2009 Chicago Cubs

[fugazi]

What is up with Theriot?

The lineup for today had a 4 and 5 hitter each below .200, and in corner infield and corner outfield positions, no less.

Congrats to Soto for getting off the snide, 1 hr and 3 2-out rbis.

Unless we can trade Hoffpauir and __________ to SanDiego for Gonzalez (I can dream, can't I?), I am ready to see either Hoffpauir or Zambrano starting at 1B. I don't care if it is only May. Lee is done. Sorry to say, but injuries and suspect coaching and unfounded expectations(and possibly a too-relaxed mentality?) have done him in. He might be the leagues highest paid defensive replacement.

sorry to be such a downer, but I can't imagine another starting 1B with this kind of performance and a possible replacement lasting this long.

BUT REALLY....How upset can I be with a 10-3 start to May? See you later, Padres, thanks for stopping by.

[poster]

Not sure what to think of D Lee. Hope he turns it around, but his time might be done. Hopefully this is his last year here. Good team leader and all, but we need production.

Odd game today, odd series in general. I think they are at the same mark as last year at this time. Feels good considering. Things will be fine though, I believe.

Guys are starting to hit which is good.

Gregg has pitched better as of late, because he is getting ahead and throwing his breaking ball over the plate. When he has that pitch going he can be really nasty. Marms is still a bit wild. Ascanio looked good today, save for the solo HR. Everyone else is winning too, but that is fine. Just keep winning series to build your record.

[fugazi]

Angel Guzman = Closer

good god, heilman just walked Bourn to load the bases in front of Berkman, who is batting for the 2nd time in the 9th.

[fugazi]

Carlos Zambrano issued a pre-emptive apology to fans Thursday for what they're going to see out of him when he returns from the disabled list in a week.
Already ''100 percent'' and ''ready to pitch,'' Zambrano said he won't be running hard on the bases for about a month after his return -- per doctors' orders to protect his healing hamstring but against his playing nature.
''I'll be running like Geo Soto or Bengie Molina,'' said Zambrano, who took fielding practice without incident Thursday and is scheduled to make a Class A rehab start Sunday. ''I'll be running nice and easy and just taking my time and not hustling for now. And I apologize to the Cubs fans for [that]. But it's one thing to not hustle and another thing to not play good. I will still perform as good. I will try to do everything right.''
But after that first month back, he said, ''you will see me running like Juan Pierre or Jose Reyes.''


From http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseb...ubnt15.article




quality.

[fugazi]

it was nice beating up on SanFran, SD, and Houston...now if we could conquer Joel Pineiro.

I saw that he was starting for StLouis and noticed that he had a pretty K/BB ratio, but a high WHIP. Somehow, though, I knew that even though he would be throwing strikes that he would baffle the cubs.

If they give up less than 4 to StL, they have to win. We will not be so lucky to see the Cards score only 3 runs too often.

[duke776]

I only watched about the first 5 or 6 innings of the game, but the cubs were way too impatient up there. Lilly pitched pretty good, except for that one mistake against Rasmus(which was a bomb).

[duke776]

Jake Fox's numbers at AAA:

.431/.513/.954 17 HR and 50 RBI in 130 ABs



Now, I know he wouldn't perform that well at the majors, but it might not be a bad idea to call him up and see what he can do. He's played 1st, 3rd, catcher, and the outfield all in the minors, not sure what he currently is playing though.

[fugazi]

Part of the problem with bringing him up, which i am not wholly against is this...

They have an overpaid FA in RF, a prospect that is already pressuring him at the ML level, Fukudome, and Soriano, plus Reed Johnson.

In the infield, which i don't think he has played this year, who do you replace? Not Theriot...What do you do with Fontenot, who (sadly) has been struggling of late with like 3 hits in the last 10 games....and I think Hoffpauir might not be too happy if he isn't given first dibs on Lee's off days.

The team is crowded, and has the kind of combination of underperformers and overexposure to make it pretty darn hard tot just bring in a guy like Fox. And, if the team that is there now doesn't click, I don't know if Fox will change much. I just hope that this team doesn't swing on Bradley...he is out of the lineup, the team does well (or well enough), he comes back, and is awful...but you know, he is just getting back in the lineup, sucks for 10 days...then what? It is a poison pill, if only because he has done so little when he is in the lineup, and could waste several months just "getting settled" or whatever, and at some point in all of this he must be benched or traded...OR he might hit...*crosses arms, taps foot, looks skeptical*