Game Three - National League Division Series
Cubs (85-77) vs. Diamondbacks (90-72) - Best of Five - D'Backs Lead Series, 2-0
Game Time - 5:00pm C.T. TBS, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 174/184/188
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Rich Hill (11-8, 3.92/1.19) vs. Livan Hernandez (11-11, 4.93/1.60)
It is simple for Lou Piniella's crew today, win and play on Sunday, lose and....well that's not really an option is it? Lou Piniella said on Friday, "All we need to do is win one game at a time, not three games tomorrow." While Piniella's decisions have been second-guessed throughout the series, he is right and Piniella has the experience, and the resume, to backup his statement. Granted there has not been a National League team to overcome a 0-2 hole in the NLDS, there have been four American League teams to rebound from dropping the first two games....one of those teams, Lou Piniella's 1995 Seattle Mariners.
The players need to relax today, play the game and most importantly have fun and who knows, maybe win a game.
Lou Piniella said on Friday that Jason Kendall would make the start behind the plate today. Kendall hits Livan Hernandez very well and his calm, cool demeanor could be exactly what the young Mr. Hill needs. However, with Kendall behind the plate the Cubs must realize the D'Backs will run, run and run again once they reach base. They have to be willing to allow this to happen and focus on making good pitches and good decisions in the field.
Rich Hill is 6-2 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP at Wrigley this year in 15 starts. Hill is 3-1 in his last 6 games with a 5.08 ERA and is coming off one of his best starts of the year in Cincinnati against the Reds. He threw a gem, 6 innings of 1-hit shutout ball on just 79 pitches. Hill must not beat himself today and his team needs the "good" Rich Hill to show up today.
Hill received a no-decision the only time he faced the Diamondbacks this year. He gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, on 6 hits in 6 innings with 6 strikeouts and 4 walks. Hill is 1-1 in 4 career starts against the D'Backs with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.
The Cubs will get their first look of the season at Livan Hernandez today. Hernandez is coming off a difficult year and has struggled on the road. Hernandez is 4-8 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP in 17 starts away from Chase Field. He had a solid August (3-2 with a 3.60 ERA in 6 starts) but struggled in September. Hernandez is 2-2 in his last 5 starts with a 6.67 ERA. He has not given up less than 3 earned runs in his last 5 outings and has given up 20 hits and 7 earned runs in his last 10 innings. Today will be his first start since September 26th.
Hernandez is 10-6 in 19 career starts against the Cubs with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Last year the Cubs split the 2 games against Hernandez, 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.
- Mark DeRosa - 5-13, with 2 doubles and 2 RBI's
- Cliff Floyd - 14-41, with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 8 RBI's
- Jacque Jones - 3-9, with a double
- Derrek Lee - 8-33, with 2 doubles, a triple, a home run and 2 RBI's
- Jason Kendall - 11-31, with a double, a triple and 3 RBI's
- Aramis Ramirez - 10-26, with 3 doubles, 4 home runs and 9 RBI's
- Alfonso Soriano - 3-12
- Daryle Ward - 6-13, with a RBI
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
The prediciment that we are in shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. We have stuggled against every team that had a better record than us. (Except Colorado 4-3 record) I thought that Arizona would win in it in 4 or 5 games. The one game that I thought for sure we would win would be game 2. I know Livan Hernandez has sucked lately but does that make him due for a good outing?
The D-Backs seem to employ a better lineup when a lefty is on the mound. I also have to admit that I am ashamed of the way Soriano has played. I know he strikes out a lot, hits homeruns, steals bases when healthy, and throws out baserunners but other than that he is a dog. He never makes a catcher throw to first on a drop third strike and that jumping to catch the ball looks so gay. I am already dreaming about next year and the new owner. I just hope it is not Canning/Mckenna.
Seems to me that fans like Jim are more interested in "being right" in their predictions than supporting the efforts leading toward a Cubs victory in this and succeeding series.
Well, Jim from Tinley Park, you are wrong.
Go Cubs Go!!
Who cares if Soriano jumps when he catches the ball as long as he catches it?
Also, he hit MORE doubles and more triples in 24 fewer games with the Cubs than he did with the Nationals last year. (2nd on the team by one behind D-Lee in doubles, 1st in triples).
So he's not just all about the homeruns.
You already mentioned he guns anyone out who's dumb enough to run on him, and when healthy, steals a bunch of bags.
