A-Rod, Barry Bonds Stir Things Up

A-Rod shook up my world today, and I'm sure yours (not that there are and of "you", I have no readers), too. The New York Daily News reports that A-Rod has agreed to a 10-year, 275 MM contract. They aren't the only ones, of course, that say this, they are just the ones I chose to use because of the article. Can you say overpaid? Not that he doesn't deserve it now, but there will be a day in age where he won't be hitting a baseball like it's the sears tower and he can't miss. I think this will be a great deal for the Yanks for the next 3 or 4 years, and then surely, his production will slow down to glacier speed. Well, actually, I believe he'll never have a season for the rest of his career where he doesn't hit at least 25 homers, but still, 27.5 mm for 25 homers isn't good enough.

Barry Bonds, too, shook up the town of San Fransisco, my town, your town, Bud Selig's town, Greg Anderson's town, and many other towns today, as he was inicted with 4 counts of perjury and 1 count of obstruction of peace. I've always been a Bonds fan, so I truly believe this will tarnish his reputation. Maybe he didn't know he was gaining 30 pounds a year because of 'flaxseed oil'. Actually, though, everyday I find it harder to back him up. That is just my observation.

Anyway, on to the Cubs news. Zambrano finished 5th in NL Cy Young award this year. He never had a chance. Nobody did- not when Peavy was striking people out, winning games and shutting teams run producers down. He won the NL Triple Crown for pitchers, and incredible feat. I congratulate him, although it would've been nice to see Big-Z win it.

Maple or Oak: Wood is Back!

August 3rd, 2007

Cubs; WGN 9; 2:20 PM ET; Hernandez, 7-4, 3.02 ERA vs. Zambrano, 14-7, 3.47 ERA

Today is a big game for the Cubs, and the Mets. Today is also the return of a former great Kerry Wood.

Short Post today, but good luck Woody!

This Might Be the Cubs Big Break

July 31st, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; August 1st, 8:05 PM ET; vs. Phillies; Moyer, 9-8, 4.75 ERA vs. Hill, 6-6, 3.59 ERA

It is July 31st, the day of the deadline deals, and the free-agents-to-be being traded. In 2007 some big deals were Mark Teixeira going to the Braves, Eric Gagne to the Red Sox, and, surprisngly, Matt Morris went to the Pirates.

Jim Hendry lay silent until 4 PM ET yesterday, the date and time that the trade deadline passed. The fact the Carlos Zambrano remains a Cub still tells me 2 things: a) They are going to try to re-sign him come the offseason, and b) He will help the Cubs come October, and he's been the biggest help to this point as it is.

Carlos has done a phenomonal job this year, not counting the season before June 3rd. Imagine that he had played as well then as he is now. Give the Cubs 4 or 5 more wins, lower his ERA to about 2.20, and Give him a 17-4 record instead of 14-7. I think his chance of a Cy Young are still good, with a 3.47 ERA and leading a playoff contending team to the playoffs with the most wins in the Major Leagues. He is ahead of 6 players who have 13 wins, none of whom start tomorrow, and none won today. His next start is Friday, August 3rd, against the New York Mets' Orlando Hernandez. Then, Ted Lilly faces off against John Maine, and Jason Marquis faces what is presumed to be Tom Glavine on Sunday.

The Cubs won today, 7-3, Marquis got the win as the Cubs scored 3 in the bottom of the inning he gave up his 3rd run, to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead, which was unanswered. Carlos Marmol-ade went the 7th and 8th, and Bobby Howry went the 9th to close it out, a non-save situation.

Tommy G. (Glavine) was shutting down his opponents in Milwaukee, 2 hits, 1 run. Unfortunately, no more, as Guillermo Mota blew the game in the bottom of the 8th, 2-2. The game is now going in to extras, and if the Brewers lose, the Cubs are (tied) in first place. Let's go Mets!! Well, until Friday that is, when the y come over to Chicago.

Thanks,

Ryan

Rubber Match

July 29th, 2007

Cubs; WGN 9; 1:00 PM ET; vs. Reds; Zambrano, 13-7, 3.69 ERA vs. Belisle, 5-7, 5.28 ERA

Today the Cubs take on the Reds in game 3 of this series in Cincinnati. It is a pivotal game for the Cubs as they can gain ground on the Brewers who are at risk of losing 3 of 4 to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Carlos Zambrano, who was promised an NL Cy Yound by Jim Hendry by the end of THIS season may be well on the road to get it. If he wins today he will lead the MLB in wins, and also his ERA isn't too shabby.

The Cincinnati Reds took game 1 of this series, only to have Aaron Harang leave the game after 1 inning yesterday and take the loss, his 3rd of the season, and today face a rubber match against the red-hot Cubs, who I think have a good chance, as Matt Belisle, (5-7, 5.28) takes on Carlos Zambrano (13-7, 3.69).

