The Sun is Shining

August 2nd, 2007

Cubs; WGN 9; 2:20 PM ET; vs. Phillies; Sean Marshall, 5-4, 3.10 ERA, vs. Lohse, 6-12, 4.58 ERA

Ah, yes, the sun is shining. Well, actually, it is a quite overcast day. But that was sort of a metaphorical comment any how. I meant the sun is shining on the Cubs, who yesterday, finally tied the Brewers in first place, and are technically 1st place due to winning percentage. The Brewers have a .537 WP and the Cubs have a .538 WP, placing them in 1st place if the season ended today.

The good thing is that right now the Brewers are playing the Mets. If they lose and the Cubs win, hello sole-possesion of 1st place. Nothing could ruin my mood. Except seeing the Cubs get mutilated by the Phillies in game 4 of the set. As long as we don't fall behind 7-1 in the 3rd I'll be OK (Just Kidding, that's so unlikely).

Thanks,

Ryan

Losing is News for the Cubs

July 28th, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; 7:10 PM; vs. Reds; Marshall, 4-4, 3.25 ERA vs. Harang, 10-2, 3.45 ERA

The Cubs lost to the Reds 5-4 yesterday after a 2-run 9th inning comeback that tied them at 4. Bobby Howry then came on to pitch and with 1 out in the 9th, he gave up the walk-off run. That's dissapointing because we played a good defensive, offensive, and pitching game. Hill surrendered 2 over 5 throwing 104 pitches, 63 for strikes.

If we lose another game, expect it to be this one. Harang is a pitcher who wasn't great in Oakland and really came into his own in Cincinnati, where he has a chance to sign as a premier pitcher. He can help the Reds return to glory if the Reds can stabilize their rotation with some other quality pitchers.

No matter what happens, today's game promises to be a good one, so enjoy the game.

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

You say, "Good Buy," I say, "I Know,"

July 17th, 2007

Cubs; CSN Chicago; 8:05 PM ET;vs. Giants; vs. Zito, 6-9, 4.90 ERA, vs. 4-3, 3.48 ERA

My title is speaking of the Jason Kendall and cash for Rob Bowen and minor league trash. Overall, Hendry is having a good year. It goes to show you that 300 million spent is 300 million earned. If you weren't singing it when reading the actual title, it was a take on the Beatles song "You say goodbye, I say hello."

I have some pictures of what Kendall will look like as a Cub, and what Bowen will look like as an Athletic. Here they are.

Today should be a good game as Barry Zito has been pitching like last year's Sean Marshall, and Sean Marshall has been pitching like Cy Young Barry Zito. With the Cubs on a 4 game win streak, let's see how they can do against Zito, in a battle of the southpaws. Also, Bonds returns tonight, as he didn't play yesterday with swollen ankles and knees.

Thanks,

Ryan

I Like What I See

June 24th, 2007

Monday; Cubs; CSN Chicago; 8:05 PM ET;

Jason Marquis, 5-4, 3.38 ERA, vs. Jeff Francis, 7-5, 3.44 ERA

Well, today the Cubs completed a 3 game sweep of the White Sox, where in we declared to the nation that we were the better team from Chicago. Anyways, I saw a lot of good baseball today. For example:

1. Shutout
2. Best Defensive game for the Cubs all year
3. Soriano homered-again-for the third night in a row
4. We got the consisten Sean Marshall
5. Good relief pitching

Now, with that being said, I also was troubled by a couple things. Well, actually, just one thing made me scratch my head. Sean Marshall left after 6.1 innings, even though he was in the 7th inning and retired the first man. I know it's only fair to Marmol, who had been warming up since the 6th inning, but, c'mon, Sean was throwing a gem. Not like he was throwing a 1 hitter or anything, and he wasn't striking a lot of guys out*, but he walked only 1 and gave up only 5 hits.

I don't remember who was up at the time of the switch. Perhaps it was to get an advantage on a right-handed hitter. After all, Marmol is a great reliever**, well this year anyways***. So, back to the main idea, here. I liked what I saw today, and if the Cubs keep playing this well, and actually win 7 or 8 in a row, like all winning teams do****, the division could be led by the Cubs by the all-star break*^.

*- Sean struck out 4

**- His ERA in '07 is o.93

***- Well, remember '06? His ERA was 6+

****- Not a winning team, not just yet (35-39)

*^- Knock on wood

Thanks,

Ryan

Cubs vs. White Sox Game 3: Preview

June 24th, 2007

Cubs; WGN 9; 2:05 PM ET; vs. Chicago White Sox

Sean Marshall, 3-2, 2.84 ERA, vs. Jose Contreras, 5-7, 4.81

Today the Cubs finish off the interlague series with the Chicago White Sox. Sean Marshall, who has had a handful of quality starts this year, faces off against Jose Contreras, who, as I recall, was a big part of the '05 World Series White Sox.

Well, for whatever reason, this year the White Sox just aren't good. Not to say that the Cubs are the '01 Mariners and that Sean Marshall is Randy Johnson, because neither of that is true. All I'm saying is that Interleague play has been very good to us this year, with the exception of the Rangers, who, by the way, have onw of the third worst records in the majors.

So, lets talk about Sean Marshall. He was called up in May, and mde 2 stellar starts for the Cubs, yet, like I say, the offense is streaky, and he took the loss in both. In those 2 starts, he went 13.1 innings pitched, gave up 4 earned runs, K'd 14 while walking 4, and had a 2.70 ERA. This month, which I call June, you can call it whatever you like, Sean has still been fooling hitters, hurling 24.2 innings in 4 starts, giving up 8 earned runs, 17 K's, 6 walks, and managing a 2.92 ERA.

Out of these 6 starts, 5 have been starts you expect out of Carlos Zambrano, and 1 was a start we were seeing out of Carlos Zambrano at the beginning of the year. That being said, the bad start, 4+ innings, 4 ER, 3 HR, was his most recent start. Hopefully it was just a fluke and he got it out of his system. My stomach tells me otherwise, however.

I keep wondering when we will see 2006 Sean Marshall on the hill. Last Tuesday was my first flashback. I hope it's my last for a long, long time. Of all people I want to see struggle, or could take seeing struggle, he isn't on that list. When he is good, he is great, but when he is bad, I want him to walk around wearing a paper bag over his head so he can't see people flicking him off. Last year he had a 5.59 ERA in 24 starts, averaging between 5 innings and 5.1 innings a game.

All I can say, though, is that if we can have Sean, Big Z, Lilly, Marquis, and Richie Rich pitching well, then we can do good, especially when D-Lee starts hitting homeruns again^.

^Knock on wood, so that I don't curse him and he will start hitting homeruns again.

Thanks,

Ryan