Cubs Show No Signs of Life … Drop Eighth in a Row – Cubs 2 Reds 8

June 7, 2011 By 25 Comments

Game Fifty-Nine – Cubs 2 Reds 8
WP – Edinson Volquez (4-2) LP – Doug Davis (0-5) Save – None

Tuesday was another long, frustrating night for the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs lost their eighth game in a row and continue to provide little competition for the opposition. Once again, the Cubs did little to anything with runners on base, hit with no power and the pitching staff struggled throwing strikes.

Blake DeWitt led the offense for the second night in a row. DeWitt finished the game 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a RBI and a run scored. Darwin Barney recorded his 24th multi-hit game with a 3-for-4 night at the plate. Luis Montanez came off the bench and drove in the Cubs’ second run with a single in the ninth.

The Cubs hit the ball but again, not when it counted and with little to no power. Three of the Cubs 10 hits went for extra bases (three doubles) and one of those was a gift double by Aramis Ramirez. The Cubs managed only two walks, hit into three double plays and finished the game 3-for-8 with RISP with seven left on base.

The Cubs have been outscored 52-22 during the eight-game losing streak.

Doug Davis lost for the fifth time in a Cubs’ uniform. Davis lasted just 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. A misplayed ball by Aramis Ramirez started the Reds’ two-run fifth inning that put the game away.

The Reds tacked on in a big way in the seventh inning. Miguel Cairo hit the second grand slam of his career, this one a towering blast off John Grabow. Grabow struggled with his command and fell behind in the count throughout his inning of work. Cairo made him pay for his wildness. Grabow had to come in with the bases loaded and one out and Cairo hit a bomb into the upper deck at Great American Ball Park.

The Cubs have lost 11 of 13 and find themselves a season-low 13 games under .500 with a 23-36 mark on the season … Like Monday night the Cubs scored the first run of the game. Aramis Ramirez led off the second with a double to right on a rare mistake by Jay Bruce. Bruce misplayed the fly ball and Aramis slid into second with a double.

Blake DeWitt followed with a double to right center on a 3-1 pitch. Ramirez lumbered around third and scored. Tony Campana dropped down a bunt on a 2-0 pitch. The ball stopped right in front of the plate. Ramon Hernandez looked DeWitt back to second and threw out the speedy Campana at first. Campana slipped on the bag, hit the ground and appeared to be in a lot of pain. Campana stayed in the game but the failed execution cost the Cubs a run.

Geovany Soto ripped a single into right. DeJesus held DeWitt at third and did not try to score on Jay Bruce. Doug Davis dropped down a bunt. Soto advanced to second.

With runners on second and third with two outs, Kosuke Fukudome worked the Cubs first walk of the game.

Darwin Barney ended up reaching for ball four and grounded out to second (eighth pitch of the at bat) to end the inning. The Cubs missed a golden opportunity … How many times has that been said this season?

Doug Davis faced the minimum in the bottom of the second … but the Reds would finally get to him in the third.

Paul Janish led off the third with a single to left. Edinson Volquez sacrificed him to second. Drew Stubbs launched a 0-1 pitch over Blake DeWitt’s head in left. The ball hit off the wall and Janish scored easily … game tied at one.

Davis struck out Brandon Phillips swinging and retired Votto on a ground out to second.

After Volquez faced the minimum in the fourth (DeWitt single, Campana strike out and Soto grounded into a 6-4-3 double play), the Reds took the lead for good in the home half.

Jay Bruce led off the fourth with a single to right center. Jonny Gomes struck out swinging then Dusty put on the hit and run with Miguel Cairo. Cairo singled to right and Bruce advanced to third on the play.

Ramon Hernandez broke the 1-1 tie on the first pitch from Davis. Hernandez hit a deep fly to right, Bruce tagged and scored … 2-1 Reds.

Paul Janish struck out swinging to end the fourth.

