peavy loses a game on a passed ball.

My (admittedly biased) favorite Michael Barret Moment:

Confronting Roy Oswalt at the plate a week after Oswalt had hit him with a pitch. The unexpected fringe benefit of this incident was the firing of Steve Stone.

lol, u guize are still talking about barrett after sammy sosa hit his 600th off the cubs 2nite.

strangely, sammy sosa has not played for the cubs for a long time!

does texas even have its own thread?

The bigger question: does Texas deserve its own thread? (Answer: OF COURSE, if only to LOL @ stupid fuck of an owner.)

lol Gerard @CSTB:

The New York Sun’s Steven Goldman argues that both NY ballclubs blew it when the Cubs shipped battlin’ backstop Michael Barrett to San Diego yesterday in exchange for backup receiver Rob Bowen. And I concur — how terrific would it have been to see Barrett punch Roger Clemens or Billy Wagner in the face?

punching Clemens face would have that marshmellow effect where his head swallows your hand. (means he's a fatass lolz)

omg u r talking about clemens on cubs thread - NOT ALLOWED

espn floating rumor of ken griffey to cubs...anyone wanna put any money on it?

Trading Griffey within the division? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU CINCY?

Why not, the Cubs desperately need a 7th OF.

The Jacque Jones trade rumors are much more exciting!

Soriano "escalating tensions" with yet another opponent.

I don't think the Reds will move Griffey, unless Griff wants to leave, which he has not shown the inclination to do. The only place I could see Griffey going after this weekend is back to Seattle, he turned down sweet deals for him to join the White Sox in their pennant run a couple of years ago and a chance to join the Yankees a couple of years before that.

That being said, I think Griffey might be a nice player for the Angels to pickup, as he would be able to DH some and would be a perfect bat to put in the middle of the lineup around Vlad.

Haha holy shit ... drunk Cub fan just tried to attack Bobby Howry!!

shades of Randall Kirk Myers..

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/7044/cubfan2jpg2007062601104zy5.jpg

Barefoot?

Fan charged after rushing pitcher at Cubs game

By Jeremy Gorner
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 26, 2007, 10:46 AM CDT

An Elmwood Park man was arrested during Monday night's Cubs game at Wrigley Field when he ran onto the field and charged at a Cubs pitcher who gave up a home run, authorities said.

Brent Kowalkoski, 24, was charged with illegal conduct within sports facilities, a misdemeanor, after charging at relief pitcher Bob Howry who gave up a three-run homer to the Colorado Rockies in the top of the ninth inning, authorities said.

Howry was not harmed. Wrigley security guard Anton Migursky tackled Kowalkoski, who was later arrested.

Kowalkoski spent the night in the Belmont District lockup, 2452 W. Belmont Ave., but was released this morning, Capt. Dolores Deloughery said.

Kowalkoski is scheduled to appear in court on July 26, Deloughery said. Kowalkoski could not be reached for comment.

The Rockies took a 9-8 lead with the three-run homer, but the Cubs won 10-9 in the bottom of the 9th.

The misdemeanor charge is a new state law that was lobbied for by the White Sox following two incidents of trespassing fans at U.S. Cellular Field.

One of the incidents occurred in September 2002 when William Ligue Jr., 34, of Alsip and his 15-year-old son ran onto the field and attacked Kansas City Royals first-base coach Tom Gamboa.

Gamboa suffered permanent hearing loss after the attack, for which Ligue was convicted and sentenced to probation.

The other incident happened in April 2003 when Eric Dybas, 24, of Bolingbrook stormed the field and tried to tackle an umpire. He was convicted and sentenced to 6 months in Cook County Jail and probation.

jgor✧✧✧@trib✧✧✧.c✧✧

btw, that story is buried on the Tribune website. bias? naaaahhh

Yabbut is Howry in line to close now?

This years Cubs is like something out of Major League.

Here's hoping they use a cardboard cut-out of Oprah as inspiration during their playoff drive!

Nate Silver of BP:

the Cubs’ have developed a nasty habit under Jim Hendry’s tenure of doing everything in their power to degrade a player’s value, and then trading him for pennies on the dollar.... If I had told you before the season began that the Cubs would deal Michael Barrett in mid-June for a backup catcher and a fringe prospect — and given up cash in the deal, I’d have been laughed out of the room. Instead, you could see the writing on the wall when Barrett started getting railroaded in the Tribune and the Sun-Times, and became the scapegoat...

