As good as the Cubs were at home during the recent homestand, you had to wonder how they did it. I mean 5 of their starters were hitting .225 or below including Soto, Lee, Bradley, Fontenot and Miles. But yet they won four of five on the home stand vs San Diego and Houston, and things seemed promising coming to St Louis who was fresh off getting swept at home against the red hot Brewers.

But as it sometimes happens, the cold team wakes up and the hot teams goes in a slump. A slump that has recorded one run in the last two games.

Pinella is puzzled, Bradley is pissed. Panic time?

Nah

I stlll think we need to get Hoffpauir in the lineup at some point, and the Bobby Scales project might be starting to dry up, so that means Ryan Freel needs to get some at bats. With Rameriez still out until July Pinella needs to start using more of his role players. Starting pitching has been great, Lilly and Dempster didn’t deserve losses the last two games, and here’s hoping tough luck starter Sean Marshall gets a well deserved win tonight.

I know we have a lot of Cub Nation on the ledge, and that happens everytime we lose more then two in a row, but there is no need…..yet. Somehow we’re winning despite the slumps and despite the injuries. Lets be thankful for that.

jpligon75 This Site

Oh, and by the way, the Cubs just swept the Padres in a three game series winning this afternoon 11-3.

But enough about them.

I want to talk about the 31 year old Rookie Bobby Scales. That’s right. 31 years old. You heard me…a rookie.

11 years in the minors. Over 3,000 at bats and finally, Bobby Scales earned a shot in the Show. You would think he’d be a little bitter, but you’d be wrong. He is very genuine in his appreciation for the chance to play, even if it’s potentially short lived. Scales got the call up when Carlos Zambrano went down with a hamstring injury, but an unfortunate injury to Aramis Rameriez last week gave Scales a longer life span, and he is ‘Well obviously by now just about all of you know what has happened to me in the last week of my life. It has been truly amazing and all I can do is point up to the sky and thank the Man for granting me the opportunity after 11 minor league seasons. I also have to thank my family, especially my Wife, Mom, and Dad for the support they have all given me from day one.  So many people who I have never met in my life have expressed their well wishes and support. Many people have called my journey “inspirational and amazing.”  Thanks but I also would like to remind you that there are thousands of people out there who work hard and persevere every day. I am no different than anyone else out there, the only difference is that my story gets played out for the world to see. I have a ton of stuff to write about but I felt it more important to say a sincere “Thank You” to everyone. taking full advantage of it.” (http://cubsprospect.mlblogs.com/)

He is as down to earth and grounded as a major league athlete can get. I am proud that he’s a cub.

Congrats Bobby Scales. I will be getting your jersey as soon as they become available.

jpligon75 This Site

It went from bad to worse for the Cubs last night.

Lets just focus for a second on the good. Rookie pitcher Randy Wells pitched 5 shutout innings for the cubs in his first start as a major leaguer. He got himself out of a couple jams but threw strikes and got some good defense from Milton Bradley early in the game.

Pinella pulled Wells in the 6th for Angel Guzman and a 2-0 lead. Guzman gave up a homer to JJ Hardy, but struck out 4 in his two innings, and really looked quite impressive.

Cubs had a chance to add some insurance runs in the 8th inning, they had the bases loaded and only one out, but power hitting Ryan Theriot grounded into a fielders choice at home and Geovani Soto grounded out to short. When you leave the bases loaded like that with less then two outs, the baseball Gods will get you.

I must have jinxed Aaron Heliman yesterday saying he was doing well, cause the first hitter he faced he walked in the 8th and then gave up the 2 run bomb to Ryan Braun to give up the lead and essentially the game. Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman came in and struck out Miles and Hoffpauir both who never took the bat off their shoulders and Milton Bradley grounded out to end the game.

Tough game to lose especially when Randy Wells pitched so well.

Tougher pill to swallow is now losing A-Ram for 4-6 weeks with the dislocated shoulder. This has happened to him before in Pittsburgh over 9 years ago, so he knows his recovery time will be around that 4-6 week window. He dislocated it in the third inning diving for a ground ball toward the line and right away was in a great deal of pain. I guess Jim Hendry must have known something like this would happen as he pulled the trigger on the trade for utility infielder/outfielder Ryan Freel earlier in the day who can play third along with Mike Fontenot, and if need be recent call up Bobby Scales.

All in all a real shitty game. You hate losing, but when you lose the way we did to a rival like the Brewers it makes it even worse. Pour salt in the wound and lose our all star third basemen for two months and it’s even worse.

Good teams will bounce back. This will test Lou Pinella managerial skills.

So glad it’s still hockey season!

jpligon75 This Site

The Orioles have traded infielder/outfielder Ryan Freel to the Chicago Cubs for speedy outfielder Joey Gathright.

The deal is expected to be announced within the next hour.

Gathright, 28, has already cleared waivers and will be sent to Triple-A Norfolk, where he’ll join the Tides’ outfield. He had three hits in 14 at-bats with the Cubs this year after batting .254 with 21 stolen bases for the Kansas City Royals last year.

