July 2009
Cubs streaking as the second half continues
Coming out of the All Star break, the Chicago Cubs have put together a very impressive two weeks of baseball, compiling a very impressive record of 11-3. I know what you are saying about this stretch of game though. They played half of those games against some of the worst talent the National League has to offer. The Washington Nationals are the worst team in all of baseball, and the Cincinnati Reds aren’t all that much better. That being the case, the Cubs did exactly what they are supposed to do. Play the teams that are on your schedule, and beat the teams that you are supposed to beat. The Cubs did just that, winning all seven games against the two lowly teams.
With the Philadelphia Phillies was the series to look at. They are one of the best teams in the National League, and we knew they would give us a fight going into that series. How many people honestly thought we would sweep the Phillies, let alone win the series? Going into things, I thought that we would be lucky to win one game. This was a very interesting series when you look back at what happened. The Cubs got blown out in the opener, lost an extra inning battle for the second, and blew them out in the final. If you want a comparison, the St. Louis Cardinals blew out the Phillies in the first game of their recent series, but got blown out themselves in the final two.
Finally, that brings me to the Houston Astros, who while they are a better team then the other two, they are a far cry from a great team. However, by winning the series against the Astros, they added some much needed separation between them and a team that was, until recently, tied with the Cubs for second place. They won three of the four games, and now are a healthy four games ahead of the closest team behind them. A four game series is hard to sweep, so I figured we would lose at least one game. I thought that Roy Oswalt was going to be the one pitcher who would beat us. When he went down in the second inning, my hopes were raised that the Cubs would be able to sweep the series. However, our pitching staff had a one game implosion. We lost the game I figured we would lose, so no harm done. The Cubs still won three of the four games. What else could you expect?
Despite the teams the Cubs played, the offensive output has been very impressive. The most impressive would have to be the red hot Alfonso Soriano who is on fire in his new role as the Cubs six hole hitter. He has really adapted well, and has even stated that he feels he can be of more use to the team in his current spot when he admitted a three run bomb in a game, is a lot better then a leadoff homerun. Truer words have never been spoken. The offensive explosion might also have to do with the return of Aramis Ramirez. While he started off slowly when he finally came back, since the break ended he has looked like he has returned to for. He has once again looked like the RBI machine that we have all come to know and love since he came to Chicago.
One thing that may stand in the way of the Cubs going deep into October are the injuries. The Cubs just can not stay healthy this year. Every time the Cubs are about to reactivate a player from the disabled list, someone else gets injured and has to be put on. This has been the case all season long, as the Cubs have had their whole team healthy for a total of two games this season. Currently, the Cubs have five players on the disabled list. They are, Aaron Miles, David Patton, Ted Lilly, Geovany Soto and now Reed Johnson. In all honesty though, only three of them are important to the Cubs long term success.
Thankfully, Soto is close to returning from his oblique injury, and could be back over the weekend, or by early next week at the latest. No offense to Koyie Hill, but Soto is a much better offensive player. I give him all the props in the world though, he has caught almost every inning of every game since Soto went down, but we need Soto back in a bad way. With Lilly, who knows when he will be back. He is having arthroscopic surgery on his knee, and that recovery takes around three weeks to heal. Hopefully, that time off will allow the inflammation in his shoulder to die down. With his status being unknown, the Cubs made a trade which brings them back a pair of lefty pitchers. More on this in a moment. The final Cub on the disabled list, which we need is Johnson. He broke his foot when he fouled off a ball in the first inning of Wednesday’s game. He will be out for around a month at least.
The only good thing I can say about the team having all these injuries, is that for the most part, the entire team will be relatively well rested come September and October. Just about every member of the team has spent time on the shelf, whether they were on the disabled list or just missing a week due to a nagging injury. I think that the Cubs being where they are considering all the injuries they have had, is a miracle. Take this as a statement of how bad our division is, that or how good of a job Cubs Jim Hendry did in building this team to be as deep as they are. He has been ripped without remorse for some of the moves he has made, but considering how banged up we have been, they have been able to do a pretty decent job at filling the holes we have been left with.