This exact pattern has played itself out at least a half-dozen times over the past five seasons. It happened with Hee-Seop Choi. It happened with Mark Bellhorn. It happened with Sammy Sosa — I’ve never seen a city turn on a player faster than Chicago did on Sosa in the waning days of the 2004 season. It happened with Corey Patterson. It happened with Todd Walker. It’s on the verge of happening with Jacque Jones. The Cubs were fortunate enough to pick up Derrek Lee for Choi — though that deal was motivated by non-baseball factors on Florida’s behalf — but the only other player in any of those deals who is currently on the Cubs’ 25-man roster is utilityman Mike Fontenot.

You might argue that Hendry simply needs a better poker face — trade Jones when he’s your regular, then bring up Felix Pie — but I think there’s something deeper at work. The Cubs have a pronounced lack of self-confidence when it comes to their own decision-making abilities. The Cubs trade Michael Barrett because his defense sucks and he’s a little bit of an overgrown frat boy in the clubhouse? Barrett has always been that way. The Cubs trade Choi and Bellhorn because they strike out too much? That comes with the territory with those players. Alfonso Soriano’s defense was adequate in center field in April — but not in May? Pie wasn’t ready for the majors, and then he was, and then he wasn’t, and then he was again, and now he’s been riding pine again? The Cubs are that person that takes five minutes to figure out their dinner order, that spends the entire hour flicking through the channels on the remote control and never finding a program they like; they’re the person who takes a new job and is contemplating the next one two days later.

I agree, the Cubs are definitely a reactionary team and are often poor at recognizing what they've got. I think Silver's a little too hasty in saying that it's a nasty habit, though. While Barrett's trade is an obvious over-reaction, he forgets that Hendry's reactionary instincts brought Nomar, Lofton, and Aramis Ramirez (the latter two in exchange for BOBBY FUCKING HILL!) to town and should have landed them in the WS.

Maybe the lesson is that the Chicago media and fans are sometimes smarter than Hendry (K-Gonz shouldn't play SS) and sometimes dumber (Barrett must go). The result is five years of really lopsided trades that both benefit and hurt the Cubs.

FWIW re: Choi & Bellhorn, I'll always believe that Dusty's refusal to play them led to their eventual trades. It's hard to build up trade value when Karros and Neifi take all the ABs.

so any writers credit the 6-win streak to excising Barrett yet?

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/1563/walkoff2ho4.jpg

.500 before the 4th of July! What an accomplishment in the tough as nails NL Central.

And finally, yesterday was Michael Barrett bobblehead day:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5796/img19071080eq8.th.jpg

More like Michael Barrett Punching Bag Day, amirite?

Rock Em Sock Em Barrett (now w/ interscrotal hematoma)

Is Soriano trying out for "A Chorus Line"?

ONE!... overpaid sen-sa-tion...

Mike Fontenot slugging .604.

With Barrett gone, he's slugging for two! Speaking of, Barrett's replacement is hitting less than .050 since joining the Cubs and the team is 11-4 in that same span. Baseball Tonite will never go out of business with chemistry data like that available.

WE WANT MARK CUBAN FAP

Instead we got a 3rd catcher! Soto up, Pie down.

Brennaman: "Three-run homer for Adolpho Soriano..."

It was Dick Stockton, but yeah I caught that too.

It was pretty unbelievable how Oswalt's day went from a no-hitter bid to the most earnies given up in his career at the exact moment that the umpire missed that strikeout call on Izturis.

And the greatest thing is that the play barely got discussed because it happened to occur at the same time as a Barry Bonds at-bat.

(Duh! Oops!)

Finally, the Izturis trade pays off.

Oh sweet Jesus, Jason Kendall?

"The 33-year-old Kendall has been praised for his durability despite his inconsistencies on offense."

Like, say .261 OBP.

Sutcliffe thinks it's a great move.

Hendry said Oakland GM Billy Beane made the first call about the trade, and it was a deal the Cubs couldn't refuse.

If I were a cartoonist for a Chicago paper, I'd draw Kendall in a zoot suit, chomping a cigar, standing behind home plate with a baseball-shooting Tommy gun. "Dipper Mouth Kendall says, '20 PERCENT OF YOUSE GUYS ARE GETTIN' TROWN OUT!'"