The Cubs pathetic defense helped the Reds in the fifth. Edinson Volquez hit a weak grounder to the hole at short. Ramirez went to field the ball then pulled his glove back at the lat minute. He appeared to think that Castro could make a play on the ball but Ramirez’s momentum was taking him toward first …

Drew Stubbs singled to left on a 2-0 pitch and the Reds were in business. Doug Davis walked Brandon Phillips to load the bases … with no outs.

Joey Votto stepped in and put together a very good at bat that resulted in a walk. Votto’s patience forced in the Reds’ third run of the game. It is so refreshing to see a slugger that does not walk to the plate swinging.

Davis struck out Jay Bruce swinging for the first out of the inning.

Mike Quade went to the hill and brought in Rodrigo Lopez to face Jonny Gomes with the bases loaded and one out. Gomes just missed a grand slam and settled for a sac fly to right … Kosuke’s back was against the wall. Stubbs tagged and scored … 4-1 Reds.

Miguel Cairo grounded out to second to end the inning.

The game remained 4-1 until Mike Quade sent John Grabow to the hill in the seventh … and another loss went from bad to embarrassing rather quickly.

Brandon Phillips led off the seventh with a double to left. Joey Votto followed with a single to left. Phillips held at third with no outs. John Grabow then walked Jay Bruce on four pitches to load the bases.

Grabow struck out Jonny Gomes but could not get past Miguel Cairo.

Cairo launched a 1-1 pitch deep to left. The ball ended up in the second deck and Cairo trotted around the bases after hitting the second grand slam of his career. Pat Hughes speculated the ball Cairo hit off Grabow might have been the longest home run of his career. To say Cairo crushed it would be an understatement.

After seven, the Reds led 8-1.

The Cubs added a single run in the top of the ninth. Blake DeWitt led off the inning with his second double of the game. Luis Montanez put together a solid at bat and singled to center on a 3-2 pitch. DeWitt slid in under Stubbs’ throw and scored the Cubs’ second run of the game.

Geovany Soto, who looks lost at the plate, hit into his second double play of the night and D.J. LeMahieu grounded out to short to end the game.

If Mike Quade thought rock bottom for this team happened the last time they were in Cincinnati, one must wonder what he’s thinking now?

Box Score from Yahoo Sports

Ryan Dempster will face Bronson Arroyo Wednesday morning (11:35am CDT first pitch) in the finale of the series.


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  • MikeT_2008

    Man this season has 2006 written all over it, injuries, mediocre at best pitching, and a team that doesn’t even put up a fight, it’s just depressing baseball.

  • Tom U

    In other news, the Iowa Cubs had a Mike Quade bobble-head night tonight.

    Insert your comment here

    • studio179

      This makes complete sense because Quade is over his bobble-head in the bigs in Chicago. He might as well be celebrated in Iowa.

  • Anonymous47701

    Front Office Idea

    Chairman- Tom Ricketts
    Team President- AJ Preller
    Vice President/GM- Ben Cherington
    Assistant GM- Greg Maddux

    • Cheryl

      Chairman – Tom Ricketts
      Team President – TO BE DETERMINED – MAIN QUALIFICATION, BASEBALL EXPERIENCE (Maybe Brian Cushman?)
      Vice President/GM- Bob Brenley
      Assistant GM- Greg Maddux
      Manager- Ryne Sandburg (If he’d ever come back)

      • Romberg Rabbit

        Do you date Brenley…or sumthin?

  • paulcatanese

    The Cubs drafted a 300 pounder(and I am not making fun of him) I would wager that he could beat Aram in the 40 yard dash. Actually have read where the kid has lost some weight  in preparation and can hit the ball a long way. Also he sent ot a pre draft letter saying he wants 1.5 mil. Is that true?

    • Aaron

      It’s true…it was actually $1.65 million, which I think the Cubs should give him….problem is, as I mentioned earlier, this will likely drive up Baez’s asking price too.

      Vogelbach weighed 288 as recently as last year, but dropped down to 240 lbs this year, and he looks a TON better, as I saw video of him when he was still fat.