As I mentioned, today the Cubs made a trade with their usual favorite trading partners, the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the trade, the Cubs acquired a pair of left handed pitchers, John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny. In return, the Cubs sent out today’s winning pitcher Kevin Hart along with minor leaguers Jose Ascanio and Single-A Daytona infielder Josh Harrison. In my honest opinion, this is a good trade for our beloved Cubs. They were able to get another left handed pitcher to add into the bullpen to go along with Sean Marshall in Grabow. With Gorzelanny, he could very well slide into the starting rotation in Lilly’s slot until he is able to return, if he is able to do so at all this year. Marshall, I feel, will stay in the bullpen as he has had a tremendous amount of success since being moved into that role, 1.25 ERA in 25 games. Apparently he is much more comfortable pitching in relief then as a starter, where many Cub fans wanted him to stay when Carlos Zambrano returned from his injury. However, after Randy Wells has been outstanding in his stint with the Cubs, Marshall as sent back to his common role in the bullpen. Time will tell if these trades will have the desired effect, so I will not judge them fully until they have had some time to get work in. By give them some time, I mean more then just a game or two.
Well, the Cubs have 62 games left this season, and are currently in a first place tie with the Cardinals, though that tie will be broken by the end of the night one way or another. Tomorrow, the Cubs hit the road, and start the trip in Florida to face the Marlins. They get to face another one of the softer teams in the National League, and should be able to continue padding their stats, and hope that they are able to get some separation with the Cardinals to not only get into first place on their own, but get a comfortable lead with the season dwindling down. They will be on the road until August 10, and will face the Marlins, Reds and the Colorado Rockies. While the old saying goes, you need to play .500 on the road, on this 10 game trip, anything less then six or seven wins would be a disappointment. The Pennant race is getting exciting as the final two months are about to begin.
The Second Half Begins With a Bang
The second half of the baseball season is underway, and going into the second game of a three game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago Cubs sit three games above the .500 mark only two games behind the division leading St. Louis Cardinals. At the beginning of the baseball season, if someone told you that the Cubs would be in this position come the All Star Break, you would have laughed at them, or figured something had gone terribly wrong. Well that’s exactly what has happened, something has gone terribly wrong. The Cubs have had their entire team together for maybe two games in the first 91 games of the season. With that being the case, you could consider the Cubs to be very lucky to be in the situation they are.
When the Cubs resumed play, they started off very hot, sweeping the lowly Washington Nationals, who are the worst team in all of baseball. The lowly Nationals were exactly what the doctor ordered for the Cubs, who needed to get off to a quick start if they wanted to show that they were contenders, instead of pretenders. Sure, you can say that sweeping the Nationals is no big deal, but you need to consider a few things before you say that. If they had lost a game, or the series, or God forbid had been swept, fans would be cursing out the team. They did what they had to do, and that’s going in to enemy territory and playing baseball. Another thing to keep in mind, is sweeping a three game series is hard enough, what they did was sweep a four game series which is rare, no matter how bad a team is. So while I am not overly impressed with a sweep of the Nationals, I enjoyed watching the Cubs play them. I had forgotten how nice you feel when you get to see your team play baseball the way the Cubs did over the weekend.
However, that series has come to an end, and the Cubs must once again face some real talent in the form of the Phillies. Anyone who watched the game last night, knows that this series will not be an easy one for the Cubs to win. Sadly, last night they lost an embarrassing game by the score of 10-1; The Cubs and their fans were quickly brought back down to earth. While the Phillies are a very impressive team, the Cubs are also catching them at the worst possible time, as they are the hottest team in all of baseball, with their winning streak now at nine straight. Going into the series, you would have had to consider a sweep very unlikely, and now that the Cubs lost the first game of the series, you would be hard pressed to believe that they can still win the series. To be honest, going into the series, I would have been happy with winning one of the set.
