Game Twenty-Six: Cubs (14-11) vs. Giants (12-12)
Game Time - 1:20pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Sean Marshall (0-1, 3.32/1.32) vs. Tim Lincecum (2-1, 3.16/1.28)
After winning four of the first five on the current homestand, the Cubs receive a tall task today...figuring out how to beat the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum. And it appears they will have to beat 'The Freak' with a B-Team lineup behind Sean Marshall.
Following Monday night's win, Lou Piniella said several of his regulars would receive the day off. Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol will not be available and Koyie Hill will start behind the plate. Geovany Soto caught all nine innings Monday night and Hill was Sean Marshall's battery mate in his last start. Piniella said they were not conceding anything to Tim Lincecum and the Giants but they are in the middle of a 20-game stretch (today is game 15) and they open a five-game road trip on Wednesday night in Houston.
Ryan Theriot could also receive the day off which might open the door for Bobby Scales to make his Major League debut.
Winning teams receive contributions from their entire roster...and today will be a chance for several players to step up.
A quick show reminder...The CCO Radio will air live tonight at 7:00pm C.T. following the Cubs final game of the homestand against the Giants on Blog Talk Radio. To listen to the 60-minute call-in show live, click on this link and go to Blog Talk Radio. The podcast of the show will be available around 9:00pm C.T. and can be accessed through the player on the right side of the CCO or through Blog Talk Radio.
Discuss the Cubs-Giants game and everything Cubs with Brian and Neil. The call-in number to talk Cubs with Brian and Neil live is 347-237-4020.
Sean Marshall put together arguably the best outing of his career in his last start. Marshall held the Marlins to one run in seven innings and left with a 2-1 lead. Marshall out pitched one of the best young arms and must do it again once today.
The Cubs' second lefty has allowed only seven earned runs this season in three starts (18 innings) with five walks and 15 strikeouts. Lou Piniella needs another similar performance today...
Sean Marshall has two no decisions in his two starts at Wrigley this season with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP...in his career against the Giants, 1-2 in four games, three starts, with a 7.79 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.
Marshall picked up a win in relief against the Giants last season at Wrigley. Marshall pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and turned a bad day for the bullpen into a Cubs' win on the day Rich Harden made his Cubs' debut.
- Rich Aurilia - 0-for-3
- Bengie Molina - 1-for-4
- Edgar Renteria - 2-for-8 with a walk
- Aaron Rowand - 0-for-3
- Randy Winn - 3-for-7 with 2 walks
After a rough start to the season, Tim Lincecum has been lights out in his last three starts. Lincecum gave up three runs on four hits in three innings in his first start against the Brewers, then surrendered four runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings to the Padres...after that, well not much.
Lincecum is coming off a win against the dangerous Dodgers and he surrendered just three runs on six hits in seven innings...the Giants won, 7-4.
The most impressive stat the last three starts for Lincecum...33 strikeouts and four walks in 23 innings.
Today will be Lincecum's fifth career start against the Cubs. He is 2-1 in his first four with a 2.54 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP...the Freak has struck out 32 Cubs in 28 1/3 innings while walking only eight. Last season Lincecum beat the Cubs and Ryan Dempster in the last game before the All-Star break at Wrigley...and for the 2008 season, 2-0 in two starts with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP (four runs on 13 hits in 14 innings with two walks and 17 strikeouts).
- Mike Fontenot - 1-for-7 with 5 strikeouts
- Kosuke Fukudome - 1-for-4 with 2 strikeouts
- Joey Gathright - 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts
- Koyie Hill - 1-for-2 with a home run
- Reed Johnson - 1-for-5 with a double and 2 strikeouts
- Derrek Lee - 5-for-13 with a double, a walk and 3 strikeouts
- Aaron Miles - 0-for-5 with 2 strikeouts
- Aramis Ramirez - 1-for-13 with 4 strikeouts
- Alfonso Soriano - 1-for-3 with a strikeout
- Geovany Soto - 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts
- Ryan Theriot - 3-for-14 with a double
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
HUGE congrats to Bobby, although tough gig making your 31 year old MLB debut against the reigning Cy Young award winner. Big props to this team and the way they have bounced back and actually are showing life. I have to credit Therio for that...Seems he may have sparked this team with one (errr 3 swings) swing of the lumbah. Go Cubs Go!!!!
I second the congrats to Bobby Scales. It's great when you hear about those feel-good stories.
