carolinacubbie

I have a Baltimore Orioles Brian Robert's jersey shirt that I wear fairly frequently, does that make me wrong?

OH? oriiolehangout.com

Marmol looked like Marmol in that inning, hopefully that helps his confidence. Young pitchers who have great "stuff" can lose their confidence thus lose their control, hopefully he is getting it all back together. Whether we score or not this inning, I'm sure Woddie will throw the ninth. That is fine he hasn't pitched since Saturday.

I think he was told to stop throwing so hard and take a little off his pitches to maintain his command. That's just my guess. He gave up a hit, then got a DP ball that Mike booted, then Ked a guy. He's pitched well through the first three batters.

He is definitely starting to hit the ball better, but still way too many ground balls with runners on. I'm not too worried though, so long as we keep winning, D Lee is too good of a hitter. He is going to get it going. Mike and Mike are just plain terrible for the record.

Baltimore Orioles Lineup vs. LHP this year 1. 2B- Brian Roberts .313/.374/.518 1 HR, 6 RBIs 2. RF- Nick Markakis .341/.420/.591 4 HR, 14 RBIs 3. 3B- Melvin Mora .286/.361/.587 5 HR, 10 RBIs 4. 1B- Aubrey Huff .262/.311/.440 3 HR, 10 RBIs 5. C- Ramon Hernandez .317/.364/.366 0 HR, 4 RBIs 6. LF- Luke Scott .205/.295/.308 1 HR, 1 RBI 7. CF- Jay Payton .255/.283/.529 4 HR, 11 RBIs 8. SS- Alex Cintron .235/.278/.294 0 HR, 2 RBIs 9. P- Matt Albers Career vs. LHP- .200/.200/.200 0 HR, 0 RBIs Chicago Cubs Lineup vs. RHP this year 1. LF- Eric Patterson .318/.375/.500 1 HR, 5 RBIs 2. SS- Ryan Theriot .303/.365/.361 1 HR, 16 RBIs 3. 1B- Derrek Lee .288/.341/.498 12 HR, 33 RBIs 4. 3B- Aramis Ramirez .310/.417/.574 13 HR, 40 RBIs 5. CF- Jim Edmonds .248/.325/.397 4 HR, 21 RBIs 6. C- Geovany Soto .254/.333/.475 8 HR, 28 RBIs 7. RF- Mark DeRosa .272/.355/.422 6 HR, 27 RBIs 8. 2B- Mike Fontenot .250/.337/.435 3 HR, 13 RBIs 9. P- Ted Lilly Career vs. RHP- .176/.195/.200 0 HR, 7 RBIs

Patterson to LF, DeRosa to RF? Yeah Fontenot to second, Epatt will lead off, not sure who will hit second though.

Well, lineup will change again as Fukudome is a late scratch with tightness.

Chicago Cubs Lineup vs. RHP this year 1. RF- Kosuke Fukudome .300/.409/.445 5 HRs, 23 RBIs 2. LF- Eric Patterson .318/.375/.500 1 HR, 5 RBIs 3. 1B- Derrek Lee .288/.341/.498 12 HR, 33 RBIs 4. 3B- Aramis Ramirez .310/.417/.574 13 HR, 40 RBIs 5. CF- Jim Edmonds .248/.325/.397 4 HR, 21 RBIs 6. C- Geovany Soto .254/.333/.475 8 HR, 28 RBIs 7. 2B- Mark DeRosa .272/.355/.422 6 HR, 27 RBIs 8. SS- Ryan Theriot .303/.365/.361 1 HR, 16 RBIs 9. P- Ted Lilly Career vs. RHP- .176/.195/.200 0 HR, 7 RBIs

Albers? Baltimore seems determined to destroy his arm. Earlier this season, he started a game, then went into the bullpen for 2 weeks throwing 10-15 pitches per outing. At the end of that time, he threw 16 pitches one day, 18 pitches the next, then had 2 days rest, and then they let him throw 94 pitches in a game he started. This time it's much less crazy. He threw 36 pitches on the 21st, so he's had 3 days rest. It will be interesting to see how long Baltimore throws him out there though. He is a high walk guy and is only a decent strikeout pitcher, so this is one pitcher the Cubs should absolutely take pitches against. There's a lot of reward and not that much risk. Note that I'm not saying the Cubs should look at every first pitch. I would never recommend that for any pitcher. But he's exactly the type of pitcher you shouldn't be worried about getting into deeper counts with, so go up there on the first pitch acting like it's a 2-0 or 3-1 count and only swinging if the ball comes into one of your best hitting zones. He's also a pretty good ground ball guy, so the Cubs need to be wary of that with runners on. I do agree that the Cubs will probably go with a very similar lineup tonight as they did last night now unless Lou was very upset with Patterson's adventures out there. I agree with all of that. I'd like to see Patterson start again, he seems to be swinging the bat well right now. I wouldn't mind seeing DeRosa sit and have Fontenot start tonight though. I'd actually prefer that.

Is this the actual lineup? It was, but the Orioles changed their pitcher due to Burres having the flu, and Matt Albers is starting. Burres is a LHP and Albers is a RHP. So I'm sure the lineup will change.

Who is singing the 7th inning stretch tonight?

