Game One Hundred Thirty-Eight: Cubs (85-52) vs. Astros (71-66)
Game Time - 3:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: WGN - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 174, 185
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Jason Marquis (9-7, 4.52/1.40) vs. Roy Oswalt (12-9, 4.11/1.31)
Happy Labor Day and welcome to the start of the last month of the 2008 season on the unofficial last day of summer. It is here, the stretch run and the Cubs are in full control of the remainder of the season. While the Brewers are breathing down their neck and only 4 1/2 games back, the Cubs goals must be to stay healthy and win games. They do not need help....they hold their fate in their own hands.
The Cubs begin a very difficult final month today. Not only are 16 of the final 22 on the road but 22 of the final 25 games are against teams with a winning record. The Cubs play six against the Astros, six against the Brewers, six against the Cardinals, three against the Reds and four against the Mets to start the last road trip of the season.
The Cubs have to put the last two games behind them today and start the month with a win....as well as keep another streak alive. The Cubs have not lost three in a row at Wrigley this season. It will take a good outing today from Jason Marquis against a red-hot Astros' offense and it will require more from the Cubs offense than singles against Roy Oswalt.
The Astros are coming off a better month than the Cubs (Astros were 21-9 in August, Cubs 20-8) in large part due to the career month turned in by Ty Wigginton. Carlos Lee is out for the remainder of the season and Wigginton has more than stepped in his spot in left field. Wigginton has produced and he has helped the Astros remain in the race. While the Astros enter play today 14 games back of the Cubs and 9 1/2 back of the Brewers for the NL Wild Card, their 71-66 record would put them in first place in the NL West....a division they called home for many years.
The next three games are very important for the Cubs and it figures be a difficult series. The Astros are playing with a lot of confidence and facing the likes of Roy Oswalt, Brandon Backe and Randy Wolf will not be an easy task for the Cubs offense. The Cubs have only nine home games this month and six after this series (three against the Brewers and Cardinals from September 16-21) and they must take care of business at home, winning each series is a must....and a sweep would be a positive way to begin.
The Cubs announced Carlos Zambrano would start on Tuesday against Brandon Backe with Ryan Dempster taking the mound in the finale on Wednesday versus Randy Wolf. Rich Harden has been pushed back to the opener in St. Louis on September 9th which would likely give Sean Marshall another turn in the rotation this weekend in Cincinnati....Ted Lilly is slated to pitch the opener in the Queen City. Zambrano will receive two extra days and Dempster would receive an extra day of rest as well. Harden, on the other hand, will receive 10 days in between starts.
The Cubs have reached the time of the year that it is imperative their big bats step up and lead the team. While the production from the bottom of the lineup has been more than welcomed....Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Jim Edmonds and Kosuke Fukudome must start doing their job at the plate and that is driving in runs. They do not have to hit the long ball, just do their job....especially with runners on third with less than two outs.
The Cubs will receive a boost with the September call-ups. Angel Guzman, Jon Lieber and Michael Wuertz will be in the pen while Micah Hoffpauir, Casey McGehee and Koyie Hill will help off the bench. Chad Gaudin has been unavailable for the last two days with a sore back and if Jason Marquis struggles today at least Piniella will have a reliable arm in Jon Lieber to turn to.
Jason Marquis is coming off one of his best outings of the season but unfortunately it was against a Pirates' team that apparently has decided to mail in the remainder of their season. Marquis has won three of his last four starts, including a victory against the Astros on August 6th at Wrigley.
Marquis was not sharp early on and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 6 1/3 innings but the Cubs' offense scored 11 runs off of Brandon Backe.
Marquis is 3-1 in his last 5 starts with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP....for the season against the Astros, 1-0 in 2 starts with a 6.17 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Most of the damage off of Marquis was done by Carlos Lee (3-for-6 with a double, 2 home runs and 5 RBI's) and Ty Wigginton (4-for-5 with a double). With Lee out of the lineup, Marquis most focus on throwing strikes and not issuing any free passes. The Astros have found a very suitable fill in for Lee in left field, Ty Wigginton. The probable National League player of the month for August finished with an unbelievable line:
.379/.395/.806/1.200 - 6 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 26 RBI's
- Lance Berkman - 20-for-42 with 5 doubles, a triple, a home run and 11 walks
- Geoff Blum - 4-for-18 with 2 doubles and a home run
- Michael Bourn - 1-for-3
- Darin Erstad - 1-for-7 with a double
- Mark Loretta - 4-for-19 with a double
- Kaz Matsui - 4-for-16 with a double
- Roy Oswalt - 0-for-12
- Hunter Pence - 4-for-13 with a double and a triple
- Humberto Quintero - 3-for-8 with a double
- Miguel Tejada - 0-for-2
- Ty Wigginton - 9-for-19 with a double and a triple
After a bad start to the season (7-8 in 19 starts with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP) and being pushed back for a few starts, Roy Oswalt has returned to being Roy Oswalt. The Astros' ace is 5-1 in his last 7 starts with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Oswalt, like the rest of his teammates, completed an impressive August with a 4-1 record, a complete game and a 2.51 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. It will not get any easier for the Cubs offense today.
