August 2006 Archives

The Cubs traded Phil Nevin on Thursday night to the Minnesota Twins, along with cash considerations, for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Nevin was acquired from the Texas Rangers on May 31st for Jerry Hairston, Jr. Nevin hit .274 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI's for the Cubs this season in 67 games.

The Cubs are entering the last month of the season with a lot of questions to be answered. There are several players that could take steps at earning confidence from the Cubs' Front Office heading into the off-season. With the poor play, injuries, bad management and overall underachievement this season the 2007 season will start on October 2nd with the possible announcement of Dusty Baker not being retained as the manager of the Chicago Cubs.

This organization is at a turning point and while change is inevitable, how much change will the Cubs undergo from their last game at Wrigley on October 1st until they report to Spring Training at Fitch Park in Mesa next February? With the Astros recent signing of Roy Oswalt to a $73 million dollar extension, the price of quality starting pitching just increased. The Astros signed Oswalt to a 5-year extension that includes a no-trade clause and a team option for a 6th year worth $16 million dollars with a $2 million dollar buyout. Oswalt has a career record of 93-47 with a 3.09 ERA; he has won 79 games to date over the last 5 seasons.

Here is a list of the probable free agents that will be available for the Cubs to sign this off-season....

Game One Hundred Thirty-Three - Cubs 9 Pirates 10 - 11 innings

For the first time since 1999 the Cubs were swept by the Pirates in Pittsburgh and for the second consecutive day, the two worst teams in the National League played 11 innings and Ryan Dempster took the loss. Everyday is an adventure, to say the least, with this "team" and as of late the defense, or lack thereof, has been the reason for their downfall....Wednesday was no exception. The Cubs were unable to turn several double plays that would have gotten them out of innings despite the fact that their own aggressiveness at the plate resulted in 3 inning ending double plays turned by the Pirates.

The Cubs injury problems continued on Wednesday as well. Juan Mateo left the game in 3rd inning after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Jose Bautista. Mateo left the game and the injury was diagnosed as a bone bruise on his right forearm. David Aardsma was hit 2 batters later on the back of the leg by Jason Bay, Aardsma stayed in the game but left after the 3rd inning. The Cubs took a 2-run lead into the bottom of the 11th but Ryan Dempster gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk, that put the winning run in scoring position, to hand the Cubs their 6th loss in a row and their 11th sweep of the season. The Cubs are just 1 game in the win column ahead of the Pirates for last in the National League and are now a season low 25 games under .500....with 29 games left and 79 losses, a 100-loss season seems inevitable.

Game One Hundred Thirty-Three: Cubs (54-78) vs. Pirates (52-81)
Game Time - 11:35am C.T. Comcast Sports Net, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 183
Location - PNC Park, Pittsburgh

Juan Mateo (1-2, 3.38) vs. Victor Santos (5-9, 5.59)

Rookie Juan Mateo will look to end the month of August with a win, end the Cubs current 5-game losing streak and help avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have simply out played the Cubs in the first 2 games of the series but the Cubs defense has not helped at all. Mateo has pitched better than his record indicates....the Cubs need a solid performance and a quality start out of the young right-hander.

Game One Hundred Thirty-Two - Cubs 6 Pirates 7 - 11 innings

The Cubs dropped their 5th in a row....again in embarrassing fashion. Ronny Cedeno committed another throwing error on a tailor made double play that would have ended the game, Bynum missed the throw, was credited with the error, the tying run scored and after an intentional walk to Chris Duffy, Ryan Dempster walked home the winning run. The Cubs played an incredibly sloppy game; they committed 4 errors and would have been more if not for two very good catches; one by Ryan Theriot and the other by Derrek Lee.

