   |
||||||||||||
       |
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Game Thirty-Nine: Cubs (23-15) vs. Padres (14-25)
Game Time - 7:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 183
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Jason Marquis (1-2, 5.08/1.72) vs. Shawn Estes (0-0, 0.00/1.80)
The first place Chicago Cubs will look to keep the bats going tonight against former Cub, Shawn Estes. Estes will be shooting for career win number 100 while Jason Marquis will try to remain in the Cubs rotation. Marquis has been inconsistent, at best, in his first 6 outings and really needs to put together a quality start against a team he's had success against in the past.
One of the last statements from Lou Piniella following Monday night's win was, "Tomorrow we need a good game from Marquis."
Jason Marquis will make his first start since May 4th against the Cardinals. Marquis surrendered 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 1/3 innings against his former team with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. Marquis has struggled with command and consistency all year long....and just not from start to start but from batter to batter. Marquis put together two excellent outings against the Pirates (April 19th) and the Rockies (April 24th) but has won only one game in his first 6 starts....and his team is 3-3 when he takes the hill. Marquis' downfall this year is 15 walks and 43 hits allowed in 33 2/3 innings....too many base runners.
Marquis is 3-2 in 7 career games, 6 starts, against the Padres with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Last year, Marquis was spectacular against the Friars....1-0 in 2 starts with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP with 7 walks and 10 strikeouts in 13 innings.
- Shawn Estes - 0-for-2
- Brian Giles - 2-for-8 with a home run
- Adrian Gonzalez - 1-for-4 with a double
- Khalil Greene - 0-for-6
- Tadahito Iguchi - 5-for-7 with 2 doubles
If Marquis struggles early, look for Jon Lieber to make another appearance out of the pen.
The former Cub southpaw, Shawn Estes, will make his first start of the season and his second appearance of the year. Estes pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief against the Braves on May 8th. The Braves plated 2 unearned runs on 2 hits, walked once and struck out twice against Estes in a 5-4 win.
Estes was the Cubs 5th starter back in 2003, he was 8-11 in 29 games, 28 starts, with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Estes has not pitched in the Majors since 2006 and that was just one game for the Padres. He was 7-8 with 2 complete games in 21 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2005 with a 4.80 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.
Estes is 4-9 in 20 career starts at Wrigley with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.
- Mark DeRosa - 1-for-4
- Reed Johnson - 1-for-1 with a home run
- Derrek Lee - 4-for-18 with 3 doubles and 3 walks
- Jason Marquis - 0-for-2
- Aramis Ramirez - 8-for-13 with 2 home runs
- Alfonso Soriano - 1-for-3
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
Trips to the Northside
© 2005-2008 5&11 Online Productions| Creative Commons License | Contact |
Subscribe
Tonight's lineup:
Soriano - LF
Theriot - SS
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Fukudome - RF
Soto - C
DeRosa - 2B
Johnson - CF
Marquis - P
No one appreciates San Diego sending out their AAA team more than me.
Im glad they could make it after being pounded by the I-Cubs today, haha!
I'm going to complain everyday on this board about Ronny Cedeno not getting a fair shot until Lou listens to me!
lol Drew, I agree. What is really frustrating is if RC doesn't get some playing time it is tough to know if he has "turned the corner" or not. He's not made to be a D. Ward type player who can just produce a hit off the bench at all times. But if Theriot is producing as well, it is tough to sit him out.
I just don't get why we can't rotate. I understand you it's nice to have a consistent lineup, but there's no reason we can't give everyone a day off from time to time. We could give DeRosa, Theriot, Johnson (put RC or Fuku in CF) a day off once a week and Lee, Ramirez, & Fukudome sporadically and RC could get some consistent playing time without interrupting anyone's rhythm. Also, I don't think we lose anything offensively with any arrangement of those players mentioned.
Mad props to Jayce!
3 outs w/ 9 pitches and that mad grab! Wow!
so no new Edmonds news. I really hope that we leave that one alone. What can he do that Pie isn't doing already? He has been on the decline the last 3 seasons and really looks like a shell of his former self this year.
Great catch by Marquis
Jim, news on Edmonds would not come until Wednesday
Neil:
Your turn, Do you want Edmonds?
