7/14 CUBS (Lilly) vs. Astros (Oswalt), 2:55 PM CT, FOX

[cubsfan5150]

Just didn't want to be "guilty by association" because of your "original" thinking.

[C.C.]

[daydreaming]A win this afternoon would be great. The Cubs could put pressure on the Brewers again before they play tonight; who knows, 2.5 games out could be possible by the end of the night?[/daydreaming]

 

The Cubs have to take care of their own business today. Is the wind really going to be blowing out hard during the game? If so, Lilly will be challenged. On the other hand, Oswalt has been much more hittable this year... I like the Cubs chances.

 

I don't. Considering we can't hit homeruns...

[Outshined_One]

I often have heated debates with some guy named FergieJ_31

 

You should watch out for when I get into arguments with my evil twin, Outshined_Two.

 

Yeah, Cubbies150 is an arch-nemesis of mine.

 

My arch-nemesis is CaliforniaRaisin101. :^o

 

I always though ArizonaRaisin would be your nemesis.

 

Nah, it'd be SouthernCaliforniaRaisin.

[Lockes Eye Scar]

My nemesis would be Jack's Beard

 

http://gallery.lost-media.com/albums/ep-caps/season3/3x22-glass/normal_3x22-glass0392.jpg

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I've been fueding with lance_the_cubs_fan for years.

[Guest]

As expected, Kerry Wood got the start for Mesa. He faced 3 batters in what was likely his only inning of pitching and struck all 3 of them out.

[Fred Hornkohl]

If you see a poster named Fred W. Hornkohl....... don't pay any attention to a word he says !!!

[illiniguy]

As expected, Kerry Wood got the start for Mesa. He faced 3 batters in what was likely his only inning of pitching and struck all 3 of them out.

awesome.

[Outshined_One]

As expected, Kerry Wood got the start for Mesa. He faced 3 batters in what was likely his only inning of pitching and struck all 3 of them out.

 

However, it took him 20 pitches to strike each out. After his 60th pitch, a fiery explosion engulfed Wood's arm, disintegrating everything below the shoulder.

 

He'll be out for a few weeks and should be back rehabbing in Mesa by the end of the season.

[Fred Hornkohl]

Umpires for today's game........

 

HP: Lance Vanover

1b: Tony Randazzo

2b: Charlie Reliford

3b: Greg Gibson

 

CUBS are 6-5 with this crew.......

 

Gm#    Date       Opponent         Score  Starter         Opp Starter
 4  Fri 04/06  @ Milwaukee     N   9- 3  Hill            Bush          
 5  Sat 04/07  @ Milwaukee         6- 3  Zambrano        Sheets        
 6  Sun 04/08  @ Milwaukee         4- 9  Miller          Capuano       
30  Tue 05/08    Pittsburgh    N   3- 4  Lilly           Snell         
31  Wed 05/09    Pittsburgh        1- 0  Marquis         Gorzelanny    
32  Thu 05/10    Pittsburgh        4- 6  Zambrano        Maholm        
58  Thu 06/07  @ Atlanta       N   2- 1  Hill            James         
59  Fri 06/08  @ Atlanta       N   9- 1  Marshall        Cormier       
60  Sat 06/09  @ Atlanta       N   5- 9  Marquis         Hudson        
61  Sun 06/10  @ Atlanta       N   4- 5  Lilly           Carlyle       
88  Fri 07/13    Houston           6- 0  Zambrano        Jennings      

 

The CUBS are 1-1 with Lance Vanover behond the plate. Vanover was behind the plate for game# 6, the 4-9 loss in Milwaukee, and also for game# 60, when Soriano got beaned for hitting 3 home runs the day before.

[bcruise]

The Cards are going to pre-empt this game where I live...bummer.

[C.C.]

As expected, Kerry Wood got the start for Mesa. He faced 3 batters in what was likely his only inning of pitching and struck all 3 of them out.

awesome.