Carlos Zambrano looked unhittable, and was, until the 5th inning. Zambrano lost his composure, that led to him committing 2 errors and the Pirates scored 5 runs, 3 earned, off of Zambrano in the last 3 innings he pitched. Derrek Lee looked more like the "pre-DL Lee" than the first time off the DL, he had a huge game and was 3 for 6 with what looked like the game winning hit in the 11th. Aramis Ramirez was 3 for 3 on the night with 3 walks but the Cubs defense and Zambrano's temper cost them another game....the Cubs are now 24 below .500 and just 2 games in the win column ahead of the Pirates for the cellar in the National League....they have no one to blame but themselves.

Game One Hundred Thirty-Two: Cubs (54-77) vs. Pirates (51-81)
Game Time - 6:05pm C.T. WGN, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 183
Location - PNC Park, Pittsburgh

Carlos Zambrano (14-5, 3.31) vs. Paul Maholm (6-10, 4.82)

The Cubs look to end their current 4-game losing streak tonight and give Carlos Zambrano his 15th win of the season. Zambrano has been the only constant this season for the Cubs' pitching staff and is a legitimate contender for this season's Cy Young Award in the National League. Zambrano leads the NL in wins and strikeouts and is 6th in the league in ERA, all for a team with only 54 wins....amazing. The comparisons to Steve Carlton have already started and a win tonight would give him a shot at 20 for the season.

The Cubs are gearing up for an off-season like no other; change is inevitable, in the dugout and on the field. The CCO will do its best throughout the off-season to keep the Cubs Faithful informed on every trade, signing and rumor (from reliable sources). So while the season may end on October 1st, the Cubs and baseball is 365 days a year, just ask the guys on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.

Here is the latest on Joe Girardi, Fredi Gonzalez, Dusty Baker, Juan Pierre, Carlos Lee and Alex Rodriguez,

Game One Hundred Thirty-One - Cubs 6 Pirates 11

The Cubs were humiliated on Monday night in Pittsburgh, the Pirates scored 11 runs on 19 hits and it could have been worse, they left 11 on base, including the bases loaded twice. Angel Guzman was horrible, could not record a out in the 4th and allowed 8 runs on 10 hits in 3+ innings, he struck out 5 and walked 2 on 93 pitches....93 pitches in 3+ innings, that stat is beyond alarming. While Guzman could not find the strike zone, neither could Glendon Rusch nor Ryan Dempster. If the Cubs are going to mail in the rest of the season they should let the Faithful and the city in on their plans.

Guzman did not fool any of the Pirates hitters, they were waiting and sitting on his fastball and when he threw it, the ball had little to no movement....the Pirates took full advantage. The game started with Juan Pierre hitting his 2nd home run of the season and Ian Snell did not allow another hit until the 6th. The Cubs tried to make it interesting but 2 runs in the 8th off of Ryan Dempster put the game out of reach for the 77th time this season.

Game One Hundred Thirty-One: Cubs (54-76) vs. Pirates (50-81)
Game Time - 6:05pm C.T. Comcast Sports Net, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 183
Location - PNC Park, Pittsburgh

Angel Guzman (0-3, 5.84) vs. Ian Snell (11-8, 4.58)

Updated 5:21pm with Roster Moves - Lee Activated - Coats Optioned

The Battle for the Basement....after being swept by the Cardinals, how will the Cubs respond against the Pirates? Tonight is the first game of the last series in Pittsburgh this season. According to several reports over the weekend, Derrek Lee is expected to be activated from the DL before tonight's game, so a roster move will have to be made and expect them to send Buck Coats back to Iowa. The Cubs will face the Pirates ace, Ian Snell, their Carlos Zambrano. Snell has 11 wins for a team that has only 50, not to bad but he is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 2 games against the Cubs this season.

My feet hurt. I started working out in the mornings by walking (briskly!) on my treadmill for about 40 minutes or so. After about 6 days in a row, my feet started to hurt. When I sat on my couch and put my feet up on the ottoman, my feet felt a lot better. Therefore, I have scientifically proven that walking will hurt your feet.

Using this logic, I now understand the often-misunderstood genius that is Dusty Baker....the fine manager of the Chicago Cubs. Think I am being the least bit serious right now? You know better....