Braves-Cubs, Thursday 6/12/08

Result: Cubs 3, Braves 2, 11 innings. Cubs lead the NL Central by 3.5 games over St. Louis with a MLB-best record of 43-24. The Cubs finally got some help from Cincy, which defeated the Cards 6-2. St. Louis hosts Philly this weekend. The Cubs are now 29-8 at home, having won 11 straight at the Friendly Confines. Simply staggering.

What happened: Jim Edmonds tied the score with a ninth-inning home run, and Reed Johnson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 11th. Carlos Zambrano pitched seven solid innings, allowing only a two-run homer to Jeff Francoeur. The Cubs and Braves wore throwback unis from the 1948 season.

The game turned when: Edmonds homered. He had driven in Chicago's first run on a sac fly in the 7th. With the wind blowing out to left, he lined a shot that just reached the basket, a classic Wrigley Field homer. The Cubs had struggled against Tim Hudson, stranding runners and hitting into double plays to end two innings, but Zambrano kept them close long enough for the offense to come through. Scott Eyre got into and out of trouble in the 8th, with a little help from Carlos Marmol.

Concerns: Eric Patterson, typically a second baseman, got the surprise call-up from Iowa to start Thursday in left field in place of the injured Alfonso Soriano. This seems to indicate that Piniella will look to mix and match in left, perhaps even more than we could have expected. It will be interesting to see the lineup he drafts with a designated hitter tonight.

Up next: Cubs at Toronto, 6 p.m. Reed Johnson makes his triumphant return to Canada after being released by the Jays in the spring. The Cubs and Jays last met in 2003, when Toronto took 2 of 3 at the park then known as SkyDome.

Now playing: The Drams "Jubilee Dive" -- getting primed for their two-night stint at the White Water Tavern starting today. I am actually more geeked about co-headliner Glossary, but any project involving the legendary Brent Best of Slobberbone commands my respect and dollar.
The Drams

Braves-Cubs, Wednesday 6/11/08

Result: Cubs 7, Braves 2. Cubs lead the NL Central by 2.5 games over St. Louis with a record of 42-24.

What happened: Ryan Dempster pitched the team's first complete game in nearly a year, and the offense scored all seven runs in the first three innings. But the big news was Alfonso Soriano going down with a fractured finger on a hit by bitch from Jeff Bennett. Soriano will miss at least six weeks.

The game was out of reach when: Jim Edmonds singled home a pair in the third, making it 7-0. Dempster kept the Braves scoreless until the 8th, striking out 11 and walking zero. Considering he also gave a taxed bullpen the night off, it's a shame Dempster's efforts are overshadowed by the Soriano injury.

Concerns: The response to Soriano's injury is a major concern, from the perspective of the team, media and fans. This shouldn't be a death blow, but more on that below.

Up next: Cubs vs. Atlanta, 1:20 p.m. at Wrigley. The Cubs go for their 11th straight home win. Could we see more beanball today?

Now playing: Radiohead "Karma Police" -- inspired by the notion that Cubs fans' collective glee over the Cards' loss of Albert Pujols resulted in some kind of otherworldly correction. Probably just a coincidence. This opioid cut from Radiohead's pre-tedious days still gets play around El Hijo's casa.

Deep breaths, Cubs fans

Make no mistake, this is a substantial blow.
But, like Ol' Granny said, "All sickness is not death."
The fractured finger of Alfonso Soriano will not doom the Cubs' 2008 season.
Here's why:

• The Cubs have already played well without him, going 9-5 when he was out with a strained calf early on.
• To further flesh that out, yes, Soriano does produce an unusually high number of runs out of a no. 1 hitter. However, his OBP is not what you necessary look for out of that spot. Theriot, Fukudome or Reed Johnson would have a better OBP.
  
• Soriano doesn't pitch, and thus won't affect the NL's best ERA.
  
• I started making a list of players who would be a bigger loss to the team right now than Soriano: Zambrano, Lee, Ramirez, Wood, Marmol, Dempster, Soto(?), Fukudome(?).
• The lineup right now -- and virtually all season -- has been clicking from spots 1 through 8 and even 9. There are too many professional hitters on that roster to let this team go into a 25-man funk.
• With the steadying hand of Lou Piniella, I can't see this setback snowballing into another "OH NOES! IT'S THE CURSE AGAIN" moment.
• Micah Hoffpauir, secret weapon. Wait and see.
  