      The other 2 guys that should be getting more publicity in their draft are Hoilman and Shoulders. I posted info about both of them below, and you should definitely look at Hoilman’s previous stats…and Shoulders’ video. They’re both 1B as well.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1512275173 Matt Collins

    neil do you think that there could be a chance that they fire quade givin he has another year left on contract if they keep doing bad or is there no chance hes gone this year

    • http://chicagocubsonline.com/ Neil

      I do not see Quade being fired. It would take another change before that could happen.

    • studio179

      I am not speaking for Neil. He can answer your question. I am jumping in because I was wondering the same thing before tonight’s game. Your question is good. They are not close to any firing IMO. But Quade clearly has lost the team and we are two months into his debut. I wonder if the spiral continues, do they eventually do something. I am not basing my judgements just on wins and losses, either. It is easy to lose 8-10 in a row when the teams looks bad and say, ‘fire the manager’. There are serious happenings behind the scenes that show Quade is in way over his head. Ofcourse, losing makes it that much worse. I really do not know what they plan to do. I don’t think It has not reached the firing point. For fans, yes, management, no. They are going to have to do something soon though. Either they have a serious sit down or just plan on changes. You can not let the things that are happening to this club continue. Again, I am talking about more than just wins and losses.

  • http://chicagocubsonline.com/ Neil

    Soriano, Johnson and Baker joining Iowa Cubs for rehab stints

  • Anonymous47701

    Fire Sale idea (Somewhat Revised)

    1.Blow up 40-man roster.

    2.Fire Jim Hendry, Crane Kenney, Randy Bush, and Mike Quade.

    3.Retain Tim Wilken and Oneri Fleita.

    4.Bring Back Ryne Sandberg to be Cubs Manager.

    5.Hire AJ Preller to be Team President.

    6.Add Jody Davis to Cubs Coaching Staff; demote Ivan DeJesus.

    7.Add Koyie Hill to Bullpen Catcher.

    8.Trade Fukudome, Zambrano, DeWitt, Ramirez, Pena and Byrd.

    9.Let Wood, Davis, Rd. Lopez, Grabow, Dempster and Samardzija walk.

    10.Retain Rudy Jaramillo.

    11.Promote Greg Maddux to Assistant GM.

    12.Hire Ben Cherington as Vice President/GM.

    13.Trade or Release Reed Johnson

    14.Release Mateo, Diamond, Perez, Ortiz, Gaub, Stevens, Berg and Scales.

    15.Find a way to move Alfonso Soriano to the AL.

    16.Demote Mark Riggins to Iowa or Tennessee; Promote Dennis Llewallyn to Cubs Pitching Coach.

    • Aaron

      I agree with most of what you said, except for:

      #5-President should be someone like Gillick, but he should start off as President/GM, and bring in his own guys, as he’s done successful rebuilds before in Toronto, Baltimore, Seattle, and now Philadelphia
      #6-I say let Sandberg select his own guys. If Davis is on that list, so be it, but he’s no given
      #7-I don’t want Hill anywhere near this organization. 
      #9-let Wood and Samardzija stay (you let Samardzija stay because of injuries to top pitching prospects) and you let Wood stay because he’s cheap and he’s a good teammate
      #12-GM should be Byrnes, or perhaps Gillick as interim GM/President
      #14-I disagree with just Mateo, as I think he still has the stuff, but needs better coaching, which relates to #16

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Richard-Hood/100000706523521 Richard Hood

        I am more a fan of Jon Hart at this point than Gillick just because we have been down the road of a HOF exacutive before and it did not work out well. But I do agree that is a great place to start. The President/GM title and let him pick his people. We will be in great shape then.

        • Aaron

          I believe you’re talking about MacPhail, who did well in Minnesota with the championship, but the fact is, the Twins really took off with development and being good for a very long time AFTER he left. 

          Gillick is the master of turnarounds.