He, along with almost the entire Cubs offense, has had a bad postseason so far offensively. But I still wouldn't call him a "dog" by any stretch.
(By the way, anyone else watching this upset brewing of Illinois over Wisconsin?)
Bruce Levine just announced today's lineup....
Soriano - LF
Theriot - SS
Lee - 1B
Floyd - RF
Ramirez - 3B
DeRosa - 2B
Jones - CF
Kendall - C
Hill - P
Zip:
I truly hope that I am wrong and for the record
I am a lousy gambler.
I've seen every game this year but two ( On T.V., Radio or in person) so that should crush any issues that you might have with me in regards to supporting
the Cubs.
Trevor:
In regards to Soriano, I was expecting more. Im just
frusrated right now.
I know we're all disappointed, nervous, worried, frustrated, resigned to whatever happens but still hopeful-- all of that at the same time. It's exhausting, that's all I can say about it.
I know some of my posts after last night's game might be considered "critical" as well, I should wait to post until after I've gathered myself. But I too hope you all take them with a grain of salt. Sometimes the emotions just get the best of me.
Go Cubs!
Ooooops. Correction:
"...last night's game," = Thursday's game, Game 2.
Neil:
Are you at the game?
I'm not giving up.
It looks bleak. The D-Backs have played very good baseball and are one win away from advancing to the NLCS.
But I'm not quiting on my Cubs. It is not over. Remember what the Red Sox had to overcome to break their long drought. Maybe this will be our hill to climb. Speaking of Hill, Rich Hill starts today's Game 3 at Wrigley Field. If Hill and the offense can get it going today, the momentum could turn in a hurry. And Cubs momentum could create doubt in the young D-Backs. A lot of hope and ifs; but that is what sports, and especially being a Cubs fan, is all about.
Go Cubs Go!!!
Hey Jim,
Make all the comments you want, but let's not use the word "gay" in a derogatory manner on the boards. I'm not, but I know people who are, and in general its a very insensitive and ignorant thing to say--especially having grown up in very liberal schools. Let's keep up the standard of best fans in the world, and stay classy.
Mike:
I don't know of any other way to describe the way Soriano catches easy flyouts. He smiles and makes a
little Peter Pan jump. If a Gay person wants to say that Soriano looks "so straight" catching the ball
fine by me.
Remember the Cubs are called the Cardiac Cubs for a reason. I wouldnt expect to win a series any other way. And if they dont win it..Well, we'll deal with that later. Haha.
Jim, dude, that is pretty gay. But for the sake of "classiness" we could just call it a fairy jump! Yay!
Or, a Nancy fly, the homo hop...Oh you get it..
If gay people can hit Home Runs today @ wrigley....I hope we have an extremely "Gayish" team!
Sorry...I had to!
Anyone catching the TBS pregame show? I love and respect Ripken and Thomas, but they look plain bafoonish out there showing the bunt skills...Good lord.
Matt:
Yeah, Frank is a great hitter but I don't think he has ever thought about dropping down a bunt.
Hey, Jim....
Never once have I doubted your support for our Cubbies...or, your loyalty. Never!
In fact, I have enjoyed your postings on this board very much! All year!
Go Cubs!
Zip:
You and me, were good!
Can this get more worse?
Hey Jim....
Does anybody have the number of the red phone in the dugout? If so, please call and tell them to quit throwing fastballs!!!
2 runs is not going to win this game. The offense will have to outscore the D'Backs today PERIOD. Make Livan work....PLEASE!!!!
ummmmmm, yes Jim, it can, and WILL get much worse.....You think if the D'Backs got the first guy on, they'd ground right into a double play? Do you think after that if they put two more on, they fail to even swing at a ball close to the strike zone and walk shamefully back to the dugout?
Unbelievable....It's over.....those of us on here that grew up/live/love Chicago I guess have only one team to cheer for now----the Bulls. I hear the team is going to be very good this year, and Wallace is allowed to wear his headband now, so that should at least give them a couple more wins......
what a disaster.......i want to freakin' anihilate Augie freakin' Ojeda who probably pumped juice to even hit above his weight....hate the guy....absolutely hate him....he was worthless, and we even had Pentland when he came around before.
Good thing Ojeda stepped up against the Cubs...too bad he NEVER played this good for the Cubs. I remember a scrappy player but an easy out at the plate.
Oh boy!
are we in trouble!!
