Cubs lose series to Giants but they are fighting

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

Yes, the Cubs keep losing.  They lost another tough one in the bottom of the ninth.  They lost yesterday on a home run in the eighth after they had come back to tie. And Monday they lost in extra innings. They did win Tuesday against Tim Lincecum.

All year it has been mistakes that keep costing them games. On the other hand I have to give them credit this week because they at least seem to be fighting. Losing but at least they are in the hunt this week. Three one runs games that they lose either in walk offs or eighth inning have got to be difficult to take no matter what position you are in the standings.

Yesterday Mike Fontenot was traded to the Giants. Frankly I kinda thought Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot make a good team of second and short. Now both are gone.

And you look around the team and you have to ask–who are these guys.  Aramis Ramirez is down again, this time with a rib cage problem and is day to day.  Carlos Silva is on the DL with the elevated heart rate.  John Grabow is done for the year. Geovany Soto is on the DL with a shoulder problem. Derrek Lee was gone all four games on the bereavement list back in Sacramento to  visit his ailing grandfather. Lou Piniella was gone tending to mother. Don’t get me wrong here. Both Lou Piniella and Derrek Lee are doing the right thing and being where they should be when family situations call for it. I wish them and their families the best.

There is a lot of new talent on the club–some we have seen others brand new. Micah Hoffpauir does well in AAA but doesn’t seem to be able to get past the hump at the Major League level. Andrew Cashner throws hard but he gives up the long ball and too often gets it trouble with his control. We have some good pitching prospects filling in with Ted Lillly gone and Carlos Silva on the DL.

Thomas Diamond, Casey Coleman, Marcos Mateo are all here for a look see. A new infielder Darwin Barney was called up when Mike Fontenot was traded. Wellington Castillo was added with as a catcher to fill in with Geovany Soto out also on the DL.  There will be more I am sure especially when the roster expands.

Its off to St. Louis and see if the Cubs can make a dent in their race with the Reds. Looking at the schedule the Cubs are going to be playing a big role in who will win the division.

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Cubs swept by Reds lost 10 of last 11

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

The Cubs ended their home stand with just 1 win out of 6 games. In fact they have lost the last 10 out of their last 11 and it doesn’t look like it is going to get any better.

I’m looking for the right words to describe what I have been watching. I’m having trouble writing this post as this is the 4th try. I’ve been a Cubs fan for over 50 years which is the theme of my website at www.chicago-cubs-fan.com.  They have played under .500 ball for about 35 of those 50 + years. So you might say I am use to the Cubs not winning. I am a die hard Cub fan and most likely will continue. There is always next year.

I have watched some pretty bad teams and right now the Cubs are one of those. The star players with the big contracts are not playing as they should. From the beginning of the season this team was going to go as far as Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez was going to take them, with help from Alfonso Soriano. The starting pitching was to be pretty good and the bullpen had some questions except for Carlos Marmol.

Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are having terrible years. Alfonso Soriano not as bad. Marlon Bryd was a great addition. We have a number of AAA players not ready for the big leagues yet but are filling in and trying out for the big club.

I predict the remainder of the season is going to seem like a long time. I can go on but why? The season is not over but the race isn’t. I would like to say the Cubs still have an interest in playing the teams that are in the race, like the Reds. They have a lot of games left with the Cards. They are going to play the Giants that are in a tight race out west.

The highlight of today’s game? Rick Sutcliffe’s seventh inning stretch and his color commentary with Len and Bob in the booth. Today was the 22nd anniversary of the first night game at Wrigley Field and Rick Sutcliffe was the pitcher. And the first night game at Wrigley was an historic event.

There are times like now when the season is in the toilet that you need to reminisce about the good times. Looking forward to tomorrows game with the Giants. Zambrano will start for the first time since is blow up. What else do you do with him especially with Carlos Silva on the DL and Ted Lilly traded to L.A.

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Losing streak over. Bats come alive. Soto has big day

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

The 7 game losing streak was ugly.   67 runs scored against them over that 7 game span.  What can you say. Ryan Theriot and Ted Lilly are gone to L.A. New arrivals Thomas Diamond and Casey Coleman making their first big league debuts.  We have a new second baseman in Blake DeWitt from the Dodgers who also hit his first home run as a Cub in the 15 run outburst against the Brewers.

News is not all bad–except for the season being in the toilet. Geovany Soto had a big day going 3-5 with a 3 run homer. Starlin Castro went 4-5 with a double and a triple. Aramis Ramirez hit one out and as mentioned Blake DeWitt had a 3 run shot. Oh, did I forget to mention Tyler Colvin also hit his 17th of the year but there was no one on base. I guess that counts.