  • Joey U

    Ricketts will have to make some sort of a positive move to renew interest in this AAA team. I can see a salary dump coming to offset the attendance drop that will continue to occur all summer long. Front office wise,Hendry, Bush, Hughes, Littlefield and Kravec need to be fired a long with Kenney.

    • Aaron

      There will be no “salary dump”, as Zambrano, Dempster, Soriano, ARAM, and even Samardzija and Fukudome have no-trade clauses. Rosenthal and others have been spot on, saying even if the Cubs wanted to blow this thing up, they couldn’t, because they’re saddled with so many no-trade clauses from veterans that are completely okay with losing. (think about that statement for a second………now you realize why this team is so bad, don’t you? Veterans really are playing out the string, and don’t give a damn about results)

      I know a lot of players say that they really want to be with their losing team, because they don’t want to give the impression that they’ve all but given up any hope of being competitive…..however, with both Zambrano and ARAM, I believe their statements are absolutely true. 

      As for Dempster, I think he’s understanding enough to know that a youth movement is needed, and he could be part of the solution (bringing prospects) versus the problem (hanging around on a losing team). On the other hand, his daughter has medical issues which have been treated in Chicago, so he might stay around for that.

      I believe Soriano and Fukudome would waive their no-trade clauses, but you have to find a team that’d take them in the first place.

      The most likely scenario this year if the Cubs continue their slide to the worst record in all of baseball is parting ways with:
      Davis, Lopez, Baker, Johnson, Byrd (if healthy and productive), Grabow, Fukudome, and Pena.

      Unless Hendry is fired, there’s absolutely no way they’ll part with Koyie Hill. Hell would freeze over and the world would end before that happens this year.

      It’s highly unlikely they’d trade Marmol, Marshall, Wood, Wells, Samardzija, and Garza, as they’ve had so many disappointments and injuries with their top pitching prospects, and uncertainty still abounds with Cashner’s injury. Plus, those are the only ones that seem to be pitching well.

      Additionally, I don’t see them trading Castro, Barney, or Soto, even though they’d bring a very good return, because they see them as a part of their future. 

      I think the prudent thing to do would be parting ways with the guys I just listed above first, giving guys with NTC’s like Dempster, Zambrano, and ARAM a taste of the direction the team is headed…hoping it’d cause them to want out. If they still don’t want out, then I’d look to trade guys like Marmol, Marshall, and Soto, because they’d bring a decent return, and if that still didn’t convince them to waive their NTC’s, then you just bench them late in mid-July (in Z and Dempster’s cases, you bring up 2 “piggyback” starters like Coleman, and perhaps even insert Samardzija in that role, and allow them to pitch just 4 innings no matter how they’re doing). If that still doesn’t work, then you make it more pronounced in August, and if they still don’t want to be subjected to the waiver-trade process, then you bench them in September altogether, or prior to that, just allow a team to claim them outright.

      • studio179

        Don’t give Rosenthal too much credit for being ‘spot on’ about the Cubs situation. Not that he is wrong, but everyone has been saying what he said for 4-5 years now. He is stating the obvious. 

        “t’s highly unlikely they’d trade Marmol, Marshall, Wood, Wells, Samardzija, and Garza, as they’ve had so many disappointments and injuries with their top pitching prospects, and uncertainty still abounds with Cashner’s injury. Plus, those are the only ones that seem to be pitching well.”

        Samardzija is not going anywhere and not due to pitching. Besides being out of options, he has a no trade clause along with about everyone else but the hot dog vendors. So he could not be moved without consent, either.

        Additionally, I don’t see them trading Castro, Barney, or Soto, even though they’d bring a very good return, because they see them as a part of their future.