S O R I A N O !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO-RI-ANO (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)!!!
First lead off blast of the year
Soriano...Wow.
Ive always been a Soriano guy.
Just not in the leadoff spot, but nights like this really make me reconsider...
With regards to Soriano, I no longer think that there is any doubt:
"He's baaaaaaaack!!!!!!!"
Jim....Edmonds 2 years ago, yes. The Edmonds that was just released...no. I am also concerned about the chemistry in the clubhouse.
The only "saving grace" is the stamp of approval that Maddux gave.
Neil:
For the most part, I am for it.
Edmonds isn't costing much in salary and we are not giving up any bodies. Lets face it, it is worth a shot beacause, Grady Sizemore, Curtis Granderson, Josh Hamilton and Nate McLuth aren't available.
So Im just reading around and I found this.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/padres/2008/may/13/are-padres-looking-cub-ofs/
Would any of you make a deal for Khalil Greene? Just curious.
Reed! Man Im all about bald guys with goatees! XD
Good slide by DeRo!
Matt, great find. I will use this link for Wednesday. I like Greene's defense, that play on Lee's ball headed for left field is a good example. But he swings and misses at a lot of pitches.
The Pie-for-Greene rumors have been floating around for awhile.
Evening gents.
I am all for giving Edmonds a shot. Like Jim said...we are not giving up anybody and he is not costing much. Heck, a week and a half back Soriano's average was lower than Edmonds'.
He could be the offensive spark that we need from our center fielder. Or, maybe throw Cedeno out there and see how he fairs.
O.K., he swings and misses at a lot of pitches...except for the ones thrown by Jason Marquis.
Marquis is the worst pitcher I have ever seen. He has crap stuff, bad control and worse mental toughness..
This guy has no business being a starting pitcher for a division leading ball-club...
I can barely watch him pitch
Get Lieber up. Marquis is done. A single by Shawn Estes?!?!?!?! Wow!
Larry should have came out after the base hit that followed Greene's HR..
Can we please give Marquis to someone else? There is no way that he can stay in our starting lineup.
Marquis is G-A-R-B-A-G-E!!!!
Mental toughness of a 5 year old!
ok
heres the line on Marquis:
37 IP, 50 H, 16 BB, 5.50 ERA, .328 BAA
Those are nauseating numbers
That's wonderful baron. I was looking at that nice 5.50 ERA.
Well, Marquis is making the decision on Lou a lot easier to replace him.
This guy does suck. Bring back Shawn Boskie!
Time to take the lead back.
It would be nice if Marquis would string together a few 1-2-3 innings!
That was a wasted golden opportunity
Shouldnt be playing in this rain right now...
9 hits in 5 innings... what is going on here?
Why is this guy still in the game?
Two very dissapointing innings..
Lets retire the side here and get Fonty, Soriano and Riot to light up their next pitcher!
2 pitches, 2 outs..
Man not like I envisioned..
Come on Riot! Dont dissapoint me!!
Matt, I am with you. A very quick inning. I wonder if tonight will be the last start for Marquis for a while.
Could he be Daryle Ward's designated runner?
We have the heart of the order coming up in the 8th...better make something happen, as I am not sure if we have very good luck against Trevor Hoffman (even if he is past his prime).
Aramis is overdue...
Every one of those fastballs that Bell throws should end up in the seats..Its just like they are sitting on tees. Man that inning was ugly...
Unless Reed "BTS" Johnson has another HR waiting for us, this game it over.
Soriano-meter up to .243, and climbing.
Guess we blame this one on Fuku...should we trade him now, too?
Great play by Derrek Lee...
Strike 3 was outside...
Regardless, the last 3 innings were wasted opps...
Their will be days like this as always..
Here is how you know Soriano is better than bench players...you were just dying for Fontenot to get a walk, or a single, or to get hit by a pitch...anything to get Soriano up to bat.
Because you knew Soriano could make something happen. Oh well. If Felix Pie was anything as good as advertised, this may have been a different story. Instead, when the middle of the lineup goes 0-for-ballgame, there is a big dropoff in the #7-8 spots.
Marquis should be beaten with a stick.
The whole momentum of the past four games was destroyed in the four run fourth. Tough loss, but tomorrow is another day.
