September 2007 Archives

Game One Hundred Sixty-Two - Cubs 4 Reds 8
WP - Homer Bailey (4-2) LP - Ryan Dempster (2-7) Save - None

The 2007 National League Central Division Champions completed the regular season the way it began, in Cincinnati with a loss to the Reds. In between the Cubs won 85 games, lost 75, won the Central and finished with a mark of 85-77 for the year. What a difference a year makes, a 19-game improvement and a division championship....not bad, not bad at all, but Lou Piniella's crew still has business to take care of and baseball's second season begins for the Cubs on Wednesday in the desert against the Diamondbacks.

Lou Piniella started his regulars on Sunday and they did all of the damage against Homer Bailey in a short amount of time. The Cubs scored all 4 of their runs in the first 3 innings before Piniella emptied his bench. Alfonso Soriano led off the game with his 33rd home run of the year, drove in 3 of the Cubs' 4 runs and was 3-for-3 in his final tune-up before the playoffs. Soriano's home run set a new club record for the most home runs in the month of September, 14, breaking the mark set by Ernie Banks in 1957. Jacque Jones was 2-for-2 with a double, a run scored and a RBI. Derrek Lee doubled and scored in the 3rd inning.

Ted Lilly was perfect in the 2 innings he pitched. Lilly threw 21 pitches, 15 for strikes and retired all 6 batters he faced. Jason Marquis had another rough outing. He took over for Lilly in the 3rd and could not complete the inning. Marquis retired only 2 batters and gave up 4 runs, all with 2 outs, on 4 hits in 2/3 of an inning. Piniella apparently was very disappointed with Marquis' performance and there is speculation that Marquis could be left off the playoff roster. Ryan Dempster took the loss after he gave up 4 runs, all with 2 outs, on 4 hits in his inning of work. Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz, Carlos Marmol and Bobby Howry did not allow a run in the last 4 innings.

The Cubs lost a game they probably would not have, based on the start, if Piniella were not preparing his crew for the post-season. While it is never good to see the Cubs lose a game, the way the starters hit the ball and the way Lilly pitched was a good way to gear up for the NLDS.

Game One Hundred Sixty-Two: Cubs (85-76) vs. Reds (71-90)
Game Time - 12:10pm C.T. Comcast SportsNet, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 188
Location - Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

Ted Lilly (15-8, 3.86/1.15) vs. Homer Bailey (3-2, 5.67/1.49)

The last game of the regular season.... Greetings from Cincinnati! To use a familiar quote, what a long strange trip it has been. It is hard to believe the 2007 regular season ends today but thankfully there will be baseball in October on the North Side of Chicago. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last 161 games. What started at the Cubs Convention back in January, picked up steam in Mesa in March and then Opening Day in Cincinnati six months ago. It is kind of fitting the Cubs regular season ends where it began.

Ted Lilly will start today's game as scheduled but according to a report on Cubs.com will have a pitch count of around 40. The Cubs announced Carlos Zambrano will start Game One of the NLDS on Wednesday with Ted Lilly starting Game Two on Thursday. Rich Hill and Jason Marquis were announced as the Cubs other two starters for the poast season. The Cubs have until 10:00am on Wednesday to announce their playoff roster. Daryle Ward sprained his left hand in Florida and may not be available. Now on to today's game....

Some of the regulars should get filtered back into today's starting lineup with two big off days on Monday and Tuesday. Piniella stated after the game on Saturday that the bullpen will get the majority of the work today to keep them sharp going into the 2-day layoff. If the Cubs can win today they would finish 10 games over .500 with a 20-game improvement from a year ago.

Game One Hundred Sixty-One - Cubs 4 Reds 0
WP - Rich Hill (11-8) LP - Aaron Harang (16-6) Save - None

Rich Hill saved his best for his last start of the regular season. Hill, Sean Marshall and Scott Eye combined on a 1-hit shutout in the penultimate game of the regular season. Hill dominated in his 6 innings of work and allowed only 2 baserunners. He had a perfect game going for the first 4 1/3 innings until he walked Edwin Encarnacion in the 5th. Hill retired the next 4 batters as the crowd at Great American started to figure out what was happening. Former Cub, Buck Coats broke up Hill's no-hit bid with a 2-out bloop double in the 6th. Hill retired Jeff Keppinger to end the inning and left the field to a standing ovation. Sean Marshall picked up where Hill left off and did not allow a hit in his 2 innings of relief. The shutout was the Cubs' 10th this season.

