Minor League Discussion & Boxes 7-30-2008

[Jon]

Hill has poor control of his breaking ball according to the announcers, which wasn't the case in his last two starts with the D-Cubs.

Did you get the sense that it contributed to most of his walks, as well, or was that just an observation that they made?

[Jon]

Peoria won the suspended game with a walkoff RBI single by Bautista in the 12th.

[Guest]

Hill has poor control of his breaking ball according to the announcers, which wasn't the case in his last two starts with the D-Cubs.

Did you get the sense that it contributed to most of his walks, as well, or was that just an observation that they made?

 

They made the observation a few times, but it was always in between batters so it wasn't based on a specific pitch. He did get squeezed quite a bit too.

[Guest]

Argh!

 

Veal: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 4 WP

 

Robert Hernandez can't get good back-to-back outings yet: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. All 5 runs scored in the 3rd; he was great the first two innings.

[Bruno7481]

Rich Hill has a long, long way to go.

[Guest]

Mike Wuertz struck out 7 in 3 perfect innings.

 

All boxes posted!

[sneakypower]

Jovan Rosa

 

how on earth can you get 35 doubles and only 4 of your hits go over the walls?

 

 

Brandon Guyer's caught my interest this month

[Rob]

Jovan Rosa

 

how on earth can you get 35 doubles and only 4 of your hits go over the walls?

 

 

Brandon Guyer's caught my interest this month

 

He's BA's sleeper pick in the Cubs system.

[YearofDaCubs]

It's not looking good for Hill. He's totally lost it. Maybe it is best to shut him down for the year. Is he hiding some sort of injury?

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Time to call up Weurtz and DFA Howry for the stretch run.

[Guest]

Argh!

 

Robert Hernandez can't get good back-to-back outings yet: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. All 5 runs scored in the 3rd; he was great the first two innings.

 

Well if Hernandez could field his position, he probably would have gotten out of the 3rd relatively unscathed:

 

PeoriaChiefs.com[/url]"]Peoria starter Robert Hernandez walked Petey Paramore to start the inning before giving up back-to-back singles to Matt Ray and Shane Keough to load the bases with no outs. DJ Hollingsworth reached on a fielders choice that allowed Paramore to score. Michael Richard hit a grounder back to Hernandez and an errant throw to second by the Chiefs hurler allowed Ray to score from third base and put the Cougars in front 2-1. The defensive problems continued for Hernandez and the Chiefs after Todd Johnson hit a ground ball in the hole on the right side that Rebel Ridling fielded, but Hernandez could not handle the throw to first base allowing two more runs to score and extend the Kane County lead to 4-1. The third fielders choice of the inning allowed Jake Smith to reach and Larry Cobb, scored to put the Chiefs in a 5-1 hole.

 

Sounds like he could have a DP ball and been out of the inning 1-1.

[Guest]

Daytona News-Journal on Rich Hill:

 

"His arm is good; the quality is there," Cubs pitching coach David Rosario said. "The main thing to me is concentration. To me, concentration is what's keeping him from having consistency. That's the main issue we're going to attack."

 

The 28-year-old southpaw is trying to regain the command that allowed him to reach the big leagues three years ago. He was one of Chicago's most dependable pitchers last season, but this year he's been hampered by control problems. He struggled with his fastball and curveball against the Cardinals.

 

"The first inning was good, the second inning was very good because he kept the ball down," Rosario said. "He was pounding the zone, then suddenly he started missing and losing control. The third inning was a long inning. He put some people on base and lost his command. To me, that's concentration, and we have another month-and-a-half to work on it."

[Lefty]

Daytona News-Journal on Rich Hill:

 

"His arm is good; the quality is there," Cubs pitching coach David Rosario said. "The main thing to me is concentration. To me, concentration is what's keeping him from having consistency. That's the main issue we're going to attack."

 

The 28-year-old southpaw is trying to regain the command that allowed him to reach the big leagues three years ago. He was one of Chicago's most dependable pitchers last season, but this year he's been hampered by control problems. He struggled with his fastball and curveball against the Cardinals.

 

"The first inning was good, the second inning was very good because he kept the ball down," Rosario said. "He was pounding the zone, then suddenly he started missing and losing control. The third inning was a long inning. He put some people on base and lost his command. To me, that's concentration, and we have another month-and-a-half to work on it."

 

And is this Single-A pitching coach the right guy for the job? I mean, why is a lowly Single-A coach entrusted with the reclamation of a multi-million dollar asset? Makes no sense.