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The Rockies have put up more than 4 runs once since Holliday went on the DL. And that 5th run came in the 9th inning of a game they were losing by 16 at the time. They have been shut down the last 2 games in a hitter's park, by Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton, both of whom had ERAs in the 5's before their starts. Marquis' best start of the season was in Colorado. He had trouble in the game with Scotty Poddy, so I'd expect him in the lineup. This actually becomes a big game, with Aaron Cook (the Rockies only good starter) going tomorrow. The Cubs offense should get going, as Francis has just 3 quality starts in 10 outings, and has given up at least 5 runs 4 times. The key is getting him early. He's given up 12 first inning runs in 10 starts, and 23 before he gets to his 45th pitch. He has settled down after that.

I don't even see a video.

Pitched well his last game vs. the Cards. The 5 before that, yeah, not so good.

the best athletic skill to have is great hand-eye coordination.

?? That's his 2nd win.

Maybe the one Kemp hit to CF would have been the only ball that left the park on a windless day. And why do people keep saying, "oh but the wind". That's one of the things that comes with Wrigley Field. He'd be stupid not to pitch to the wind blowing in. And to bring up the competition is pointless. If that was the Dodgers AA team, then that's about Gallagher's level of competition at 22 years old. Also, I'd like to point out that Gallagher had a 10-7 GB/FB ratio. All of the flyouts came early (1st 4 outs recorded in air) or late (3 of last 5 outs recorded). Everyball was hit on the ground from 1 out in the 2nd to 1 out was gone in the 6th, and he clearly started to tire. I think the RBI single was the only ball to leave the IF over that time also. That was a great outing, no matter how you slice it.

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, I think their backup catcher threw him out. Yeah, you're right. Good catch.

Fukudome, Edmonds and Pie get some of the best jumps on flyballs that I've ever seen. On that great play Lee made at 1B, he didn't save extra bases because Kosuke was right there and would have held the runner to a single. He has done that several times this year. He also makes easy catches out of balls that would normally require a dive or lunge to grab. Fukudome's jumps yesterday were the best I've seen since Andruw Jones was about 60lbs lighter.

Great game by Sean. He did it with basically just a fastball last night. I'm concerned for future outings if he can't throw the breaking ball either for strikes or close enough to get swings and misses. Next 2 starts will be very telling. He will face an injury riddled Colorado team on Sunday, but is coming off of 111 pitches. Then he sees LA again, the first time to get him for a 2nd time. If he can give the team 2 more quality starts, he's probably not leaving the rotation.

This game should be the highest scoring of the series. Little warmer today, wind won't be howling in. Derek Lowe has allowed LHs to hit .313 against him. I would have saved Fontenot's start for today. But obviously, Derek Lowe is a groundball pitcher. He has been horrible on the road this year. This is the perfect day for Lou to stack the lineup with good lowball hitters. Given Edmonds stellar day yesterday, I hope this will be the debut of the Soriano-Fukudome-Hoffpauir (left to right) OF. Russell Martin isn't anything special throwing out runners (despite getting DLee yesterday), and Lowe hasn't typically held runners well. Lou likes to be aggressive, and this should be his chance to hit and run often, in order to stay out of the doubleplay. It also puts holes in the defense against a guy that has stunk out of the stretch this season. For Zambrano, Martin and Ethier are the only Dodgers that can hurt him today. Loney is struggling right now. Kemp and Kent can be slidered to death. Z holds runners well, so Pierre shouldn't be a huge factor. And the young LA hitters, shouldn't have a chance if Z hits his spots. Zambrano should be able to do some damage with the bat too today.

I agree if the superstar PG can hit open jump shots. A SSPG is more like a stock and a SSPF is more like a bond to me, the PF can get you 17-21/8-11 but the PG could be the missing piece that makes it all work or shoot too much and screw up the system. The Bulls don't have a guy that can create his own shots, other than Gordon, though his size hampers him often times. Rose can create his own and can create shots for his teammates, especially slashers like Deng, Noah, Tyrus. Rose has the best court vision I may have ever seen. I don't think there's physically anything Beasley CAN'T do on the court. But he won't make his teammates better. He does when he rebounds their missed shots and puts them in the basket! Is he really just 6'7"? Creating is good if you have shooters to kick out to. If not, they pack it in and force the shots to fall. He doesn't keep them from missing those shots in the first place though. And his put backs makes the team and his stats better. And I refuse to believe Beasley is 6'7". I think he's 6'9", but probably only w/ shoes. Creating a shot doesn't just mean kicking out for a jumper. It also means getting in the paint and getting easy baskets for your inside players, or drawing the defense leaving the offensive boards open. Joey Dorsey averaged nearly 10 ppg at Memphis this year, with absolutely 0 offensive talent. Tyson Chandler had a great year, with slightly more offensive ability than Dorsey.