As we approach the trade deadline, fans are wondering what Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry has up his sleeve to improve this team. However, as I have stated several times, a trade which will bring a big time player to the Cubs is severely in doubt, as the payroll can not take on much more. The Cubs have tinkered with the ball club mainly by rotating minor leaguers up to the main roster, but have also been busy in the free agent market. Recently, Hendry signed former stud closer B. J. Ryan to a minor league deal, after he was released by the Toronto Blue Jays, who still owe him roughly $14 million over the course of the next two years. Because the Blue Jays cut him, the Cubs are only on the hook for about $200 thousand. Much like the Jim Edmonds deal last year, the signing of Ryan is a low risk/high reward deal. He has struggled all season after having arm surgery, but if he is able to find any piece of what he once had, adding him to the bullpen will be huge. For one, he would give us that second left out of the pen that we need, as well as someone who would be able to fill in nicely as another late inning relief pitcher. Does he have anything left? Your guess is as good as mine, but signing him for that low of a figure couldn’t hurt. One thing to keep in mind with Ryan, his emergence could spell the end of another bullpen pitcher whom the Cub fans seem to loathe.
At the moment, the team is far from healthy, as Ryan Dempster and Geovany Soto are both on the disabled list. Those are two key components that the Cubs desperately need to come back as soon as possible. Dempster, who is out with a broken toe, has not been as good as he was last year, but he is better then any option we currently have at our disposal. With Soto, losing him hurts more then you think, because that means Koye Hill is the Cubs lone catcher. Sure, Jake Fox can slide in at catcher incase of an emergency, but that doesn’t mean that I want to see him behind the plate anytime soon. Soto has also been heating up and giving us some good offensive numbers. Hopefully, neither one of them will be out for too much longer.
There is still a lot of games to be played, but the games are starting to dwindle. With 70 games left after tonight, the Cubs have plenty of time to dig themselves out of the two game deficit they are currently in. Sure, they haven’t played baseball as well as we thought they should have this season, but they are still alive and have a fighting chance to win their third straight division title. What this team will be able to do once they reach October is another story, but I will not write them off. All you have to do is to take a look at the 2006 version of the Cardinals who won the World Series after winning a very bad National League Central with a lowly 83 wins. Im not saying that the Cubs can repeat that the 2006 Cardinals did, but they are proof that a mediocre team can win the World Series. We just have to hope we have our whole team healthy when the time comes.
The Cubs Rollercaoster Season Continues
The rollercoaster ride that the Chicago Cubs have been taking their fans on this entire season continues. After things have looked their bleakest, the Cubs won three of four games from the team which at the time lead the division, the Milwaukee Brewers, and did so in dominant fashion in two of them. With as critical as I have been with this team over the past few weeks, the only fair and just thing to do would be to also give them the praise that they deserve. With the way the ball club has played over the last week, they have earned a pat on the back.
I will freely admit, that a week ago, I thought that this team was going to go nowhere fast. With the way the offense had been struggling, I was under the impression that, despite the three games with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the four game series with the division leading Brewers would be the final blow, knocking us out of contention. But something happened, the Cubs found new life. Mixed with a collection of players from Triple A, the Cubs started playing far better then they had been at any other time in the season. Counting last nights win against the Atlanta Braves, the Cubs have won six of their last eight games, and now sit in third place, only two games back of the new division leading St. Louis Cardinals. Perhaps this new life that the Cubs have seemingly found is only temporary, but seeing them play baseball as well as they have this past week is great.
Yesterday, the Cubs got back three important players who they have been missing. Aramis Ramirez, Angel Guzman and Reed Johnson were all activated from the disabled list. With them returning to the ball club, three had to go, Kevin Hart and Sam Fuld were optioned back to the minor leagues, while the Rule 5 draft pick David Patton was placed on the disabled list with what the Cubs called a “strained groin”. I doubt he is actually injured, but his going on the disabled list is a convenient excuse to keep him off the roster while keeping him as a part of the active roster so they could hold on to his rights.