Unlike the rest of the Astros' rotation Oswalt has pitched better outside of Minute Maid Park this season. He is 4-6 in 12 starts with a complete game, a 3.93 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.
The Cubs have missed Oswalt in their last three series and today will be only the second time this season Roy O has faced the Cubs. He lost to Chicago back on April 5th, 9-7. The Cubs scored 6 runs, 5 earned, on 10 hits with a walk and no strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
Oswalt is 11-11 in 24 career starts versus the Cubs with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP....at Wrigley, 5-5 in 12 appearances, 11 starts, with a 5.43 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.
- Henry Blanco - 0-for-5
- Ronny Cedeno - 3-for-8 with a triple
- Mark DeRosa - 10-for-20 with 4 doubles
- Jim Edmonds - 11-for-48 with a double and 2 home runs
- Mike Fontenot - 2-for-7
- Kosuke Fukudome - 1-for-3
- Koyie Hill - 1-for-2
- Reed Johnson - 1-for-4
- Derrek Lee - 15-for-46 with 4 doubles and 3 home runs
- Jason Marquis - 3-for-12 with 2 doubles
- Aramis Ramirez - 15-for-57 with 3 doubles and 3 home runs
- Alfonso Soriano - 5-for-28 with 2 home runs
- Geovany Soto - 1-for-3 with a triple
- Ryan Theriot - 1-for-5
Finally, while Lou Piniella and the Cubs are focused on winning the National League Central, their closest pursuers have other things on their mind as the final month of the season begins....
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
In looking at the rest of the way as a season, I see a 12 game first 1/2 season: 12 games against Houston, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Houston--teams that aren't going to the playoffs. To maintain momentum and cut down on the hearing of footsteps and fan heart attacks, the Blue need to go 8-4 or 7-5 at the worst. We could steal one from expectations today if Marquis beats Oswald and then Santana beats the Brewers.
The second half season includes Mil (3), SL (3), NYM (4) and Mil (3). Ten of those games are against the Mets and Brewers who could go to the playoffs. We could go 7-6 or 6-7 in those games--which makes the more winnable first 12 (of the last 25) critically important. I think Lou and the Blue will do what they have to win the Central, but I hope they do it the easy way.
Today's lineup:
Soriano - LF
Fukudome - RF
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
DeRosa - 2B
Edmonds - CF
Soto - C
Theriot - SS
Marquis - P
JimK...good analysis
BTW...does anybody know what determines whether we will play the Diamondbacks or the Mets in the Division Series?
Duas, the overall record.
The team with the best record among division winners faces the team with the worst record. However if the wild card team comes from the same division those two teams cannot face one another in the first round.
So if the post season began today. The NLDS would be the Cubs vs. the D'Backs and the Mets vs. the Brewers.
The Mets lost a 7 game lead with only 2 weeks to play in the season. The Cubs only have a 6 1/2 game lead in the wildcard. Without a club house leader, the players take their intensity queue from Lou. What message is he sending when he's resting multiple players per game, never hit and runs, rarely has them steal, and leaves struggling pitchers in too long. The attitude says "we don't need this one, we'll get em tomorrow." Well guess what, when the team chasing you is winning more games than you, then we do need these games. And Lou needs to start managing them accordingly.
As far as the players go, Ramirez hits clean-up for the top of the order and Soriano hits cleanup for the bottom. On days when they both don't hit (like they didn't last 2 games) Then 3 runs is the most I would expect the Cubs to score.
I like the way Marquis has responded having to pitch for his playoff roster's life. He could be just as important to the team, coming out of the pen.
I almost get more excited when our 5-6-7 hitters come up rather than our 1-2-3 hitters. D-Lee just doesn't show any patience up there and no longer has much power. Theriot should be in the 2 spot today instead of Fuk.
Gary, I understand your questions but who is Lou resting today you would rather have in there?