I'm wondering what the lineup will look like today;
Soriano-LF
Fontenot-2B
Fukudome-CF
ARAM-3B
Bradley-RF
Hoffpauir-1B
Hill-C
Scales-SS
That might be the lineup we see today, assuming Theriot gets the day off.
I think the 3 guys I'd most assume would be in the lineup tonight would be: Fukudome (because of recent time off), Bradley (b/c of injury time off), and ARAM (because of injury time off). Those guys don't need a rest at this point. Obviously, guys like Hoffpauir, Scales, and Hill will be in the lineup with others needing rest, because they haven't played much lately.
Anyway, here's to beating Lincecum around like Kevin Gregg gets beat around. LOL
Today's lineup:
Gathright - CF
Miles - SS
Fukudome - RF
Lee - 1B
Hoffpauir - LF
Fontenot - 3B
Scales - 2B
Hill - C
Marshall - P
I understand players need rest....but why in the world rest half the team on the same day?? Especially against a top notch pitcher like Lincecum...just stupid. Why didnt we just forfeit and rest everyone then?
Is this Lou's way of saying we have no chance to beat Henry Rowengartner so why not play the C Team?
IMHO; If Gathright doesn't put any more lumber on the ball today. Fox should and will be up tommorow.
Here's to small ball!!!
Agreed!
Scales is a former Mobile Baybear while in the Padres organization!
Cool! XD
wow....that's really not smart by Lou. This could send a bad message to the team, right? It's like, "well, we're facing an ace pitcher, and none of you know how to get the job done against him, so we're just going to mail it in with our C lineup"
Gathright?! You gotta be kidding me. Dude is going to look like a Little Leaguer against Lincecum. I hope he learns how to use his speed and bunt his way on, because that's his only chance against him. I'm also shocked as hell to see mini-me at SS. Get real...it would've been better to put Scales there instead. At least he's taller and can snare line drives.
After 14 straight games we had to rest em at some point, right?
Would you rather rest starters against a meatball?
I feel sorry for Marshall. Not much punch in this lineup. Gathright? Miles? Scales and Hill? Put them in one at a time, but don't eviscerate the entire lineup at once!
Imagine how Lincecum feels day in day out..
It is a day game after a night game. I am okay with the move. Hopefully we can steal one and keep the streak alive!!
Well that didn't take too long....
well...game over....at least we won 4 in a row...so that's a good sign.
We can't score 3 against Lincecum, so we have to hope to knock him out I guess
there goes the season.. it's obvious that there's no possible chance to even have a chance at this game against the immortal greatness of tim lincecum.. then after this game is over, the cubs will inevitably fall back into their old can't-get-a-clutch-hit-ways for a while.. they might have one more short winning streak in them around mid-july, but by that time it will be too late.. ;(
A 3-run hole in the first.
I still think ARAM gets the bunt, and gets the "dive" that Fontenot attempted, and we would've been out of the inning, but I digress
And in the process, Aramis would strain his calf on the bunt.
I can be rediculously negative too.
Here's to hoping the bench guys have a chip on their shoulder for being "Bench guys"..
Aaron Miles is incredibly sucky.
The real mismatch in not the bench verses Lincecom, but Marshall verses Lincecom.
I will be the happiest man when we can quit running Aaron Miles out there every day. I don't know how Hendry figured he'd be a good signing, considering he could've had Orlando Hudson for the same salary....LOL
Hoff JUST got under that one.
Damn, haha
Hoffpauir just missed one
Welcome to the show, "kid".
why is gathright even in here??? it's obvious that he can't handle the pressure in this city and he will never.. i repeat NEVER get another hit in the majors again.. DFA! DFA! DFA! come on fans help me out.. DFA! DFA! DFA!
WAY TO GO BOBBY!!!! First big league hit
Kudos, Bobby.
Cool move by the fan, too.
Welcome to the Major, Bobby!
Sean Marshall with a RBI?!?!?
Sean just made this a legit ballgame.
He should ask for that ball too! He just hit the CY Young! Haha!
Somebody is making the most of the opportunity
man, I couldn't be happier for Scales...that's tremendous, not to mention I'm a sucker for Rudy-esque stories. He makes decent contact, has a good glove, and runs well. Aaron Miles, you are on the clock...well, realistically it's probably Gathright
What's up fellas,
Congrats to bobby Scales on his first ML hit!
Now, time to get Marshal his first win of the year!
Wow, I take back my slight of Sean Marshall. He was every bit as good as Lincecum was today. And Like Aaron said, if Fontenot had made a couple of plays in the first, maybe this game would have a different score.