Freel, 33, had two hits in 15 at-bats with the Orioles. He has been on the disabled list since being hit in the head with a pickoff attempt April 20.

jpligon75 This Site

Slowly but surely people are coming off the ledge in Cubs Nation. Winning three of four from Florida and then playing well against the Giants, almost beating Cy Young winner Tim Lincecome with 6 starters getting the day off….and now sweeping the Astros at Minute Made Park in a short two game series.

Ted Lilly pitched 6 strong innings only giving up two runs on four hits and was helped along by Alfonsio Soriano’s two home runs to complete the sweep 8-5. Only rough spot to talk about would be the middle relief again. Looks like right now Aaron Heilman is calming down and understanding his role..his last two starts have produced 2 innings pitched and no hits, 5 strikeouts. Marmol and Gregg are solid, but after that it is a crap shoot. David Patton has been erratic, and last night Chad Fox in his first relief appearance after being called up gave up three runs and two hits in 1/3 of an inning.

Up ahead we have a weekend set up at Wrigley North with the Milwaukee Brewers. Tonight Randy Wells gets the nod for the Cubs subbing for the injured Carlos Zambrano against Dave Bush. Bush is 1-7 against the Cubs but has pitched well the last few starts. Saturday Ryan Dempster goes against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo, and the series finale, tough luck starter Sean Marshall vs Jeff Suppan. Honestly the starters really haven’t been an issue for either one of these teams in the early matchups….it’ll come down to the bullpen I’m sure again. Three fantastic games back in April with the Cubs taking two of three, and we hope for just the same if not more this weekend.

jpligon75 This Site

I posted a couple days ago about my frustration with the way the Cubs have been playing. It was only April, but these games count just as much as the ones in September do. Well I guess Lou listened to me. Since that post the cubs have gone on a three game win streak, winning 3 of 4 against the Florida Marlins to get to three games over .500 and into second place just 3.5 back of the hated Cardnals.

What’s different? Could be getting healthier little by little. I know that has been an issue, and it takes time for these guys to get back in the swing of things. The bullpen pitched much much better. They gave up three runs in 10 1/3 innings the last three games, two of them coming today in the 7th and 8th inning. Derreck Lee is even hitting a bit better too. He hit a grand slam today to dead center to give the Cubs a 6-2 lead in the 5th, his second home run in as many days.

I guess maybe I should bitch about players more often.

And as stated before we got a lot of home games this month. We have to take advantage of this. Next series is against the San Francisco Giants for two games, where we get unlucky and get to face Tim Lincecome in the second game, so in reality, I’m hoping for a split. Then off to Houston and then Milwaukee for a weekend series which should be rocking as usual at Wrigley North.

Aramis Rameriez should be back tomorrow which is great news, Bradley looks to be getting his legs back full strength, and as long as Zambrano’s hammy isn’t but a tweak, we are healthier then we’ve been all year.

Oh, and if TheRiot hits another home run, there will be immediate steriod testing after the game!!

jpligon75 This Site

I don’t think even the most critical of Cubs fans could have imagined that on May 1st, the cubs would be 10-11, 5 games out of first place. Lou Pinella should be buying both Vinny Del Negro and Joel Quinnville dinner every day because if the Bulls and Blackhawks were not in the playoffs still, Pinella surely would be feeling the wrath of the Chicago media.

One thing that Lou cannot control is the injuries. Ramierez, Marmol, Bradley, Soto, and Lee all have missed time due to injuries. That can’t be helped. Maybe it’s a blessing that it’s happening in April and not in September/October, but if the Cubs aren’t careful they won’t see October.

Lou and GM Jim Hendry are really going to have to make some tough choices here in the next couple weeks before this gets out of hand. I mentioned this a few weeks back, and I’m going to hammer this home until he proves me wrong:

DERREK LEE IS FINISHED

Now I’m not saying he should be retiring, but he should NOT be the starting first baseman for the Chicago Cubs. And for God’s sake he should not be the 3 or 4 hitter in this lineup. He is just as clutch as A-Rod is in October. I’m tired of people saying he saves games for the Cubs with his glove. Can someone please name me one friggin game he’s saved due to his glove? No, I think not, but I can name you numerous games he’s lost due to his bat, last night being one of them. Runner on 2nd and one out and he strikes out on a slider outside the zone again. Meanwhile we have a kid named Micah Hoffpauir that’s hitting the cover off the ball in spring, is hitting .303 this season so far and is far more comfortable at 1st base then anywhere else. But no, Pinnella is stubborn and keeps the .189 hitting Lee in the lineup for whatever reason. I mean if his glove is so valuable, then bring him in the 8th or 9th inning for defense and let Hoffpauir play the majority of the game. It’s been time to make this change. It should have happened last year.