Also, the Cubs have won more game since the end of July than the Brewers.
I am concerned about Zambrano and now Harden. The offense is so streaky they need both Zambrano and Harden, along with Dempster down the stretch.
Ted Lilly will give them innings and should provide a good 4th. The additions of Jon Lieber, Angel Guzman and Michael Wuertz will give him more options....Chad Gaudin was unavailable the final two games against the Phillies which I feel really hurt on Saturday and Sunday.
Andy, you just pointed out something that must change. Soriano, Fukudome, Lee and Ramirez must produce consistently over the final month.
Life is beautiful!!!!!
The Mets come up with one in the 7th, and 3 in the 8th. They are up on the Brewers 4-2.
Wooo-hoooo!!!!!
Come on, Cubbies!!!!
I hope the Cubs are taking notes from Houston on how to play the game to win.
Oh boy, here we go, Marquis is starting to implode!!
The offense has to wake up and start driving the ball. The last extra base hit was Soriano's home run on Friday. Marquis has given up 2 runs but 24 straight singles at home is not going to cut it.
And thanks to this stupid start time, here come the shadows. Yet another excuse for the offense. At this point, I would rejoice over a hit that rolls to the wall. It would be the first in 3 days.
Jason hasn't pitched THAT bad yet.. I would be happy if Marquis went 6 1/3 and only gives up 3. The Cubs need to be able to put 4 up against this Astros team. Just need to get Oswalt out of the game..patience, patience, patience.
Trevor, yes patience is the key, and D-Lee has none!! Again, up 2-0 and he swings at the next pitch! What's wrong with taking a walk once in a while?
I would still listen to trade offers for Fukudome this winter and possibly create a nice package around Fukudome and a couple of pitching prospects or more for Matt Holliday and move him to RF.
Brewers lost....
Rob, it must be mentally taxing on Fukudome..he has to talk through a middle man with his interpreter. He is in a whole new country..pitchers have figured out how to pitch him, and its up to Kosuke to overcome it. He still has 3 years to go on his deal...plus. We have a division to win...lets worry about September and october before we worry about the winter...
on a side note...it would be really cool if the cubs could start getting some doubles and hitting balls hard.. :-D
Ben....well said.
Ben, a good GM should not only be looking to now but also to the winter and years down the road as well. Other than the first 2 months, Fukudome hasn't been that good. Yes I realize he has challenges in his adjustment to MLB, but he's not a rookie. He's been playing ball for awhile and I don't imagine this is the first time that he has had pitchers who have figured out how to pitch him. I just haven't seen much in the way of adjustments to counter that.
A possible sign Piniella should post in the clubhouse....
WILL WORK FOR AN EXTRA BASEHIT.
APPLY AT THE MANAGER'S OFFICE OR SEE THE INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATED MAN PACING UP AND DOWN THE DUGOUT.
i understand that..however...the guy was an MVP in Japan...he didnt just forget how to hit. Len and Bob just said the other day that he has reached the amount of at-bats he would have had in Japan..lots of traveling..lots of at-bats..lots of day games...entirely new country...and o yeah..just a completely different game here in the states. the guy has shown flashes of brilliance. do i wish he would figure it out and turn it on?? of course. but the guy is awesome in right. and the rest of the team, more often than not has picked him up. so lets not just give up on him and see how does down the stretch as well as next season.
Is that what this team is reduced to? Waiting for the other team's starter to leave, and hoping they can make something happen against the relievers? The Cubs better figure out how to beat good teams trying to make the playoffs, because a team in the playoffs will be even harder to beat.
thank you for making some points for me, Ben.
"the guy was an MVP in Japan" and "o yeah..just a completely different game here in the states"
-if it's so different, then why assume that his MVP success will carry over to MLB?
"the guy is awesome in right"
-defense is important, but if that's all we're getting then he's become nothing more than a platoon guy who specializes in defense we could put in later in the game as need be. we would need to find a hitter to balance that, perhaps RH even.
-to me it's not giving up, it's just looking for the better option out there that might provide more to help the team than "flashes" and more than just being "awesome" at his position
WTF did this team forget to hit?
D. Lee looks like he goes up to the plate looking for a walk. No Power what so ever.
I have figured out what's wrong with the offense...it's similar to what Zambrano is experiencing..it's called "dead bat"...
"dead bat" is evidenced by the lack of power and authority that has come from the contact that hitters have made over the past 6 games, plus the increased number of "dead bats" left on the shoulder as strike 3 has been watched. the entire triple A team needs to be called up so that the hitters can rest for a few games and get their energy and authority back.