 

Stay healthy Kerry...PLEASE!

[illiniguy]

As expected, Kerry Wood got the start for Mesa. He faced 3 batters in what was likely his only inning of pitching and struck all 3 of them out.

awesome.

 

Stay healthy Kerry...PLEASE!

Yeah, these guys almost have be suckered into thinking they are going to do something special this year. Almost.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Game Notes.

 

DO WE HEAR THREE OVER?: Thanks to Chicago’s 6-0 win yesterday against Houston, the Cubs are a season-high, 2-games over .500 for the fourth time this season (42-40, 43-41, 44-42 and 45-43) … the last time the Cubs were 3-over .500 was May 2, 2006 when the club was 14-11 … Chicago was last 3-games over .500 this late in the season in 2005 when the team owned a 53-50 record on July 29.

 

The Cubs have gone 13-4 over their last 17 games and their 23-12 record since June 3 ranks first in the N.L. and tied for second in the majors …

 

Colorado has the next-best N.L. record in that span, going 19-14 (.576).

Today marks the second game of a 10-game homestand against Houston (1-0), San Francisco (4 games) and Arizona (3 games).

 

The Cubs are 3.5 games behind the N.L. Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers … it’s the closest Chicago has been to the top spot in the division since they were 3.5 back of division-leading Houston on April 20.

 

FIRST TO 11: Carlos Zambrano tossed 6.2 scoreless innings yesterday en route to his N.L.-leading 11th victory of the season … his 11 wins rank tied for third in the majors with John Lackey of the Angels and Minnesota’s Johan Sanatana while Boston’s Josh Beckett and Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia lead baseball with 12 wins apiece.

 

Since 2003, his first full season as a starter, Zambrano has gone 70-39 (.642) … that’s the third-most wins in baseball over that span behind Minnesota’s Johan Santana (78) and today’s opposing starter – Houston’s Roy Oswalt (73).

 

BLANKING THE OPPOSITION: The Cubs recorded their sixth shutout of the season yesterday, blanking Houston, 6-0 … the six shutouts rank tied for third-most in the N.L. with the Giants, as the Padres have tossed 12 shutouts and the Mets have 7 … last season, Chicago recorded 7 shutouts – that ranked 12th in the N.L.

 

FEARSOME FOURSOME: Four of the five pitchers in Chicago’s starting rotation rank among the N.L. top-10 in opponent batting average allowed … Rich Hill is fifth with a .227 batting average against while today’s starter, Ted Lilly, and Carlos Zambrano are tied for sixth with a .231 mark … they are percentage points ahead of teammate Jason Marquis (.231), who ranks eighth.

 

San Diego’s Chris Young leads all N.L. hurlers with a .197 batting average against.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

More from the game notes...

 

PLAYING AT THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: Chicago is 10-4 over its last 14 home games beginning June 11 vs. Houston … this stretch follows a 1-5 homestand against Florida (0-3) and Atlanta (1-2), May 28-June 2, which put the Cubs home record at 11-17 up to that point … Chicago, 21-21 at Wrigley Field in 2007, went 36-45 (.444) at Wrigley Field in 2006.

 

FIRST THING’S FIRST: The Cubs, 4-1-0 over their last 5 series since June 22, have gone 14-16 in series openers this season, and are 9-2 in that situation over their last 11 series, including yesterday’s win … Chicago has gone 9-2-2 in series in which they’ve won the first game of the set – conversely, the Cubs are just 2-13-1 when they drop the first game of a series.

 

HE’S BATMAN: Mark DeRosa’s .404 batting average (21-for-52) since June 25 ranks third in the N.L. behind the Dodgers Russell Martin (.414) and Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun (.410) … DeRosa’s 16 RBI since June 25 are tied for second-most in the N.L. in that span with Colorado’s Garrett Atkins and the Phillies Ryan Howard, as Braun and Atlanta’s Brian McCann lead with 18. ©

DeRosa is hitting .450 (9-for-20) with RISP over his last 12 games.

