The Cubs combined for only two hits, both singles, yesterday, and made Dan Straily, the A's pitcher who had just returned from AAA, with a 5. something ERA, look like Nolan freakin Ryan. With a final score of 1-0, there's really nothing much to talk about in this game, because barely anything happened. Of course the A's scored their run on a dropped third strike, as the team to make the first mistake in this game was going to lose. Of course it was the Cubes, uh...I mean Cubs who botched it, as a swing and a miss strikeout rolled between Wellington Castillo's legs allowing a run to score. The Cubs are third in passed balls, and 7th in Wild Pitches, so what happened yesterday was not an anomaly to anyone who has watched the Chicago Cubs this year. We have great hitting missers...not catchers...Matt Guerrier, the man on the mound for the Cubs, when Castillo botched the strikeout, did his best Carlos Marmol impression as well, the man he was traded for, by allowing 2 hits and 2 walks in the 7th inning, so you can't put it all on Castillo. If Derrier pitches well, I mean Guerrier, there is nobody on third. But the new Cubs bullpen hand had better learn fast that these Chicago Cubs rarely give you a comfortable lead, and you better be perfect, or you will lose.
So far so bad with the new guy we got for Marmol, but Pedro Strop, who we got for Feldman was another story, 1 perfect scoreless inning. Strop pitched 66.1 innings last year, and had an ERA of 2.44, so hopefully he can be part of the future bullpen improvement the Cubs so sorely need. If we had had a decent bullpen this year, what with Shawn Camp totally overused last year, and garbage this year, the Marmol train, and Fujikawa's season ending injury, the Cubs could be a .500 team. However, it seems like something Cubs brass is addressing with the addition of Strop. The Cubs need another lefty in the pen for certain, as I fear James Russel is currently being misused. Russel, our lone lefty in the bullpen has been good, really good at times, but he's being mismanaged currently. He has pitched more innings than ANY of our other bullpen guys, except Villanueva who was a starter the first half. Against leftys, Russel has a mid 2's ERA, and Righty's give him nearly a 4 ERA. So basically, Russel should just pitch to leftys, but because of a lack of competent pitchers in the pen, Sveum leaves him in there, and half the time, he faces a Righty, and...boom...There goes the ball game. Hopefully Guerrier and Strop will add a little depth, and Sveum can use Russel properly. It's fine that Russels pitched in half the games, the question is, why is he pitching to righty's 40% of the time?
So, the Cubs are home for quite the long, pre All Star break homestand starting at 3:05 against the first place Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, you read that right....the Pirates! This game should be hopping today, as I couldn't get a decent cheap seat on the Stub Hub, and actually had to buy myself a nosebleed seat at full price, which by the way, is still almost 30$ a ticket. That's a garbage price. Total garbage. Upper deck reserved behind a pole for 30 bones? I'm moving down people, get my moneys worth. These 3:05 starts are gonna be the death of my pocket book. Business man's special means, Son Ranto is poor now. These 3:05 starts are perfect for the working man to knock off early on a Friday in summer, put back a few, and still be home in time to tuck the kids in. But what about unemployed bloggers? What are we to do? The cheapest ticket should be 15$, the same as an IMAX movie. The Cubs also charge all these convenience fees, per ticket, so for example, I bought two tix at the box office yesterday, and with taxes and everything it was 58$. Now compare that to buying two tix for today from the Cubs Website, which is totally automated and involves no workers. There's a "convenience fee" of nearly 5$ a ticket and an order fee of 4$. What the hell is that? Convenient? You have to print your own tix!! What's convenient about that? A family of 4 will pay nearly 40$ in taxes and fees, to NOT be helped by an actual person. Nearly 140$ total plus all the hot dogs, and soda and beer. Easily 200$. And this is for a fourth place team....
If my family had had to pay the equivalent when I was a kid, I might not be a Cubs fan. We didn't have cable either, so I woulda missed half the games this year. My father used to bribe us to go to CCD, which is Catholic Education, that my Mom made us go to, by telling us he'd take us to the game if we went without a fuss. This was in 83-89 ish, and I believe we paid 1/5 the price to sit behind a pole. 1/5!!!! I'm only 39 years old, and I already sound like my Grandma who complained about prices being triple. The prices have quintupled!!!! Anyone have their salary quintuple? And bleachers? That was my summer babysitter from age 10 on....4$ is what it cost. I'm not saying the Cubs have to go back to 1983 prices. I'm just saying, that there should be some way to make certain that families have access to the games. I was going to bring my sisters kids today, but I can't afford it. Can the Cubs afford to have no future fans? Well....I guess they only want the rich kids....The Rickett's understand them better anyway....
