98navigator

It's still early but I think Lou's/Gerald's influence is at work.

The hitters are having some really good ABs.

Jacque doubles

What an unbelievable call! DID I CALL IT OR WHAT!!!! I just had that feeling! Good job!

DLee!!!! 3 run bomb

Murton poking the ball through--soriano to 3B

Sori with a leadoff walk.

Tim Stauffer pitching instead of Maddux

Walker grounds out 4-3 to end the inning 1-0 Padres Mid 1

Sacfly for Blum 1-0 Padres

Prior's in the dugout looking on...

Brian Giles caught looking 1 down

Leadff triple for Marcus Giles

The Cubs have an ownership stake in both WGN and Comcast Sports Net. It would surprise me if that were the case...

Bob is back!!! Those caps are ugly.

Even if Arroyo is the starter, Murton should be on the field. Matt's 3 of 13 in his career against him and has put the ball in play every time. So it's not like he's God-awful or anything. I have an unrelated question. I haven't paid attention to the starting lineups much this spring; how similar is today's to other games? Has this lineup been put out there on a consistent basis? No, the starters haven't played consistently but that will be changing soon.

I just listened to the Lou Piniella Show. Lou said Miller is the front runner for the fifth spot. He also said that Guzman has ML quality stuff... He was upset with the defensive miscues (and thought that only 2 runs should have scored against Guzman). He wants Angel to throw his changeup more and to stop centering his pitches to prevent hitters from getting good swings... He spoke about putting the best defensive team on the field; said Murton is improved in LF--paused--then repeated a need to put the best team on the field. It sounded like he was headed in the direction of criticizing Cliff Floyd but stopped. Lou also mentioned that he liked Wuertz and Cherry... I know Lou said earlier that he wasn't looking at Guzman for longman but he would be a better choice than Neal Cotts. He also mentioned that after the next split squad game, and the Tuscon game, the regulars would start to play everyday and almost all the innings.

You've got to love Lou's honesty!! Dave Van Dyck/Tribune

I pick July 14th versus Houston.

I think we're going to see this lineup a lot this season. Murton is a great choice for the number two spot and he's a better defender than Floyd. Also, every time I see Izturis in the 8th spot I'm reminded that Dusty Baker is no longer the manager of the Chicago Cubs!

The Daily Southtown and Cub.com add some additional insight into Piniella's approach with Guzman. Call me crazy, but these quotes sound like Lou realizes that Guzman has more upside than Miller and he's going to do whatever possible to help Angel pitch better in his next start (even if that requires studying film to see if he's tipping his pitches). Frankly, this is more than I would expect from a manager in ST--perhaps I'm jaded by Baker (who would have already given the spot to Miller). Ozzie Guillen is rooting for his Venezuelan countryman (I know Guillen is now a naturalized US citizen...)

wrong thread

FYI, that article was written by Scot Gregor. I made that mistake earlier too.

As I see it, 2 extra runs were scored because of defensive lapses. That doesn't excuse Guzman for being hittable, I'm just saying that his line looks worse than it should. let's be honest, Wade Miller has been very hittable this Spring as well (the defense has helped him get out of a few jams). The difference is that Miller has been able to fool hitters with inferior stuff (and Guzman hasn't). Guzman is going to have to change speeds/change up to trick the hitters.

I just checked-Miller faced the entire Diamondbacks starting lineup (all 8 of them) last time out, and the time before that he faced about half the Padres hitters with the rest of them being their major league backups, not their minor leaguers (for example, Walker in for M. Giles). Yeah, you're right, I listened to those games. IIRC, he was helped a lot by his defense; Didn't he give up more hits than innings pitched (or was that Marquis)? I still think Guzman had a tougher lineup yesterday (and an inferior defensive team behind him). I hope Guzman has the benefit of pitching with all of the regulars in his next start. Guzman's problems yesterday were exactly what Lou said they were. He didn't finsih guys off. He had 0 ks. I think a lot of it had to do with luck but he also was getting the ball up in the zone too often. Friken Juan Uribe had a day yesterday. Guzman should have struck him out twice. The defense didn't help (I looking at you Floyd), but Guzman "let" too many balls get put into play. That's the reason why why FIPS/DIPS is such an important stat. There's no doubt that he didn't finish some guys off (0-2 counts). He will have to show that he can change speeds too. However, bad defense extended his pitch count and made him pitch under more pressure than necessary. The ball hit to Floyd probably should have been caught or resulted in no more than a single--playing it into a 2 run triple was ridiculous. Pie trying to throw a runner out at third helped a runner move into 2B (he eventually scored), and Theriot let two balls get by him that a regular third baseman sucks up. Defense is important. Guzman's line would have looked a lot better had some plays been made behind him.