Neil,
What do you think? They send Scales down for one day, and bring in the new starter for one day, and then call Scales right back up?
Aaron is right, can do that. Once a player is sent down, must remain there for 10 days unless there is an injury
Marshall did his job today.
I say,
1) The Shark needs to get the hell out of this inning
2) They send Gathright down to make room for Wells and keep Scales 'till Z gets back, then Wells gets sent back down 'till someone else gets injured...
Scales needs to stay.
You may be right, Mike. If so, that explains the Gathright start--give them a reason to ship him out, if you need any more reason than we have already seen. lol
6-2. Whatever.
Can't do that, you must remain in the minors for 10 days I believe, unless there's an injury.
What an ugly start for the Shark...hitting a batter, though I hate Molina...still
are you replying to me or ripsnorter?
ripsnorter
wow, that's two straight starts by Marshall that were wasted, and the pen has ruined them both...should've been 2-0 in that stretch
you could see Marshall just shaking his head...and you could even call it too, when Len said, "that's 0-20 for Rowand", and you just knew that he was going to smack one against the erratic Samardzija
I told you guys that I am very worried about or bullpen, I think that Shark will be better as a starter and need to go back to the minor leagues and we bring up Kevin Hart.
Forget Hart. He's even worse than Cotts right now. There are other options: Fox may get a shot. He's got MLB experience.
wow...Samardzija sucks....should've been replaced after the hit batter and Rowand's long fly
the shark has looked terrible in all of his outings send him down
I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen.
He has options.
Ronald...I agree, but Hart sucks too right now, and I don't know what happened, because he honestly had similar stuff to Jake Peavy...a nice cutter, good velocity, tight slider, and was working on a split. He just fell apart last year, and has continued falling this year.
I like Ascanio more as a starter, so he's ruled out. Wells doesn't throw hard enough, as Lou likes power arms, and Wells might be better suited for the rotation at this point. Stevens proved that he couldn't handle big league hitters in Spring Training, so he's probably ruled out. As for Waddell, I'd probably rather have him in than Cotts. But here's the thing....Marmol has been really wild. Gregg has been ineffective and pretty much every out is a screamer. Honestly, the least erratic of all our relievers (can't believe I'd ever say this)---has got to be Heilman or Guzman. Patton, Cotts, and Samardzija probably do not belong in the majors right now with their inconsistencies
Despite the results of the today's game, the Cubs did look a lot better in May than they have in April. Let's get the mojo flowing and keep at it!!
Though needing two grand slams for two of those wins is a little worriesome...my hope has been restored!
Would you prefer two 3 RBI triples?
A win is a win. =)
right down the pipe at 95-96, and Lee can't even so much as foul it off....he has no bat speed left in him...it's a shame
Lee fans in the clutch. Again.
Guzman has real potential. As the year moves on, his role is going to increase. He may be Mr. 7th Inning shutdown guy by All-Star break.
Gregg has looked so poor . . . maybe even Guzman, if he can find a consistent strike zone, could close before Sept. The guy has the best stuff this side of Marmol.
I get why Pinella rested a bunch of players today but why do in when we are on a winning streak?
Maybe the pitching matchup had something to do with it but I think you ride out a winning streak and maybe do this when you finally lose.
candidates for DFA/option:
Cotts-don't even need to explain
Samardzija- wild, inconsistent, too many inherited runners scored, and has options
Patton-inconsistent, walks too many and goes to 3 ball counts all too often
Gathright-for a guy that's all run and no hit, he sure doesn't seem to have the aptitude to run does he?
Bradley-...LOL...j/k, but I wish, man he's terrible
Miles- (see above)...like Bradley, no chance given his contract, but if we can swallow Gaudin at $2 million and Vizcaino at $4 million, then we sure as hell better be able to swallow another bad contract delivered by Hendry
i would also add:
soto - strikes out way too much and when he finally does hit the ball it's into a double play
johnson - terrible offensively.. a medicore player at best that will NEVER come through with a hit when the cubs need it
lee - *see above* will have occasional glimmers of promise but is all downhill from here in his career
soriano - okay offensively but awful def.. the results we see from soriano are not worth the $17million a year
fontenot - can he even touch the ball when facing a lefty?
zambrano - $18million?? are you kidding me?
we can do better than this.. cubs fans unite with 1 voice! DFA! DFA! DFA!