These guys look tired....
Where did that pitch miss to Pence?
Maybe Lou should put in a couple of guys that want to play. Oswalt is on today, don't get me wrong, but there seems to be little if any energy out there.
Over their last 6 games, the Cubs have scored no more than 3 runs against any starter, and only 9 total. Yikes!
Castillo just helped....3-0 count and swings?
Gary, who did they face? I did not look back, just going from memory.
Zach Duke
Cole Hamels
Joe Blanton
Brett Myers
Jamie Moyer
Roy Oswalt
Am I right?
LET'S GO OFFENSE, LET'S GO (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)!!!
Happy labor day fellas,
How about we plate about 5 runs this inning!
Hey Nick...
Neil,
Yes, those were the starters.
Come on, let's take it to valverde!!
It's easier to stomach a loss like this when they at least bring the tying run to the plate.
We owe this guy...have I mentioned I hate him?
ugh..Fukudome and Lee...two batters I would not want to see up in this situation...let's hope they can reverse things and come through
Fukudome taking second was defensive indefference.
The Cubs' bats the past few days?
Offensive indifference.
Sums it up. Lets get back to it tomorrow.
Well, that sucked.
Let's get em tomorrow.
These guys lack energy. No hussle, mental mistakes. How are they gunna kick this into another gear?
As the old adage goes, good pitching wins every time, and the Cubs are reflecting that recently. The bats are quiet against some elite pitchers...those that know how to get the Fukodome's, Lee's and Soriano's out. We're still 4 1/2 games ahead, but lost opportunity today. And funny (or sad) how the Phils take two here, then fold to the Nats today.
Without getting overly concerned, this team is in some degree of trouble currently, and Lou needs to start managing like every day is Game 7 of the WS. Perhaps time to insert Hoffpauer at 1B, DeRosa in RF, Fontenot at 2B (or Casey McGhee) to provide some jumpstart.
While Derrick Lee is no doubt a gold glove 1B, his swing looks very tired for some time now. He's not turning on anything inside with authority. And certainly Kosuke needs a lot more tutoring from Lou and Company.
Bryan,
In case you haven't noticed, it hasn't taken an elite pitcher since about June to get Fukudome out. Any ol' pitcher can do that job.
So 1B in the offseason...Teixeira is available correct?
HRs
March-May: Lee had 13; Tex had 7
June-September 1: Lee has 5; Tex has 21
RBIs
March-May: Lee had 37; Tex had 39
June-September: Lee has only 40; Tex has 63
K's
March-May: Lee had 31; Tex had 28
June-September: Lee has 61; Tex has 53
Double Plays grounded into
Lee: 24
Tex: 13
Tex would be a potent lefty that the club could use.
Okay Rob....you have that figured out. Now what do you do with the final 2 years of Lee's contract?
Also, how many winning teams has Mark Teixeira played on? How many times has he been to the post season?
What you do with the final 2 years of Lee's contract is trade it to someone while he still has some market value, and get something of quality in return. Why is that so hard to do?
Then get a few years younger and give Hoffpauer an opportunity, or go after a switch hitting (and also younger) Texeira.
I think Derrick's best years are behind him. As Bryan mentioned, he just doesn't turn on the inside pitch anymore, and is suspect to the high inside fastball and low/away slider.
Nothing wrong with thinking (just thinking) about transitioning players that are beyond their best years...nothing wrong with that as long as you negotiate quality in return. You don't think the Yankees or RedSox would love a Lee, to name a few.
Let's hope we can right the ship tomorrow, and get back on track.
The Cubs lose 3 in the row and the GM's come out. Frustrating day, frustrating last few days. Still the best Cubs team in a very long time and as Edmonds knows, they need to catch fire at the right time, right as the playoffs are starting.
Trevor,
Love the post. I knew when I looked that the comments tonight after 3 losses in a row there would be a bunch of GM's out there trying to break up the best team in the NL.
Fuk plus our prospects for Holliday ... never gone happen. The Rox don't want Fuk or our prospects (with the possible exception of Vitters). Plus, Holliday is a free agent after '09 and will be seeking $20+ million a year ... for a guy that's made a living off of playing at Coors, I say "no thanks". Signing Tex and trading Lee ... if the Red Sox and Yanks want a 1B, they would just outbid us for Tex and not deal for Lee. Tex will get someone to overpay and we'll get two more years of solid value in Lee.