 

D’OH! NO HOMER: The Cubs have gone a season-high 10 games without a homer, last connecting for a blast via Aramis Ramirez’ walk-off, 2-run homer June 29 vs. Milwaukee … this is the Cubs’ longest home run drought since a 15-game stretch July 15-28, 1978.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

And just a little more from the game notes...

 

WELCOME, MR. SOTO: Catcher Geovany Soto, recalled yesterday from Triple-A Iowa, is the seventh rookie to see time on the Cubs major league roster this season … the others are pitchers Rocky Cherry, Sean Gallagher, Billy Petrick and Clay Rapada, as well as infielder Mike Fontenot and outfielder Felix Pie.

 

Soto was hitting .341 (77-for-226) with 12 homers and 55 RBI in 69 games with Iowa this season … he was a World Team member in the 2007 XM Satellite Radio Futures Game.

 

The Cubs have had at least 1 double in a season-high 16 straight games since June 23 … in 2006, the team doubled in 24 straight games from June 27-July 25.

 

The Cubs and Astros will play 15 times this season, with 12 of those meetings taking place after the All-Star Break … the Cubs dropped 2 games vs. Houston, April 9-10, but won June 11 – a game necessitated by an April 11 “snow out” … besides this 3-game series, the Cubs will host Houston for another 3-game set August 31-September 2 … the Cubs will travel to Houston twice for 3-game sets August 6-8 and September 11-13.

2007 Overall: ............................................2-2

At Wrigley Field: .....................................2-2

At Minute Maid Park: ..............................0-0

2006 Overall: ............................................7-8

At Wrigley Field: .....................................2-4

At Minute Maid Park: ..............................5-4

All-Time Since 1962: .........................281-331

At Wrigley Field: ..............................156-147

At Minute Maid Park (since 2000): .......33-29

[Marco4]

I wonder if I'll be the only person in flashchat at the end of this game.

[Fro]

This gametime must be 2:55 ET, because I'm not seeing a game

 

*checks yahoo*

 

Actually it's at 3:55 ET... Cubs.com really screwed up.

Edited July 14, 2007 by Fro

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Astros Press Notes

 

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Today’s Astros starter is RHP Roy

Oswalt, who recently appeared on the NL All-Star

Team for the 3rd consecutive year...Oswalt’s win on

Sunday vs. the Mets was the 106th of his career, tying

him for 5th on the Houston career list with Nolan

Ryan...his next win will tie him with J.R. Richard for 4th

on the Astros career list with 107...Oswalt ranks 2nd

among active pitchers with a .671 career win pc

 

ON THE ROAD (15-29): The Astros are 4-11-1 in 16 series

on the road this year (the single games on 4/23 at

PHI and 6/11 at CHI were considered 1-game series)...

Houston has lost 10 of its last 12 road games

as well as seven of eight and four consecutive...in six

trips this season, the club posted winning records

twice (3-1 from 4/9-14; 4-3 from 5/4-10) and losing

records four times (3-6 from 4/18-26; 0-7 from 5/21-

27; 3-4 on 6/5-11; 2-7 from 6/18-27)...on the road,

Houston ranks 10th in the NL in hitting (.252) and

16th in ERA (5.56), and the .341 road winning pct.

is the lowest in MLB.

 

OSWALT (OWES-walt) IN 2007: 29-year-old, two-time All-Star makes his 21st start and

his 1st vs. CHI this season...since joining the Majors in 2001, he leads all MLB

pitchers with 106 wins (R. Johnson, 105-55)...also ranks 2nd in MLB in wins since

2004 with 63 (J. Santana, 65-25).

• tied with Nolan Ryan for 5th place on the Houston career wins list with 106 and

is one win away from 4th-place J.R. Richard (107).