While niether Johnson nor Guzman got into the game yesterday, Ramirez started and went hitless. While getting these stars back on the roster is huge, you can not discredit what some of the current Cubs have been doing, The Cubs hottest hitter, Derrek Lee, is smashing the ball as if he is reliving his 2005 campaign. Additionally, with the recent lineup changes Cubs Manager Lou Piniella has made, Kosuke Fukudome has found new life as the teams new leadoff hitter. With Fukudome leading off, Alfonso Soriano has been lowered down to sixth in the order. This is a move that has been a long time coming, and you have to wonder why this wasn’t done sooner. Fukudome looks to be a perfect fit leading off games, as his patience helps work the count in a way we haven’t seen out of Soriano. However, he will not be leading off games when there is a lefty on the mound, that honor will go to Johnson who shares a platoon with Fukudome in Center Field.
However, news today is saddening, as the Cubs will be placing starting pitcher Ryan Dempster on the disabled list with a broken toe. Starting on three days rest, Carlos Zambrano will take the ball in Dempster’s absence. Coming off of his most impressive start of the year, you would think that I would have nothing but confidence in him starting tonight’s game against a team which is not as good as the Brewers. I am not too fond of any pitcher going on short rest, let alone Zambrano who is as lose of a cannon as they come. Being on short rest he is more liable to make a mistake, and we all know that when he makes a mistake he gets made at himself and makes more mistakes. Hopefully tonight, he will be able to avoid making any costly mistakes. Taking Dempster’s place on the 25 man roster will be recently demoted Hart who will likely resume his roll in the bullpen with Shawn Marshall once again joining the rotation. Though that is, of course, just a guess.
With the Cubs riding high on their recent stretch of success, you have to hope that they will continue. With one test down, they have one final test before the All Star break beings. The Cubs will be playing the Cardinals in a four game series that leads into the break. A series win could see the Cubs enter the break in first place, a spot that seemed to be light years away. While this rollercoaster ride of a season can once again see the Cubs enter another low point, the future has never looked brighter then after winning the series over the Brewers. If they are able to finish the first half strong, the second half of the season could be one to remember.
Fuld adds a much needed spark, but roadblocks will keep him from sticking around
Last night, the Chicago Cubs exploded with an outburst of offense that reminded us of the 2008 season. They were led by Derrek Lee who had a two home run game, while driving in seven runs, which gave us a glimpse of his 2005 form. We also saw a second straight game, which included a very impressive performance from recently called up Sam Fuld who batted in the leadoff slot for the second game in a row. This brings us to the current problem that is facing the Cubs, and the likely idiotic decision making of Cubs Manager Lou Piniella. I cant say for sure if he will make the decision I am thinking about, but more then likely my predicition will become reality when the Cubs take the field for game two of the four game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Since being recalled from the minors a few days ago, and getting his first start of the season on Wednesday while the Cubs were in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates, Fuld has made his presence known. In both games that he started for the Cubs, Fuld has been batting leadoff and racking up four hits in his eight at bats. He also drew two walks these past few games. Granted, two good games does not make a career, but he has looked good in the limited time he has been given while Alfonso Soriano has been sitting on the bench. If I were Piniella, I would not change much when making out the lineup card. Until Fuld gives you a reason, you should keep him in the leadoff slot, and bat Soriano lower in the order. Where there is a will, there is a way.
If Soriano is to play everyday as he is being paid to do, then the solution is simple. Have Fuld doing a double platoon with both Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley. As the numbers will show, Fukudome struggles against left handed pitchers and Bradley struggles against the right handed pitchers. Until he gives Piniella a reason to remove him from the lineup, he should be kept in the mix. He has done everything you would want your leadoff hitter to do, and has added a spark to the Cubs; a spark which has been missing for the majority of the season. However, there are quite a few roadblocks standing in the way from this ever becoming reality.
Two of the roadblocks facing Fuld can be tackled at the same time. Those are Piniella and Soriano. For some reason, Piniella refuses to take Soriano out of the leadoff spot for a period of time that lasts more then a few days. He has been our leadoff hitter ever since he was signed, and while he has seen very limited time lower in the order, he has yet to hit lower in the order for more then a three day stretch. No matter his struggles to get on base, Soriano is consistently written into the lineup batting leadoff. Whether there is some unknown clause in his contract, or a comfort factor for Soriano, Piniella refuses to move the slumping outfielder out of leadoff.