With the Cubs clinching the Central Division Championship on Friday night, Lou Piniella emptied his bench. The result looked more like the starting lineup for the 2006 Iowa Cubs. Piniella gave all of his starters but Ryan Theriot the day off, inserted Henry Blanco at 1st base and the young Cubs responded with an impressive win against Aaron Harang. Matt Murton hit his 8th home run of the year with 2 outs in the 1st inning, added a double in the 5th and scored 2 runs in 4 trips to the plate. Ronny Cedeno filled in for Aramis Ramirez and added his 4th homer of the year in the 2nd. Felix Pie was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Geovany Soto continued to make his case to be the Cubs' starting catcher in the post season. Not only did Soto call an excellent game but he was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, a run scored and a RBI. Since being recalled on September 1st, Soto is hitting .444 with a .480 OBP, 6 doubles, 3 home runs and 7 RBI's.

Great American Ball Park was once again filled with the Faithful. Most of the announced crowd of 38,936 was pro-Cub and continued to celebrate the Division Championship. Several handmade signs with various messages filled the stands behind the Cubs' dugout, it was a joyous occasion with a ballgame as its backdrop. The Reds announced the song of the game was "Nothin’ But A Good Time", the late 80's song by Poison, how apropos.

With the win, Lou Piniella's crew is 9 games over .500 with one left to play.

Game One Hundred Sixty-One: Cubs (84-76) vs. Reds (71-89)
Game Time - 2:55pm C.T. FOX /WGN TV, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 188
Location - Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

Rich Hill (10-8, 4.05/1.22) vs. Aaron Harang (16-5, 3.70/1.14)

Only 2 games left in the regular season.... Greetings from the Queen City! The 2007 Central Division Champs take the field this afternoon after a wild celebration on Friday night. With the Cubs clinching the division, the last two games may resemble those in late March in Mesa. Look for Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee to get some much-needed rest, but hopefully not too much.

Lou Piniella has done a very good job this year. He said on Friday night this is just the first step. The playoff roster should be announced in the next few days but the Faithful must enjoy every minute of every game from here on out....because the Cubs are playing baseball in October.

Rich Hill will look to finish his season on a positive note today against one of the best in the National League in Aaron Harang. It would be great to see Lou Piniella's crew win the last two games and finish with a mark 20 games better than last season.

The Chicago Cubs are the 2007 National League Central Division Champions. For the 5th time in 62 years there will be baseball on the North Side of Chicago in October. No more magic numbers....let the celebration begin, the first step is complete.

Flip the sign....ACOO6198!!!

Game One Hundred Sixty - Cubs 6 Reds 0
WP - Carlos Zambrano (18-13) LP - Bronson Arroyo (9-15) Save - None

Carlos Zambrano ended the Cubs 3-game losing streak in impressive fashion. Zambrano threw 7 innings of shutout ball and has not allowed a run in his last two outings, 13 innings. Zambrano gave up 6 hits, all singles, with 4 strikeouts and a walk. Zambrano, Bobby Howry and Ryan Dempster combined on the Cubs' 9th shutout of the year. Alfonso Soriano made the defensive play of the game in the 3rd inning, with the Cubs up 2-0. After two singles with 1 out in the 3rd, Edwin Encarnacion singled to left, Soriano threw a one-hop strike to Jason Kendall to nail Joey Votto at the plate. Soriano's 19th assist tied the mark set by Billy Williams in 1962.

Alfonso Soriano started the game for the 11th time this year with a home run, and the Cubs never looked back. Soriano tied Ernie Banks' record set in 1952 with his 13th longball in September. It was his 32nd of the year. Derrek Lee added a 2-run shot in the 5th, his 22nd and Jacque Jones hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the 8th to put the game away.

The Cubs won their 84th game of the year, and with 2 left to play, Lou Piniella's crew is 8 games over .500.

Game One Hundred Sixty: Cubs (83-76) vs. Reds (71-88)
Game Time - 6:10pm C.T. Comcast SportsNet, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 188
Location - Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

Carlos Zambrano (17-13, 4.08/1.34) vs. Bronson Arroyo (9-14, 4.22/1.41)

Only 3 games left in the regular season.... Lou Piniella's crew has to be happy to be out of Florida but it will not get any easier for them this weekend. The Reds are looking to continue what the Fish started on Tuesday, this is their playoffs and the Cubs must not take this team lightly. The Reds will be without the services of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Adam Dunn this weekend but the Reds still posses enough determination and talent to beat the Cubs. While the pressure is building, the Cubs are still in control of their own destiny....it is plain and simple, if they win they are in. The Cubs must take advantage of every possible scoring opportunity against Bronson Arroyo while Carlos Zambrano just needs to be the 'Big Z'....