Z, Demps, Lily, Gallagher, Marshall.
I would try that rotation out for a while. I think Gally and Marshall at least give you more of an option to win than Marquis or Lieber(as a starter).
Momentum is the next day's starting pitcher, right?
Lets to this again tomorrow and with another ending.
If a certain CF is in Chicago tomorrow, it could make for an interesting day.
BTW, Jason completely agree on Soriano. I've always been a Soriano apologist and he is already starting to rebound quickly and show his incredible worth to this team.
Ugh...when you throw a sinking fastball down the middle of the plate to five different guys, the sinking part isn't going to matter at all, because in the end, it's a FASTBALL DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE PLATE. And yet, Marquis didn't seem to realize that. He threw the same pitch to three consecutive guys resulting in two hits and a 3 run homer, got a rookie out with an out-of-the-zone pitch that got a bad swing, then proceeded to throw it to two more guys in a row leading to another hit and an RBI double. That right there is just borderline retarded.
The worst part of this is that we lost to Estes. The worst part of this tommorow is that people will actually use this as a reason to go get Jim Edmonds.
Also, for the record, Jim Edmonds is in Chicago, mostly because he expects to be signed tommorow or the day after too.
Marquis is so worthless it's not even funny. I still hold fast to the idea Marshall should be in his spot, and Gallagher in the 4 spot. At least Gallagher will get another shot....but Marshall should've been given a shot.
Look, as I've said before, he's had supposedly three of the best pitching coaches alive not be able to turn him around----obviously he's gotta go, or be relegated to mop up duty in the pen. It's getting ridiculous. He's spotted a 3-0 lead, coming off some great wins for us, atop the division, then he blows it so fast, it was unreal. I went to get a soda, and I come back, and see he dropped a 4 spot on the board. WOW!!!! And if you look who he gave up the hits/runs to, it was the likes of Gerut (released by who knows how many teams, including us), Scott Hairston (also a quad-A type player), the anemic hitting Khalil Greene, and even the pitcher Estes.
It's one thing to give up home runs and big hits to Adrian Gonzalez, Brian Giles, etc. But when you give up big hits to keep innings going like to the pitcher, an unheard of catcher hitting a buck fifty, and the unknown brother of Adrian Gonzalez, you SHOULD be put on notice.
He has NO business being in this rotation. Any (yes, any) of our minor league starting pitchers should be given a shot until we find one that sticks. Surely, even based on novelty (teams never having seen them before), they should have better results that Marquis.
At this rate, with his woeful start, when he usually starts strong, we're probably looking at a 7-16 record if we're lucky, with a 5.50-6.30 ERA thereabouts after he tails off as usual in the second half.
As I've said before, when your old teammates turn on you as St. Louis did after he left, and one of the best hitters in the game (Pujols) basically says he's garbage, I'd definitely take notice. But obviously Hendry didn't get the memo, and Rothschild likes to think he can take a re-clamation project and turn him around like a Mazzone or Duncan, but he is NEITHER, and the Marquis experiment should be scrapped before he kills more winning streaks.
By the way, his wins in the past were largely inflated by very good offensive teams, which is precisely what Pujols was referring to about Marquis. He was on two perennial playoff contenders (Braves and Cards), and then the Cubs last year. It's no surprise he had a lot of wins, because he had offense behind him to cover his ass for his 4.50-6.00 ERA's.
Does Marquis have the "stuff" to make a good reliever?
Worth a shot. I always thought he'd make a good closer/set up guy.
Aaron, I think a lot depends on if and how Gallagher pitches on Friday. But Piniella did not sound very happy after the game when asked about Marquis.
Again good points....
Matt, I do not think Marquis could cut it as a reliever. Not mentally tough enough.
He has made only 1 appearance in relief since 2003....and that was in the last series of the season last year against the Reds. He was rocked.
In 2003 he pitched 19 games in relief and picked up a save. I looked at his game log from 2003 and he appeared to get better as the season went on. For example, his ERA on July 28th of 2003 was 7.13. On August 29th it was 5.97 and he finished the year with a 5.53 ERA. And as you know it is hard for a reliever to drop his ERA.
You might be onto something....