Sutcliffe is the biggest dumbass on ESPN, Kruk included. After last night's game: "This is the same team that lost 90+ games last year! The difference is ATTITUDE!" No, the difference is a spendy winter, you lush.

The true difference: Mark DeRosa.

I can't wait until Kendall is hitting a hustling .280 for the Cubs, so some mouthbreather can show up on an ESPN network claiming Kendall should be the MVP for providing leadership and veteran moxie during the Cubs' stretch drive (set to a montage of Kendall hustling out a grounder, throwing to 2nd, and unsuccessfully blocking the plate).

Good theory! 'less they fold by Labor Day.

Oakland Tribue:

"The Cubs, who dealt Michael Barrett to San Diego on June 21, were interested in Kendall because of his experience and his competitive nature."

with no pesky power!

He doesn't just bring his lunch pail and come to play. He comess to play and win. Numbers don't always show that. You might not see it on a game-by-game basis, but if you witness his play throughout the course of a season, you will see the effect he will have on this ballclub. And remember (this is crucial): he has PLAYOFF experience.

While I'm not the biggest Kendall defender, the man's handling of young pitchers is pretty understated. Whether his low OBP makes up for the fact that he's one of the best defensive catchers*, not to mention leading the A's to have the lowest ERA and WHIP in baseball, remains to be seen.

*http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtstats/main/index.php?view=winshares&linesToDisplay=50&orderBy=field&direction=DESC&season_filter%5B%5D=2006&pos_filter%5B%5D=All&Submit=Submit

Sadly, but not surprisingly, Hendry's actual comments about the trade sound very similar:

"I like everything about him. He's a gamer. He's a high character guy. He's a great handler of pitchers. He's a 10 in the clubhouse. He's always played well down the stretch. He's exactly what you want character-wise as you go down the stretch."

"a 10 in the clubhouse" is too much information

"We like what he brings to the (massage) table."

I guess it depends on whether Kendall's bad half-season is an aberration or the new norm. He never hit for power much, but he certainly used to get on base enough to make up for his terrible slugging percentages.

I think Christina Kahrl nailed why these sorts of moves are so frustrating. Their best catcher since they traded Barrett has been at Iowa, they finally bring him up, give him 7 ABs, and then trade for Kendall.

They [Cedeno, Pie, and Soto] might yet be this season's answer to their crying needs in center and behind the plate, and a steadier hand might be able to leave them be, let them play, and reap the benefits once they don't have to worry about another trip to the cornfields after consecutive oh-fers. After all, if the Cubs can stomach weeks of inadequate play from Jones, or Koyie Hill and Bowen, why not show a little faith with the kids who could and should be homegrown building blocks? Add in Ronny Cedeno at short, and you might have a really nice blend of a mostly homegrown team up the middle, with veteran quality in the corners. The Cubs could be a lot more like the Brewers; they just lack the courage of their scouty convictions.

Kendall's career can seemingly be summarized as such:

1996-2000: Craig Biggio Lite; up and coming star
2001-2002: ankle and/or thumb is severely messed up; forgets how / unable to slug; still reaches base @ decent clip
2003-2004: brief renaissance thanks to back-to-back seasons w/ a .399 OBP
2005-2006: lol @ Oakland getting the Kendall from 01-02; now officially a consummate "gamer" with lots of attributed "intangibles" and "grit" that seem to mask his severe shortcomings (because a nice OBP don't mean jack if your SLG is lower than it)
2007: forgets how to reach base, becomes complete waste of lineup space; ergo, perfect fit for the Cubs!

At least he won't be clogging up the basepaths!

Kendall, who flew in from California on Tuesday, had a rough debut with the Cubs. He went 0-for-3 and failed to make two defensive plays in a 4-2 loss to the Giants. He couldn't hang on to a tough short-hop throw from left fielder Alfonso Soriano that could have cut down a run at the plate in the fourth.

And he missed a pop fly behind the plate in the eighth after initially failing to pick the ball up. Given a second chance, Bengie Molina then started San Francisco's winning rally with a single.

"It was a tough game," said Kendall, who was cheered in his first at-bat but then heard some boos later. "Two plays I should have made and it cost the game."