Braves-Cubs, Tuesday 6/10/08

Result: Cubs 10, Braves 5. Cubs lead the NL Central by 2.5 games over St. Louis with a record of 40-24. The Cards beat Cincy, but appear to have lost Albert Pujols for awhile.

What happened: Ted Lilly got off to a rocky start but recovered, pitching into the 7th for his sixth win. Greg Norton blasted a 3-run HR in the first. Omar Infante led off the second with a triple, but was stranded there and the Braves never seriously threatened Lilly again.

The game was out of reach when: Geovany Soto put one into the basket in left in the 8th, making it 10-5. Atlanta had threatened in the 7th and plated two in the 8th, but Soto's 11th HR -- a welcome sight after he struggled on the road trip -- seemed to ice the win.

Little things: Scott Eyre got one big out -- striking out Gregor Blanco to end the 8th in a one-run game -- but that ran his streak of scoreless appearances to 31. Lou no doubt knows his name by now ... The Cubs ran the bases well and stole three bases, with Kosuke Fukudome's swipe leading to an important insurance run in the 8th ... Reed Johnson continues to produce when he plays. He drove in a pair of runs, giving him a ridiculously high total of 27 RBIs for a guy who doesn't play everyday and usually hits 8th when he does, and he made a terrific running catch in front of the ivy early in the game.

Concerns: Bob Howry was unable to get through the 8th. Carlos Marmol came in for the final out of the 7th, using just 3 pitches. Wisely, Lou Piniella turned it over to Howry with a three-run lead. Unfortunately he couldn't hold it, giving up two runs on four hits. It would be GREAT if Howry could take some of the pressure off Marmol, and indirectly, Kerry Wood.

Up next: Cubs vs. Atlanta, 7:05 p.m. at Wrigley. The Cubs go for their 10th straight home win.

Now playing: My Morning Jacket -- "Evil Urges." Jim James and co. have not chosen the path of least resistance, mostly eschewing the reverb-y jams found on "At Dawn," "It Still Moves" and "Z." A couple of tracks even sound like Prince outtakes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and overall I'm not saying there's not a lot of quality there. It's just going to take some time and a few more spins. http://www.myspace.com/mymorningjacket

Cubs-Dodgers, Sunday 6/8/08

Result: Cubs 3, Dodgers 1. Cubs lead the NL Central by 2.5 games over St. Louis with a record of 40-24.

What happened: Jason Marquis pitched into the 7th, outpacing Brad Penny. It was Marquis' most solid start of the season, and resulted in a season-low of cursing Marquis' name in El Hijo's casa. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood closed out the Dodgers in relief. Mark DeRosa homered and drove in two. The Cubs finished the west coast road trip 4-3. Not as good as they would have hoped after winning the first two in San Diego, but after being maligned for their home-heavy schedule, this was a good week for the Cubs.

The game turned when: Marmol got Jeff Kent to ground out to third with the tying runs on in the 8th. A two-out double by the hated Juan Pierre and a walk to Andre Ethier made for some drama, but Marmol got Kent to chase a sharp slider, grounding it to Ramirez who beat Pierre to the bag. Wood worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 18th save.

Not too much was made of Carlos Zambrano's antics from Saturday's game. It did merit some mention in ESPN's Sunday Night broadcast, but the insufferable Joe Morgan didn't dogpile on Z. Late in the game, he was shown celebrating with teammates on the bench after a big out was recorded. Ryan Theriot got the night off.

Grey clouds: Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto combined to go 1 for 7 Sunday, ending a forgettable road trip for both. It took Marmol 36 pitches to get through 1.2 innings, further taxing one of the most used relievers in baseball. It would be great to be able to go to Wuertz in the 7th.

Up next: Off day on Monday before the Cubs host Atlanta for three.

Now playing: Glossary -- "The Better Angels of Our Nature" in preparation for their two-night stay in the Rock next weekend, for which El Hijo is muy pumped.
Glossary

Cubs-Dodgers, Saturday 6/7/08; Big Z loses his shit

Result: Dodgers 7, Cubs 3. Cubs lead the NL Central by 2.5 games over St. Louis with a record of 39-24.

