jersey cubs fan

They seem more hell bent on preventing him from becoming a starter. If they were hell bent on making him a starter, they'd have him in AAA, where he belongs, starting every 5 days. He needs innings.

8 of those 14 games were home games. Are guys really that fatigued playing an bunch of home games? Soto has missed at least 3 of those games. Bradley and Aramis have missed how many of those games? How many of those games did Reed Johnson miss? I understand days off. I really do. I don't understand a forfeit line up, especially in front of your home crowd. I don't mind Scales getting a major league start on the infield. Why was Derrek Lee in there if guys really needed a rest? Is Reed Johnson more overworked than Derrek Lee? Could Hoffpauir really not have played a little 1b for a game? To me, it just doesn't make much sense. If it's cloudy, cold and rainy for today's game, it would be a great day to sit some of your starters to give them a little rest AND reduce the risk of injury. If it ends up being bad weather today, now those guys will be sitting on back to back games rather than just one. I don't get why you are including Reed Johnson. He's been horrible and he can't hit right handed pitchers. Why would his inclusion make it less of a forfeit lineup? Ramirez and Bradley were banged up, rest for them was even more helpful. Lee didn't rest because they needed somebody to play first, with Hoff playing left for Soriano. There aren't enough bench players for him to rest. The Cubs are in Houston today and tomorrow, and then go on to Milwaukee for three, there's very little worry about weather making them unable to play.

what a crappy effort

It's definitely not ideal, but if the alternative is sticking with the safeties they already have, I'd rather mess around with Graham a little and hope for some improvement out of Vasher.

Teddy Bruschi can pitch?

That's a very sad fantasy. He's eligible at just about every position. That's what makes him so valuable. Do you get points for things like starts? He may qualify at multiple positions, but his numbers are awful.

Vagina wig can't shut down this lineup.

How is that your concern after seeing the play? Amazingly enough, I can multitask with the best of them. I can have concern over Ankiel hitting the wall AND have concern for why it is considered an out, all at the same time. I just don't get how you were able to get so worked up about that being called an out. You argued about whether it was a catch for several posts. Why are you trying to call out another poster for questioning whether it was a catch? He got all worked up about it, freaking out about telescopic lenses and stuff. I didn't argue it. I said at first I had doubts, but when I saw the slo-mo replay it was clearly a catch. But he freaked out about the actual call on the field and was all worked up about how the umps could dare make such a call. It seems pretty easy to see how they could make such a call. I don't get how a fan can see that and then question the audacity of the umps for saying he was out.

Merkin? Seriously?

he's got the football player mentality though, you can't teach that. He's got to have a BB/9 around 5 with the Cubs, how has Lou not freaked out about that? Can we get Mike Wuertz back to Chicago so they can irrationally hate him again and shove him out the door to distract us from the other guys?

Jeff Samardzija continues to justify the completely irrational call-up to the majors. He wasn't all that good last year, he hasn't been all that good as a pro in general. Yet he seems to have a stranglehold on a job.

There is no game tonight. It's being played right now.

The Reggie Cleveland All Stars?

That's my longshot bet.

The hit and run forces hitters to make contact with bad pitches. The lead runner is never going at full speed on the hit and run (always has to slow down and look back) and any relatively well-hit ball to the left side should be able to get the lead runner. Lee's problem is that he always ends up pulling garbage on a hit and run right to the SS or the 3B to start the double play. He doesn't have the speed to make it a close play at 1B, either. A ground ball on a hit and run is very rarely turned into a DP. It's very difficult to pull off. Most of the time they won't even try to get the lead guy, they will just throw to first.

Let the guy have his full start.

It's not you. It's because of the 575 DPs that Derrek grounded into last year. I always figured that Lee grounded into those because Lou called them all the freaking time. It's hard to ground into a DP on a hit and run. The only way you really can is if the hit ball goes directly to the guy covering the bag. It does make the lineout DP and strike-em-out-throw-em-out more likely though.

You have to touch all the bases to get the HR. Ventura had a HR turned into a 2B because his teammates mobbed him at 2nd after the winning run already crossed the plate. My guess is the guy would have to crawl around, or have the opposing team carry you, like that softball player last year.

80

We are starting a normal starter so I don't see how Lou gets the blame for the Giants scoring. He's talking about in comparison to the Cubs lineup. But Lou is starting some questionable defenders at multiple positions.

Runner doesn't matter there, get the batter.

Chicago Cubs baseball is all about the stereotypical leadoff hitter over the prototypical leadoff hitter.

Miles is going out of his way to keep that OPS under 500.

Gathright doubles his hit total and nearly doubles his batting average at the same time.

If you give guys days off over several days, you reduce your chances to win on each of those days. If you have them all rest at once, you only reduced your chances to win one game, and it's a game you had a strong chance to lose anyway, even if they all started. I understand that, but by taking 1 guy out of a lineup isnt going to reduce your chances of winning that much. Doing it on a day with your number 5 starter is on the mound facing 1 of the best pitchers in the game, you are basically forfeiting. If you take 1 guy out when you have say Demp, Harden, and Lilly, on the mound your chances arent reduced much at all. You are most likely going to lose a their ace vs your 5 matchup anyway. I don't think there is an ideal way to get guys rest. But it's day after night, lots of guys are banged up, it's "getaway day", they aren't playing a division opponent. It's one game out of 162.