Maybe Piniella just lost the edge that once made him one of the best managers in the game. I know he got thrown out of a game three days ago, but that does not mean he still has the “fire” he once had. In fact, he even said that he would not getting tossed again any time soon, because this argument took a lot out of him. The old Piniella would have stood up to Soriano and told him that he was going to hit lower in the order because he was not getting the job done. But not this version, he seems to be overly complacent, and uncaring that his leadoff man is far inferior to what you want out of your leadoff man. Piniella should tell Soriano that he has two choices, either hit in the fifth or sixth slot in the order, or ride the bench until he is ready to accept his new role. But we all know Piniella will not make this move, and Soriano will once again be hitting leadoff. Whether he returns today or tomorrow, he will be shoved down our throats as the leadoff hitter. Piniella refuses to even talk about the possibility of Soriano being taken out of the leadoff slot.
The final roadblock that is keeping Fuld down, is the pending return of Reed Johnson. Once Johnson returns from the disabled list, he will take over the roll of the fourth outfielder. When he returns, that ultimately leaves Fuld as a spare part, and he will more then likely be sent back down to the minor leagues, where he will be wasting away, unable to break through the gap. I can not see the Cubs carrying both Johnson and Fuld, even though that would give them the typical five outfielder set that is carried on most teams. The only other option, would be to get rid of one of the young infielders. Don’t forget, that once Aramis Ramirez gets back, one will be sent down as well.
There are many young players who we want to keep, but we cant keep them all. We have Andres Blanco, who shines with the glove but is limited offensively; even though he is starting to hit. He could be expendable. Jake Fox, is quite the opposite of Blanco. He knows how to hit the ball, but isn’t all that great with the glove. Then you have Micah Hoffpauir who is pretty much a left handed Fox, though he isn’t hitting quite as well as people had hoped. Don’t count on Jeff Baker to be sent out either, with the Cubs just acquiring him in a trade, his being sent down is highly unlikely. That brings me to Mike Fontenot, who has not lived up to the hype. If the decision was mine, I would send Fontenot down when Ramirez comes back, with Blanco taking over the everyday second base job. To keep Fuld, you will have to chose between Hoffpauir and Fox. Which would you rather keep?
With all this being said, the Cubs are off to a good start on this home stand. They took the first of four games from the division leading Brewers, and while they are still in fourth place, they are now only 2.5 games out of first. A win today, would bring us to 1.5 out and leave us well within striking distance. As poorly as the Cubs have played this season, they still have a shot to win the division. They just need to take things one game at a time. Game two of this series is just over three hours away, and by then we will know the fate of Fuld, and his place on this roster. If Soriano is leading off again, we know he will be sent down with Johnson’s return.
After a big series with the Brewers, Cubs are set to get a important trio back
With an unimpressive series win against the Pittsburg Pirates, a series which should have been a sweep, the Chicago Cubs make news for a few reasons. A number of players are slated to return by the start of next week, players who could be of great help to the ball club. Speaking of help coming, the Cubs have traded for yet another young middle infielder, as they try once again to find a man to play second base who can give them some production. Right now, the Cubs are entering a very critical point in their season, as they play 11 games, eight of which are with the two teams at the top of the division, the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The series with the Brewers, not to use an old and tiring cliché, is the biggest series of the season to date. With the Cubs currently sitting in fourth place, and three and a half games behind the division leaders, this series looms large With a sweep of the Brew Crew, the Cubs would find themselves a half game ahead of the Brewers. However, even with a sweep, the Cubs would be unlikely to be in first place at the end of the weekend, with the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds playing one another in a series starting on Friday. The pitching match up would seem to favor the Cubs in each game, but with the deep slumber the Cubs offense has been in, that may not matter. The Brewers have a good offense, and while their pitchers are less then stellar, they could very well keep our hitters in check. If the Cubs do get swept, they will be an unthinkable seven and a half games out of first place. If that happens, the Cubs must wave the white flag and start looking towards next year, and tell Aramis Ramirez to do what he needs to do in order to get ready for the 2010 season.
