98navigator

Todd Walker came through and the Sox lose!

Haha, a long single to the wall wins it for OAK. 2-1 Jenks with a blown save.

Todd Walker just singled to tie up the Oakland/Sox game with 2 outs/2 strikes in the bottom of the 9th. Now 1-1 bases loaded

Actually he didn't. Comcast Sports Net played the whole interview in the postgame. Lou was merely answering a question about the cold but he made a point of going back to clarify his comments. He said that the opposition is playing in the same weather and they have to score runs. No excuse was made. So to your main point, I don't think he believes the weather is the problem. Murton will probably bat second tomorrow just by virtue of facing a LHP.

Personally, I'd be furious that the Cubs left a starter in all year long that couldn't provide better numbers than that. I don't care if they have to promote Veal or Gallagher to make it happen. 5.40 ERA/1.60 WHIP is for AAA, not the major leagues. LOL, if Marquis was winning those games (20) there would be no movement at all. There would be constant talk of his ability to "grit" out starts and put the team in position to win. :wink: Who could argue with the results?

The only problem is it's not lake effect. There's a system moving into Chicago from the west. I don't think there are any big lakes to the west of Chicago. :wink: Ok, I could be completely wrong but I think the lake could still cause a change in the forecast. It seems to happen here a lot; predicted bad weather that either never shows up or is far less than expected.

The weather could change drastically overnight. It's not uncommon here that a forecast is completely wrong. Lake effect rain or snow can veer in another direction.

It's not hate. He's got the best track record, best stuff and is the best pitcher on the team. Doesn't mean he will be the best pitcher this season. That's all I'm saying...

Hate? It's ok to question Zambrano without actually hating him. He isn't exempt from criticism or skepticism.

I agree. I think Rich is going to have a better year than Carlos. In that scenerio. Lilly is not a bad #3 at all. Now what to do about #4 and #5, that's the problem. :lol: Well, I hope Carlos pitches like a 2 but I'm kinda thinking he'll be more like a 3--just a hunch. I'm encouraged by Hill and Lilly so far and anything half way decent out of Marquis is welcomed... Eventually, I think Guzman is going to be in the rotation (that's assuming Prior doesn't get himself together any time soon).

I agree. I think Rich is going to have a better year than Carlos.

How? 1.60 WHIP 5.40 ERA That's flat out terrible. Woah there sparky, three errors and a horrible day in the field should also be factored into account on those stats. I bet Lou is going to have a field day with this kind of effort... YIKES! Hate to be in the locker room. You understand that errors don't contribute to ERA or WHIP, right? No they don't but without the errors, one could make a case that his ERA could have been lowered just by virtue of pitching deeper in the game. The errors extended the innings and raised his pitch count which contributed to Marquis only pitching 5 innings. That's what he's saying. Bah..he could have pitched longer and given up 5 more runs too. The what-if game is a dangerous game. Lets go on what he actually did. well, what he actually did was keep the team in the game.

5.40 ERA 1.60 WHIP I guess people think that's good around here. Compared to last year, its probably good. We were in the game today. That's about all you can ask a guy like Marquis. No offense, but thats under the same line of thinking as "Who cares if his ERA was 6.02, he won 14 games!" No. Marquis did his part to win the game. He go no run support. I don't know a pitcher out there who wins a game with the offense putting up goose eggs. Agreed. No use splitting hairs here. It's not splitting hairs. Follow my logic. You say that if the Cubs did their part and scored runs, then we'd win the game. So if every game, Marquis threw 5 innings of 3 ER ball. And most every game, the offense responded and won. So at the end of the year, Marquis won 20 games and had a 5.40 ERA. Any way you look at it, he would have had a bad year statistically. It doesn't matter that he won 20 games, when being judged and compared to the rest of the pitchers of the year, his numbers would be quite poor other then wins and losses. You know, I understand your point completely, a 5.40 ERA is terrible but ultimately, I don't care about the individual statistics. Winning is the bottom line. He kept the team in the game when it looked like he was about to implode. BTW, would you really care if Marquis won 20 games with a 5.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP? I sure wouldn't. Through 2 games, Marquis has a 3.27 ERA. He's pitched better than Zambrano to start the year (IIRC, Z could have given up more than 5 ER in his first start if the bullpen had let his inherited runners score). Really, why are we pointing out his flaws? This isn't just directed at you... The lack of a consistent offense is much more of a concern.

