Game Seventy-Seven: Cubs (48-28) vs. Orioles (38-36)
Game Time - 7:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: WGN - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 187
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Sean Marshall (0-0, 4.15/1.73) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (3-7, 3.51/1.21)
Updated - 4:49pm C.T. - Reed Johnson to the 15-Day DL - Sean Marshall Recalled
Updated - 6:52pm C.T. - Daryle Ward Activated - Micah Hoffpauir Optioned
Lou Piniella's crew will try to keep the streak going tonight behind the first start of the season by Sean Marshall. The surprising Baltimore Orioles open their first ever 3-game series at Wrigley Field after losing two of three to the Brewers at Miller Park over the weekend. Seventy-seven games into the season, Brian Roberts will make his first appearance at the Friendly Confines after countless rumors this past winter insisted the All-Star second baseman would be traded to the Cubs....for several of the organizations top prospects, one rumor had Sean Marshall included a possible deal.
A large part of the Cubs' past will also make his first appearance at his old stomping grounds after stepping down on October 1, 2006. Andy MacPhail will reportedly address the Chicago media before tonight's game. Then there is Kevin Millar and Ryan Dempster. The former Marlins took jabs at one another through the media at the beginning of Spring Training after Dempster's prediction for the outcome of the Cubs' season. Both players will likely continue to banter back and forth throughout the series about one topic or another....but probably not the one that was discussed before the season began.
As Carlos Zambrano rehabs his very important right shoulder, it will be up to Sean Marshall to step up in his place and put his team in position to win the game....
Sean Marshall will make his first appearance with the big league club since May 7th in the lopsided loss to the Reds in Cincinnati. Marshall was sent down to Iowa to get stretched out, spent a little time on the DL and came back very strong. Marshall will make his first start of the year with the Cubs. The last time Marshall took the hill at the beginning of the game for Lou Piniella was August 31, 2007 in Houston. The Cubs lost that game but he had a very good outing his start before in Arizona. The Cubs won the game 6-2 and Marshall gave up 1 run on 2 hits in 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk.
Marshall was 7-8 in 21 games, 19 starts, last season with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. The southpaw struck out 67 and walked 35 in 103 1/3 innings.
Marshall was 1-1 in 7 starts in Triple-A with a 3.41 ERA....25 strikeouts and 6 walks in 31 2/3 innings.
Tonight will be Marshall's first career appearance against the Orioles.
Jeremy Guthrie has been very effective for the Orioles this season, despite his record and is coming off his best start of the year. Guthrie threw an 8-inning gem against the Astros in Baltimore on June 18th and allowed only 1 run on 3 hits with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk.
The Oriole right-hander was 2-3 in 6 starts in May with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP....in his last 4 starts, 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.
Guthrie is 2-4 in 8 starts away from Camden Yards with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.
Guthrie has faced the Cubs one time in his career....on June 19, 2006 as a member of the Indians in Cleveland, Guthrie gave up 4 runs on 6 hits in 2 innings of work.
- Henry Blanco - 2-for-2
- Ronny Cedeno - 1-for-1 with a double
- Mark DeRosa - 1-for-1
- Aramis Ramirez - 0-for-2
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
Update - According to a report from the Sun-Times, Reed Johnson has been placed on the 15-day DL to make room for Sean Marshall on the 25-man roster.
Update - According to a report on Cubs.com, Daryle Ward was activated from the 15-day DL and Micah Hoffpauir was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to make room on the 25-man roster for Ward.
Tonight's lineup:
Fukudome - RF
Patterson - LF
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Edmonds - CF
Soto - C
DeRosa - 2B
Theriot - SS
Marshall - P
D-Lee has to do something about grounding into so many double plays! It's getting ridiculous and he is killing our innings.
Ron Santo must be thinking what should have been as he looks at the Baltimore uniforms.
Neil:
As you informed us above that the only time that the Cubs faced Guthrie was when he was with Cleveland. I believe your recap was titled: "Hank White Rocks Cleveland." Another great title by Neil!
KOSUKE!!!!
Thanks, Jim....
http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2006/06/cubs_indians_69.php
There's the link
Marshall was great first time through....not so good after that. 4-1 and here comes Michael Wuertz.