Thanks,

Ryan

The Cardinals Really Do Suck

July 26th, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; 8:10 PM ET; vs. Cardinals; Marquis, 7-5, 3.92 ERA vs. Looper, 7-8, 5.09 ERA

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Tonight Jason Marquis, having a fair year, faces off against the Cardinals 2nd best starter? Compared to last year's Carpenter's, and Mulder's, and Suppan's, their Looper's, Reyes's, and K. Wells's suck. Their hitters aren't the best in the world either.

Not to say they can't beat Marquis. Afterall, he is the Cubs worst starting pitcher, Marshall being arguably the best, next to the flaming Carlos Zambrano, the streaking Ted Lilly and the tall Rich Hill.

Well, fans, I also have encouraging news. Yesterday the Padres lost, the Brewers, lost and, heck, throw one more loss on the pile for the Brew Crew today and you have the Cubs 1.5 back in the Central, 0.5 back in the Wildcard.

Enjoy the game and I'll post tomorrow.

Thanks,

Ryan

Lilly vs. Wainwright

July 25th, 2007

Cubs; ESPN 2; 8:10 PM ET; vs. Cardinals; Wainwright, 9-7, 4.18 ERA vs. Lilly, 10-4, 3.51 ERA

The Cubs enter play today 3 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central. They also enter 1.5 games back of the San Diego Padres in the Wildcard. Not too shabby considering how much time the Cubs have to actually overtake these teams in the standings.

There are no teams standing in the way of the Cubs in the Central, and in the Wildcard it appears that only the Braves will make a ripple through the quiet water. Not that I am begging for excitement, far from it, I want this to be as easy as possible.

With yesterday's win, Zambrano ties himself for the major league lead in wins. With 13, he is tied with 3 other pitchers. Tonight Ted Lilly aims for his 11th win, which would put him ahead in the un-official stat 'Most Wins With New Team', which just gauges how he's doing with the Cubs so far wins-wise.

Thanks,

Ryan

Wells vs. Zambrano

July 24th, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; 8:10 PM ET; vs. Cardinals; Zambrano, 12-7, 3.69 ERA vs. Wells, 4-12, 5.75 ERA

Today the Cubs begin a 3-game series against the Cardinals by sending their ace, Carlos Zambrano against an ace-hole, former Pirate, Kip Wells. Last year Kip was traded from the Pirates to the Rangers, where he would spend most of his days in AAA. Over the offseason he was signed by the Pirates as pitching help for their rotation. With Mulder and Carpenter STILL out, and Carpenter not returning until after the start of '08, he's been more key than I thought he would be.

Not to say he has been good, because after his first 3 starts, all quality starts, he would've been better off shoveling coal for a ship sailing away to Norwegian territories. Zambrano, however, has been pitching awfully good this month, a 1.42 ERA, and has just been pitching above amazing since very his 3rd start in June.

The Cubs enter play today with a 1.5 game deficit of the San Diego Padres in the Wildcard, behind the Braves, also, who have play 3 more games than the Cubs. The Brewers, who lost yesterday, hold a 3 game lead against the Cubs entering play this afternoon. There are 2 double-headers today, 1 between the Tigers and White Sox, 1 between Seattle and Texas. Also, Craig Biggio announced his retirement today, making this a sad day for Major League Baseball, and ensuring that in 2013 at the latest, he will be a hall of famer. Enjoy the game.

Thanks,

Ryan

Off Day Topics

July 23rd, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; 8:10 PM ET; vs. Cardinals; Zambrano, 12-7, 3.69 ERA vs. Wells, 4-12, 5.75 ERA

Instead of doing a preview of the Cardinals vs. Cubs series, like I had originally planned, I am going to cover a lot of topics relating to the Cubs.

Carlos Zambrano in July this year is 3-1 with a 1.42 ERA, having 4 quality starts in 4 starts. His loss came against the Pirates and Shane Youman. At night, like tonight, his ERA is 2.38. On the road his ERA is 3.13, and against the Cardinals career he is 6-4 in 115 innings with a 2.43 ERA.

The Cardinals are 5-5 in their last 10, and are 21-22 at home. The Cubs are 7-3 in their last 10, and 24-22 on the road. Versus teams in the Central, the Cardinals are 21-15, the Cubs 20-18. The Cubs are 11th in the league in batting average at .269. This is 5th best in the NL and best in the NL Central. The Cardinals are 15th in the league with a .268 team batting average. The Cubs are also 4th in the MLB in team ERA at 3.86, and 2nd best in the NL, trailing the Padres. The Cardinals are 26th in the league in ERA at 4.80, giving up almost 1 more run than the Cubs a game.

The Cubs haven't faced Kip Wells this season yet. The Cardinals hitters have faced Zambrano once this year, getting 7 hits, 1 run, a homerun by Albert Pujols. Total this year, in 178 at-bats against Cubs pitchers, Cardinals hitters have a .258 batting average, 18 runs, 7 homeruns. The Cubs hitters against Cardinals pitchers this year have 181 at-bats against the Cardinals, hitting .276 with 6 homeruns and scoring 29 times.

