NLDS: Gm 1 Cubs (Z!) @ DBacks (Webb), 9:07pm, TBS, WGN Radio

[VanceJergins]

I don't buy "hit the ball hard" as an excuse. "Hit the ball hard" etc. WHO CARES? If the batters fail to hit it where the defenders aren't, then they aren't fully doing their jobs.

 

When stupid POS Drew caught Zambrano's line drive, I almost broke a lamp...That was heartbreaking.

[Roast]

I don't buy "hit the ball hard" as an excuse. "Hit the ball hard" etc. WHO CARES? If the batters fail to hit it where the defenders aren't, then they aren't fully doing their jobs.

 

Oh come on, thats ridiculous. How is it a hitters fault that he nails a ball, but the defender is either directly in front of where he hit it, or makes an outstanding play to save it from being hit.

[XZero771679666304]

I don't buy "hit the ball hard" as an excuse. "Hit the ball hard" etc. WHO CARES? If the batters fail to hit it where the defenders aren't, then they aren't fully doing their jobs.

 

What? Hitting ball with authority is about the best you can hope for. The batter doesn't have that much control over direction and vector, I'm sorry to say.

 

Against a pitcher like Webb, there is something to be said for stinging the ball.

[questionmarkgrace]

all i know is that this game was about situational hitting. We left nine men on base. this is nothing new. We ve been doing it all year long. Thats why this team drives us crazy.

 

I just cant fathom how aggressive our hitters were on inside pitches. Lee and Ramirez swung at every pitch that was thrown right on their hands. And Uncle Cliffy looked more like Grandpa looking for his bi-focals.

[Guest]

I don't buy "hit the ball hard" as an excuse. "Hit the ball hard" etc. WHO CARES? If the batters fail to hit it where the defenders aren't, then they aren't fully doing their jobs.

 

You've got to be kidding.

[Omar]

I don't buy "hit the ball hard" as an excuse. "Hit the ball hard" etc. WHO CARES? If the batters fail to hit it where the defenders aren't, then they aren't fully doing their jobs.

 

You've got to be kidding.

 

Yeah... I was really pissed at the time. I'll admit I was off... but there's something fishy about hitting the ball hard sooo many times and it goes right to the outfielder.

[ZiggyTaxi]

I agree with Omar.

 

If a batter hits the ball hard for an entire season, but has nothing to show for it, do I care? No.

 

It's about numbers and performance. The Cubs scored one run. It doesn't matter how it happened, because all that counts is the fact that they only got one run.

 

Extra points aren't awarded for effort.

[Guest]

I agree with Omar.

 

If a batter hits the ball hard for an entire season, but has nothing to show for it, do I care? No.

 

It's about numbers and performance. The Cubs scored one run. It doesn't matter how it happened, because all that counts is the fact that they only got one run.

 

Extra points aren't awarded for effort.

 

Can't ask for more than hitting it on the screws, especially against a top tier pitcher. No batter will hit the ball hard for an entire season but have nothing to show for it but it can happen over the course of one game (or 5 games, even). Things even out over the course of a season and the numbers will be a good reflection. No one was awarding anything about effort, just commenting that the Cubs had some good swings on the ball but, sadly, they were at fielders. It does matter how it happens if you want to improve from game to game and work on fixing problems

[Guest]

Wow, this board is more pathetic than normal with the doom and gloom. The reality is we went up against a Cy Young caliber pitcher tonight and we weren't able to take advantage of our limited scoring chances. We hit some balls awfully hard; they just didn't fall in. The D-Backs didn't exactly scare me offensively. I expect Lilly to pitch a strong outing tomorrow and the Cubs to come back with a big W...

 

Let's GO CUBS!

We just lost a freaking playoff game, what the hell do you expect?

 

Perspective?