Kendall said the A's were headed in another direction with Suzuki and it was time to go.

"I'm at the point in my career where I'm not ready to be a tutor," Kendall said. "I want to win."

Kendall on the bench already. I feel like this was a productive use of everyone's time.

A catcher in Iowa laughs.

Rob Bowen tribute video

I never want to see Ohman or Eyre pitch again.

First place on a Brett Myers wild pitch.

Bumping this thread to increase the Brewers-related tension on the board today.

Scott tEYREible in to preserve the comeback... this should be good.

Ohman sucks.

The Soriano injury should provide the local media with an easily-grasped excuse to explain the Cubs' inevitable return to earth. I hope Lou plays Murton for a month, but I'm afraid the Jones/Floyd singles show will continue indefinitely.

I'm still pretty optimistic about their playoff odds, if they can tread water until September. The schedule is very soft from here on in.

Fortunately for the Cubs, drowning looks a lot like treading water in the NLOL Central.

August records:

Cardinals 6-7
Brewers 4-8
Cubs 4-9

not quite NL East '73, but getting there

Zambrano just signed a 5 year, $91.5 million deal.

I kinda think this is a good deal for the Cubs, given the ridiculous Zito money he might have gotten as a free agent.

Is Zambrano one of the 10 best pitchers, though? cuz that's what kinda money that is. I guess his lack of injury is an argument in favor.

what's this about a sore shoulder? Nice timing!

The Z Man in pitcher VORP the last 4 years: 5th, 12th, 9th, 26th (this year)

True, but VORP doesn't take into account mound flair or regular beanings of Jim Edmonds.

It would be very Cub-like if they found an injury now.

I think BLORP might though.

I think it is safe to say that this is a less dumb deal than Zito's, but I'm still not sure it's particularly smart.

Reasons why this is good deal: Zambrano is 1) still pretty young at 26, 2) will likely have posted 5 consecutive 8.0 WARP3 years by the end of 2007 and 3) has been a model of health.

Reasons why it ain't: 214 innings from 22 year olds can come back to haunt and his BB rate is still ridiculously high and SO rate doesn't seem like its impressive enough to compensate.

Joe Sheehan: Given where the market went last winter, that contract looks like a bargain in the context of current pay rates for pitchers. It's Barry Zito money per year, and Zambrano is a much better pitcher than Zito is. It's also five years instead of the seven that Zito got.

I have to believe that had Zambrano hit the market, he would have been able to command $20 million per season for at least seven years.

I hate giving five-year deals to pitchers as policy, but that seems to be what you have to do. Better Zambrano than someone like Gil Meche. This seems to establish the top of the pitcher market at $18MM/year, at least until Johan Santana becomes a free agent.

Hello, Craig Monroe.

Just what they needed, an insurance policy for Jacque Jones.

You mean body double.

ha!!

That 9th was a thing of beauty, Lou. Also, starting Monroe against a righty, it's like Koyie Hill never left!

what Lou do?

An ill-advised hit and run call with runners on first and second and nobody out in the top of the 9th, down one. Kendall struck out and Little Lord Fontenot was thrown out easily at 3rd. Kendall does ground into a lot of double plays, but Valverde was so wild yesterday that he should've just let Kendall take the walk.

Cubs were 8-11 in Soriano's absence and gained a couple games on the Brewers to move into first. What a terrible division.

well, can't wait for this series to see if the space-time continuum will permit both teams to get swept.

Ugh, this offense.

...can really get it going when it matters!

I'm inexplicably starting to love Jacque Jones. His approach at the plate is terrible, he can only hit RHP, the Cubs had two trades for him fall through in June, and he must absolutely hate Chicago and its fans given how poorly they've treated him. And his bat is red!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/images/2006/09/17/vm2GbmUP.jpg
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

wow, bigtime Schadenfreude on that telecast yesterday.

Soriano's certainly earned his pay today.
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3756/tacokx0.pnghttp://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3756/tacokx0.png

Sigh.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1918/dumpstersmsa5.jpghttp://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1918/dumpstersmsa5.jpghttp://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1918/dumpstersmsa5.jpg

Dempster Juice

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070909/capt.92ce01aa977141d0a587329524d02e1e.cubs_pirates_baseball_paks106.jpg

Veteran starting pitcher with playoff experience.