        I think the prudent thing to do would be parting ways with the guys I just listed above first,…”

        I don’t buy Soto sticking around because by the time the team is good, he will not be good or decent. I’m all for trading him. Barney is a great story of over achieving. If you could get something in a package with someone else, you do it. He is a starter now and back up long term. If the deal is right, trade him or keep him. He is the type you want off the bench / utility role. To my point. It sounds like you do not agree with Castro as part of the Cubs future. He has upside…at least offensively…maybe somewhat defensively, too. 1) You are giving up on him at 21 and feel he is close to maxing out. 2) You feel the organization is in such dire straits that trading him would bolster the big club immediately. I would disagree with #1, if that is your opinion. I would not totally disagree if #2 was your opinion. I am not sure I would or would not do it, but would have to listen. Although, Castro would not bring a 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 blockbuster deal alone. I don’t know who else you could include. Who on the big club is attractive to teams. Plus, most are underperforming with NTC. They could include more young talent in a Castro deal…a la McNutt or Jackson. That would be beyond making no sense from the Cubs. Just curious as to why you would part with Castro.

        • Aaron

          I wouldn’t part with Castro, and only said he is one of the few guys with value on this team.

          • paulcatanese

            Aaron,If ,If, they were to depart with Castro, and thats a big If, I would say the team that trades for him would put him immedeatly at third base aka A-Rod. He will handle that position with ease and let him concentrate on his bat. One of the many reasons that keep him from doing that is learning SS at the Major League level, too much pressure, and more difficult with what he has on his right side, Aram, who makes it hard for Castro to know whats his territory and what is not. I would not part with him until that experiment was done. Right now it’s his bat keeping him in the lineup and he is slumping a bit there, but he is a good hitter and this is just a passing thing with him.

            One other thing I would like to mention,is that all of the hitters they have brought up have a tremdous problem recognizinq the strike zone and continualy bite on the slider or curve or change, and at this stage in their career are fastball hitters only. And none of them recognize pitches out of the strike zone with two strikes. ( Although I think I have just described Soriono and Aram ) here also

            Again as you would not part with Castro..

          • Aaron

            Paul,

            I posted this in Talkin’ Live today, so I would just encourage you to read that….but the rookies brought up have not recognized breaking pitches….or much else for that matter, because THE RESIDENT IDIOT OF A MANAGER USING THEM EXCLUSIVELY AS PINCH HITTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            They can’t get their timing down at all. I cannot stand Quade anymore. I gave him the benefit of the doubt to start the year, but he’s the same guy he was last year….putting all of his eggs in one basket with the veterans, and it’s coming back to bite him now….and not to mention, it’s been detrimental to the development of their young talent in the minors.

  • Aaron

    Take heart everyone…the draft wasn’t half bad today:

