Diamondbacks 73-57, +2.0, +2.0
Cubs 66-62, +1.5, -4.0
POTG: LF Matt Murton (3 H, 2B)
Runner Up: 3B A Ram (H, RBI, BB), 1B D Lee (H, BB), SP Ted Lilly (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 8 K)
Starting at empty notepad, waiting to be filled, and having absolutely nothing to say is a bit annoying.
Ted Lilly was good enough to win this game. Well, Ted and the home plate umpire- this was a game that seemed as much affected by the umpire’s strike zone calls as the check swing calls the night before. Andy Fletcher was behind the plate, and giving a few inches on the outside of the plate all night. It was fair for both teams, but really frustrated the offense. Combine that with the Diamondbacks bullpen, and the Cubs had very little chance to come back in this one.
Craig Monroe overlaps Matt Murton, and with Soriano sounding like he’ll be coming back as soon as Tuesday, this may just about be it for him. He makes more sense to send down than Felix, since he’s the only reasonable backup for centerfield. So if Murton’s going, at least he’s going hitting.
This run of quality starts, besides Z, has been a nice break for the bullpen. Maybe they could send Pignatiello down for a few days and call up Rapada.
Sure sounds like Ohman’s the guy to be named later in the Monroe trade. With everything that went down, they may just be waiting around to check on his arm and see if it’s hurt. It didn’t sound like the Cubs wanted to bring him back to the Major Leagues, but I couldn’t imagine a way around it as long as he was with the team and they needed lefty help. Nice of the Tigers to take the Cubs unwanted long term deals for spare part players.