Game Ninety-Nine - Cubs 0 Diamondbacks 2
WP - Randy Johnson (7-7) LP - Rich Harden (5-2, 0-1) Save - Chad Qualls (2)
For the 13th time in his career Randy Johnson dominated the Chicago Cubs and if Monday night was indeed the last time they faced the Big Unit, he made a statement. The Cubs managed only 3 base runners against Johnson....a single by Jim Edmonds, a swinging bunt by Reed Johnson and a walk by Reed Johnson in the 6th inning. The Cubs hit the ball hard all night and had nothing to show for it, except for a loss. Chris Young caught several balls in the gaps and Conor Jackson made a couple of catches on the warning track in left. Johnson struck out 4 in 7 solid innings but was not as good as Rich Harden.
The Cubs inability to hit Randy Johnson cost Rich Harden a win. Harden's record as a Cub should be 2-0 and he actually outpitched the future Hall of Famer. Harden was perfect through the first 4 innings. He struck out 5 of the first 9 batters he faced and did not allow his first base runner until the 5th inning....a walk by Chad Tracy.
The Diamondbacks first and only hit off Harden came in the 6th inning....the one mistake Harden made in 7 brilliant innings. Alex Romero hit his first career home run just over the wall in right on a 1-2 pitch and that was all the Diamondbacks' staff would need. Harden struck out 10 and walked two on 112 pitches.
Arizona's other run came after Bobby Howry walked Chris Snyder to start the 9th. Snyder scored on a 2-out double to right by Stephen Drew.
The Cubs put the leadoff hitters on in the 8th and 9th innings. Daryle Ward grounded into a 3-6-1 double play to end the 8th and with the tying runs on in the 9th and no outs....Derrek Lee grounded into his 20th double play of the season and Aramis Ramirez grounded out to end the game.
The Cubs' losing ways in Arizona continued. They are now 13-26 all-time at Chase Field....and with the loss, Lou Piniella's crew dropped to 21-29 on the road this season.
Rich Harden became the first pitcher since 1900 to strikeout 10 or more batters in his first two starts for the Chicago Cubs (hat tip to Pat Hughes for the stat) with his second dominating performance in as many games. Harden has allowed 1 run on 6 hits with 5 walks and 20 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings in his first two outings for the Cubs.
The Cubs donned their blue uniforms usually reserved for starts made by Carlos Zambrano and simply could not buy a hit. Mark Reynolds robbed Ryan Theriot of a double (Theriot's career high hitting streak came to an end at 13) to start the game and set the tone for the entire evening. Chris Young made several good catches that appeared to be doubles when they left the bat. Young covered a lot of ground in center and Conor Jackson caught everything hit his way as well. The Cubs offense kept trying to elevate the ball against Randy Johnson, and all they ended up with was long outs.
Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto were 0-for-11 with 2 strikeouts on the night and Ramirez is 0-for-the-second-half (hitless in his last 17 at bats since the break). It is hard to win games when the middle of the lineup is not producing.
Monday's loss might cause Lou Piniella to shake things up a little. They wasted Ted Lilly's gem on Friday and Harden's on Monday, the Cubs are 1-3 in their last 4 games and have not hit consistently in the last three weeks....and not on the road the entire season.
The Cubs will try to get back on track and put a couple of crooked numbers on the board on Tuesday. Jason Marquis is scheduled to face Yusmeiro Petit.
I was at the game tonight...couple of notes:
Harden is an absolute stud, and the best pitcher the Cubs have right now...period. Zambrano may be more valuable due to his ability to stay healthy, but Harden is the Cubs version of Roy Oswalt (when Roy was at his best).
The Cubs lack leadership on offense, and on the road. People that are born leaders find the strength within themselves, and are not dependent on external factors.
The Cubs are just the opposite, thriving in the comforts of home, and in front of the warm and supporting crowds of Wrigley. Get them on the road, and they seem in a daze, they seem rushed at the plate, and there is a general sense that they almost don't want to be out there.
This can't all be solved by the return of Alfonso Soriano, but it will certainly help. If Soriano can get hot, it could/should be infectious, and simultaneously relieve some pressure off Lee and Ramirez.
On the plus side, I believe in the law of averages, and Aramis Ramirez has proven to be better than a .280 hitter as a Cub. That means he should hit better than .290-.300 the rest of the way, to get his average up closer to his norm. I would say the same about Lee. Even though he is hitting .300, it certainly seems like he is the worst .300 hitter in baseball, as everytime you look up, he has another gidp.
Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez, when all healthy, will carry this team. Surrounded by a good cast of Fukudome and Soto, that is enough to win pretty much every game Harden pitches.
I am starting to buy into Dempster...maybe he really just has sharpened his craft, and the combination of good stuff and experience has made him a top MLB starter. As a co-#3 with Lilly, the Cubs have a great 4-man rotation, and pitching is still the key to the playoffs.
If Harden stays healthy, we are October-bound.
As far as I remember, we went into a lull about this time last year as well, but tore the ball in late August and September, which supports Jason B.'s argument of the law of averages.
I too believe in this law of averages..
And I believe we've got a good bunch of players. But something needs to change.
Soriano, like I said yesterday, will help things. I wonder if he'll be activated before tomorrow's game to help genenrate that change.
Our small guys are playing their roles. Our superstarts have to be superstars..
I've never been one to claim baseball intelligence, at least in terms of mechanics of a baseball swing. That said, and I will ask for confirmation from those here who are more savvy than me, can't hitters take a mental approach to at-bats which says "I will not roll over on my swings, I will look to slap a ball oppo, or just try to bloop something over the infielder's heads" or something along those lines? It seems as if DLee just doesn't take that approach in big, clutch situations. Daryl Ward isn't getting it done, and is a very expensive PH, in my opinion.
I know, it's only one game, we've got plenty more, blah blah blah. Guys, 20 DP's at just over the halfway point is RIDICULOUS.
Aramis being O-fer the second half is appalling.
Man, we really need a shot in the arm. I just hate seeing performances from guys like Harden and even Lilly just being wasted.
I'm with you Scott on the agony of wasted, great pitching performances. My unprofessional take on hitting says that you don't coach for the bloop, but you can coach the hitter to stay back longer on his swing. That split second delay gets you a better look at the ball and the tendency to hit to the opposite field. That's what right handed hitters do when they "hit behind" runners on first or second to have a better chance of advancing the runners. It's the opposite with left handed hitters who try to attack and pull the ball to the right side and advance runners. Lee is attacking and topping the ball in his quest for doubles or more with too many groundballs to the left side.
As we know, the psyche's of stars are damn near impossible to understand a lot of the time. I'm hoping that Lee and Rameriz have been trying too hard in the abscence of Soriano or hot streaks by guys like Soto and Edmonds--and that a single or double to the opposite field (or anywhere) will be more compelling when Soriano returns. Hopefully, they have been hurting the team too often because of a mindset that "it's all up to me and I've got to pull it for extra bases." The fact is that a lot of home runs get hit when the batter isn't trying for one--so the power of Lee and Aram may improve too with a less aggressive approach.
I think Lou (and the team) knows that the last 60 games go pretty quickly and patience is no longer a virtue. So the leashes for important role players like Ward, Howry and Eyre will be very short. Hoffpauir seems to be a suitable replacement for Ward and Chadin for Howry. Maybe Marshall and Cotts are capable of stepping up. I look for JH to add another reliever too. We'll have to live with our stars--for better or worse.
As someone who's expectations for the season were that the Cubs would finish better than they did last year, but still miss the playoffs, I'm getting a little pissed because it looks like my expectations are going to be met. In 2 starts, Rich Harden has given up just one run and struck out 20...and he's 0-1. That may be just two games, but it tells a big story about where this team has holes. I still stand in my "Howry needs to go" stance that I've had since last year, but we won't get anything for him. And Ward, being a role player off the bench and nothing more, will net us less than Howry. Yet, most of the problems could be solved in house, and they're not. Wuertz needs to stay down, but at the same time Kevin Hart is damaged goods and needs to be traded before he becomes another Rich Hill or Carlos Marmol. Speaking of Marmol, he needs to just shut out everything Larry's telling him about anything. And speaking of Larry, he just needs to go. He ruined Rich Hill, he's ruining Carlos Marmol, he will ruin Angel Guzman when he comes back, and Jeff Smardzja (sp?) will have his future dampened if he even touches him.
It is kind of ironic, though, seeing as how I expect them to finish better than last year but miss the playoffs (like 2004), yet the way they're playing is reminiscent of the Astros from 2004 (where they can't help out Harden for anything, much like the Astros couldn't do anything for Clemens).