Game Thirty-Six: Cubs (20-15) vs. Diamondbacks (23-13)
Game Time - 2:40pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: FOX Saturday Game of the Week - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 183
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Ryan Dempster (4-1, 2.72/1.07) vs. Max Scherzer (0-1, 5.40/1.20)
After winning the first game of a series for the first time since April 23rd, Lou Piniella's crew will try to take the second game against an impressive rookie. The Cubs will get their first look at Max Scherzer who turned a lot of heads in his big league debut out of the pen but struggled in his first start in the Majors. Ryan Dempster will try to pickup his 5th win of the year after getting tagged with an unearned loss his last time out.
The Cubs played an impressive game on Friday against the best team in the National League....now it's time to put together back-to-back wins.
Ryan Dempster followed a successful first month of the season with a very good outing against the Reds....it's just too bad his defense cost him the win. Two errors led to 5 unearned runs as the Cubs lost to the Reds 5-3 last Monday. Dempster statistically had his best start since April 9th in the loss. He set a new season high with 7 strikeouts and set a new season low by walking only 1 batter. Dempster must put together a similar outing today in order to keep his team in the game....and hopefully pick up a win.
Dempster is 4-0 at Wrigley this year with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP....and most importantly, his team is 5-2 in the 7 games he has started.
Today will be Dempster's 10th career start, 14th game, against the Diamondbacks. He is 1-4 with a save in his previous 13 games with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.
- Chris Burke - 1-for-3
- Eric Byrnes - 0-for-1
- Stephen Drew - 1-for-1 with a double
- Chris Snyder - 1-for-3
Max Scherzer was the 1st round pick (11th overall) by the Diamondbacks in 2006. After only 20 minor league starts last season at 3 different levels (7-4 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP), Scherzer made his big league debut on April 29th against the Astros in Arizona.
Scherzer retired all 13 batters he faced in 4 1/3 innings of relief with 7 strikeouts. Scherzer hit the high 90's consistently with his fastball and impressed Bob Melvin enough to be placed in the starting rotation. However, his first big league start did not meet expectations.
Scherzer was rocked by the Phillies and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks in 4 innings.
While the Cubs offense will face Scherzer for the first time....the impressive rookie will also make his first big league appearance on the road. The Cubs must be patient and make him work. He showed a lot of command problems his last time out and Lou's crew should be able to use their new-found patience to their advantage.
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
Today's lineup....same as Friday
Soriano - LF
Theriot - SS
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Fukudome - RF
Soto - C
DeRosa - 2B
Johnson - CF
Dempster - P
I don't know what Lou wants out of Ronny Cedeno!
No Tim McCarver No Joe Morgan and we get Grace doing the game. Thank you Fox.
Drew, I agree.
2 out walks?!?!?!?!
Except for if you're stuck in Missouri then you get Joe Buck and Tim McCarver and get to watch the Cardinals on multiple channels and no Cubs!
Good job by Demp to get out of the trouble.
Aramis with a good job running the bases....and then a bad job. Wasted that double.
I'm pulling for all Cubs players to excel...but man I'd like to see RC in the lineup today.
That was really poor decision making by ARam on third.
Demp is throwin alot of pitches... :(
Wow, now I really hate Augie Ojeda and wish him ill....did you wee how that no talent ass clown just turned his back into that pitch...I'm surprised Piniella didn't argue it...he actually stepped into it. WOW
All you Sori-haters = PWNED.
Theriot caught...AGAIN. -_-;
Great job by Soriano!!! And Mike Quade.
I hate to say this right now, but Theriot has to quit trying to steal with Derrek Lee at the plate.
Ben, you are right. 59 pitches for Dempster after 3....
i don't hate to say it at all. Theriot has no speed, and he leads the league in CS.
i love theriot's aggressive-ness....but how many more times is he gonna get caught...this is a pitcher that we have seen throw over to 1st what...like twice??? and it always seems to be wen D Lee is at the plate..
I will give him props for that last play however.
What a play by Theriot!
That was a great pick by Theriot! Difficult play.
I love aggressiveness, but I would just prefer that the people w/ speed...Sori, Cedeno execute that. People with no running ability like Theriot should stay station to station.
Hubert, I do not think Theriot's problem is lack of speed. I think he is not reading the pitcher's move as qucikly as he should. The plays are always close, which leads me to believe if he left just a second earlier or had a 1/2 step bigger lead...he would be safe.
This dude throws hard but there's no movement it's confusing why we're not crushing him...DeRosa just flat out couldn't catch up to it. That's frustrating considering it's supposed to be the off speed pitchers we've never faced that cause us problems.