How ever bad this season has been there has been a bright spot in the development of both Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro. Tyler Colvin I kinda figured he would be good but didn’t realize he was going to be this good. His fielding isn’t gold glove and misplays some but I think he will improve. His power has surprised a lot of fans. His 17 homes are in only 256 at bats as of Wednesday. That is around 1 home run every 15 at bats which on a full season of 550+ at bats would put him in the upper 30 range. His average has dipped lately but he has earned a spot on the starting lineup. Koske Fukudome is out of a job.

Starlin Castro has surprised me because I thought the Cubs pushed the button too soon on him. I thought he was too young and inexperienced even though he has a lot of raw talent. He pushed Ryan Theriot out of short over to second and now he is gone to L.A. But it looks like they have found a good spot in the order for him hitting second behind Colvin and in front of D. Lee. His average is up to .318 and is hitting .372 over the last 10 games.

Both Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro have their hat in the ring for rookie of the year. It is of course too early but the pattern is there and who knows. Their is some good news.

On a worry note is Carlos Silva. After starting out as the best pitcher on staff at 8-0 he has come down to earth since. In fact he has fallen off the roof. Now he is on the DL and is waiting the outcome of test for a irregular heartbeat. Hope things are ok there but does not sound good. There has been something wrong and will have to wait and see.

Cincinnati and Dusty Baker are in town for the weekend and they are in a pennant race with the Cardinals, a place I thought we would be at this stage. Tom Gorzelanny will try and get on the winning side again after losing in Colorado.

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Road trip from bad to worse Houston then Colorado

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

After winning the first game of the series and road trip in Houston following winning 3 out of 4 from the Cardinals things were looking up.  Does a four game losing streak explain it any better.

After losing the last 4 and the way we lost them puts a stamp on the season. Starting pitching is not the problem but we trade away one of our best. The bullpen has imploded. Andrew Cashner giving up 6 in the 7th on Tuesday.  Brian Schlitter and Bob Howry giving up 5 in two innings on Wednesday. Then the 8th on Friday night–12 runs–13 hits–2 home runs–5 doubles–1 triple. That was a sight to be seen. One for the record books.

Then if you thought it couldn’t get worse. Saturday Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot get traded and the Cubs lose 6-5 on a monster walk off home run after Derrek Lee had tied it with a 3 run shot in the top of the eighth. Sean Marshall who I have praised all year had two bad back to back nights. I actually felt sorry for him as you could see his reaction after giving up the walk off home run.

I search for excuses that Coors Field has its home town advantages with the mile high air and what it does to the ball. But it really doesn’t matter. To say the season has not lived up to expectations is such and understatement.

Carlos Zambrano has been reinstated off the restricted list. What else were they going to do with him?

Bob Howry has been given is outright release to make room for Zambrano. No reason to keep Howry around as it is now tryout time for the AAA pitchers.

What is Jim Hendry’s next move?

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Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot now Dodgers

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

Its official. The Cubs traded Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the L.A. Dodgers for infielder Blake DeWitt, and minor league right-handed pitching prospects Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach.

Its sad but this was expected. Ted Lilly has been the talk of trades rumors for weeks. Ryan Theriot was more recent but with the advancement of Starlin Castro he was expendable. Ted Lilly I am sure it was about money. And if the Cubs could dump more payroll at the moment they would. That I am sure will be looked at the rest of the year and the off season.

Listening to Alan Trammell explain that when your team is not living up to expectations these things will happen. It wasn’t Ted Lilly’s fault but he was in the last year of his contract and didn’t have anyway to block the trade.

On the other hand Derrek Lee blocked his trade to the Angels. There is probably more to the story there. Derrek Lee is also on the last year of his contract and he would be a free agent at the end of the season whether here or with the Angels. Why move for a short time and the Angels 9 games back are a long shot.

The front office and I am sure everyone else sees this as looking to the future that there is no way for this year. After the All Star break as a Die Hard Cub Fan I must admit I saw a glimmer of hope. The weekend series taking 3 of 4 from the Cardinals there was maybe…. But after Houston and now Colorado the lights are dimming fast.

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Cubs bats silent in Houston, Zambrano due back, trade rumors Lilly and Theriot

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

The Cubs continue on road trip to Colorado after losing series to Houston. The bats are again silent and the bullpen is struggling.

There was some hope following the St. Louis series as a sweep was almost happened. But going down to Houston you would think a series win after winning the first game and then nothing.

Maybe too much is going on with things off the field. With the no waiver trade deadline drawing closer it must play on their minds. I was happy to hear that both Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly both said they wanted to stay. D. Lee backed that up with using his no trade option to say no to the Angels. Ted Lilly doesn’t have that option as far as I know.

Ted Lilly is a hot prospect for teams needing to add pitching. Ryan Theriot’s name has popped up, expecially by Colorado. I can see Theriot being traded as the Cubs have a number of players that can play second. Starlin Castro’s call up and his success has over shadowed Theriot’s value and he is not as good a second baseman as he was a shortstop. It has been reported that the Dodgers are interested in both Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot.