I know....he was worthless. He was an automatic out, and very very reminiscent of Cedeno, where he'd hit AAA pitching fairly well.....FAIRLY well.....because most of his years there he didn't, but there were a few + .300 seasons down there. I don't think you can attribute any of his success now to coaching.....After 14 years or so in professional baseball, and in your 14th, you all of a sudden start hitting...hmmmmmmmmmmmm
It's like Brady Anderson going from at most 21 home runs at the time to 50.....he's the poster child for steriod use.....
Oh, and by the way, if the Cubs grew some balls, to show teams they meant business, they should plant Chris Young, Stephen Drew, or Ojeda on the ground, writhing in pain. That's a managerial call, and it should've been made. We should've planted Young on the ground, because he's too comfortable up there.
Those are the things that put the momentum somewhat back in your favor as you let them know they can't get too cocky....I mean, look at how cocky their dugout was after Young's home run, and Drew's hit....a message needed to be sent Thursday, and it wasn't, and it needs to be sent before we go down with a whimper
....I even made that point to our pitchers today, as we had an intrasquad game. We had 2 guys that both went yard twice, and I had to go out to the mound and explain to these guys that it isn't high school ball anymore, and you have to let guys know you mean business in college------apply that to the pros, where you have even more riding on the line, and you'll get my point.
Anyway, the next time those 2 guys came up, they buzzed them up and in, and BOTH of them weakly grounded out
.....and Theriot's ground ball saga continues.....maybe Cedeno can hit it in the air on a line?
Also, my point was proven....you heard the TBS reporter saying he talked to the D'Backs and there was absolutely no fear
BUZZZZZZZ them inside DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!and not with soft curveballs...head hunt if you have to...geeze
ARAM looked hideous in that at-bat......
Good God!
Aramis has to loosen up... that is 3 LOB and I do not remember him being in a slump this big in over a year and a half.
Aramis is as good as A-Rod [in the post-season]
I hate to say it, but we really don't deserve to win. It's just a joke.
A freaking joke.
someone took it up with me on here whether or not we were grounding into too many double plays and if it was having a huge impact on our team....I contended that it was.....but they were correct----other teams have grounded into more-------problem is----OURS were far more critical.
We get 1 out, 2 runners on in the postseason, you expect a little execution, but we haven't gotten any, ARAM and Soriano are flailing away at everything thrown their way, while D Lee has all of a sudden seemed to find a groove.
We are self destructing. I can't take anymore of Theriot....He doesn't even seem to be running fast anymore anyways. Piniella has to send a message
Hill's press conference was very impressive yesterday. He said all of the right things, but he did not pitch that way.
This game is within reach if they would just quit pressing. None of these guys, with the exception of Kerry Wood, is playing baseball right now....
Aaron, but do you know why all the double plays?
Its okay guys! =D
We have Big Z going tomorrow in the simulated game!
Lou is so mellow these days... I wanted a volcanic eruption from him there....
maybe hes just gittin old
Can the Cubs catch a break? DeRosa did double clutch the ball but....
I really wish Piniella would have exploded!!!
Whuertz did a good job, nevertheless. How about we start the come back right now??? Go Cubs!!!
Agustin...good call, they got 1 back.
Jim (tp: I wasn't trying to challenge your love for the Cubs, and I completely understand the frustration right now.
Aaron: I completely agree with buzzing the D-backs. Seriously, they look like they are just taking a relaxing round of bp right now. Let's make THEM tense and see how they start hitting.
The Cubs inability to get guys in who were in scoring position is maddening. Baserunners every inning and only 1 run to show for it. Good news is, we've had men on and there is a lot of game left and only a two run deficit.
Let's get it done.
We have 1 HR, and 0 SB in this series... While the Dbacks hit bombs, steal bases.. willy nilly
that means -- NO POWER, NO SPEED --
add that to the NO CLUTCH factor, and this offensive show has been disgraceful.
just wondering where you think Gerald Perry will be coaching netx year Baron
Baron....there is your stolen base. I am with you on the power. I would take a single right now much less a home run.
where was all our patient hitting the first 2 games......we made it so easy on them it's ridiculous.
Let's hope the patience continues
OH MY MOTHER ##$#$#^%#%$ GOD!!!!!
AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111
...
19 LOB by the box score or however many runners left that equals tonite..
Another bleepin' double play.....WOW!!!
Bases loaded, 1 out and no runs.
I drank 3 Coronas that inning.