Matt Albers is starting for Baltimore tonight, a rightie, so I imagine Cedeno sits now. Patterson will probably be back in the lineup. Honestly I could see the same lineup as yesterday with maybe DeRosa sitting and Fontenot starting.

he'll be booed because he's on the Cubs now plus he said some negative things when they traded him I remember when John Mabry first returned... he got a standing O. John Mabry. Edmonds will be cheered pretty loudly. BEST FANS IN BASEBALL It is crazy how obsessed they are with us there. I went to my first Cardinals game last year, and they had on shirts of like why the bleachers in STL are better then Chicago. And when a ball was hit into the crowd some people were going to throw it back, and everyone like booed them, and told them we aren't in Chicago. The whole time all they talked about was what the Cubs score was. That is the night we faced Lincecum and he rolled through eight, then we ended up getting I think four in the ninth to beat the Giants. But the whole game they only talked about how San Fran was beating us. God, I wish I would have been around them when we came back won. The atmosphere there is pretty good, and the stadium is pretty nice. But to be a brand new ball park there bathroom situation is a joke. I feel like they only have 3 or 4 mens bathrooms in the whole place. I literally missed an entire inning trying to find a bathroom to go to, and there wasn't even a line for it.

Honestly I hated Edmonds, but I still pulled for him when he first got to the Cubs. He frustrated the living hell out of because his first few weeks with the Cubs, he was terrrible. I still pulled for him the entire time though, and now I like him even more mostly because he actually good now. But even th9ugh most Cubs fans didn't like him, they still all pulled for him.

Baltimore Lineup Tonight 1. 2B- Brian Roberts .290/.372/.469 5 HR, 29 RBIs, 44 Runs, 21 SBs 2. RF- Nick Markakis .283/.387/.483 12 HR, 33 RBIs, 41 Runs, 8 SBs 3. 3B- Melvin Mora .240/.299/.412 10 HR, 38 RBIs, 35 Runs 4. 1B- Kevin Millar .245/.339/.411 11 HR, 41 RBIs, 38 Runs 5. C- Ramon Hernandez .238/.282/.371 5 HR, 26 RBIs, 18 Runs 6. LF- Luke Scott .268/.352/.502 12 HR, 28 RBIs, 31 Runs 7. CF- Adam Jones .265/.308/.385 4 HR, 27 RBIs, 26 Runs, 6 SBs 8. SS- Alex Cintron .326/.356/.419 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 Runs 9. P- Jeremy Guhtrie 0-7 Career I love playing these AL teams at home, because it takes away one of their best hitters like Thome with Chicago and Aubrey Huff tonight. One thing that is funny is in Cintron's picture he is wearing a Cubs hat.

If Edmonds isn't hitting come September he won't be batting 5th if even playing. Lou doesn't seem like the kind of guy who is going to stick with someone forever who is struggling just because they are a Vet unless it is Soriano, Aramis, or D Lee. And they all rightfully deserve that kind of treatment.

This is correct.

option years, not times. Murton has been optioned 1 this year already. Doesnt that mean if they want to send him down, theyd have to DFA him, and hope he doesnt make it through waivers, which he wouldnt? And Ronny hasnt been Optioned yet this year, hint hint. once you have been optioned once in a year, he can be optioned as many times possible in that year without losing an option gotcha. I'm pretty sure this is correct. Cedeno is kind of like a Rule 5 draft pick this year, he had to make the team out of spring training and stay on the team the entire year or we would have had to DFA him or trade him. I'm not sure, but if I had to guess Murton probably will be the same way next year. Does Fontenot have any options left?

I can't stand the AAAA thingy. Couldn't we just say MLB bench player instead of dumb AAAA.

Where'd you hear/see that? Mac, Jurko, and Harry....and yep I still haven't heard any word on who is off the roster.

Cubs Lineup Tonight 1. RF- Kosuke Fukudome 2. LF- Eric Patterson 3. 1B- Derrek Lee 4. 3B- Aramis Ramirez 5. CF- Jim Edmonds 6. C- Geovany Soto 7. 2B- Mark DeRosa 8. SS- Ryan Theriot 9. P- Sean Marshall

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080624-sean-marshall-reed-johnson-cubs,1,7790755.story Good Johnson seems like the obvious choice especially since he can go back six days on the DL, so he'd only have to sit out nine more. I'd love to see Murton stay up for a little while longer, and Fukudome has played Center Field a little over the last week, and seems somewhat comfortable there if we need him. Also, has Patterson played any CF in the minors? And I know we were tinkering with Cedeno in CF at one time, does he ever take fly balls there anymore?

Just heard it on the radio.

AROD definitely. After that, I think you could make a case for Aramis against just about anyone else. Even Chipper Jones. Jones has had in his career a much much better OBP, but I will say I think that is something that Ramirez has really been working on increasing his OBP this year to .404. Aramis hits much more home runs and drives in more runs. Over the last six years Jones has the advantage in average, but if you look at 03-06 it really is a toss up in average. Ramirez probably has the advantage considering Jones hit .248 in 2004. From 03-06 slugging percentage is pretty much a toss up as well. As good as Aramis' numbers have been this year, .299/.404/.530/.934 with 14 home runs, 53 RBIs, and 52 runs scored, I still think his average, OBP, and slugging will all increase over the summer. Aramis loves playing in the warm weather, and it just starting to heat up just like Ramirez is just starting to heat up. Plus, his glove has gotten so much better over the last three years that he is a legit top 5 defensive third baseman in the MLB now.