Mr. Dempster is dealing today. Strikin' out the side.
Man, Demps looks good today, I mean REALLY good! What a nice surprise for the Cubs so far this year.
Neil: I agree to an extent. I used to be a sprinter so I can tell whether someone has a lot of explosiveness or not. Someone that can go through their initial drive phase to their top end quickly, like a Jose Reyes or Alfonso Soriano are really good basestealers.
Part of running ability in baseball is the ability to read the pitcher...and the fact that he tried to steal against a pitcher that can throw 98 mph....lol.
Cory, I agree we're struggling but this kid is a stud. I watched him pitch throughout his college career and the only thing that stopped him were injuries. His fastball has a lot of pop and deceptive movement. He did strikeout 7/13 guys in his big league debut. It's a tough game for me to watch because I know Max and a bunch of my friends drove up this morning from Columbia, MO to watch him. I hope we keep tacking on the unearned runs!
Sori has found the way the up his OBP OO;;;
I'm not going to lie I've been the biggest critic of Dempster over the last couple of years, but besides Z he's the only I guy have confidence in taking the ball every 5th day. What a pleasant surprise he's been this year!
I only ask two things of Riot here. No GIDP, no Strikeout.
WTF...-_-;; Not again..
Hubert, very good point.
What a throw by Upton. I would like to have seen Derrek Lee take a pitch. Young pitcher, just a hit a batter to load the bases in first big league road start. That was a big out....
Drew, it's funny right after that Grace said his fastball was explosive like Wood.....Good Lord how many guys are we gonna get thrown out at the plate?!!?
Lee come on! Swinging at the first pitch when the KID has hit two guys and the bases are loaded at Wrigley? That was a really stupid thing to do and i'll be surprised if that doesn't come back to screw us! Momentum Arizona! Stupid!
Here we go!
Back to back walks....he got a break on the strike 2 call but got it back on the missed called strike 3
That could have been a lot worse. Time for the offense to pick it up.
Let's Go Offense (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)!!!
I want to see how this game is Soriano's fault. We have three guys in the game that really should be coming off the bench: Theriot, Johnson, and DeRosa. Two of those guys already screwed up big time.
I can live with Theriot at SS, if the other two weren't starting. Johnson was available for a reason...he isn't a starter. They obviously have lost faith in Pie, and it is time for Hendry to do something asap to get a major-league quality player in CF.
I would rather they move Fuku to CF, and play Murton in RF. Given everyday at-bats, I think Murton is a .290-.300 hitter.
That could've been a lot worse, another great play by Theriot! Dempster showed some guts also by getting out of there with just 2 runs.
This ump is an ass clown! That 1st pitch he called on Fukudome was exactly the same pitch that should've been strike 3 on Upton.
Jason, sorry to say but Murton is not the answer. I agree they need a centerfielder and I wish it would click with Pie. Fukudome belongs in right and one of the reasons he agreed to sign with the Cubs is he does not want to play center.
#6-#9 spots have all failed to get a hit or get on base period. Not too many chances for Soriano to get RBI's when no one is on base.
Cedeno should be starting...perhaps put him at 2B, and move DeRosa to RF, moving Fuku over to CF. That will at least get Johnson out of the lineup.
Assuming Eyre stays healthy the rest of the way, I have to give Hendry credit on the Eyre/Howry signings...definitely gave us solid middle relief for 2-3 years.
They cannot get Augie out!! Wow!! I do not agree with Aaron's colorful description of Ojeda but I sure wish he would have played this way when he was in blue pinstripes.....
With Vernon Wells out maybe Toronto will take Johnson back for Halladay and cash. I think I'd rather see that than me winning the lottery
Neil,
I agree it isn't ideal, but a good GM/manager should always be looking to put on the best combination of players at any given time. Do we put up with an ineffective combination of Johnson/Pie in CF, simply because Fuku would prefer RF? While not ideal, I think Fuku in CF, along with a better-hitting RF (whether DeRosa, Murton, or a FA) would be better than the hole in the lineup that CF has become. I wish they would just trot Pie out there everyday, so that he gets enough at-bats to possibly improve and get in a groove.
We wanted Brian Roberts for a reason...we felt we could do better than DeRosa, and we needed the speed. If Cedeno is finally legit, then he should be starting..why not put him in CF?
I guess I just don't understand some of the moves so far this season. Who is your future...Pie/Cedeno, or Reed Johnson? If you feel Reed Johnson gives you the best chance to win, then you need to trade Pie/Cedeno asap while they have some value. Yet everyone else is focused on Soriano, as if he is somehow the problem.