Game One Hundred Fifty-Nine - Cubs 4 Marlins 6
WP - Scott Olsen (10-15) LP - Steve Trachsel (7-11) Save - Kevin Gregg (31)

The Chicago Cubs lost their 10th game in a row to the Florida Marlins and for the second time in two seasons they were swept in a season series. The Marlins won all 6 games against the Cubs this year, the last time they beat the Fish was April of 2006. The Cubs had plenty of chances to put a win on the board but left 10 on base and finished the 3-game series 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position.

Aramis Ramirez was 4-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI. Jacque Jones added 2 hits and a RBI but struck out with the bases loaded and the Cubs down by 1 in the 7th. Alfonso Soriano was 1-for-9 in the first two games but was 2-for-4 with a RBI on Thursday and just missed a 3-run home run in 6th. Several Cubs continued to hit the ball hard in the series but the horrible-should-never-be-used-for-baseball park the Marlins call home kept the ball from leaving the yard.

Steve Trachsel had another rough outing. He gave up 3 runs in the first 2 innings and left after surrendering 5 runs on 5 hits in 4 1/3 innings. The bullpen did a good job once again, with the exception of Ryan Dempster. Dempster continued his string of giving up at least one run per appearance, 3 runs on 4 hits in his last 3 innings with a walk. Kerry Wood pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief and got his team out of a bases loaded jam with no outs in the 6th inning on 6 pitches.

When the Cubs opened the 3-game series on Tuesday the playoff talk was rampant. Everyone thought the Cubs would roll right over the Marlins and possibly clinch the division in Miami, someone forgot to tell the Fish. The Cubs dropped their 3rd game in a row and are back to 7 games above .500 with 3 left to play. With the Padres winning at Miller Park on Thursday night, the Cubs still have a 2-game lead in the division.

Game One Hundred Fifty-Nine: Cubs (83-75) vs. Marlins (68-90)
Game Time - 3:05pm C.T. WGN TV, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 185
Location - Dolphin Stadium, Miami

Steve Trachsel (1-2, 7.62/1.92) vs. Scott Olsen (9-15, 5.88/1.76)

Only 4 games left.... With the Cubs up by 2 with 4 left to play a win today would take a lot of pressure off heading into the final weekend in Cincinnati. The Marlins have nothing to play for but pride and they are taking the spoiler role very seriously. Lou Piniella's crew just needs to relax and play ball the way they did before arriving in Miami. While the offense must be patient today against Scott Olsen, it all starts with Steve Trachsel.

Game One Hundred Fifty-Eight - Cubs 4 Marlins 7
WP - Logan Kensing (2-0) LP - Jason Marquis (12-9) Save - Lee Gardner (2)

Lou Piniella said on his pre-game show, "We came into the series with three mulligans and now we have two." After another poor performance against the Marlins, that number was almost reduced to one. But the Cardinals put a win on the board at Miller Park after a 4-run 8th inning and Lou Piniella's crew was given a gift from an unlikely source. The Cubs were able to maintain their 2-game lead in the division, but hopefully the loss on Wednesday night will serve as a wakeup call for the last 4 games of the season.

The Cubs scored all 4 of their runs in the first 4 innings. Jacque Jones drove in 3 with a 2-run single in the 2nd and a sacrifice fly in the 4th that tied the game. Derrek Lee hit his 21st home run of the year in the 3rd. Seven Marlins' relievers combined on a 3-hit shutout over the final 5 1/3 innings without a walk.

Jason Marquis struggled once again but it was an error by Mark DeRosa that led to the 3-run 2nd inning. Marquis allowed the lead off hitter to reach in 3 of the 5 innings he pitched. He gave up 5 runs, 4 earned, on 9 hits. Lou Piniella left him in a batter too long in the 5th. Todd Linden doubled with 2-outs and scored the winning run on a single by Matt Treanor. After a perfect 6th inning, Carlos Marmol gave up a 2-run home run to Miguel Cabrera in the 7th, it was the 3rd longball given up by Marmol this season.

The Cubs lost their 9th straight game to the Marlins and dropped to 8 games above .500 on the season with 4 left to play.