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