4/9 Astros (Williams) @ Cubs (Lilly) 1:20CST, WGN/XM 185

[Soul]

7 games in, and we are the laughing stock of the league.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb

 

Is every single article going to say the cubs spent 300mill and haven't won a world series since 1908?

 

My God. Here we go with the media crap.

[Derwood]

7 games in, and we are the laughing stock of the league.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb

 

Is every single article going to say the cubs spent 300mill and haven't won a world series since 1908?

 

My God. Here we go with the media crap.

 

it really is great to have a $300 million payroll. Oh wait, you mean we don't?

[sweetpeteman]

can't argue with people who ignore hard numbers. People here shouted about how much Mark Guthrie (he of the 2.74 ERA and 1.55 ERA+) sucked in 2003

 

Yeah, but he also had a WHIP of 1.45, so it wasn't going to stay that way, plus a career ERA+ of 105 doesn't help. Plus, he was 37, so it wasn't likely for him to continue doing that well.

[98navigator]

I meant he gave up runs... I know they never lead. This game should still be tied. If that isn't the fault of the bullpen (specifically Howry) then I don't know what is....

 

The starter pitched to a 4.50 ERA.

The lineup had an OBP of about .270 and scored 3 measly runs.

Yes, Howry had a bad outing as well. But the blame for the loss lies on many shoulders. A loss is more than just who was on the mound when the other team took the lead.

 

Get over the "4.50 ERA." 6 IP with 3 ER is widely accepted as a Quality Start. His overall ERA is 2.77

 

Obviously, the team needed to score more runs. It was also Howry's job to make sure the opponents didn't score so that the home team had a chance.

 

Widely accepted by baseball's conventional wisdom is hardly a quality defense of a cliche.

 

6 ip and 3 ER equates to a 4.50 ERA, and that is not good. It's not terrible, but it's hardly something to hang on when blaming others for a loss.

 

It's still a Quality Start. This is a perfect case of stats not telling the whole story. Lilly should have only had two runs score. Carlos Lee advancing to 2B on Jones' arm setup the second ER. A hit and and an out followed. If Lee had been held to a single that run never scores. Lilly did not pitch poorly despite the stats.

 

Also, he exited the game after a botched up strikeout and a seeing eye single. He probably would have gone deeper, in the game, if the first out was recorded in the top of the 7th. That alone would have lowered his in-game ERA. You're not giving Lilly credit for his admirable work.

 

I don't know why we're debating. The game was tied when Howry started pitching. He allowed the winning runs.

[98navigator]

7 games in, and we are the laughing stock of the league.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb

 

Is every single article going to say the cubs spent 300mill and haven't won a world series since 1908?

 

That's just idiotic. What has Zito done for the Giants or Lee for the 2-5 Astros? 7 games is a good barometer. :roll:

[98navigator]

Howry's been iffy since the day he arrived here. Definitely not as advertised.

 

Howry was great last year and he may wind up being so this year but the early returns are bad.

 

Yeah, he was great last year, far from iffy. But that's the problem when you sign aging middle relievers to longterm deals. They aren't the picture of stability.

 

He struggles every time he pitches, including last year. It's only a matter of time before he gets rocked. A pitcher can look good on the stat sheet but use your eyes, it's obvious the guy struggles to get hitters out. Sure he can ride the dragon for a while, get the outs. But eventually it's going to come crashing down.

 

 

this is just plain old nonsense.

 

Was it nonsense with Beck, too? How about Borowski? Did you think his 2003 ERA+ of 161 was going to carry over to next season? He struggled to get outs as well. Use your eyes. It's not hard to pick out a pitcher who has trouble. Not hard to pick out the ones who are due for disaster.

 

That was a fluke for JoBo. Howry has a better track record.

[Soul]

I'd like to see my offense put up more than 3 runs against Woody Williams. I won't pin everything on Howry.

[98navigator]

I agree. Either way, the offense was going to have to score more runs to win because the game was tied. It's early so I'm not going to get crazy about the loss but, there's no denying that Howry cost them this game and he gave up the lead in Marquis' last start.