OK...off soapbox, lets play spoiler the rest of the year. Cubs win today! St. Louis and the Reds lose.
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Showing posts with label james russel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label james russel. Show all posts
Friday, July 5, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
10 Day Cubs Baseball Binge; Now I Have a Sveum-over
After spending 9 of the last 10 days in the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, missing only the cold and wet Friday game against the Reds, I can truly say that for the first time in my life, I'm glad the Cubs are on the road for a 3 game set against the Nationals. The Cubs were 4-6 on this homestand, splitting a 4 game series with the Padres, swept by the Reds in 3, they clobbered the Rangers in a makeup game, and then split the 2 game series with Cardinals to finish it off. Besides the obviously exhausting problem of drinking too much, talking too much, and eating too much at these 9 ball games, I am actually hung over from the Baseball itself. Once again, as in earlier series this year, we were close in almost all of these games, but ended with a losing record for the homestand. Why can't this team get over the hump? Why do they make stupid errors? Why is Carlos Marmol given the ball in close games? Why do we allow teams 5 outs an inning due to misplays? And most importantly, why is Dale Sveum still the manager?
Let's take yesterday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, a game we were winning until the 7th inning, and didn't go behind until the 8th. The Cubs starter, Carlos "the stache" Villanueva had 2 outs in the 7th, and was due up second in the bottom of the inning. Sveum pulls him after 101 pitches, because his arm was tired from twirling his mustache between innings, and in comes James Russel, who has been great, until yesterday, gives up a double and a single. Tie game. Now I'm not a big fan of the whole lefty/righty match up thing, especially with Villanueva due up second in the inning, it makes no sense to use your lefty in the 7th for one batter, Matt Carpenter, when the next 4 Cardinals are switch hitters, or righty's. Russel gives up the double to Carpenter, and then Beltran, a switch hitter, brings him home with a single. Russel then stays in to get the final out against righty Holliday. So what's the point of the lefty match up, when Russel comes in and faces two righty's anyway? Stupid.
Sveum, then pinch hits Borbon in the 7th for Russel, who attempts to bunt Cody Ransom to second, but runs to first base on the grass side of the baseline, and is called out on interference. Ransom goes back to first. DeJesus comes up, grounds into a double play, inning over. Why the hell doesn't Borbon run in the damned baseline?! The man has been in and out of the big leagues since 2009, but can't do something simple like run down to first base! Why?! Sloppy play= crappy coaching.
Then in the 8th inning, Michael Bowden come in for the Cubs, and the Cardinals take the lead because of a single, a wild pitch (our league leading 21st), and another single. Why all the wild pitches? They don't score without a wild pitch! We have 2 Missers....I mean Catchers that can't catch or block the damn ball. Your called a Catcher! What you are supposed to do is in the damn job title! I don't know if these are pitch crossups, lack of communication, sheer ineptitude, or a combination of the 3. But I do know, when something negative happens enough in your game play, that you must work to fix said negative problem. Once again...sloppy play=crappy coaching.
So, that's how we lost yesterdays game, but what did we do to not win it? Well, ground into 4 double plays for one. Two of them reflecting on coaching or management in my opinion. The first one that bugged me was Dioner Navarro's DP in the 6th inning. With men on first and third. Navarro, who is visibly fat, hit a 2 bouncer to second. Just about every other player on the team would have beat that out, but not Sir Chuggington Navarro. He is listed as 5'9" 205 lbs. Which is the exact weight and height same as me. And I'm fat. About 25-30 lbs overweight. How is this guy a professional athlete, and allowed to stay this rotund? The run from third would have scored had he been able to leg it out. Maybe I can shame him into losing weight by sitting near the first base line, and yelling Boom Babba Boom Babba Boom as he runs down the line. Don't these guys have dietitians and conditioning coaches? Why is nobody demanding this guy get fit? He gets paid millions of dollars to play a kids game! Ever hear of Seattle Sutton's healthy eating? They're a freakin Cubs sponsor for Crissakes! But do you think Dale Sveum went up to Navarro and told him, "you know you would have beaten that out if you weighed 15 lbs less". No. Probably not. Sloppy Body=Crappy Coaching.