I agree with all those DFA's, Aaron, except on Samardzija, I would keep him down until it becomes clear we need a starter. Not every starting pitcher is great out of the pen. Kerry Wood was a freak of nature. If you want an example of what happens when you make a starter a reliever, look at Nate Robertson in Detroit: completely mediocre in his role as long relief.
The Shark will be a great player, but he needs to start. You can't expect lightning in a bottle twice: especially when you're already expecting that with Miles.
And also, today the effort was there on the field, but not in the dugout. Lou is to blame for this one.
did pinella expect a win with that lineup today aganist lincencum and our 5th starter (no hates against marshall) i mean come on at least till we face a pitcher we know we can hit
i would also DFA piniella
While we're at it.
Lets DFA
Kosuke, Reed, Aramis, Koyie, Carlos, Ted, Harden, Trammmel, Perry, Bat Boy, Pink Hat Fan and Al Yellon.
all good DFA picks.. but you forgot:
-heilman
-marmol
-pat hughes
-jim hendry
-ronnie woo woo
so after we clean up this team, my ideal lineup would ultimately consist of:
sean marshall pitching
ryan theriot fielding
=)
118 wins.
I called it first!
you're getting carried away guys, and I know you were poking fun, but you've taken it to a ridiculous level.
Those were all legit DFA's/options that I included....I personally added Bradley and Miles, simply because I think we dramatically overpaid for both of them given their histories. With Miles we could've easily found an internal candidate in Scales at 1/4 of what Miles makes. Additionally, with Gathright, we could've had Pie, who made exactly 1/2 of what Gathright is making this year. Understand what I mean? Hendry floats money out there, seemingly not even thinking about historical stats, etc. when making those decisions. Marquis, Bradley, Gregg, Vizcaino, Miles, Dempster, etc. were all given big contracts when there might've been equal, if not better replacements for them within our own system, or others that we could've signed for less on the open market, but Hendry miscalculated it so badly and he's left us in a bind, yet again with immovable contracts.
Aaron:
True that on Miles. I actually prefered Andres Blanco over Scales, but I would be fine wuth Scales. Gathright, should have been signed to a minor league deal. He's a little faster than Pie, he has no power and Pie is his superior on defense.
Gregg is a mediocre arm could been signed as a FA after the Marlins deied him arbitration.
Okay, the DFA talk is getting a tad bit annoying. The team did not win, but at least they put forth an actual EFFORT to win the game. The three guys Aaron said we should DFA are all deserving of that: Cotts, Patton, and Gathright have drastically underperformed at doing their jobs this season.
And I do not believe Samardzija should be in the pen: starters are good at starting and relievers are good at relief. I know Lou and Jim are trying to catch lightning in a bottle as many times as possible after Wood excelled in his converting from starter to closer, but that's just not feasible. Samardzija should still be in the minors until Marshall shows he can't do his job anymore, and a reliever should be up in the majors in his place.
This team is doing well, but still not great: they absolutely need to make some sort of move to get back into serious contention.
I agree Boseph....but what type of move?
Do you see that Hendry has completely handcuffed the team so badly that we can't do much to improve it?
What is he going to do? The weakest links on the team right now are Lee (13 million), Bradley (10 million), Miles (2 million), Soto (400k), Gathright (800k), Samardzija (2 million), Cotts (1 million) and Gregg (4 million). That's essentially $32 million worth of dead weight contracts. You know Lee, Bradley, and Gregg will continually be thrown out there based on contract size.
Soto has no options, neither does Gathright. In fact, the only players with options right now on the team are Hoffpauir, Scales, and Samardzija. So, if you're looking for help via the minors, it ain't happening. Hendry and Piniella would have to be mentally incompetent if they option Hoffpauir, our only legitimate power threat off the bench.
My prediction is unless it gets really bad this season and we hit a free-fall, the Cubs will not eat any more contracts this year. I bet they wish for a mulligan with Bradley and Miles. Were they out of their minds to think he'd come even close to his production last year?!? There's no track record whatsoever.
Look, as I see it right now, we can only count on Soriano, Theriot, and Fontenot to produce out of our lineup....that's a scary thought considering one's a free-swinger, and the other is playing with hurt legs. There's not much they can do to improve the team unfortunately
I'm not worried about Lee, and Soto should at least pickup some of his productivity from last year. If anything, Bradley is easily sit-able for Hoffpauir. A trade for a bat or a pitcher would be a good move, but even signing Jim Edmonds to help man center again could prove to be a worthwhile signing.