 

I'm waiting for him to be good consistently.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I haven't read back through this thread, but was it just my eyes or did Woody Williams have about a foot more strike zone than Lilly?

[rickrolled]

I haven't read back through this thread, but was it just my eyes or did Woody Williams have about a foot more strike zone than Lilly?

 

you're correct, it was pretty ridiculous

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I went back and looked again since I had it on the DVR, and it was so blatant. A lot of times, I attribute that stuff to inconsistencies, but this looked like it was intentional.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I only saw a couple innings during my lunch break - could someone tell me what was wrong with Boyd/the umpiring?

[oldstyle81]

I only saw a couple innings during my lunch break - could someone tell me what was wrong with Boyd/the umpiring?

 

pitches catching all plate being called balls, balls a foot outside being called strikes. howry throws a great pitch which was a strike (wouldve been a K) right before he gave up the home run.

[Balsa]

7 games in, and we are the laughing stock of the league.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb

 

Is every single article going to say the cubs spent 300mill and haven't won a world series since 1908?

Wheeler was became the Astros closer before the game, replacing struggling Brad Lidge.

 

At least they could use correct grammar... :roll:

 

As far as the Ump, it was plainly terrible. Williams was getting an enormously wide strike zone.

[NewUserName]

Not to be a alarmist but we are last in the league in hitting with runners in scoring position. Actually in this case I think its a good sign. It will improve and we are in the middle of the league in OBP. A little more pop and less bad timing and our offense will improve.

[oldstyle81]

Not to be a alarmist but we are last in the league in hitting with runners in scoring position. Actually in this case I think its a good sign. It will improve and we are in the middle of the league in OBP. A little more pop and less bad timing and our offense will improve.

 

its more unlucky than anything, they are hitting the ball hard a lot of the time, yet they are hitting the balls to opposing players

[Wilson A2000]

Honestly, the strike zone was unfair for the Cubs. I think there was only one bad call for the Astros that I saw, a high and inside strike to Lee late in the game. The Cubs hit the ball solidly but right at people. When they hit it softly they found holes. Soriano about gets picked off every time he is on base. Jones can throw now. Unfortunately he is terribly inaccurate. Hester threw out the first pitch and sang in the seventh. It was his first MLB game ever.

[98navigator]

Not to be a alarmist but we are last in the league in hitting with runners in scoring position. Actually in this case I think its a good sign. It will improve and we are in the middle of the league in OBP. A little more pop and less bad timing and our offense will improve.

 

its more unlucky than anything, they are hitting the ball hard a lot of the time, yet they are hitting the balls to opposing players

 

I agree. The Cubs have hit some line drive outs with RISP over the last few days (Floyd and Barrett quickly come to mind). I'm not worried about the offense.

 

However, the back end of the bullpen could be better... Howry and Eyre have to improve or their roles will need to be changed. I think they will improve but, if they don't Lou will be forced to go with Wuertz and Cotts (who has looked a lot better in season than his dismal ST).

[Andy]

I haven't read back through this thread, but was it just my eyes or did Woody Williams have about a foot more strike zone than Lilly?

If you did read back through the thread, you'd see probably 10 pages worth of posts on the terrible umpiring alone. It was probably the most consistently bad beginning to end umping job I've ever seen.

[wekse]

i didn't watch the game today because i was golfing and was completely shocked(not really for the simple fact that terrible ballplayers always seem to kill the cubs) to see that it was none other than the light hitting everett who had the big HR for the astros...the cubs rule.

[otis89]

i didn't watch the game today because i was golfing and was completely shocked(not really for the simple fact that terrible ballplayers always seem to kill the cubs) to see that it was none other than the light hitting everett who had the big HR for the astros...the cubs rule.

 

The light-hitting Everett is leading the Astros in batting average.

[Laura]

Maybe Everett's baseball reference page sponsor has inspired him this spring.

[Derwood]

Maybe Everett's baseball reference page sponsor has inspired him this spring.

 

:shock:

[E.J.]

Maybe Everett's baseball reference page sponsor has inspired him this spring.

 

Yikes. :newugh:

[98navigator]

Postgame Audio

 

Lilly

Lou

Soriano

 

Opening Day panoramics