    I thought I’d weigh in on the draft thus far…..Here’s my summary. We all know what the Cubs have selected: 11 pitchers, 7 infielders, 9 outfielders, 3 catchersHowever, what some fans might not understand is why they drafted the way they did.First of all, the organization has long suffered from a lack of athleticism and versatility with mostly one dimensional players. However, since Wilken took over, they seem to have drafted and signed international free agents that currently played multiple positions, or projected to play multiple positions. One of the main reasons they’ve selected a lot of middle infielders is they tend to be more athletic than a lot of other players, which has allowed them to move some of them to the OF, and one of the most popular cases of this was putting Flaherty in LF occasionally, which has increased his versatility even more. They’ve drafted guys like Rohan and Bour that were projected to be just 1B, then they moved Rohan to 3B on occasion and LF, and Bour has played some LF, both in addition to 1B duties. LeMahieu, Flaherty, Lake, and Barney played all over the IF. Vitters has played 3B, 1B, and the OF on occasion.This NEVER happened in the past…..NEVER!But to understand the draft, means you have to understand the depth chart, and I’ve done a 4 deep one (and this is NOT scientific, just personal opinion) as it stands now. (I am including 2nd yr guys like Colvin and Castro just FYI, and I am excluding older minor leaguers like Snyder and LaHair),otherwise veterans are not included at all:CATCHER:CastilloClevengerFloresGibbs1B:RidlingBourCuneoJones2B:BarneyLeMahieuLePageE. SotoSS:CastroGonzalezLakeAlcantara3B:M. SmithVittersCerdaRohanLF:FlahertyWrightSpencerGoldenCF:JacksonCampanaCrawfordSzczurRF:ColvinN. PerezHaBurgessYou can see that the depth chart at corner IF and corner OF really goes down after the top 1 or 2 guys. So you can see why they placed a LOT of focus on 1B and OF in this draft. Additionally, they say Baez will probably be a 3B once he fills out, so you can see why they took several shortstops as well to replenish that depth. But clearly the focus on the 2nd day was taking power potential at 1B. Here is the list of 1B taken:Vogelbach-huge power, hit 17 hr this year in just 32 games and his HS one the state title. His bat looked slow on video, but reports suggest otherwise. *this will be a VERY tough sign, as he reportedly wants $1.65 million Gretzky-he’s tall and lanky, and the son of a hockey legend. Problem is, this was an overdraft, not just because he hasn’t done anything much, but because he also will be a difficult sign after signing NLI to San Diego State and isn’t likely to go pro nowHoilman-Even bigger power than Vogelbach, and he’s done it longer. He even had huge power after college went to the more wood-like bats this year. Just look at his player bio: http://www.etsubucs.com/sports/baseball/rosters/displayplayer.aspx?playerid=3164He also played 3B as well early in his college career. He should be one of the first guys to sign, as he has no leverage being a senior.Shoulders-This guy looks a LOT like Ryan Howard. VERY similar swing and approach. Huge power too. Someone tweeted a video of him on the board, and I encourage everyone to watch it. There’s also 2 other Youtube clips of him, and he’s impressive to say the least. 

    I won’t even go into the pitchers, as I believe the Cubs did very poorly drafting pitchers in what was supposed to be one of the deepest drafts for pitching in recent history. Outside of Zych (and he’s a reliever) and Maples, there aren’t any other pitchers they’ve selected that stand out in terms of stats or velocity, and Maples isn’t even likely to sign, as he’s signed with UNC. 

    However, I have to give credit where it’s due, and provided the Cubs can actually sign some of these high school guys they selected, this could easily go down as one of their best drafts ever in terms of hitting prospects. The power, speed, and defensive combinations I saw them draft today are incredible.

    Here’s a few other names of note:
    DeVoss-2B/CF (Soph.-college)
    Schlecht-OF (HS)
    Lockhart-SS (HS)
    Dunston Jr.-OF (HS)
    Marra-C (HS)
    Klafczynski-OF (Sr, college)
    Zimmer-OF (HS)
    Weeks-3B (HS)

    That’s why this draft COULD go down as one of the best ever for them in terms of hitting prospects, but that’s assuming they sign a majority of them. Look at the guys I just listed, including the 1B…I just listed 9 notable high school guys out of 12 players. It’d be 10 of 13 if I included Baez.

    In my opinion, the Cubs absolutely have to sign Vogelbach, Shoulders, DeVoss, Marra, and Lockhart out of that group (I’m not including the college seniors). 

    I hope it happens, so I can finally have something positive to talk about other than the current minor league prospects. 

  • Mike

    Hey, if I was making 15 mil a year, I wouldn’t give a sh*t either if the team won or lost.

    • Aaron

      true….but athletes are competitive to begin with, otherwise they likely wouldn’t be in sports….and at some point, their competitive spirit shines through, and they want to win a championship.

      It’s why the “Big 3″ in Miami became sell-outs, and rather than do it on their own like the stars of the past, they joined forces, hoping it’d be a cake-walk to a championship….even though they had accomplished a lot prior to that individually, and in Wade’s case, won a Finals and in LeBron’s case, making the Finals (which most players don’t even reach)…..

      At some point, even guys like Lee last year, ARAM and Z this year, have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask, “why am I doing this to myself….being on a losing team? I need to be in the playoffs”…and in ARAM’s case, it might be his last shot at a championship.