What happened: Shaky defense cost the Cubs, and especially Zambrano, leading to 5 runs in the 7th for L.A. Derek Lowe and Zambrano dueled through 6 before Carlos gave the Cubs the lead with an RBI single. An error by Aramis Ramirez and what should have been an error on Ryan Theriot paved the way for L.A. Matt Kemp capped it with a three-run bomb to center, setting off Mt. Zambrano. Jon Broxton and Takashi Saito shut down Chicago in the last two frames.

The game turned when: Theriot dropped a great throw from Geovany Soto, allowing Juan Pierre to steal second with one out in the 7th. Perfect throw from Geo, and it could have snuffed the L.A. rally. Gotta make that play, Riot. Instead, Pierre was safe and the Dodgers scored 5 in the inning.

Flip your wig: After getting the hook, Big Z repeatedly battered a Gatorade cooler in the dugout. The FOX sideline reporter said on air that Carlos could be heard wreaking havoc on his way to the clubhouse.

Causes for concern: The defense. Theriot has 7 errors and should have 8. That's not going to cut it for a shortstop with no power. Also, the Cubs can't seem to get a call in L.A. Jeff Kent was ruled safe for an infield hit, and scored on the Martin HR. Replays showed he was probably out.

Much will be made of Zambrano's blow-up, but I think he gets a pass on this one. He got little to no support from the rest of the lineup, offensively or defensively. In the past, he has pulled similar acts when they definitely weren't warranted. Today's was understandable. Much has been made of Z's increased maturity this year, and this shouldn't be viewed as a big step back.

Silver linings: Forget the pitching line, this was another quality start for Z. He should have been in line for his 9th win through 7. Alfonso Soriano hit another bomb, his 15th of the year.

Up next: Cubs vs. Dodgers, 7:05 ESPN Sunday Night game. Cubs go for a winning road trip.

Now watching: NCAA Baseball Super Regionals.
Now drinking: Maker's Mark.
Now playing: The new Frightened Rabbit, "The Midnight Organ Fight" -- more on this later...

Cubs-Dodgers, Friday 6/6/08

So, I'm a pretty avid Cubs fan. I'll be posting about pretty much every game here because, frankly, there's not enough of this online.

Result: Dodgers 3, Cubs 0. Cubs still hold a 3.5-game lead over St. Louis and have the best record in MLB at 39-23.
What happened: L.A.'s Huroki Kuroda was stellar, and also benefited from the over-anxious Cubs swinging wildly at his diving slider. His 4-hit, no-walk, 11-K shutout was the best outing of his career and likely the best of any Dodger this season. Faceless Dodgers backup catcher Danny Ardoin drove in a pair of runs, causing much rejoicing in the Ardoin household and 18-team, NL only fantasy leagues everywhere.
The game turned when: Kosuke Fukudome was called out at first to complete a double play to end the fourth, though replays show he was CLEARLY safe. Easily. Ryan Theriot would have scored, tying the score at 1-1. The Dodgers added made it 2-0 in the bottom half, and the Cubs looked lifeless thereafter.
Silver linings: Sean Gallagher turned in another serviceable start, ensuring his spot in the rotation for another trip or two, at least. Walks led to a high pitch count, which resulted in him lasting just 5 innings. With all the strain on the bullpen lately, Gallagher really needed to pitch deeper. Overall, Cubs pitchers continued to excel at stranding runners on base, including Scott Eyre. He came in with two on and one out in the 7th, and struck out James Loney and Matt Kemp. That should help get him out of Lou's doghouse.
Causes for concern: Derrek Lee looks to be pressing, striking out twice on Friday. His average is dipping a bit. Alfonso Soriano struck out a couple of times where he missed the ball by at least a foot and a half, but with him you take the good with the bad. Kevin Hart continued to show why he should pack light and keep his apartment in Iowa.
Weird: Legendary Dodgers play-by-play man Vin Scully befuddled 99.7% of his viewers by referencing Rudolph Valentino, re: Russell Martin's sideburns and mustache. I'm sure that's what Russ was going for.
Up next: vs. Dodgers at 2:55 Saturday. Carlos Zambrano vs. Derek Lowe. A win would guarantee the Cubs a winning road trip.

Now playing: Beulah -- "Gene Autry." Inspired by the LA setting for tonight's game -- I've always thought this late, great band had a California feel befitting their roots, though NoCal as opposed to SoCal -- I gave a spin to several tracks from 2001's "The Coast Is Never Clear." See: http://www.myspace.com/beulahmusic