Let's Go Offense, LET'S GO!!!!
Cubs look flat again tonight...what the hell is up with us and the AL East? Marshall was fantastic, until the second time through.
Lee looks ridiculous up there, and is nowhere close to the threat that a Pujols, Berkman, Howard, etc. is up there. He grounds into so many double plays, it's ridiculous. Look, I agree he's had a great couple of years here, but if anything, you can bet he's declining. He just doesn't have the pop that he used to. It's almost like Sosa. Remember drives that Sosa would hop to later in his tenure with us, and they'd fall just short of the track, when the previous year, they'd be on Waveland or Sheffield? Lee is the same way right now....and if you notice this year, most things he pulls are to the infield, and usually end up as a double play....anything he hits in the air is straight up the middle or to right center. Has anyone else noticed this? When he hit the 40 bombs a few years ago, he was hitting both ways with power....this year it's limited to oppo fieldand that's been about it.
Very flat, and now stupidness in the field with Patterson
I was going to write something simular to what Aaron wrote. I had a feeling that after the Sux series and a day off, there was a real chance for a let down. I am not going to say they won't win, but so far.....yuck.
Aaron, where are they pitching Lee? And you know as well as I do why the double plays are happening....
I don't even check in on the Cards any more, its the Brewers who I follow. You know, the team that has dealt the Cubs half of their home losses. They are rampaging, and after tonight I suspect they will only be 5 games back.
Neil, I agree they're jamming him inside, but a few years ago, he gets the bat around, and that ball is out of the park or a double off the wall. He also has hit some ugly lazy fly outs this year as well...Honestly, I just think we're seeing natural decline, and nothing more, nothing less....It's one of those things...will we ever know if Lee used PED's? Probably not. We'll never know for sure who was and wasn't, except those who have admitted already or been caught. Maybe his stats....maybe ARAM's, maybe Soriano's were all inflated in the past.....I mean, it's been said that PED's made good players great, and average players good, and stars into superstars (Bonds, Giambi, McGwire, etc.)Lee, ARAM, and Soriano were all good players before all this started coming out. Were they using? That's all I'm saying...basically, it's a situation where Lee is digressing at a normal rate, and a normal age, pre-PED's era.
I am sickened by the performance today, and our supposed "star" players are non-existent.
A side comment, is Soto has struggled mightily lately...but have you noticed that he's been robbed of a lot of hits lately? I certainly have seen at least 5 hits in the last week where he was robbed. When the Cubs were on a roll earlier, it seemed like as Soto went, the team went. When Lee was blowing it, grounding into double plays, ARAM would hit a double, or single, and Soto would drive him in and keep the inning alive....but he's hit into tough luck, and like I was saying, Lee has disappeared, so with Soriano out, that's a big hole to fill.
Another side comment....Why the hell would you send a .400 hitter with power to the minors, and you have a guy like Fontenot still on the team? Yes, I know Ward is back and they're basically the same player, but aren't Cedeno and Patterson redundant? What about Fontenot and Patterson?
Well, they were do for a bad game at home. Thank God it wasn't against bridgeport.
I like D.Lee a lot for everything he bring including his defence..... but he is not a 3 hole hitter... he is a sucker for low and away pitches...
I think A-Ram has earned the 3 spot. He is BY FAR the hardest out in the lineup... probably with not as much power as Lee and Soriano... but definitely a better hitter than both..
And Wuertz....
what a useless pile of horse manure he is... His stats look great because lou brings him in with runner on and guys pitching ahead get charged....
He is a horror... and you know the Cubs will lose when he comes in
EDMONDS.....
YEAHHHHH!!
EDMONDS!!!!
That error and Michael Wuertz is looking HUGE now.
Baron, I have been a Wuertz supporter over the years but his inability to get out of his own troubles are more than concerning. Kasper kept saying the runs were unearned and that is the case, but he could have buckled down and gotten out of the inning....a leadoff double, is just a leadoff double, ask Kerry Wood.
Another blankin' douple play....that is 4 tonight.
Mark De Rosa is now hitting ~ .230 in June with as many GIDP on the season as HR.....