I don't know what else to do.
so much for that fu#%Ting patience.
ball 4 3-1 and you swing at a pitch on the shoe tops.....WOW!!!!!!
my wife is telling me I need to turn off the game.....one, my heart is beating so fast cuz I'm so ANGRY, and two, because they don't deserve my viewership if they play this bad---according to her.
I'm still mad as hell and it's only the 5th inning......just like it's "early in the year" blah blah blah shit shit shit....
it's over, and they can all go to hell
Why?!??!!! Why are we all made to suffer?
We're screwed. 3-1 count, bases loaded, one out, down by two? YOU DON'T TAKE A LITTLE BASEHIT SWING AT THE BALL YOU DUMB SH#$! You take a homerun swing at that ball unless it is so ridiculously out of the zone that you're going to walk unquestionably! This is the worst baseball I've ever seen. How hard is this, really? So screw you Mark DeRosa. And Ramirez. And Jones. And Soriano. And Pinella. And entire Cubs coaching staff. You screwed us over. I wish that we would've gone the rebuilding route with Girardi so our expectations weren't so damn high.
Mr. Met, Ron Darling, chuckled at the older Cub fan when they showed her reaction after the home run by Eric Byrnes....what a classless act. He should not be allowed to work on National Television after what he just did.
It is bad enough we have to listen to Dick Stockton and the fact Ron Santo is about to have a heart attack but to listen to an announcer chuckle at an older lady is HORRIBLE.
Boseph, I've been saying it all year man.......we had a stretch in late June and July where we played playoff caliber baseball, but the other 3/4 of the year we played terrible baseball....backing our way into the playoffs. It was said on here, "well, I'll take backing in anyday." Really? Do you really feel that way right now? I actually think that we set ourselves back by being anihilated in the playoffs this year. For crying out loud, just to make the damn playoffs, we had to have Milwaukee lose....Do you remember that? We were awful. We were terrible in the last game too.
Remember when the Bears made the playoffs in '05, and Lovie took out all the starters in the last game, and they got smeared? Well, that's what happened to us. All the subs got in, which took away any momentum we had from Pittsburgh and Cincinatti, and we've gotten destroyed-====flat our destroyed in the playoffs.
Did we deserve to be here? Hell no, and if you think we did, then you're sorely mistaken. We had to have other teams lose just to get in.
I am so sick of this shit I am going to explode.
I would've rather had the season end than be at the point where we are now, where there was actually a glimmer of hope we could go far. That hope is gone, and you are out of your mind if you think the Cubs will come back in this one after the abysmal showing they've had this game.
For crying out loud, Augie "roids" Ojeda almost took us deep, and we can't even get runners in with less than 2 out and RISP....Hell, bases loaded, 1 out, and GIDP nation, here we come.
How fitting that it's 1-2-3, approximately the inning after all of our hope went out the door. The Cubs body language shows it.
DeRosa should've been benched for that crap. It was at his shoe tops and the guy just WALKED THE DAMN BASES LOADED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and he throws you 3 straight balls, you call timeout, and he throws one over your head to the back stop, and then, surprisingly you barely swing and hit a tapper to short.......WOW!!!!!!!!
baseball IQ of negative 1 for this team.
All the fans should send a message to the team and just walk out. They should've done that after DeRosa's GIDP, but paying $1,000 for a ticket probably would make them stay----ha ha, suckers!!!!! at least we can turn the station to college football
I really love Ron Santo..
Matt...I do too. I hope my comment did not reflect I do not like him.
Aaron....sorry, I had to remove a couple of your exclamation marks...messed up the page.
and poor Ron Santo.....my goodness....he deserves to be announcing a team that actually delivers for him after all he's been through. Talk about a sad sad day if he doesn't see the Cubs win a championship.
I can't get the WGN signal where I'm at. What's Santo been like?
Na, I dont even really know what youre talkin about Neil, haha.
I said that because even though I feel horrible about this. Hearing Ron on WGN, and hearing him sing, just makes me feel just a little better.
Santo has been hopeful, dissapointed, but remaining hopeful.
Sweep out the f-ing trash. This is the worst i've seen in along time. Loveable losers....maybe next year?