We need to trade Soriano ASAP! Put him on the bench at least, he's terrible, killing this team! Oh ye of little faith!
I think Cedeno in center would be a good experiment, with not a lot of downside.
Looks like Soriano's speed is not 100%
3-4
Notice also that Soriano gets RBI's when guys are on base in front of him. If they aren't on base, then he trys to hit a solo homerun.
Oh...Soriano just scored a run. You can tell his leg in not 100% the way he was running...but he wants to earn his paycheck. No one gets more batting practice in, or works harder in preparation.
So why does everyone want this guy traded again?
Soriano with the double!
Jason, I agree with you on the Johnson/Pie but I really like Fukudome in right. Solid defense.
I would like to see Cedeno given a shot in center.
Soriano is not 100%, did everyone see him around 3rd? Bruce Levine made a great point this morning....Soriano's leg injuries have made him very cautious.
All right Soriano!
I agree with Neil, Murton is not the answer. I've seen him a few times down here and he has ZERO power. He also gets outta bed as a double play. Fukudome is a rightfielder end of story. If Pie and Johnson don't work out...which I think thry are and will...then we can get one at the trade deadline.
I'm surprised some freak hasn't said we should pick up the recently released Edmonds. I think our team right now is fine. I think some people just will never be satisfied.
Your right Neil Soriano looked like Grace rounding 3rd...not the 89 Grace more like the 98 Grace.
I don't want Soriano traded, but I do want a stud #2 pitcher. Putting Cedeno at 2nd and DeRossa in Left, and adding a SP from San Fran, LA, or San Diego for Soriano....FUKUDOME!!!!
FUKUDOME!!! With the blast to left center!!!
As I was saying a trade of Soriano for a #2 pitcher does make some sense at first glance, but loses appeal when you think about how much of his contract the Cubs would have to pick up in order to sell the deal.
That was an excellent inning for Howry. A fastball pitcher shut down a bunch of fastball hitters, 1-2-3.
As much as I love watching Marmol pitch does anyone else think this may not be necassary for him to be in with us up by 5?
A Great Win!!
Cory, I kinda agree. I would have liked to see him in the 8th instead. I would guess Marmol would be unavailable for Sunday.
I agree that Theriot needs to be more selective with his running, but he is now leading the team in batting avg. I don't understand the grief he gets on this site. Also, I agree that Cedeno has proved that he deserves playing time, I suggest CF, but I don't understand the love that he is getting considering his past few seasons.
aaronb,
I couldn't disagree more. You don't trade a star like Soriano...he is the guy you pray the Cubs sign every off-season. He is a major reason we won the division last year, and why we will be in the playoffs again this year.
You don't replace Soriano with DeRosa...are you kidding? You replace DeRosa with Brian Roberts...that is improving the team.
The guy goes 4-5, and he stills needs to be traded...this is insanity.
Guys to trade: Cedeno/Theriot (don't need them both), Pie, Murton, anyone in the farm system, etc...
Positions we need upgrade at, beside LF: CF, 2B, starting rotation.
Gregg...welcome to the CCO!
yes!!!!very important win after losing 3 series in a row
we bounce back to take it to one of the teams that have
consistently beaten the crap out of us in recent history. Now
a sweep would give us back some respect, a little of
intimidation power for the rest of the teams in the nl.
Go jim tp...
And it's very important that Sori just proved me that he doesn't need to be the best defensive player to be a run producer.
"A run saved worths more than a run made," but Sori's the kind of guy who'll get us 3 or 4 runs while losing one or two.
Worth his contract, I guess. Let's just hope that his calf is not bothering him. (I'm with Mark Grace there: Sori wasn't running full speed some time.)
I think we need a stud #2 pitcher. If we can do it without trading Soriano, that would be great.
Looks like Gagne just gave the game to the game to St. Louis.
I sure hope Soriano gets hot here. That would be a real nice spark for this team. And anyone check the schedule for this week? San Diego and Pittsburgh. In my opinion, its time to make a statement about the quality of this team, this week. And, Soriano should be leading that charge.
NATION REPRESENT!
CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!
That's the kind of baseball I like to see: take advantage of a manager's mistake and a bad pitcher and make them pay. They jumped right on Qualls and picked him apart. Now all they need to do is jump on whoever replaces Randy Johnson in tommorow's game for the sweep (I'm keeping Johnson in my Fantasy lineup because I know the Cubs will smite me if I do by tearing him apart, but if they want to just make Johnson last 6 or 7 innings and strikeout a few times, then score 20 runs on the Arizon bullpen, I'm good with that too).