Good thing Lou brought in the gasoline out of the pen tonight. A tie game after the Edmonds homer would have been too easy. Hey, Ward lost some weight.
Neil,
Your boy, Marshall...I am worried...how will you spin this?
Four earned runs in less than 5 innings. Not that great.
But he struck out 7!! What is up with that?
If a tall, smooth-throwing lefty, with decent control, can become a strikeout pitcher...that would be everything Rich Hill was supposed to be.
Ok...I think I just spinned it for you.
Nice job E-Pat, Come on Lee!!!
12-pitch at-bat for Kosuke. Doesn't amount to anything short-term, but hopefully it pays dividends later this inning, if Lee can keep from hitting into a GIDP.
Time for D-Lee to redeem himself!! Let's see what he can do.
by the way, I like EPat a lot, but he is too much like his brother. Let's trade him in a package for Harden while we can, and while his numbers are good.
His 1-pitch at-bat, after a 12-pitch Kosuke at-bat, is all you need to know. Not only that, just like Dusty, EPat will believe the ends justify the means, because he did get a single, and Kosuke's effort led to a forceout.
The Patterson boys will never learn, I fear.
Nice Job Ramirez!! Come on Jimmy!!
Jason...no spinning this one. Marshall was good the first time though the lineup and that was all.
Orioles got a break with that call....Patterson was safe. Roberts foot was off the bag.
WTF!!!!!????? Murton replaces Edmonds??? Come on Lou, get your head out of your a$$! Who cares about the lefty-lefty matchup, Edmonds is extremely HOT!
Come on Murton, just a base hit.
Why Murton? He hasn't had a clutch hit since 05!!!
DANG IT!
I don't want to see Murton ever again! The Cubbies has been way too patient. Stupide move by Lou... so bad.
That was a real lousy move... considering that the righty-lefty percentage difference is very minimal...
Edmonds in his current form or Murton -- UHHHH DOHHHH!!!
tough spot for Murton to come in...he has already proven he can't platoon or play off the bench well. We need to pick one guy, whether it is Murton, Hoffpauir, or EPat, to replace Soriano full-time, until he returns.
Only then will we get consistent production. Over time, platooning is going to kill any rhythm and timing these guys have.
If Murton had hit a HR, I would have traded him by morning...seriously.
Ok I want to see Murton get a chance as much as the next guy but seriously....as hot as Edmonds has been you throw the matchups out the window in that situation, just like you would for ARam or Fuk. Hollywood has been coming up BIG lately and may have provided a huge comeback lift again.
I don't criticize Big Lou that often because I think he is an amazing coach but this one left me saying....WTF Lou?
Well lets see if we have another 9th rally in us.
Horrible at bat by Cedeno
Nice at bat Cedeno. What in the hell are you swinging at??
Our last chance is Blanco? Not good.
Same for Kosuke....a rare bad at bat.
Come on Hank White.
Wow...two terrible at-bats, swinging at balls... and how we hang our hats on Blanco... I love Blanco, but... really?
Lou has definitely been making some bad decisions of late. Very disappointing tonight.
Unreal, bases loaded with none out, the pitchers struggling and we can't get a freakin run, those had to be the three worst at bats of the night.
Definition of RETARD= Cedeno and Blanco. Cedeno swings at 3 straight out of the zone, Blanco does virtually the same thing, only takes one....Fukodome even swings at two out of the zone....
All of this after the dude was wild and could NOT find the zone.
dumbest approach I've seen in a long ass time....bases loaded, none out, and 3 K's....WOW
I'm sorry but with the game on the line who do we want batting Edmonds and Patterson who have both been red hot or Matt Murton who hasn't hit an extra base hit and Henry Blanco who's a career backup defensive catcher?
Are you f34#$%# Shi#$#$ me?
Murton for Edmonds and hank white for Patterson, who's reached twice tonight....
Seriously, did i just see Hank White called up for his hitting prowess?
That is not dumb... That is a MELTDOWN of RETARDED proportions.
Let's get em tomorrow night.
At the very least we shoulda tied the game w/ the bases loaded no out..
And this is where losing Reed hurts..no right handed PH on the bench...