Agreed. I want Rose, but I won't complain over getting a bigger Carmelo Anthony over a smaller D Wade.

I agree if the superstar PG can hit open jump shots. A SSPG is more like a stock and a SSPF is more like a bond to me, the PF can get you 17-21/8-11 but the PG could be the missing piece that makes it all work or shoot too much and screw up the system. The Bulls don't have a guy that can create his own shots, other than Gordon, though his size hampers him often times. Rose can create his own and can create shots for his teammates, especially slashers like Deng, Noah, Tyrus. Rose has the best court vision I may have ever seen. I don't think there's physically anything Beasley CAN'T do on the court. But he won't make his teammates better.

Agreed. We all like to make fun of Dusty's comments about being aggressive and "it's called hitting not walking", but I agree with what I feel was his point. I feel the best way for a hitter to become patient is to become a good hitter first. You become a good hitter by minimizing the holes in your swing, giving pitchers fewer ways to get you out. Once you become a good enough hitter and know your strengths as a hitter, you automatically become more patient as you only swing at pitches in a zone that you know you can do something with. I'm positive Colvin isn't to the level where he has minimized all his weaknesses as a hitter, but he should be good enough right now to know what he can and can't hit well. If he "stays the course", it then becomes a matter of execution when he gets those pitches to hit.

Why won't they be able to afford him? They may not want to pay what he'll get, but they would definitely have the ability to afford him. Its not a question of affording him, is a question of a team in a constant rebuilding process, would they rather have one star player surrounded by mediocrity, or would the rather exchange him for a stable of prospects. I feel this discussion comes up at least once a week. They can build a good team around him. They have some young talent with Salty, Kinsler, Murphy and a couple of pitchers. They should be able to get a handful of decent prospects for Laird, Bradley, Blalock and Padilla/Millwood.

Why won't they be able to afford him? They may not want to pay what he'll get, but they would definitely have the ability to afford him. Yeah, they did give ARod the biggest contract ever. They paid big money for Chan Ho Park, Kevin Millwood, and Vicente Padilla also. There's a lot of money in Texas.

I figured Fontenot was due for a start this series. Would have waited til tomorrow though, since lefties are hitting .316 off of Lowe. My guess at the lineup: Soriano Fukudome Lee Ramirez Soto Edmonds Cedeno Fontenot

I think anyone could hit a ball 500ft. with some luck. If you get one of those 98mph fastballs, you have a relatively quick swing, hit the ball square, and get a little carry and wind....it can go 500ft.

Speed makes up for a lot of things. I woulda picked the 4.2 in the 40. FYI, I can almost do a few things on that list. Or at least I could almost about 30-40 lbs ago.

ok, but tons of other examples of size =/= position (Magic Johnson, Dennis Rodman, Ben Wallace, etc.) I don't understand. PGs height matter less than any other position. The key is ball handling, that's why Magic at 6'9" was able to play it. Rodman and Wallace had the athleticism and size to make up for their lack of height, but both had a narrowly focused game. Beasley is a potential #1 pick because of his ability to do several things, the most of which being able to score inside and outside. If he's 2 inches shorter than most PFs in the league, then his ability to score on the inside will be severely hampered.

And you sort of predicted this, right? It's a nice little stretch, but it's still very little. His season long and May OPS are still just 702 and 707, respectively. He's going to have to sustain this for a while to impress me. Definitely. He has to keep this up a lot longer to impress. But the BB rate is my primary concern right now. He's a career .290+ hitter so far, so I don't have much doubt that he's NOT going to hover around the .240s much longer.

It all starts with you. Did you break anything today?

What? He won't be an NBA power forward if he is 6'7" or 6'8". What? Going to have to elaborate.

What? He won't be an NBA power forward if he is 6'7" or 6'8".

San Diego is giving up too much. Cleveland too little. I agree with the exact opposite of this. So, you feel San Diego is giving up too little? They are giving up what is probably the best player in the deal and getting back guys with the upside of a #4 starter, a 4th OF, and a middle of the road SS. Then they throw in Giles, who sucks, but still has some value with his OBP.