The Brewers, who lost to the Reds 2-1 today, carry a 3 game lead into play tomorrow, in which Yovani Gollardo, 2-1, 2.34 ERA, faces off against Matt Belisle, 5-6, 5.13 ERA. The Brewers are hitting .229 with 16 runs against the Reds this year, while the Reds are hitting .297 with 18 runs off of Milwaukee pitchers this season.

Matt Murton is hitting .326 with 5 homeruns and 21 RBI in 36 games with the Iowa Cubs. Neal Cotts is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 7 games, 6 starts at AAA Iowa, as well. Since returning to AAA following the All-Star Break, Felix Pie is hitting .354 in 48 at-bats. The Iowa Cubs are 57-46 and are 2nd place, as the AA Tennessee Smokies are 14-17 and tied with the Cubs previous AA team, now belonging to the Mariners, the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx.

The Cubs are 2nd in the league in WHIP behind the Padres, with a 1.27 Walks+Hits per Innings Pitched statistic. Cubs pitchers have given up 56 stolen bases, 18th most on the list. The highest is 106 by the San Diego Padres. The Cubs lead the league in batting average against at .238. They are 2nd in the league behind the Dodgers in Ks per 9 innings with 7.51 opposing hitters K'd per game. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.22, which is 9th in the league.

In the series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs have Carlos Zambrano going up against Kip Wells, Ted Lilly against Adam Wainwright, and then Jason Marquis vs. Braden Looper. After finishing the series at Busch Stadium, the Cubs play the Reds, and then return home to play the Phillies. Also, Derrek Lee returns from his 5 games suspension today which he didn't have a chance to appeal, although he did ask to appeal the suspension after a brawl against Padres starting Pitcher Chris Young in June.

The San Diego Padres lost to Colorado yesterday, putting themselves 2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, and 1 game ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the Wildcard. The Cubs are 3rd place in the Wildcard at 1.5 games back.

The Cardinals enter play today against the Cubs to begin a 7 game homestand that includes facing the Cubs and Brewers. They then fly to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates. Albert Pujols has heated up lately, hitting .429 in his last 10 games with 6 homeruns.

Thanks,

Ryan

We Lost 2 of 3

July 22nd, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; Tuesday, July 24th; 8:10 PM ET; vs. Cardinals; Zambrano, 12-7, 3.69 ERA vs. Wells, 4-12, 5.75 ERA

Nothing worse could've happened. We beat their ace and then get kicked in the nuts by the other 2 starters. I don't care about the game 2 loss because the Brewers, NL Central leaders, and Padres, Wildcard leaders both lost. The game 3 loss, though, the Brewers won. The Padres are losing 2-0 right now, so we might not lose a game in the Wildcard, but I'd rather win the Central than have to be the underdogs every series.

The good news? Jason Kendall had his first hit as a Cub today. Also, Derrek Lee comes back from his 5 game suspension Tuesday to face the Cards. Honestly, he chose the best time ever to take his suspension. The Brewers lost just as many times as we did, so we are now 3.5 games back again, but hey, it's only 3.5 games. That's all I have to write today, so have a good day and enjoy the 1 day break, as tomorrow I will do an in depth preview of the Cardinals-Cubs series.

Thanks,

Ryan

Well He Really Barretted That Play, Didn't He?

July 18th, 2007

Cubs; WGN 9; 2:20 PM ET; vs. Giants; Cain, 3-10, 3.53 ERA, vs. Zambrano, 11-7, 3.83 ERA

When I say that Kendall Barretted* it, I mean not once, not twice, but 3 times. First, he drops the throw from Soriano that scores a run. Next he goes and drops that pop-up that ended up scoring the game winning run. Finally, a "wild pitch" that he certainly should've gotten to rolls away and lets the Giants have someone in scoring position. On offense he went 0-3.

I'm not so worried about THAT though. I'm worried about Barry Bonds returning to the lineup today. Who am I kidding, it isn't today, it's 7 minutes from now. If the bullpen has the kind of night it had yesterday, we are cruising for a bruising. For the Cubs to keep winning and have a shot at the playoffs, the pen needs to be more consistent and have their bad days when we have huge leads or are already getting killed.

In preview of today's game, Cain doesn't give up many runs, he has an ERA of 3.53. However, he doesn't get many either. With that ERA, your record should be great, but 3-10 it stands. On the flip side, Zambrano has a 3.83 ERA, which I would expect him to then carry a record of about 8-8, but he is 11-7, leading the NL in wins, showing that the Cubs give more than adequate run support. If the stats from 2007 were always correct though, the Cubs may have won more games than they have. Let's hope that Matt Cain gets that slow run support today and that Zambrano gets the goods.

*- When I say "Barretted", I am referring to the sloppy defense that Barrett had shortly before he departed from the Cubs.

Thanks,

Ryan