Hate how the dynamics of the lineup change heavily when Sori is out..he woulda been smack dab in the middle of that mess after RC stuck out..
that was pathetic...
To use the slang of today's kids...Kosuke totally got punked. Once he was spooked by that inside ball (which he should have just let hit him) he looked foolish swinging at those outside strikes. You would have thought he was facing Randy Johnson in his prime...wtf.
Blanco as your Right-handed hitter off the bench? That tells me our bench needs tweaking.
WOW, with the bases loaded and no out, its not that hard to score 2 runs without hit.
That match up hitting crap is for the birds, keep the hot hand in. Hopefully Lou learned something from tonight.
This is going to be a difficult loss to recover from.
and please lets end all discussion of subbing Cedeno for Theriot...
Cedeno has hit .225 and .167 in the last 2 months.... He got hot for a while early, but he has a brainless approach at the plate... please no more talk of this guy ... hes a straight up bum
im sick of lou taking out our hot hitters so he can get his fucking matchups edmonds has been on fire latley and he takes him out in the 8th for murton who hasnt been hitting the ball and he gets out and cedeno comes up and swings and pitches at his freakin head like have a little disipline and fukudome swong at bad pitches too and then blanco does the same the pitches they were swinging at werent strikes couldnt the batters on deck see none of those arent strikes so dont swing? if we didnt swing at those last 10 pitches we win the game god
Our pinch hiters just didn't come thru tonight.
No way should Murton pinch hit for Edmonds. EVER!
our pinch hitters havent come through at all this year whether its fontenont or murton or cedeno they bring inexperienced abs in clutch situations....ward is a solid pinch hitter but we need some veterns who can get clutch hits or that dont swing at terrible pitches
You don't win many games when you give up 7 runs. You don't get many hits off a reliever with a 93 mph fastball and a sweeping breaking ball the first time you see him. Especially a lefty reliever. If Sherrill did what he did to Dome, EPat was likely toast. I only saw the last two innings, but a review says we had a poor team outing. But we win tomorrow.
Good lord, guys. We hadn't lost at home since May 17th. We weren't going to run the table.
- Yes, Murton sucks. I hated that decision ... but Edmonds doesn't exactly hit lefties well.
- Cedeno pinch hit for the pitcher spot. Should we have let Marmol bat?
- Probably should have let Eric Patterson hit instead of Blanco ... but again, Patterson isn't exactly that experienced in the clutch or against lefties in the bigs. Sherrill's tough on lefties as we saw with Fuku.
- Difficult loss to recover from? We were down by 6 and ended up losing by only 2 with the bases loaded at the end. I think the team can come away from this game thinking it's never over...as they already knew.
C'mon guys. A little perspective here. Take two games and win the series, then head a bit south and take 2/3 there.
48-29 -- I'm pretty sure we'd have taken that mark at the start of the season. Plus, Soriano and Reed Johnson were out.
Wow. No wonder people make fun of us (fans).
Drew and Jason B.,
Couldn't agree more....what pisses me off was that move with Edmonds....Dude took Boone Logan deep the other day, which makes you think he could do so again. Murton is AWFUL....let's face it. He's like Cedeno that one year when he came up, and did nothing but hit for like 40-50 games, then was average the next full season. The problem is, the only RH bat in the minors that we have at a high level is Jason DuBois, and he's not even on the 40 man...other than that, we have Kroeger, Patterson, Colvin, Fuld, Deeds, Fontenot, Broussard, Pie, Hoffpauir....etc., etc. We honestly have no other RH outfielders worth a damn. Jake Fox's star has already fallen, DuBois' might still be flickering as he still hasn't been given a real shot, unless you call 86 games and 200 AB's a real shot...and even then, he hit 10 home runs. In Murton's one full season of 144 games, he hit 13 home runs and had 455 AB's...both about double what DuBois was given. Why not give DuBois a shot at Murton's spot....Murton is a singles hitter with no range in the OF, no arm, and little speed. I think what we need is a RH power bat to replace Murton right now, and DuBois fits that bill. His stats at Iowa right now?
