CHC --- 32 (Maddux @ MON Biddle) SDP --- 32 OFF SFG --- 30 (Lowry @ ATL Thomson) FLA 4.0 34 (Willis @ NYM Leiter) HOU 4.0 32 (Munro @ CIN Hudson)
Oh. Great. Well, at least it’s not staying this way for long.
What we learned this weekend:
– There will be no point in his remaining Cubs tenure where anyone will feel safe with Kyle Farnsworth on the mound. Assuming he ever takes the mound again for them; on Sunday, it sounded like he was going to be other for something close to 3-4 weeks, instead of the cursory 15 day DL.
– Dusty still trusted him going into the inning, and then hoped he’d figure it out on his own. It was the first close inning since they started using him again, and there were plenty of other options. A halfway decent inning, and he’s back to the setup role.
– I have no proof, but there’s something more going on with Kyle than anyone outside of the club and the beat reporters know, and the beat reporters aren’t saying. There are traces of another story around the edges. Who knows. Probably come out eventually.
– Ryan Dempster can not yet pitch effectively three days in a row.
– Dusty Baker thinks it’s a fine idea to use Ryan three days in a row before using Todd W once. Anyway, I’m pretty happy if Ryan Dempster can pitch effectively one day in a row.
– Cubs starters, for all the hype, have not lived up to it down the stretch. The 5 game winning streak was as more fueled by the bats killing (bad) pitching, and the last three games were lost early by bad starting performances. It’s a great five man staff on paper, but they haven’t run people over by turning over good start after good start.
– Carlos’ non-catch at first base on Saturday, costing three ones on one play, is one of the biggest plays in the season. He catches the ball and makes the out and the Cubs score like they did, they win the game. Astros move Kent to A’s (as was expected all weekend if they didn’t sweep the last 3), Marlins think about moving their guys, and the wild card races on both sides are affected. Kent’s not going anywhere now.
– You can fake taking a pitch to the head. I had no idea.
– People are getting nailed next time the Astros and Cubs meet. Next season or tiebreaker game, both teams will meet on the field. It’s inevitable.
– The six games with the Marlins loom over everything. The Mets have this habit of losing to anyone close to the playoff hunt, so things are looking up for the fish.
– As much as I don’t have faith in this bench and think they need one more hitter (because Hollandsworth isn’t going to be the same this season), they’re getting their jobs done much better than last year.
– As much as it’d help, the Cubs are never going to have a good bullpen this year. I can’t see it turning into anything better than a coin toss each day. They’ve got to take advantage of Rusch being good as long as they can and move him into a better slot, but I don’t see LaTroy settling down or anyone else emerging as a solid 1 inning guy. Every day brings a polar opposite report on the status of Joe Borowski, but the common denominator is he’s pitching in the 80s, not the low 90s where he was successful. Cubs can’t expect him to pull them off the tracks.
– Which means the starters have to be better, and go longer. And this weekend, they were worse in both.
Saturday’s game was the first time I thought they didn’t have it this year. FWIW. It’s not as publicly as bad as the St. Louis series, but it’s just as low.
This is the first Cubs trip to Montreal in two years. They went to Puerto Rico for the series last year. Nomar’s going to sit a lot in this series, while Grudz is going to play with the same injury. Dusty likes to say it’s because Grudz is used to their AstroTurf. I like to say it’s because Walker could play second and we’d be fine, but we can’t lose Nomar. I suspect Alou will get at least one day off as well, and maybe Sammy if they can convince him.
Cubs really need a win today to turn around some of the negative energy.
John Thomson, ATL’s starting pitcher, has a record of 10-8 with a 4.20 ERA this season. I have no idea who this guy is. I didn’t know he existed till I look up the matchup. I don’t believe you could be run away with a division more under the radar than the Braves have.
Today’s PHI/CWS – a make up of a 06/10 rainout during Interleague season – is semi-important. You can’t really write out even the Phillies (6.0 out) at this point, though it’s going to be tough for them make up ground on so many teams at once. (And if they somehow did win, would Bowa keep his job?) It’s also the last Interleague game of the season, and the AL’s up by 1 game, 126 to 125, on the year. NL’s won two years, Al’s won one year, so either it’s a tie for the season or it’s a tie overall.
No one cares, though. What a shame.