There's another Double Play. The Diamondbacks AREN'T good! They play really shitty baseball! And they'll probably be swept by the Rockies! You know what? I'm tired of being forgiving to certain players on this team. Baseball is about how you play right through the end of October, so when you don't perform at all in October, you are a crap baseball player. I hope Cuban gets the Cubs for a new reason now. I hope that, with the exception of Fontenot, Theriot, Soto, Marmol, Hill (because he actually looked like he CARED about being taken out and his performance) and Hart, and Zambrano, the ONLY Cub that actually performed well, he fires EVERYONE. You can build on those guys listed aboev now that they have postseason experience. But Ramirez? Lee? Floyd? Soriano? They've all been here before and they're just going through the motions. Screw em all.
someone said there is no way we can blow up this offense... are you kidding... do you simply get giddy by somehow scraping into the playoffs in the NL Central???
pardon my french, but this offense has been MEDIOCRE the entire year... sorry, never good, sometimes adequate, but never good....
You have to have 1 thing, power or speed.... These baby Dbacks hit 20 HR more than the Cubs this year....
We have 2 20-25 SB type guys.... hardly overwhelming..
we have 1 guy with 30 HR, 1 with 25, 1 with 22, the rest with under 12....
On a positive note, our pitching has been TERRIFIC for much of the year... This team resembles the Chicago Bears more than you would like to admit....
Sometimes, the offense does just enough to get a win... the rest of the time, they make rookies, old men and all lefties look like Cy Young...
THIS OFFENSE needs to be blown up ... I said it.....
Theriot, Pie, Soto, Soriano, and maybe Lee are keepers...
Fontenot, Floyd, De Rosa need to be bounced....
When you compare Fontenot to Chris Young, or Tulowitzki, or Pedroia -- its embarrasing.. he looks like he should carry their bat bags, rather than hold a bat himself...
ARAM needs to be send back San Pedro De Marcorsi..
The punishment for defeat has to be merciless....
Sympathy is for losers... period!!
I don't think you should be ripping on DeRosa. He played RF,3rd,2nd and I think 1st and played well. Don't crusify him because he hit into that doubleplay.
baron,
Why don't you buy the Cubs? Your do or die attitude would help. I'm certain you have more than enough money; you would never accept mediocrity. Get your app in ASAP.
I appreciate DeRosa filling in, I really do. But that's all he should've done for us. Those games where he'd fill in for an injured player, or if he was playing the Reds, he was amazing. The rest of the time? Meh. Unfortunately, this is becoming clear that our MANAGER, of all people, is just not playing people correctly. This is like the Bears offense and how Ron Turner has no clue how to build his offense around his players and their talents.
Here's the lowdown: Dusty got us to the playoffs. Then we barely missed the Wild Card the next year. And the next year, we barely missed 500. And his last year, he barely missed anything resembling an actual baseball team. We need to be prepping an Anti-Lou bandwagon that's so vocal that when we miss the postseason next year, we don't give him the chance to cost us a winning record and then hand us a shitty season. We should hold off on it until halfway through next season, but it is an absolute necessisty. The sad part is that now that we've gone with Lou, we've lost the chance to go with Girardi, so our options for the rebuilding year we need to have very soon are down to Ryno, which isn't necessarily a BAD thing.
Damm, this reminds of 1998 vs the Braves,
Morandini, Henry Rodriguez etc. Geez, put me out of my misery.
You know what guys, we can sit here and complain and moan all we want. We can over-analyze this thing to death.
The bottom line is that the players at the top of the order were horrible when it came to situational hitting. Hell, hitting period. They for whatever reason were wound tighter than a drum and just couldn't do their job.
One could argue that a manager should have sensed that and tried to shake them up, but one could also argue that these are grown men, who know what they are supposed to do, and who WERE doing it no more than four or five days prior to the start of this series.
It's not a curse, it's not a lot of things.
It is what it is, and that is SAD. It's a sad day to be a Cubs fan.
Neil, thanks again for ALL your hard work. You do a great job not only running the site, but putting up with us and our passionate posts.
Take care all, and let's hope we can do a better job with a new owner. Whom I hope is Mark Cuban.
I'm out....
DeRosa hit .293 with an OBP of .371 with 10 HR and 72 RBI...who in the heck should Lou have played at 2nd instead of DeRosa??
That wasn't all at second. A good amount of those numbers came in the outfield and at first and at third. Who should he have played at second? Fontenot. And when he started struggling? Cedeno. And when Lou finally got the hint that he was a AAAA player? Jake Fox or Scott Moore. There is a bevy of infielders that could've plugged in that hole. And one of them would've given us the offensive boom we need from an every day starter. DeRosa is a necessity, because he will play every day at every position.
I really just hope the Cubs fans react accordingly to this shit play. If we were to just get a riot that involved destroying the automobiles of the entire Cubs staff, that would suffice.