25 games, 71 AB's, .282 avg, 23 runs, 20 hits, 8 hr, 18 RBI, 8 BB, 17 K's, .373 OBP, .662 SLG
Murton's stats at Iowa?
49 games 176 AB's, .313 avg 25 runs 55 hits 1 HR, 14 RBI, 28 BB, 16 K's, .413 OBP, .398 SLG
Now, I'm not a mathemetician, but it sure seems that DuBois has about doubled his production in half the AB's and games...WOW!!!!!!! To top it all off, DuBois is only 2 years older
If I were the Cubs, I'd find a way to offload Murton before he loses too much value, and if it takes longer than expected, just DFA Jake Fox, and replace him with DuBois on the roster. What do we have to lose? I don't care, 8 HR and 18 RBI in 25 games!!! I'm taking that guy on my team when I need a big bat
Show, thanks for the post. I could have not said it any better. Stay classy guys! GO CUBS!
Agree with "Show." One loss and time to second guess every move Lou makes?
Maybe not the best approaches, but when a pitcher makes Kosuke look as bad as he did, I think some credit is owed to Sherril. the guy has great stuff.
Cedeno's AB shows why he is never going to be real major league player and why the O's were smart enough to pass on him. He got Sherrill out of the jam and gave him confidence he could make it out of the inning. That was the difference in the game and perhaps might affect the team for a while. He showed no saavy and took himself and his team out of the at bat. Come on... swinging at fastballs up is one thing but out of the zone!!! A 2-1 count would have been a great count to look fastball and drive something. Lou had to use him this way...he did not have Reed Johnson who I feel would have had a productive at bat and maybe got Sherrill to cave. As soon as you can get a player that knows how to serve a role send him out. Unfortunately he has no value and can't be shipped to the minors.
Murton layed an egg too. Good job to get it to 3-2 and then he should have been sitting on a fastball and stroke it, he freezes up and hits a lazy fly ball. These guys aren't showing flashes of anything and its time to cut the losses and rotate in some fresh bodies.
jw,
that's exactly what I was thinking.....Murton and Cedeno are redundant...they both are primarily singles hitters, both had success at the end of a season, and were given the starting role the following years, then were average at best, competition was brought in for them, and they floundered....
I still think that you put the best players on your roster, regardless.....While I understand Cedeno is the only real back-up we have at SS, Fontenot has played there before too. We have Patterson, Cedeno, Theriot, Fontenot, and DeRosa up the middle as their natural positions...that's an awful lot of middle infielders on a roster...If you're going to keep Cedeno, fine, then get rid of Fontenot. If we're going for the best player, keep Hoffpauir instead of Murton, and keep Ascanio instead of Cotts.....
Yes, it's true that we can't play perfect ball all the time, and it's true that we can't win 'em all....some might say we're spoiled with winning right now, but I say those people that say that are sorely mistaken and blinded by years of losing....With all my time and money I've spent on this team, I demand excellence, and you should too....You want to see the team win, don't you? Every time we lose, we give the Brewers, Cards, or anyone else a chance to creep up on us, which we've done tonight....Though it's true we gave up 7 runs, we still GAVE this game away.
Cedeno should be benched for a long time to prove a point. That was a little league at bat right there. Winning teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and even the Cards with LaRussa----you think they'd put up with sh$T like that?!?! It doesn't f$%%ing matter how many games we're up. It's all about practice making perfect. If we can't have plate discipline now, do you think it's going to magically appear in the playoffs (assuming we even make it, which is by no stretch a given at this point)? As I've said before, when guys like Soriano are out, or Lee and ARAM are not hitting, guys have all been trying to be the hero....it's almost like after Soriano started hitting his bombs during that incredible streak, that everyone stopped playing as a team, and tried to be the hero.
I can't believe that Murton is even on this team...nor can I believe Cotts or Cedeno are still on the team. I'd much rather have Hoffpauir, Ascanio, and DuBois in their place. If you can't get it done, then we'll find someone who can (isn't that Piniella's supposed mantra?)
