Outshined_One

Aw, crap.

You ever think old school managers get the message that the hit & run fails way more often than it works?

Holy crap do the Nationals suck at baserunning.

I can't figure out if that was a poor throw by Jacque and a great play by Blanco or just a great play by Blanco.

Anyone else find Livan chugging around the bases to be hilarious?

If you ever want to be massively depressed, find a list of everyone who has played 2B since Sandberg first retired.

No dude, we're sitting him for the stretch run. It's like playing with your toys, you know? You've got your GI Joes, your Transformers, and your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all fighting each other. At the start of the battle, you put out all the action figures and vehicles you don't like and have them beat each other up, kind of like the pawns in chess. You have Shipwreck trying to kill Bumblebee while Mondo Gecko rides around on the Pizza Cycle. But as the battle goes on, you start deploying all the cool guys like Shredder, Destro, and Megatron. When they get out there, man, they cause havoc! That's what Lee gives us, dude.

Very stupid move by Soriano there. Marshall looked him back and he was out by a mile.

Ah yes, Nevin took the ol' question mark route to that one.

I'm not the only one who thinks Uncle Lou is senile after listening to this broadcast for a few minutes, am I?

Box Scores Iowa won 3-0 Box Score CF F. Pie 1/4, R SS/2B M. Fontenot 1/4, RBI 3B C. McGehee 1/4, K RF/LF M. Restovich 1/3, BB, 2 K 2B/RF B. Coats 1/3, R LF L. Montanez 1/3, RBI, 2B (9) 1B M. Hoffpauir 2/3, R, RBI, HR (10) C G. Soto 1/2, BB, 2B (14) SP R. Hill 7.1 scoreless, 1 H, 14/1 K/BB, HBP, 5-3 GO-FO RP C. Rapada .2 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO RP D. Aardsma 1 perfect, 1-2 GO-FO West Tenn won Game 1 of the DH 2-1 (Continued from game suspended yesterday) Box Score 2B E. Patterson 0/4, K RF N. Jackson 1/4, R, RBI, HR (4) 3B S. Moore 0/4, K DH B. Dopirak 2/4 PR/DH C. Walker 0/0, R CF M. Negron 1/3 C J. Fox 2/4, K 1B R. Lewis 3/4, RBI SP F. Baez 6 scoreless, 4 H, 4/1 K/BB, 2-12 GO-FO RP E. Campusano 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO West Tenn won Game 2 of the DH 2-1 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4, K 2B E. Patterson 2/3, BB, 2B (19), 3B (7), SB (35), CS (9) LF/RF N. Jackson 1/3, BB, RBI, 2B (18) DH/1B B. Dopirak 0/3 3B S. Moore 0/2, BB, R RF M. Negron 0/1 (Ejected in the 2nd) 1B/RF R. Lewis 0/1 1B B. Sing 0/1 C J. Fox 0/3, K SP JR Mathes 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/2 K/BB, 6-4 GO-FO RP T. Atlee 1 scoreless, 2 H, 1/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP E. Campusano .2 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Daytona lost 3-1 Box Score CF S. Fuld 1/4 2B J. Simokaitis 1/3, R DH M. Craig 1/4, 2B (24), 2 K RF R. Harvey 1/4, 2 K C J. Muyco 1/4, K SS J. Mota 0/3 SP C. Perez 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5/4 K/BB, WP, 3-10 GO-FO RP A. Mendez 1.2 hitless/scoreless, 2/1 K/BB, 0-3 GO-FO Peoria lost 3-1 Box Score CF D. Gregg 1/4, R, K 2B R. Chirinos 0/3, 2 K RF J. Valdez 0/4 1B R. Norwood 1/3, BB, RBI, K 3B R. Malone 0/3, 2 K DH Y. Carter 0/3, 2 K SS K. Reynolds 0/3, 2 K, E (8, fielding) LF A. Garcia 1/3, 2B (15) SP J. Estrada 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3/4 K/BB, 4-11 GO-FO Boise won 5-1 Box Score CF M. Camp 0/4 LF T. Colvin 1/4, R, RBI, 2B (7) 3B J. Lansford 1/4, R, 2B (4), 2 K 1B R. Canzler 1/3, BB, 2B (10) RF A. Joseph 1/4, R, RBI, 3 K DH DJ Lewis 1/3, R, 3 RBI, HR (2), K 2B S. Clevenger 1/3 C M. Mercedes 1/3 SP K. Kopach 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0/5 K/BB, 7-5 GO-FO RP J. Papelbon 2 scoreless, 1 H, 3/1 K/BB, 1-2 GO-FO Mesa won 6-3 Box Score 2B C. Valentin 1/3, BB, R, 2B (3), E (6, fielding) CF D. Rundle 0/3, R, 3 K, Assist (2B), HBP C C. Perez 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (1), E (4, throw), PB (2) DH C. Gilbert 2/3, RBI, K, CS (1), HBP PR/DH V. Heredia 0/0, SB (13) SS M. Gonzalez 0/4 RF C. Andersen 0/2, BB, R, K, SB (3) LF W. Inoa 1/3, R, K 3B F. Tirado 1/3, RBI SP T. Parker 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2/1 K/BB, 7-5 GO-FO RP J. Castillo 3 scoreless, 3 H, 1/0 K/BB, 3-3 GO-FO RP B. Taylor 1 scoreless, 1 H, 2-1 GO-FO OVERALL: 5-2