 

This is the game we were supposed to lose. Considering I, and many, have us taking this in 4, the first game being the loss, I find it hard to get extremely worked up about this loss. Yea, I'm pissed. We had it tied late and had a shot to steal it. But the series is hardly even close to over.

 

My sentiments exactly.

[AC000000]

Wow I really have no respect for Diamondbacks fans. They are so stupid and know nothing about baseball. Some of the worst bandwagoning I've ever seen. They only know 3 or 4 players on the team and all they know about the Cubs is Bartman. Also, as another poster said, it really is pathetic that they have to have the jumbotron tell them to make noise.

 

There were not nearly as many Cubs fans as I thought there would be. Don't get me wrong, there were a ton, but not as many as there have been in other parks. I'd say about 25%, and they never got very loud, partly because they never really had a reason too I suppose. At one point a Cubs fan held up a big sign and turned away from the field and held it up towards the crowd. Pretty ballsy. Some lady had to stop a drunk hick D Backs fan from attacking him.

[XZero771679666304]

I agree with Omar.

 

If a batter hits the ball hard for an entire season, but has nothing to show for it, do I care? No.

 

It's about numbers and performance. The Cubs scored one run. It doesn't matter how it happened, because all that counts is the fact that they only got one run.

 

Extra points aren't awarded for effort.

 

What people don't want to recognize is how much of the game is sheer chance. Believe it or not, even the best hitters can't guide the ball wherever they want to. Good hitters are the ones who square the ball up more often. They don't always result in hits, but common sense dictates that someone who hits the ball hard more often will end up with more hits. The law of averages usually sees to this. But vector is more a function of chance than skill, unless the pitcher is feeding you meatballs. You can't go up to the plate and say "okay, I'm going to hit the ball right in the gap". You can try, but you probably won't succeed unless the pitcher puts it on a tee for you (or you're playing slow pitch softball), and even then it's iffy.

 

Did the batter who hit a weak roller or bloop though the infield do a better job than the one who scalded a ball right at the outfielder? No. There is a lot of luck involved. Basically, you can try and pull the ball, or go with the pitch. That's about the extent of directional control.

 

You go to the plate and try and hit the ball with as much authority as you can, and to do that you often have to hit the ball where it's pitched, which lessens greatly your control over the direction the ball travels.

 

Hitting the ball hard is not an "A for effort" thing, it's and indicator of relative success.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

People should relax. Brandon Webb has been the best pitcher in the NL over the last two years combined. Z matched him inning for inning, then our good setup man got hit while their's didn't. Big deal, it was a good game. We match up better for games 2 and 3, still confident.

[CubmanPi]

Just got back from the bar.

 

In a word: That game was such effing bullcrap.

 

Our crappy offense had chances and blew it, and their crappy offense beat our best reliever after our best starter left the game on 85 pitches. I hereby reserve my inalienable right to freak the hell out.

 

What was the deal with Zambrano anyway? Why did he have to come out? Was he having issues with the heat like those jackasses were saying on the air? On one hand, I was really pissed about it and thought it was a stupid move, but they beat Marmol. If he serves it up, there goes one of the most consistent reasons for Cub success this season and the bullpen looks a whole lot worse.

[Guest]

I agree that the Cubs have the advantage in the matchups for the next 3 days but that doesn't mean they will win those 3 games. Cubs had opportunities and flubbed (the offense, Marmol and Lou's decision) a great opportunity to win a game that they shouldn't have on paper and that could easily be the difference in winning the series and losing.

[CubmanPi]

From cubs.com

 

"I've got a good bullpen here and I trust my bullpen," Piniella said. "I'm bringing back a pitcher on three days' rest on Sunday, and I took a shot with my bullpen. It didn't work today. They've done it all year, and I've got confidence in them, period, end of story."

So Lou seriously pulled Z after 85 pitches because he was looking ahead to game 4? Sure he should be able to count on Marmol, but if Z's dealing and is at 85 pitches and was due up 9th on offense that inning, run him out there one more time.

