Eat Schmidt and Die
When I was a young'un, my grandmammie told me that if I've got nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Therefore, I will leave behind that seething pile of shit that was our latest encounter with the Reds, moving on to newer pastures, periodically yelling "serenity now!" to anyone within earshot.
Excuse me.
So today brings us to the road once more [for a brutal nine-game stretch in Pittsburgh, LA and St. Louis], and a three-game weekend series with the NL Central's red-headed stepchildren, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They're nothing to scoff at, and everything to laugh at. It's where former Cubs have come to die, like the withering right field wallflower Jeromy Burnitz. I have to mention that he has begun the season hotter than a hot thing, batting .262 with 3 HRs and 9 RBI. It pains me to also mention that Jacque Jones is currently .111 [2-for-18] with 1 HR and 4 RBI, and is nursing a hamstring strain on the bench. Serenity Now #1.
We also have our rook on the mound, curveballing Sean Marshall, and he might prove to be useful against the sleepytown Pirates lineup [Team BA .255 vs. LH, 5 HR, 17 RBI]. That being said, fat masher 1B Sean Casey is batting .438 [2 HR, 5 RBI] against the southpaws, Jason Bay a respectable .294, and terrier-like Jack Wilson .375. Serenity now #2.
Not only that, but Victor Santos is hurling for the Pirates. Sure, he's still a little fresh-faced to the show, but he likey Chicago long time. With only a pathetic 18-34 record [4.98 ERA] in 67 major-league starts over 6 seasons [to be fair, he's played for Detroit, Colorado, Texas, Milwaukee and now Pittsburgh], he is a career-best 3-3 against the Cubs, holding down a studly 2.74 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and .208 BAA in 11 games [7 starts]. Serenity now #3.
All these things probably doom us to some sort of squeaky 7-6 defeat or something, but I'm past the point of predicting, so I'll hope for a good result despite a wealth of evidence that might hint towards the contrary.
Today's Pitchers
CHC - Sean "Mini Unit" Marshall [0-0, 8.31 ERA]
PIT - Victor "Blood, Sweat and" Santos [1-1, 4.66 ERA]
So let's open the floors for a wealth of possible discussion. Topics might include:
- Is JT full of shit when it comes to this stuff?
- Predictions/thoughts on this road trip?
- Who will be next to get injured?
- Glendon Rusch: thumbs up, or thumbs down?
Let's go Cubbies. First pitch scheduled for 7.05pm.
posted by Jim Hendry @ 1:19 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
This is the worst blog ever. You should stop wasting your time.
Glad to see Cubs fans are groing more constructive by the day! That goes for both anonymous and JT.
Anyway, yes, JT, you do seem to be full of it. But that's okay. Most people who try to make predictions are, and we are all guilty of that from time to time.
Victor Santos is the next to be injured.
Rusch... err... undecided? He gets another start before I make my determination. I am both worried and optimistic.
Remember the big west coast road trip last season, when Lee solidified his standing as best hitter in the majors? It'd be nice if something like that could happen for us again. We could use a couple 4-4 with 2 HR games from Lee this week.
Ramirez has clubbed Pittsburgh since coming to the Cubs, but I'm not sure that means anything after the glut injury. How do you hurt your butt swinging a baseball bat? I love A-Ram, but he's really dumbfounding sometimes.
Oh, on the Hairston note. Most of the debate this season has been whether we should go with defense or offense at second. On Thursday we sent out the best defensive team we've got. Blanco caught, Perez at third, Hairston at second, and Pagan add's range in right. We still gave up a ton of runs. It comes down to pitching more than defense anyway. If you've got a guy who hits 30 poins higher than your alternative, and doesn't make any more errors, you're probably gonna go with the hitter. If your pitching blows it early, the defender can't help you much, but the offensive 2B can put you back in the game.
Is this the same 'anonymous' who couldn't pick up the sarcasm in statements like "USA is the best country in the world" and "the rest of the world should bow before the grandiose God-like greatness of the USA?" Because if so, thanks for your continued readership!