Ryne Malone's really been hitting the ball down there lately, from what I can tell. What's your take on him?

Meh, I've been warming more and more to using IsoD over K/BB for hitting prospects. Both have very good IsoD rates and also are down in Mesa, likely working on approaches at the plate, swing mechanics, and so on. I wouldn't worry much, if any, about either at this point.

I'd be wary of it, but his IsoD is rather encouraging (.077). That tells me he's doing a reasonable job of controlling and making contact in the strike zone while still holding off on bad pitches outside his zone. I'd expect him to be doing well with that, considering the level, but it tells me that there is plenty of hope for him. Moreover, some people were concerned about his transition from metal to wood, given his swing, power, and so on. I think he has managed to answer those questions effectively. Plus, he's been playing CF, hitting triples, and stealing bases. If he can stick at CF, his prospect profile would jump by leaps and bounds. I'm actually rather excited for him. I was a bit disappointed in the pick at the time (I wanted Snider), but I was nowhere near as pissed off/annoyed/angry at the pick as a number of people on the board.

Box Scores Iowa won Game 1 of the DH 3-1 Box Score CF F. Pie 1/1, 2 BB, R 2B M. Fontenot 2/3, R, 3 RBI, HR (8) 3B C. McGehee 0/3 RF M. Restovich 0/3, 2 K SS/RF B. Coats 0/3, K 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/3, 2B (6) C J. Reyes 2/3 PH L. Montanez 0/1, R SP JK Ryu 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7/2 K/BB, HBP, 5-3 GO-FO RP C. Rapada .1 scoreless, 1 H, 1-0 GO-FO RP M. Wuertz 1.2 scoreless, 2 H, 3/0 K/BB, 0-3 GO-FO Iowa won Game 2 of the DH 3-1 Box Score CF F. Pie 1/3, R, K, SB (11) 2B M. Fontenot 0/3, K 3B C. McGehee 0/2, CS (2), HBP LF/RF M. Restovich 1/2, R, RBI, 2B (20) SS/RF B. Coats 0/3 LF L. Montanez 1/2, R, RBI, Assist (Home) 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/2, RBI, 2B (7), K C G. Soto 1/2, 2B (13) SP B. Emanuel 4 scoreless, 3 H, 3/2 K/BB, HBP, 2-5 GO-FO RP R. Cherry 1 scoreless, 1 H, 3-0 GO-FO West Tenn Suspended (rain) in the 8th Box Score Daytona lost Game 1 of the DH 4-2 Box Score CF S. Fuld 0/3 2B J. Simokaitis 0/3 1B M. Craig 1/2, BB, 2 R RF R. Harvey 0/3, K C J. Muyco 0/3, K SS J. Mota 1/2 SP M. Holliman 5 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2/5 K/BB, HR, WP, 8-4 GO-FO Game 2 of the Daytona DH suspended (rain) in the 3rd Box Score Peoria won 7-3 Box Score CF D. Gregg 1/5, R, 2B (8), SB (21), CS (14) 2B R. Chirinos 2/4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (5) DH J. Valdez 1/5, R, K 1B R. Norwood 2/5, R 3B R. Malone 1/4, BB, K, SB (4) RF Y. Carter 2/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (9), E (2, fielding) SS K. Reynolds 3/5, RBI, 2 2B (9), K, SB (7) LF A. Garcia 0/4, K, Assist (2B) C M. Reed 1/3, BB, 2B (10) SP S. Taylor 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5/0 K/BB, 6-9 GO-FO Boise won 4-3 Box Score 2B/SS P. Lopez 0/4, K