The other Double play I will second guess Sveum on happened in the 8th inning. Now granted, Nate Schierholz has been one of the best players on the Cubs this year. But he rarely plays against leftys. In fact, he's had only 9 at bats and 1 hit against lefty's this year and is batting .111. The Cubs have first and third, one out. Now, Sveum has Alfonso Soriano on the bench, and all we need is a sac fly to tie the game. Soriano is batting .421 against leftys. Yes, .421 vs. .111 with the game on the line in the 8th inning against the hated Cardinals. What does Sveum do? Nothing. Schierholz bounces into the Cubs 4th double play of the day. Inning over. Chance squandered. Cubs go 1-9 with men in scoring position and......Ugh... Soriano did end up making an appearance in the on deck circle in the bottom of the 9th where he would have faced a righty though. As I said, I'm not a fan of the lefty righty thing. Maybe Schierholz would be better against leftys if he actually got to face them once in a while, but Sveum loses the lead by using a lefty matchup with James Russel, and then fails to do the exact same thing on offense an inning later. This team is inconsistent. Dale Sveum is among the most inconsistent. Actually, I take that back. He is incredibly consistent, at losing baseball games.
Further reasons why Sveum sucks and should be canned. Even though we beat the Cards on Tuesday, why was Marmol allowed into that game? We were only winning 2-1, and Marmol gave up a walk and 2 hits in an inning and a third. We were lucky that the Cardinals Molina made a stupid base running play and was picked off. Marmol needs to work out some kinks, yet he didn't pitch in the blowout against the Rangers on Monday. It would have been the perfect time to let him get out there with no pressure. Because under pressure, he blows it. Every time. Yet, we did see James Russel, our lefty specialist in the blowout. Why? What was the point of that? Bad decisions. Bad coaching. Yesterday, Rizzo tries to steal third with 2 out in the first. Why? He's already in scoring position! What's the point? Dumb Dumb Dumb. Bad Coaching.
So, yeah. I'm calling for Sveums head. These young players who apparently don't know the simple fundamentals of baseball like running in the baseline, or not stealing a base when it's unnecessary, or being fit enough to run, need a manager like Bobby Cox, or Piniella in his hey day. Someone old school who will teach them how to play the game right. Why they already don't know that at this point, as professional millionaire ball players is beyond me. I guess jocks are dumb. But the Cubs make me feel like I'm at the blackjack table, and someone next to me keeps taking my Ace, by hitting on 16 when the dealer has a bust card. They're just playing the game wrong, and it's killing us.
Well...what's on tap? A new podcast with the Lovable Lou Sears for one. Check out the expiring one here.... You can follow us on Soundcloud or subscribe on itunes! And you will be notified accordingly...
In the meantine...check out http://www.Sonranto.com and Go Cubbies!
Let's Kill dem Nats in DC!!!
Let's take yesterday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, a game we were winning until the 7th inning, and didn't go behind until the 8th. The Cubs starter, Carlos "the stache" Villanueva had 2 outs in the 7th, and was due up second in the bottom of the inning. Sveum pulls him after 101 pitches, because his arm was tired from twirling his mustache between innings, and in comes James Russel, who has been great, until yesterday, gives up a double and a single. Tie game. Now I'm not a big fan of the whole lefty/righty match up thing, especially with Villanueva due up second in the inning, it makes no sense to use your lefty in the 7th for one batter, Matt Carpenter, when the next 4 Cardinals are switch hitters, or righty's. Russel gives up the double to Carpenter, and then Beltran, a switch hitter, brings him home with a single. Russel then stays in to get the final out against righty Holliday. So what's the point of the lefty match up, when Russel comes in and faces two righty's anyway? Stupid.
Sveum, then pinch hits Borbon in the 7th for Russel, who attempts to bunt Cody Ransom to second, but runs to first base on the grass side of the baseline, and is called out on interference. Ransom goes back to first. DeJesus comes up, grounds into a double play, inning over. Why the hell doesn't Borbon run in the damned baseline?! The man has been in and out of the big leagues since 2009, but can't do something simple like run down to first base! Why?! Sloppy play= crappy coaching.