The next big story if you want it to be is the return of Carlos Zambrano. He has been getting ready with Ryne Sandberg’s AAA Iowa and he has made public apologies and he has said he is ready to make one to his teammates. How much of a story this will be I don’t know. But I think D. Lee is the one that has cleared the way in the club house for this to be just something that will happen and then everyone moves on. I am curious on how Ryne Sandberg handled this and what influence if any he had on it.

The trades I think the Cubs really want to make is Koske Fukudome and Carlos Zambrano. Neither one of them has lived up to the salary. We all know about Zambrano but Fukudome has been a disappointment. He came with such promise and fanfare that as a fan had hoped for so much more from his bat. He is one of the best defensive outfielders and plays the game as it should. It is just his bat that just never materialized. That really is too bad.

Tonight we have Ryan Dempster at Coors Field in a hitters ball park and hopefully that will help the offense. Tonights game and Saturday’s are both on WGN. Will soon find out if Lilly and Theriot stay or go.

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Andre Dawson Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

For those of you who weren’t able to see this courtesy of www.chicagobreakingsports.com.

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Big Weekend Series with Cardinals Cubs win series lose a tough one

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

The Cubs needed a sweep over the Cardinals and came up short losing 4-3 in 11 innings. And they had their chances and chances and chances. They just could not get the hit they needed and it was a real let down. But there is good news. They won 2 of 3 and the series. The bad news they could have swept and didn’t.

The Cubs new rookie pitcher Brian Schlitter gave up a home run in the top of the eleventh to F Lopez. But the Cubs had a chance to win in each of the last 3 innings.

The game was on ESPN and was a very entertaining game except for the outcome. Each innings something was going on. We had some great plays throwing 2 runners out at home. Marlon Byrd made a great throw from center field. But it was a game of missed opportunities and a 3 game sweep would have put the Cubs just 8 games back. Instead now they are back up to 10.

Ryan Dempster pitched very well going toe to toe with Chris Carpenter. Sean Marshall was also did his thing and Carlos Marmol also shut them down.

Then again the Cardinal’s pitchers shut us down when they had to.

Now it is off to Houston for 3 games. Ted Lilly goes for us. Assuming he is not traded before then.

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Big Weekend Series with Cardinals Cubs up 2

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

Tom Gorzelanny can look back at when he was sent to the bullpen in favor of Carlos Zambrano and just smile. He has now won 4 in a row since being put in the starting role. He went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. The Cubs have now won the first 2 games of the series and go for the sweep tomorrow night on ESPN.

Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro are making a nice 1 2 punch. Tyler Colvin hit another lead off homer and Starlin Castro put one in the left field bleachers for his first Wrigley Field home run. It put the Cubs on top after the Cards had taken the lead in the top of the second.

Today’s game was not a solid as yesterday’s but the good news is the Cubs game up with a win when they made some mistakes. Actually the Cardinals made some mistakes also and the Cubs were able to make the best of them. They scored two in the fifth on a wild pitch and error. The Cubs are 6-3 on this home stand and seem to have new life.

The big question is will the front office start trading off some of the payroll. Ted Lilly’s name keeps popping up in trade rumors but I haven’t heard any other names.

Sunday night looks like a good match up between Ryan Dempster and Chris Carpenter the Cardinals ace. I think a win and sweep of the Cards will make it a tough question as to whether to make any selling trades at the moment. Ted Lilly has said he wants to stay.

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Big Weekend Series with St. Louis. Cubs up one

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Chicago Cubs Fan

The Cubs are in a do or die weekend series with St. Louis. And what I mean is if they get swept you might say turnout the lights.

The good news is they will not get swept as they won today 5-0 on a hot, humid day behind Randy Wells. What ever problem Randy Wells had seems to have been corrected as he was fantastic today. He went 7 innings striking out 7 and walking 3. St. Louis had won 8 of 9 but they hadn’t scored in 11 innings. Make that 20.

Sean Marshall came in and pitched the 8th and 9th to complete the shutout. Marshall has just been great this year.

That was the pitching and a shutout will win a lot of games. But the Cubs put across 5 runs on three home runs and a gift. Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto and Tyler Colvin each had a home run. Tyler Colvin hit is first lead off home run to get the ball rolling. He now leads all rookies with 14 and I would say “Rookie of the Year” if he keeps it up.

Alfonso Soriano hit his 18th win one on. Geovany Soto hit on a hot streak since the All Star break.  He has 4 home runs and hitting almost .400.

This was by all measurements a very good game for the Cubs. The Cardinals did not look like the first place team. They were a little sloppy in the field and made some bad plays. The pop up by Starlin Castro with Ryan Theriot on second base was classic. With 2 outs Castro hit a pop up at home plate and the catcher was the only one who tried to make the play and he lost it in the sun. Suppan or the third baseman just looked on. The gift was that Theriot was running on the pop up as he should have been and scored. Tony LaRussa was fit to be tied.

There are two more games this weekend and a ton of games left to be played against St. Louis.

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