Fine, he might have pitched into the 6th, but there's no way to guarantee it would have been scoreless. You can't just assume a scoreless inning trend will continue, especially with a bad pitcher on the mound. Zambrano and Miller are the only starters to really have poor outings. Marquis has pitched well enough, in his two games, for the team to win. Heck, most of the starters have pitched well enough to allow the team to win. The Astros scored 3 ERs. If the Cubs can't score 4 runs a game they will be in trouble... Having said that, I fully expect the offense to come around, but I also expect that Marquis will get into the 6th or 7th inning everytime he pitches. He could have/ probably should have pitched into the seventh in his first start but Lou opted to take him out. Today's game was about a lack of offense, and sloppy defense, not poor pitching.

How? 1.60 WHIP 5.40 ERA That's flat out terrible. This doesn't tell the whole story. He was fine after the first inning. If the Cubs had scored runs, while he was in the game, and played error-free ball, he wouldn't have been lifted for a pinch hitter. He did walk a few people but I don't think any of those scored. The errors probably robbed him of at least one more inning of work (maybe two). There's no guarantee those innings would have been run free. I'm not saying that tells the whole story, but it tells enough of the story to debunk the myth that he did a good job. He recovered from his own crap start, but that doesn't negate what he did earlier. 3 runs in the first inning is never good however, the team isn't going to win many games if it can't overcome its starters surrendering 3 runs. I can only go by the trend of the game; which was that he settled down after the first inning. Again, without the sloppy play he would have pitched into the sixth inning at minimum.

How? 1.60 WHIP 5.40 ERA That's flat out terrible. Woah there sparky, three errors and a horrible day in the field should also be factored into account on those stats. I bet Lou is going to have a field day with this kind of effort... YIKES! Hate to be in the locker room. You understand that errors don't contribute to ERA or WHIP, right? No they don't but without the errors, one could make a case that his ERA could have been lowered just by virtue of pitching deeper in the game. The errors extended the innings and raised his pitch count which contributed to Marquis only pitching 5 innings. That's what he's saying.

How? 1.60 WHIP 5.40 ERA That's flat out terrible. This doesn't tell the whole story. He was fine after the first inning. If the Cubs had scored runs, while he was in the game, and played error-free ball, he wouldn't have been lifted for a pinch hitter. He did walk a few people but I don't think any of those scored. The errors probably robbed him of at least one more inning of work (maybe two).

losing is for losers. Stop it!

He's barely had any starts to show it, let alone back to back starts. Give me a week straight of Murton starting and looking like that, and I'll be concerned. I agree in general but it shouldn't take a week. He was the most disciplined hitter in the lineup. I've seen enough, thus far, to know that his approach is different.

When you only have so many at bats to impress, you get aggresive. That's not a fair characterization. He's been doing it since ST and even in his first couple of starts... much too anxious I don't take ST too much into account. Everybody wants to get their hacks in Arizona. F He was horrible in the spring and it has continued through the early going. It's not like he was unlucky, he was just bad; swinging at bad pitches and not getting walks. I call it as I see it... Matt isn't playing his game--1 walk and few hits. I just want him to look like he has a clue about the strike zone. It's one thing to hit a line drive right at a defender it's another thing to pop out or constantly ground out weakly... BTW, it's not just Murton, it applies to many of the hitters. You can't take ST into account. Didn't we hit something like .315 in spring? We have to be hitting at least 100 points lower than that right now. I'm not talking about results I'm talking about his approach at the plate (which is why I mentioned line drive outs--the results don't matter as much in ST). He was swinging poorly then and has clearly gotten into some bad habits. For whomever mentioned that PH'ing isn't his cup of tea, remember that he hasn't shown his normal patience in his starts.

His game does seem out of whack

When you only have so many at bats to impress, you get aggresive. That's not a fair characterization. He's been doing it since ST and even in his first couple of starts... much too anxious I don't take ST too much into account. Everybody wants to get their hacks in Arizona. He was horrible in the spring and it has continued through the early going. It's not like he was unlucky, he was just bad; swinging at bad pitches and not getting walks. I call it as I see it... Matt isn't playing his game--1 walk and few hits. I just want him to look like he has a clue about the strike zone. It's one thing to hit a line drive right at a defender it's another thing to pop out or constantly ground out weakly... BTW, it's not just Murton, it applies to many of the hitters.

When you only have so many at bats to impress, you get aggresive. That's not a fair characterization. He's been doing it since ST and even in his first couple of starts... much too anxious

2 runs? BLAH, that unearned run loomed large!

pop up :x :x :x