Then in the 8th inning, Michael Bowden come in for the Cubs, and the Cardinals take the lead because of a single, a wild pitch (our league leading 21st), and another single. Why all the wild pitches? They don't score without a wild pitch! We have 2 Missers....I mean Catchers that can't catch or block the damn ball. Your called a Catcher! What you are supposed to do is in the damn job title! I don't know if these are pitch crossups, lack of communication, sheer ineptitude, or a combination of the 3. But I do know, when something negative happens enough in your game play, that you must work to fix said negative problem. Once again...sloppy play=crappy coaching.
So, that's how we lost yesterdays game, but what did we do to not win it? Well, ground into 4 double plays for one. Two of them reflecting on coaching or management in my opinion. The first one that bugged me was Dioner Navarro's DP in the 6th inning. With men on first and third. Navarro, who is visibly fat, hit a 2 bouncer to second. Just about every other player on the team would have beat that out, but not Sir Chuggington Navarro. He is listed as 5'9" 205 lbs. Which is the exact weight and height same as me. And I'm fat. About 25-30 lbs overweight. How is this guy a professional athlete, and allowed to stay this rotund? The run from third would have scored had he been able to leg it out. Maybe I can shame him into losing weight by sitting near the first base line, and yelling Boom Babba Boom Babba Boom as he runs down the line. Don't these guys have dietitians and conditioning coaches? Why is nobody demanding this guy get fit? He gets paid millions of dollars to play a kids game! Ever hear of Seattle Sutton's healthy eating? They're a freakin Cubs sponsor for Crissakes! But do you think Dale Sveum went up to Navarro and told him, "you know you would have beaten that out if you weighed 15 lbs less". No. Probably not. Sloppy Body=Crappy Coaching.
The other Double play I will second guess Sveum on happened in the 8th inning. Now granted, Nate Schierholz has been one of the best players on the Cubs this year. But he rarely plays against leftys. In fact, he's had only 9 at bats and 1 hit against lefty's this year and is batting .111. The Cubs have first and third, one out. Now, Sveum has Alfonso Soriano on the bench, and all we need is a sac fly to tie the game. Soriano is batting .421 against leftys. Yes, .421 vs. .111 with the game on the line in the 8th inning against the hated Cardinals. What does Sveum do? Nothing. Schierholz bounces into the Cubs 4th double play of the day. Inning over. Chance squandered. Cubs go 1-9 with men in scoring position and......Ugh... Soriano did end up making an appearance in the on deck circle in the bottom of the 9th where he would have faced a righty though. As I said, I'm not a fan of the lefty righty thing. Maybe Schierholz would be better against leftys if he actually got to face them once in a while, but Sveum loses the lead by using a lefty matchup with James Russel, and then fails to do the exact same thing on offense an inning later. This team is inconsistent. Dale Sveum is among the most inconsistent. Actually, I take that back. He is incredibly consistent, at losing baseball games.
Further reasons why Sveum sucks and should be canned. Even though we beat the Cards on Tuesday, why was Marmol allowed into that game? We were only winning 2-1, and Marmol gave up a walk and 2 hits in an inning and a third. We were lucky that the Cardinals Molina made a stupid base running play and was picked off. Marmol needs to work out some kinks, yet he didn't pitch in the blowout against the Rangers on Monday. It would have been the perfect time to let him get out there with no pressure. Because under pressure, he blows it. Every time. Yet, we did see James Russel, our lefty specialist in the blowout. Why? What was the point of that? Bad decisions. Bad coaching. Yesterday, Rizzo tries to steal third with 2 out in the first. Why? He's already in scoring position! What's the point? Dumb Dumb Dumb. Bad Coaching.
So, yeah. I'm calling for Sveums head. These young players who apparently don't know the simple fundamentals of baseball like running in the baseline, or not stealing a base when it's unnecessary, or being fit enough to run, need a manager like Bobby Cox, or Piniella in his hey day. Someone old school who will teach them how to play the game right. Why they already don't know that at this point, as professional millionaire ball players is beyond me. I guess jocks are dumb. But the Cubs make me feel like I'm at the blackjack table, and someone next to me keeps taking my Ace, by hitting on 16 when the dealer has a bust card. They're just playing the game wrong, and it's killing us.
Well...what's on tap? A new podcast with the Lovable Lou Sears for one. Check out the expiring one here.... You can follow us on Soundcloud or subscribe on itunes! And you will be notified accordingly...
In the meantine...check out http://www.Sonranto.com and Go Cubbies!
Let's Kill dem Nats in DC!!!
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