I wont’ get into the pitching right now. I’ve touched on that before. We have a big problem with our middle relievers, and honestly right now also with our set up and closer which I didn’t anticipate. Hopefully we can get this corrected soon. We have 18 home games in May, the most in any month. It’s the put up or shut up month now. Take advantage of what is coming our way or we’re gonna give the Cardnals and Brewers both who are playing way over their heads confidence in thinking they have a chance in this division.

jpligon75 This Site

Lou Pinella shook up the lineup Friday, hoping to catch some lightening in a bottle. Alfonsio Soriano was dropped to the three spot, Ryan Theriot was moved up to the leadoff spot, and Derrick Lee thank GOD was dropped to the #5 spot, but nothing really clicked until the 6th-7th inning when the Cardnals who lead 3-0 decided they didn’t want to win anymore.

Skip Shumaker who started at second base was in left field in the 7th, and dropped a routine fly ball that led to three cubs runs and could have been much much more if not for a bases loaded double play by our new leadoff hitter Ryan Theriot.

Mr Clutch Derrick Lee had a chance in the 8th inning to put the Cubs ahead with one out and Soriano on third but he of course couldn’t get it out of the infield.

Carlos Marmol came in the 8th and gave up a one out single to Albert Pujols and then for whatever reason let the 350 lb Pujols steal second base. In typical Cubdom Ryan Ludwick proceeded to ground a single up the middle to give the Cardnals the lead and the Cubs couldn’t capitalize on a Milton Bradley two out walk in the 9th to tie tnee injury called a tweak. Aramis Rameriez went out in the fifth inning with a strained calf.

Your left scratching your head after watching this game, cause it just seems that the Cubs are still a step slower then all these other teams right now. From hitting to pitching to fielding, nothing seems quite in sync yet. That might be due to all the little injuries that have hit the Cubs already this year, and maybe when everyone gets back and gets some AB’s and some innings under their belt, it’ll look better. But right now it looks like the 2nd string playing the 1st string every night.

Well welcome to your 4th place Chicago Cubs people. Enjoy it for now cause it sure doesn’t look like this might change anytime soon!!

jpligon75 This Site

OK….well maybe not for the WHOLE year, but the Cubs record right now after losing the series to Cincinatti is 8-6. In the 8 wins, the Cubs have not committed an error. In the 6 losses, there has been at least one. Now I’m not Gil Grissom here, but I think I’ve found the solution!!

In all seriousness, that was an ugly, ugly series against the Reds. Couldn’t hit, couldn’t field, hell it looked like the NLDS versus the Dodgers.

Now I’m not ready to throw in the towel, we can all step away from the ledge here, it’s a long season and believe me, this is going to happen from time to time this year. What you hope is that getting away from Wrigley and this first home stand will be good for the Cubs, who now have to get right back in the grind against one of the hottest teams in baseball the St. Louis Cardnals who are coming off a sweep of the Mets.

Some odds and ends going into the big weekend series:

-  Cubs called up Jeff Samardzija yesterday and instead of doing the right thing and sending the ultimate white flag Neal Cotts away, they sent Luis Vizciano for asignment. Sigh. Cotts pitched an inning yesterday and promptly gave up a home run. Atta boy Neal. (course on a side note, Samardzja gave up two runs in the 9th as well, but I digress.)

- Manager Lou Pinella said that he was going to sit Milton Bradley until he’s fully healed, admitted they brought him back a bit too early after watching him jog to fly balls and base hits in the outfield Thursday. He’s still available for pinch hitting duties, but considering he’s hitting .043, I’d just let him rest that nagging groin injury.

Ryan Dempster vs Adam Wainwright tonight at 8pm est.

Sean Marshall vs Mitchell Boggs on Saturday

Rich Harden vs Todd Wellmeyer on Sunday

Pitching matchups certainly favor the Cubs in at least two of the three games, but we’ll see if they bring their hitting shoes and fielding gloves to the park with them.

jpligon75 This Site

The Cubs won for the third straight game Tuesday night, beating the Cincinatti Reds 7-2. But after watching the game and looking at the box score, something really disconcerting came across me.

How in the HELL is Neal Cotts ERA only 3.00???? Every time he’s in there he’s either giving up hits or walking guys. Christ, his WHIP (walks + hits divided by innings pitched for the statistical impared) is 3.oo.

8 games

3 innings pitched

5 hits

4 walks

Can someone tell me why he’s not on his way to Iowa in a Greyhound bus???

Where is Mike Stanton when you need him? I’m sure he’ll put down his beer to come pitch again, no hard feelings after getting released in the spring.

Holy Cow I just don’t understand it sometimes.

And one last thing…Milton Bradley and Derrick Lee might want to start hitting ASAP. Micah Hoffpauir is fighting and fighting quite well for more playing time. Home run and a sac fly last night, he’s hitting .375 and Lou is taking notice.

Cubs still in first place with an 8-4 record. Same two teams tonight at 8:05EST with Johnny Cueto facing Ted Lilly.

jpligon75 This Site