Laura

has z been getting squeezed? He was vs Berkman, especially the last pitch. Barrett & Riley had some words about it.

This has the potential to get interesting.

This reminds me of the Wood saga. He was shut down with bursitus and shoulder inflammation and, at one point, triceps problems. My completely amateur guess would be that Prior has some underlying shoulder issue (torn rotator cuff muscle like Wood?); he suspects this as well; and he's probably rather adament -- at least so far -- against going for a surgical fix. It's hard for me to believe that the Cubs weren't operating under the premise that Prior had some sort of high-injury-risk condition lurking for the past couple of spring trainings. And no, Prior shouldn't be counted on to fill a rotation spot next year unless it's in the minor leagues. Much as it saddens me to say that. The Cubs' history of addressing medical problems is such that the Cubs should never again plan on him being a pillar of the organization.

Another off-day this Thursday.

I haven't tried to calculate it out, but my understanding from people who have is that -- barring any changes to the LA rotation -- he wouldn't be due to pitch at Wrigley that series. They were saying during the game that it would be the only game pitched this season that took a pitcher less than 10 pitches per inning ... but he subsequently hit 10 pitching in one inning. The per inning pitch count would still be less, though. There was some controversey about him not pitching the 9th. It was a cool game to watch. Schmidt was good, too.

Didn't Dusty have an early quote something like -- when he was asked whether Alf would still be the closer after Alf was injured when he slipped on wet grass in spring training, I think, and JoeBo became the closer -- "I can think of about 5 million reasons why Alf should be closer"? Or am I imagining that?

That's been posted a number of times. It's an emotional reaction. Just like Corey. He must not have cared when he was with the Cubs. You could tell. Now he cares.

I think you are relying on the arguement that someone who "cares enough" can improve their performance dramatically without any evidence demonstrating that. If "caring enough" affects pitching, how does it affect hitting? Can we make Neifi care enough to hit better? Or should we just trade him to a contender? Maybe your emotional reaction is influencing your analysis, rather than Maddux's emotional reaction giving him a constant +5mph on his fastball. So you've seen him throw 79-83 constantly over the past 3 years? We all have friends. I have one who works at Elias. I'll see if he can dredge up velocity reports on Maddux over the past 3-5 years.

I find a 3-year-conspiracy theory wherein Maddux was dogging it out of forlorn hopes of joining the Dodgers and immediately gaining 5mph on his fastball to be a little out there. But if you believe it, look on the bright side -- with cancers like Maddux out of the way, the clubhouse is sure to be much cheerier these days! :D

I've seen him throw 88 since he's been with the Cubs. I don't know where you were when he did.

I wonder what Neifi's SELL-BY DATE is.

I admit I wasn't watching non-stop; I was following the game in the background. It looked to me like his pitches ranged around 83-89 and he sat around 84-86, which is maybe one tick higher than usual. It wasn't like he was throwing only in the high-70s before July 31. I think any slight increase may be due to things like gun discrepencies, warm August nights, a guy who for whatever reason pitches better in the second half, and, yeah, perhaps being in a playoff race gets the pulse going a bit more. What's your reasoning? That caring can add 4-5mph to a fastball over the course of a ballgame? Or that, now that he cares, he can dial it up to 90 consistently from here on out? I'm confused. I think he cared about winning with the Cubs. Unfortunately, the ballclub pretty much collapsed around Z and around him in various ways, and the two of them -- even as incredible as Z is -- couldn't pick it back up by themselves. And yeah, Maddux sucked at various key points. Sadly, so did everyone else. Maddux isn't super-incredible anymore; he isn't the Maddux of ten years ago. He's still capable of pitching gems for short stretches of time and well-enough for longer stretches of time. He wasn't a good fit for the Cubs anymore. He was a very good fit for the Dodgers and an excellent pickup for them. I know there was a lot of debate here about having signed him. Now he's gone and we get the kids pitching, which is great. I still think the Cubs got the better end of the deal in signing him, and I'm glad he hung out here for 3 years, even if it wasn't a happy ending. Reading Z's quotes today about him being the Ace of the Rotation made me consider that again and come to the same conclusion.

Who is he? Where did he come from? ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS

Or maybe he's traditionally just better in the second half.

It was a rare and wonderful thing to see two starting pitchers throw strikes. 16IPs and 1BB between them. I muted the volume. :)

July - August - September are usually his better months. This year was a bit anomalous, given his strong start. 3 starts with the Dodgers: 1-0, 3GS, 20IP, 9H, 2R, 2ER, 9/4 K/BB, 0.82 ERA, 0.59 WHIP

He just retired 22 in a row.

hooray?

Ed Campusano was taken out of the game with 2 outs, no one on, in the bottom of the 14th with an apparent injury. Carlos Vasquez in. Still tied 1-1.

Nice!

West Tenn & Jacksonville are tied 1-1 in the 13th inning of yesterday's resumed game. BOX SCORE.

MiLB Gameday FAQ

"not THAT good of a strike, though!"

strikes plz