The "race":

CHC		MIL
@HOU		@PIT

@HOU		@PIT

@HOU	

@STL		CIN

@STL		CIN

@STL, @STL	CIN

CIN		@HOU

CIN		@HOU

CIN		@HOU

		@ATL

PIT		@ATL

PIT		@ATL

PIT		@ATL

		STL

@FLA		STL

@FLA		STL

@FLA		SD

@CIN		SD

@CIN		SD

@CIN		SD

I give the Cubs a slight edge if 1) they don't totally choke at Houston this week (swept in last series there) and 2) SD is still playing for something on the last four days.

15 LOB last night, these guys are going nowhere.

matt, look at the other guys!

SOME 9th inning last night. I think Lou was yelling that he wishes it was winter when he came out of the dugout after the win.

Record against the NL Centlol:

11-5 vs. St. Louis
9-6 vs. Milwaukee
8-7 vs. Houston
5-7 vs. Cincinnati
5-7 vs. Pittsburgh

Naturally, 9 of the last 12 are against the Reds and Pirates.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7389/19cub091907lcstfeed2007hg0.jpg

5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H and 3 BB

Worst performance to get a standing ovation ever?

hey, they've caught the Mets at the top of the NL Defensive Efficiency ranks (after the weekend the Mets had, someone had to):

Chicago Cubs, .713
New York Mets, .713
Washington Nationals, .707
San Diego Padres, .707
Arizona Diamondbacks, .705

Magic number is 8. They're on a roll, too, they'd almost be tied for 3rd in the NL West!

oh yeah

Good article on closers, regardless of inning. Another example of how Dempster sucks.

Soto took Kendall's job without much fanfare (unless you could good hitting and capable defense as fanfare).

After all those trades and callups of career AAAA catchers, all Hendry had to do was call up the best catcher in their system. Weird how that works.

4!

my brother was standing outside wrigley at the spot on sheffield where you can see through the "keyhole" and i got to relay the news of the brewers loss to everyone there.

:D

Atmosphere at the game was great today. The impromptu Tomahawk chops were annoying though.

Really, I hate the Braves. I'd rather them lose and only be up 2 1/2 games.

how many times will Lou's June 2 ejection be replyed in the Division Series? ARGUING IGNITES TEAMS!

I read somewhere that the Cubs have the best record in the NL since Lou's June tirade. Their second half schedule has been pretty weak though.

The tirade's effect was unintentional. Writers and commentators were talking about Piniella and no one else for several days: Does this schtick really work?/How dumb can Piniella be?/Will this fire them up? Piniella was quite possibly naive enough to think it would fire up his team, but it took the media focus off his players. Wouldn't know if it had anything to do with the upswing.

The Cubs haven't beaten the Marlins since last year.

Lou's been pretty capable this year, but sending Trachsel out there today (alternative: Rich Hill on normal rest) seems like a really, really dumb idea.

Remarkably similar to this <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=230924117";>really, really dumb idea</a> that worked. Shawn Estes, never forget.

Current National League Playoff Odds (BP)

Cubs 89.8%
Mets 85.8%
Diamondbacks 83.0%
Padres 57.2%
Phillies 41.7%
Rockies 32.2%

Clearly, any system that doesn't include a Trachsel coefficient is flawed.

it's awesome that there are like 5 games left and no one has even clinched a playoff spot in the nl

awesome, or perhaps the Rockies should play the Big Red Machine old-timers for the title.

taste the excitement!

Well that worked as expected. My favorite part was when the bullpen was up after the 3rd batter.

The Sun-Times with some real talk for Steve Trachsel:

Off Trax

If the Cubs close out the division title in Cincinnati, their next step should be closing the book for good on pitcher Steve Trachsel's Cubs career and cutting him loose before the playoffs. Veteran status and track record aside, his outburst at media waiting near a clubhouse TV for players after Wednesday's game -- "Turn it the (expletive) off!" -- underscored how bad a fit he is in a clubhouse that otherwise is filled with good guys with professional attitudes. One teammate abruptly stopped in mid-sentence during an interview when Trachsel yelled, glaring across the room at him. As for his pitching since the Cubs reacquired him, well, that's a whole different set of expletives.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6704/corkqi7.gif

And I'm totally cool with Trax starting the next two.