...I forgot to add that if Piniella can send Hill out for ineffectiveness, and send down Pie for the same reason---being that if you don't produce, we'll bench or send you out....that was the reason we went with the pointless Trachsel acquisition last year because Marshall was ineffective. It's why Marquis didn't pitch in the postseason, and why Trachsel was left off the roster entirely. Why in the world Murton is up and Hoffpauir is down is completely beyond me....I'm tired of hearing the bullsh$t about "match-ups"....if that were the case, then Patterson wouldn't be up, because he's a lefty too, isn't he?
To add to Aaron's point and also ask complete psychophants like Gramps and Show what they think when we lose to the worst AL team at home while the Cards beat the best team in baseball (Red Sox) at Fenway, and now whoop up on the Tigers??
Baltimore is a crap team that MUST be swept. 2 out of 3 over Baltimore at home is not good enough. We want a World Series team .. not all the other teams Gramps and Show have been seeing for ever.....
Anything less than World Series Success is COMPLETE failure.... Thus, we hold the team to high standards....
I have confidence Lou will figure something out but I agree...Anything less than World Series Success is COMPLETE failure
LOL, What the hell is a psychophant? All I was saying Baron is that it is just one game. Let's just give credit to the Orioles and especially Sherrill. He did the job.....we did not! I have yet to see a team go 162-0. Did you think the home streak was going to go on all year? And if you look at records, the Orioles are not the worst team in the AL. Psychophant????? LOL GO CUBS!
I agree with the high standard and I get pissed off about the same stuff you guys do, but this is baseball ... not football or basketball where generally the better team should always win. A triple-A team could beat a MLB team every once in a while. That's why they play 162, to sort things out.
By the way, saying the O's are the worst team in the AL is just plain stupid. They have a winning record. I agree that is way over their ceiling, but they are finding a way to get it done somehow. Even if they play back to expectations they are better than the Royals and Mariners.
If you don't think I hold high standards for the team and that I want anything less than a WS title you don't know me.
I could come personally after the bozos on here that keep using the offensive word "retards" or "retarded" to talk about Cubs player since I have an autistic daughter. Instead, I realize there are much better things to do with my time.
There are much better things to do than complain about one off game. Should we lose 2/3 or get swept by the O's, I'll agree. Until then, settle the hell down.
Show makes good points, and so does Gramps. The outrage expressed over last night's game was way overdone. Like Preacher Roe, who won 22 for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951 and finished 19 of them, here's the take of Teacher JimK who knows that teaching moments are not what this site is about--and that school is out for the summer. This is a teacher effort and not a preacher effort.
If you use words like sycophant, know how to spell it and expain that it means an over zealous flatterer. If all the Cubs needed was a timely single or two, what's the point of saying that Cedeno and Murton are redundant singles hitters. If your money and time spent equate to the Cubs not having an occasional alarming loss, consider quantifying how much money and time spent such an entitlement takes. If you think that coming back from a 7-1 deficit to seriously threaten in the 9th, why is that so hard a defeat to come back from.
If you imply that Dome lacks a major league plate presence, was totally punked and should have taken a 93 mph fastball aimed for his head, explain how Dome has one of the top OBP's in the league. And explain the importance of the Head Shot to Adam Greenberg's parents. If you blast the the retarded O's and Sherrill when the team has a winning record and Sherrill leads Wood in saves 26-23, explain your standards for retardation. If you credit Murton for working a count to 3-2, explain why he froze up to hit a fly ball to left.
To finish the preceding commentary for anyone who gives a red rat's butt, I suggest that having hitters (in last night's case) not get key hits is a lot less symptomatic of a team imploding than a few earlier losses where we had leads and fell all over ourselves giving them away. I think we have to remember that the best hitters do something positive (hit, advance the runner, walk, sacrifice, etc.) only about 4 times in 10 opportunities. And we have to remember that the current Cubs team, with the best record in baseball still loses 4 games in 10.
Maybe we do need a new site word for exaggerated, emotionally charged comments that sometimes lack though. That new word would be "spontan", defined as a spontaneous tantrum. Nobody liked "Musha" (Japanese for warrior) awhile back. Spontan may not be long lived either. I hope it's less called for going ahead.
Baron if you aare going to use a word to put down someone use it correctly.
Definition of psychophant
One who attempts to curry favor by flattering influential people, but does so to a psychotic, often violent degree.