Speaking of Ramirez, currently, the Cubs have three players on the disabled list who are all scheduled to come off around the same time, which is Monday July 6, when a series with the Atlanta Braves us scheduled to begin. As I mentioned, the Cubs have Ramirez, Reed Johnson and Angel Guzman, all of which are on the 15 day disabled list, are making progress and becoming closer to returning to the 25 man roster. These three men have been key components to our team, and have been sorely missed. With their returns, the Cubs will be as close to full strength as they have been in a long time, which cant hurt their chances.
With Johnson’s return, we will get back a quality outfielder, who will allow Piniella to give more days off to struggling outfielders Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley. Johnson is a fan favorite, who is well loved because of his willingness to sacrifice his body to make a play; which is something we have seen on more then one occasion. With his return, we can expect that Piniella will continue the platoon he had implemented for most of the season, with Johnson playing centerfield on days the Cubs play against a left handed pitcher. Most fans would rather see him have an every day job, but him back in part time duty will more then likely be a big boost to this ball club. When Johnson returns, this likely means that newly called up Sam Fuld will be sent back down to the minors, The only other option, would be to come up with a phantom injury to one of the other outfielders.
The Cubs bullpen has been a very inconsistent piece of the team, and one reason why they have struggled lately. With Guzman going down to injury, the bullpen took a big hit. The man the Cubs have been waiting for had finally seemed to be putting things together, and pitching the way everyone thought he would. If he is able to continue to pitch the way he was before his injury, the Cubs bullpen gets a lot stronger, giving Piniella another late inning option to help the Cubs keep the lead. If Carlos Marmol continues to inconsistency, Guzman can easily slide into the eighth inning hole, allowing Marmol to slide into a less stressful inning. When he is activated, you can say goodbye to one of two pitchers. Either Kevin Hart or Jeff Samardzija will be optioned back to the minors.
That brings us to the more important player of the group, who is scheduled to play in some minor league games this weekend. Without a doubt, the most important player for the Cubs, Ramirez has been the more costly loss. The Cubs third baseman has been lost since early May, and the Cubs offense has suffered without him, scoring a run less a game on average. While he is the Cubs bet hitter, I fear some fans may be expecting too much of him on his return, and expect him to be a savior for this ball club. However, Ramirez came out with some troubling comments in the paper this morning. When talking about rejoining the Cubs, Ramirez had this to say, “It’s going to be hard the rest of the year because I’m not even close to being where I want to be, it’s still sore and it’s going to be like that — some days good, some days bad.” That is a problematic quote from the Cubs slugger. He still says that he isn’t close, which means we may not see what we are used to out of him. I still believe that he should be shut down for the remainder of the year, so he can get ready for next year. Though, if the Cubs are able to make up some ground against the Brewers in a four game series that starts tonight, his coming back may be worth the effort. When he is activated, you can say goodbye to one of a few young Cubs. Either Andres Blanco or Jake Fox will likely be sent back down. Either one would be a tough loss as Fox has impressed with the bat and Blanco has made stellar plays with his glove. Another possibility, though a long shot, would be to send down Mike Fontenot who has failed to impress all season, and hasn’t come close to meeting expectations.
Speaking of roster moves, the Cubs made a very minor deal today. They traded away young Double A pitcher Al Alburquerque to the Colorado Rockies for second baseman Jeff Baker. If you ask me, this is a waste of a move, as he is just another version of some of the players we already have, On the season, he is hitting just .130, however that is just in 12 games. In his career he is hitting just .250, albeit in under 600 at bats. Yeah, he is still trying to figure out the game, and still trying to put the pieces together for his major league career, but at the moment I don’t see much upside to this trade. I hope that he proves me wrong, and that he figures things out. But at the moment, I am not impressed with this move, and they just made a move to make a move.
The series with the Brewers will begin in less then a half hour, we need to do no worse then a split. Winning three of four would be preferred, as would a sweep obviously, but losing the series is unacceptable. Come on Cubs, go out there and beat the Brewers. End the first half on a high note.
Anno Catuli
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