• replaced John Smoltz on the 2007 NL All-Star Team in San Francisco...marked

his 3rd consecutive All-Star appearance and is the only Astros pitcher to ever

be selected to the team in three consecutive years...also one of only four Astros

pitchers to make as many as three All-Star appearances while with the club.

• is 51-16 with a 3.04 ERA (187ER/554IP) in 85 career games in the second-half of

the season...his career second-half ERA ranks 5th among active pitchers...in 2006,

posted a 2.77 ERA (31ER/100.2IP) in 12 games

after the Break.

• his 7th win of the season on 6/17 snapped a

two-game losing streak and a six-start winless

streak (last win: 5/12 vs. ARI)...the winless streak

was his longest since making six starts without a

win from 4/22-5/20/04 (0-3, three no-decisions)...

Oswalt finished that season 20-10, the first 20-win season of his career.

• ranks among the NL leaders in innings (1st-135), home ERA (7th-2.48), and

quality starts (T4th-13).

• earned his 100th career win on 4/13 @ PHI...among players who began their

careers after 1957, Oswalt is the 6th-fastest to 100 wins in terms of appearances

among pitchers at 191, according to Stats, Inc...the win also extended his winning

streak to nine games, dating to 8/23/06.

• has recorded quality starts in 13 of his 20 outings in 2007...since the beginning

of the 2005 season, he leads the Majors with 63 quality starts (Santana, 61)...

has tossed at least 6.0 innings in 18 of 20 starts this year

[illiniguy]

Vance does it have anything in there about him being a huge pile of human feces?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Vance does it have anything in there about him being a huge pile of human feces?

 

Still checking, but no.

[illiniguy]

Vance does it have anything in there about him being a huge pile of human feces?

 

Still checking, but no.

Keep looking it has to be in there, right after the part about his tractor he got for pitching the team to the world series.

[Lockes Eye Scar]

Umpires for today's game........

 

HP: Lance Vanover

1b: Tony Randazzo

2b: Charlie Reliford

3b: Greg Gibson

 

CUBS are 6-5 with this crew.......

 

Gm#    Date       Opponent         Score  Starter         Opp Starter
 4  Fri 04/06  @ Milwaukee     N   9- 3  Hill            Bush          
 5  Sat 04/07  @ Milwaukee         6- 3  Zambrano        Sheets        
 6  Sun 04/08  @ Milwaukee         4- 9  Miller          Capuano       
30  Tue 05/08    Pittsburgh    N   3- 4  Lilly           Snell         
31  Wed 05/09    Pittsburgh        1- 0  Marquis         Gorzelanny    
32  Thu 05/10    Pittsburgh        4- 6  Zambrano        Maholm        
58  Thu 06/07  @ Atlanta       N   2- 1  Hill            James         
59  Fri 06/08  @ Atlanta       N   9- 1  Marshall        Cormier       
60  Sat 06/09  @ Atlanta       N   5- 9  Marquis         Hudson        
61  Sun 06/10  @ Atlanta       N   4- 5  Lilly           Carlyle       
88  Fri 07/13    Houston           6- 0  Zambrano        Jennings      

 

The CUBS are 1-1 with Lance Vanover behond the plate. Vanover was behind the plate for game# 6, the 4-9 loss in Milwaukee, and also for game# 60, when Soriano got beaned for hitting 3 home runs the day before.

 

What happened to Jim Wolf and Tim Tschida?

[MembersOnlyJacket]

More from the game notes...

 

D’OH! NO HOMER: The Cubs have gone a season-high 10 games without a homer, last connecting for a blast via Aramis Ramirez’ walk-off, 2-run homer June 29 vs. Milwaukee … this is the Cubs’ longest home run drought since a 15-game stretch July 15-28, 1978.

 

This should end today.

[Fred Hornkohl]

 

What happened to Jim Wolf and Tim Tschida?

 

I wasn't aware that anything had happened to them. They're working the Cardinals' series in Philadelphia this weekend. What are you getting at ?