As for Rusch: Thumbs down for the moment. I'm not saying throw him up on the cross and don't allow him to ever wear a Cubs hat again, I just don't think he has earned the right to start another game at this point in time. I think at this point you give his next start to someone else. Lazlo and I have gone back and forth a little on this one... it's just differing opinions, and while he thinks he gets one more start, my opinion is otherwise for the time being.
Lazlo also makes a very good case for my biggest beef with the Cubs right now. Hairston's starts over Walker. Hairston hasn't done terribly at the plate yet, so an unbiased onlooker will say, 'stop complaining, maybe Hairston is just as good and Baker knows something you don't.' So, I am trying to keep my complaining about this to a minimum. But believe me, I'll be here if his production falls off and he keeps starting.
Just for the record, just so you know, I do think Rusch should be put up on the cross and not be allowed to wear a Cubs uniform ever again.
So there. Just throwing it out there.
PS. I was almost right about the score!! 8-6, Top 9??!!? I'm fucken good at this prediction malarkey!
This was an ugly, ugly win. But, it was fun to watch Murton and Walker pound the ball. Not fun watching Murton get called out on strkes (they were bum calls). Gotta love the 3-run triple.
Marshall looked really good through 3, and did a good job getting out of the jam in the fourth. He did okay in the fifth, but something was wrong in the 6th. Did the batters just start to figure him out? I hope that's not the case. I hope he is not a once threw the lineup guy. It'd be nice if our starters could go deep in games soon. That bullpen is getting abused.
Wuertz looked awful tonight. What is up with him? If he continues to give up runs, I wouldn't be surprised to see Novoa called up and Wuertz sent down. Lets hope it doesn't come that. Nothing against Novoa, I just don't want to see Wuertz blowing it.
Ignore "anonymous" trollers. It's just a fishing expidition, and they don't even have the guts to put a "face" on it.
Besides, I like wasting my time with you guys, even if you are a bunch of doofs who couldn't lay down a bunt if my sister were pitching.
Zambrano has been having trouble making it through the line ups the second and third times they see him too, so far this year, and we know he's got great stuff. I think Marshall will figure it out.
On the prognostication issue, most of baseball placed the Cubs in the middle of the road before the season started. No one quite believes DLee is the hitter he was last year. The history of injuries to Wood and Prior make them an uncertainty. Walker has always been highly under rated. Cedeno and Murton are unknowns. A-Ram has surprised people by being as good as he is at the plate, so the expect that he will stop surprising them soon. And nobody quite knows how to figure out Juan Pierre as a component on this team. The Cubs have always been rated highly when they were loaded with big bashers and marque pitchers. The pundits made more out of Sandbergs power numbers than they did his speed, but in 1984 he was more of a running threat than a home run threat. And the 1989 team was a small ball team too, not a masher team.
In all of the playoff years — 1984, 1989, 1998 and 2003 — pitching was a key component. The current Cubs are an uncertainty in this area. And nobody is ready to say that Dempster is the closer that everybody believes a team has to have in order to compete successfully.
I'm going out on limb and predicting that they'll be singing a different tune by the end of the season. I'm betting the carefull management of the big three in rehab will pay off in a way that everyone will be talking about by the end of the season, and that Dempster will be the new king of the ninth before it's all over. Let the pundits underestimate this team.
Who should be Cub of the week? Todd Walker sat two games this week against the Reds. Barrett had a great week last week. Murton had a great night and is starting to hit again. Cedeno is starting to cool off (that free-swinging is coming back to bite him). None of the starting pitchers have been great except Maddux. Dempster, Williamson, Eyre and Howry have been great. Who hasn't been good? Oh yeah, Ramirez. And Perez. And Pierre (but he was on base twice yesterday). Looks like it's between Murt', Walk, and Barrett for Cub of the week. Maybe somebody will break out tonight.
If Maddux keeps going the rest of April the way he's performed in his first two starts, you've gotta give him player of the month. At his age, he deserves it.
I'd love to see Maddux continue his season this way. He may be able to do it. That fastball is running and cutting all over the place.
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