CF T. Colvin 1/3, R, RBI, HR (4), CS (1), PO (1B), HBP DH J. Lansford 0/2, 2 BB, R 1B R. Canzler 1/3, R, K RF A. Joseph 1/3, R, 2B (7) RF M. Camp 0/0, BB LF DJ Lewis 1/4, 2 RBI, 2B (9) 3B E. Puello 0/1, BB PH/2B S. Clevenger 1/2 SP M. Pawelek 5 scoreless, 1 H, 5/1 K/BB, HBP, 6-4 GO-FO Ejections: Everett AquaSox pitcher Natividad Dilone ejected by HP umpire Phil Henry. (7th); Everett AquaSox catcher Jair Fernandez ejected by HP umpire Phil Henry. (7th); Boise Hawks third baseman Elvin Puello ejected by HP umpire Phil Henry. (7th); Boise Hawks Alfred Joseph ejected by HP umpire Phil Henry. (7th); Everett AquaSox Jose Graterol ejected by HP umpire Phil Henry. (7th). Details later in the thread. Mesa won 9-2 Box Score 2B V. Heredia 1/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2B (1), 2 SB (12) CF D. Rundle 2/5, R, 2 RBI, 2B (1), 3B (1) LF C. Andersen 1/5, R, 2 K 3B M. Gonzalez 3/4, BB, R, 2 RBI, CS (2), PO (1B) DH W. Inoa 0/4, BB, R, 2 K SS F. Tirado 1/4, R, 2 RBI, K SP J. Carrillo 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HR, WP, 5-7 GO-FO RP R. Dolis 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8/1 K/BB, HBP, 1-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 5-1

Bingo. They should have shipped Sisco back to the minors and let him work on being a starter, where he was most valuable. The Cubs were idiots not for letting him go, but instead for letting him go in exchange for nothing. Sisco was still a highly rated prospect when they let him go (despite weight/motivation/production issues) and could have gotten something in return in a trade.

It won't happen until late August when Dusty receives a phone call from Lee at 2 AM, begging Dusty to move himself down in the order.

I've been boycotting paying any money for this team since they picked up Jock Jones. I have not gone to any games at Wrigley, I have not bought any Cubs merchandise, and I've even gone so far as to not start any Game Threads this season! I still watch them on TV, but I no longer get really excited about the games except when Z pitches. The 11 run inning fiasco on Sunday was high comedy, not painfully crushing. It's so nice to be this cynical...

Three words for Dusty: BOO FREAKING HOO

Link It's a rather interesting article. I'm incredibly pleased that MLB is attempting to expand beyond the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim in finding talent. The Italian pitcher whom the Cubs picked up last year in question is Boise RP Alessandro Maestri, for those of you who are curious.

Any chance he sees Peoria? His bat could probably help in the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get promoted soon if he keeps hitting like this!

Is it me or have there been more fans of opposing teams in Wrigley this year than in the past few years? Despite the attendance numbers, it's clear there's a rather significant gap between paid attendance and the turnstile attendance. Ratings are in the toilet and people are no-showing the games or scalping their tickets.