 

Sorry, I'm sure this has been hashed out plenty, but that doesn't mean it isn't still bullcrap.

[TruffleShuffle]

hey thanks cubs, i was hoping to stop caring about baseball within the next few days

[Brian]

how sad is it that I'm dreading the game tomorrow, a game where the opponents starter is Doug soap dropping Davis?

[Brian]

I just looked up the last time the Cubs face Davis... it's going to be an exact rematch tomorrow Lilly @ Davis

 

here's the box score

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore;_ylt=AqMakxHfOyiX0Chx3qfNvBKFCLcF?gid=270825129

 

check what a certain red head did that night

 

I want lou to bat said red head 2nd

[Guest]

From cubs.com

 

"I've got a good bullpen here and I trust my bullpen," Piniella said. "I'm bringing back a pitcher on three days' rest on Sunday, and I took a shot with my bullpen. It didn't work today. They've done it all year, and I've got confidence in them, period, end of story."

So Lou seriously pulled Z after 85 pitches because he was looking ahead to game 4? Sure he should be able to count on Marmol, but if Z's dealing and is at 85 pitches and was due up 9th on offense that inning, run him out there one more time.

 

Sorry, I'm sure this has been hashed out plenty, but that doesn't mean it isn't still bullcrap.

 

Z had thrown 85 pitches through 6 innings which averages out to just over 14 pitches per inning. That means if he had gone through the seventh inning, we can estimate that he would have thrown 99 pitches through 7 innings. Obviously this isn't a guarantee as it could be significantly more or less, but who knows. On September 14, Z threw 101 pitches against St. Louis and pitched well. On September 18, on three days rest, Z threw 100 pitches and got hammered against the Reds. If you continue with Z there, it's no guarantee that he doesn't give up a run and there's certainly no guarantee that the Cubs end up winning the game. As it turns out now, we're going to need Z to go in Game 4 if we expect to win the series and I want him to be as fresh as possible. While an extra 14 pitches isn't likely to break the bank, that doesn't mean it won't.

 

Fact is, if the Cubs can't hit Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez, and if Lilly and Hill can't shut down the DBacks offense, the Cubs don't deserve to win the series anyway. I like the move by Lou and stand by it. If you're going to blame anybody, blame the offense for not scoring and blame Marmol, the lights-out reliever, for not doing his job.

[Guest]

Just to throw out another scenario:

 

Let's say the Cubs do stick with Z for another inning and he throws no less than 100 pitches, we'll just say 100 exactly, and the Cubs end up winning the game. Then they come back and drop Games 2 and 3. Then, all of a sudden, you've got a must win on your hands in Game 4. If Z repeats his previous performance on 3 days rest, the Cubs are effed in the a and out of the playoffs.

 

If the Cubs had an unreliable pen, then I would have been in support of keeping Z in the game. But there was no reason to think that Marmol was going to allow anything in the seventh inning.

[gflore34]

Last night' game wasn't an unexpected result but, if the Cubs lose this series I'll be extremely disappointed. I could almost accept the playoff losses in '84, '89, '98 and '03 in each case, the Cubs lost to an evenly matched ('84,'89) or better team ('98,'03) however, in this series the Cubs are facing an inferior team. I've heard the better team usually wins a playoff series hopefully, it holds true for this series.

[C.C.]

That sucked! Gotta win tonight. Badly!

 

Start game 2 thread already!

[ctcf]

I'm begging you Cubs, please don't make me travel to Chicago with you guys down 0-2.

 

Please.

[C.C.]

I'm hanging my hat on: How many times did we lose the first game in the series and then win the next 2. We'll win this game tonight.

[CuseCubFan69]

I'm begging you Cubs, please don't make me travel to Chicago with you guys down 0-2.

 

Please.

 

That's when they'll really need you to help support them. It's easy to root for a 2-0 lead team but screaming down 0-2 puts a little hair on your.....