07/31 Cubs (Harden) @ Marlins (Volstad) 6:10 CT, CSN TV

[Omar]

i hate these closers like k rod, valverde and this moron tonight who act like they just got a perfect game. seriously its bad to wish bodily harm but i wouldnt mind seeing them getting a ball off their throwing elbow

 

thats probably how other teams feel about Zambrano.

[Soonernation]

Nice call by Lou to leave Soriano on the bench and pinch hit Baker instead; why?????

[CubColtPacer]

Nice call by Lou to leave Soriano on the bench and pinch hit Baker instead; why?????

 

Because Baker needs to come up against a left-hander to be effective and the Cubs needed any base hit to take the lead in that situation. Baker is almost as good at picking up base hits against left-handers as Soriano is, so it made sense to save Soriano for the next pinch-hitting situation where a right-hander would likely be on the mound. If the Cubs had used Soriano in the 7th, that would have left either Baker or Blanco against a right-hander later on and those are two pretty ugly options.

 

Soriano is still the best pinch-hitter the Cubs could have put up in the 7th, but not necessarily the best use of bench management. They would have been going for it all right there and making their bench useless for the rest of the game. The way Lou played it Baker was in a spot he's good at and then he could save Soriano for another spot that he would also be good at. Unfortunately the 3 run deficit kind of tied Lou's hands in the 9th (Soriano would have likely pinch-hit for Hill with a 1 or 2 run deficit IMO).

[gflore34]

The simple truth is that if the Cubs want to win this division they HAVE TO get better on the road. Seeing as the Cubs have more road games then home games remaining on the schedule.

 

I don't know if that's going to happen thus far, against decent teams on the road, the Cubs have been absolute garbage. Sure, they can beat up on the likes of the Reds, Nationals and Pirates but, except for the odd game here or there, they've gotten the crap beat out of them by Phillies, Cardinals and shortly, the Marlins. Honestly, they're going to get swept this weekend and it's not going to be close.

[DiamondMind]

God I hate the stupid marlins and that stupid stadium in stupid florida.

[gflore34]

It just makes my blood boil when crap like John Baker and Wes Helms beat the Cubs with 2 out hits come on, this bs never happens to the Cardinals. The good news is I'll be racking my Barely Wine to the secondary fermentation tomorrow, maybe, that won't be the only good news. Maybe a miracle will occur such as the Cubs winning as well.

[Sammy Sofa]

The simple truth is that if the Cubs want to win this division they HAVE TO get better on the road. Seeing as the Cubs have more road games then home games remaining on the schedule.

 

I don't know if that's going to happen thus far, against decent teams on the road, the Cubs have been absolute garbage. Sure, they can beat up on the likes of the Reds, Nationals and Pirates but, except for the odd game here or there, they've gotten the crap beat out of them by Phillies, Cardinals and shortly, the Marlins. Honestly, they're going to get swept this weekend and it's not going to be close.

 

No team plays mostly "decent teams" on the road.

 

You talk like they've played the Phillies in a ton of games on the road this year. They played 3 games against them: 1 was a blowout in their favor, 1 was a blowout in the Cubs' favor and one was up in the air until the very end. The rest of their road numbers in the first half are skewed by the offensive drought they were in for most of May and June. That's not saying that they'll suddenly be road worldbeaters this half, but it's way too soon since they've seemingly started turning things around to just assume that the results of the first half will be repeated.

[gflore34]

The simple truth is that if the Cubs want to win this division they HAVE TO get better on the road. Seeing as the Cubs have more road games then home games remaining on the schedule.

 

I don't know if that's going to happen thus far, against decent teams on the road, the Cubs have been absolute garbage. Sure, they can beat up on the likes of the Reds, Nationals and Pirates but, except for the odd game here or there, they've gotten the crap beat out of them by Phillies, Cardinals and shortly, the Marlins. Honestly, they're going to get swept this weekend and it's not going to be close.

 

No team plays mostly "decent teams" on the road.

 

You talk like they've played the Phillies in a ton of games on the road this year. They played 3 games against them: 1 was a blowout in their favor, 1 was a blowout in the Cubs' favor and one was up in the air until the very end. The rest of their road numbers in the first half are skewed by the offensive drought they were in for most of May and June. That's not saying that they'll suddenly be road worldbeaters this half, but it's way too soon since they've seemingly started turning things around to just assume that the results of the first half will be repeated.

 

I hope you right and things do change on the road.

[Andy]

i hate these closers like k rod, valverde and this moron tonight who act like they just got a perfect game. seriously its bad to wish bodily harm but i wouldnt mind seeing them getting a ball off their throwing elbow

 

thats probably how other teams feel about Zambrano.

Zambrano acts like a doofus in the (almost always big) moment. Jose Valverde and K-Rod and their ilk have predetermined stupid things that they do no matter what the game situation. I hate the comparison of those guys to Z because - and say what you want about it - Z is genuine.