Does Lou start resting the regulars now?

[kujay]

I wonder if theyd give Shark a start if we clinch soon enough, just see see how it looks. I know you dont want to throw off his routine before the playoffs, but 1 start couldnt hurt.

 

How comfortable are you about putting in Samardzija late in a tied playoff game right now?

 

Not me.

[hardcorecubfan]

Lee, with that homer and a hit may be coming out of the slump so I keep him going

 

I'm not yet ready to say Lee is coming around. As I glance at games log, and compare them to Ramirez (their career SLGs are very close) it seems what has been missing from Lee is multi-Xtra base hit games. I think that sort of jives with the idea that he's not hitting the ball in the air enough (tough to get to second on a grounder) which the GDIPs also support.

 

If two days is a trend, he's going in the right direction, but I'd like to see more success. Then, if it looks as though he is coming around, he should get a couple more days off. Maybe the hurricane break was a real help.

 

Strangely, I like the recent Ks. Maybe he's actively trying to do something different.

 

doesn't help when Fuku isn't performing consistantly, but Lee putting the ball closer to the fence each time at bat, you wonder if his dad talked to him over those two days

[erik316wttn]

Keep playing them enough so they stay hot and don't get rusty. You don't want to play the I-Cubs from here until the end of the season because you don't want to cool any hot hands you may have.

[Guest]

I wonder if theyd give Shark a start if we clinch soon enough, just see see how it looks. I know you dont want to throw off his routine before the playoffs, but 1 start couldnt hurt.

 

What would the point of that be? Nothing good would come out of giving him a start now and since he's been a reliever for two months now, you would only be risking injury by doing it.

[Guest]

 

As has been mentioned, I'd also keep Harden, Z, and Dempster from throwing in the Mets series. Let any of Marquis, Marshall, Lilly, or even Guzman start those games.

 

The only one I'd worry about is Zambrano. They aren't scheduled to face Dempster. So, that's not a problem. Zambrano is on tap to pitch the last game of that series on Wednesday. Which means the Mets would see him that day and if they end up with the wildcard, again on Tues/Wed the next week in Game 1. The problem is you either throw Z against the Mets Wed or possibly not at all after this weekend. I'm not sure how the Tue/Wed thing works, but if you push Z on Friday, he can't go on Tuesday because that will be on short rest.

 

I wouldn't worry about Harden, because he most likely won't pitch til game 3 or 4, if what we read is accurate.

 

I still think Harden in Game 1 is a good idea, allowing him to pitch game 5 if need be on 5 days rest, or be ready to go in Game 1 of the NLCS. I don't really understand why all the beat writers are just projecting the rotation from now until the end of the season and carrying that over to the postseason. Lou changes rotations and lineups all the time, why does everybody think he's going to keep this constant for a month?

 

I agree with you on Harden but I just can't see Lou throwing anyone other than Z in Game 1 now that the Cubs should be able to wrap up the division and HFA with time to set up the rotation.

[17 Seconds]

I wonder if theyd give Shark a start if we clinch soon enough, just see see how it looks. I know you dont want to throw off his routine before the playoffs, but 1 start couldnt hurt.

 

Yeah it couldn't hurt anything....except his arm. Samardzija hasn't been stretched out for months, you can't just toss him out there for 5 or 6 innings like it's nothing.

[Derwood]

I don't want to see more than one, two at most, regulars rested per day. Too much rest and guys get flat/rusty.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I wonder if as a last ditch effort to salvage Kosuke, they would consider just letting him go back to Japan to spend time with his family and return for the playoffs.

[David]

I wonder if as a last ditch effort to salvage Kosuke, they would consider just letting him go back to Japan to spend time with his family and return for the playoffs.

 

Yea, no. That's not happening.

[jersey cubs fan]

I wonder if as a last ditch effort to salvage Kosuke, they would consider just letting him go back to Japan to spend time with his family and return for the playoffs.

 

Yea, no. That's not happening.

 

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=235468

 

Fukudome said through his translator that he still was happy to be a part of the Cubs and wasn't "homesick" because his family is here.