Here's the bottom line, to me. This season is lost. This team isn't making a playoff run and it's been a really disappointing and agonizing year for most Cub fans. However, there is a shining light in the form of the young guys in this organization who could be good players for this team for years to come. Granted, the current coaching staff is absolutely abysmal when it comes to teaching these guys, but I'm guessing they'll all be out the door by August 15th. Who cares if Cedeno, Murton, and Theriot struggle? What's the point of playing guys like Nevin and Neifi when it's clear this season is lost? The only reason I can see for Baker playing those veterans is to make some feeble attempt at getting the team back to .500 at the end of the year, thereby saving his job and giving him a fat contract extension that goes straight to the IRS. Let them play through their struggles is what I'm suggesting. Throw them into the fire and evaluate them at the end of the season. If they struggle, boohoo, no big deal, let them work through it. If they don't fit into the Cubs' plans in 2007, then they can trade them for somebody who could help in 2007.

Somebody should email Stats Inc to see if that's ever happened before. I'm legitimately curious.

Box Scores Iowa lost 6-2 Box Score CF F. Pie 1/4, RBI, 2B (16), 2 K SS B. Coats 1/4 2B M. Fontenot 2/4, RBI, E (9, fielding) 3B C. McGehee 1/4, 2B (18), 2 K 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/4 LF L. Montanez 0/4, 2 K, Assist (Home) C G. Soto 0/3, BB, R, K DH J. Reyes 1/4, R, K SP R. O'Malley 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 3/0 K/BB, HR, 5-5 GO-FO RP C. Rapada 1.1 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, WP, Balk, 1-1 GO-FO RP D. Aardsma 1 hitless/scoreless, 0/2 K/BB, 1-2 GO-FO West Tenn won 5-3 Box Score 2B E. Patterson 0/3, BB, 2 R, K, 2 SB (34) 3B R. Lewis 2/4, R 1B B. Dopirak 2/3, BB, R, RBI PR/RF M. Negron 0/0, PO (1B) CF N. Jackson 1/4, K RF/1B B. Sing 2/3, BB, RBI DH J. Fox 0/3, RBI, 2 K SP J. Mateo 6 IP, 6H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6/2 K/BB, 2 HBP, 5-7 GO-FO RP T. Atlee 1 hitless/scoreless, 0/2 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO Daytona lost Game 1 of the DH (continued from 7/19) 6-1 Box Score CF S. Fuld 2/4, R, 3B (6) 2B J. Simokaitis 1/3, RBI DH M. Craig 1/4, K RF R. Harvey 1/4 C J. Muyco 2/4, 2B (2), K SS J. Mota 0/3 SP R. Sotolongo 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1/3 K/BB, HR, 0-5 GO-FO RP G. Johnson 3 scoreless, 1 H, 1/1 K/BB, 6-2 GO-FO Daytona won Game 2 of the DH 3-2 Box Score CF S. Fuld 0/4, R SS J. Simokaitis 2/4, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B (7) 1B M. Craig 1/3, RBI, 2B (23), K RF R. Harvey 0/3, K SP D. Veal 5 hitless/scoreless, 9/4 K/BB, WP, 2-4 GO-FO Peoria won 3-0 Box Score CF D. Gregg 2/5, RBI, K 2B R. Chirinos 1/4, R, SB (16), CS (8), HBP LF J. Valdez 1/5, K 1B R. Norwood 1/4, K, HBP, SB (3) 3B R. Malone 1/3, BB, R RF Y. Carter 2/3, BB SS K. Reynolds 1/4, R DH A. Garcia 1/4, 2B (14), K C M. Reed 1/4, RBI SP M. Atkins 7.1 scoreless, 7 H, 7/0 K/BB, 4-11 GO-FO RP M. Avery 1.2 scoreless, 2 H, 4/0 K/BB, WP, 1-0 GO-FO Boise won 13-7 Box Score CF M. Camp 1/5, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (6) LF T. Colvin 3/6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (6), HR (3), K, Assist (3B) 3B J. Lansford 1/5, RBI 1B R. Canzler 1/4, BB, R, RBI, 2B (9), K RF A. Joseph 3/5, 3 R, RBI, 2B (6), 3B (1), SB (6) DH DJ Lewis 1/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, K 2B S. Clevenger 2/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2B (3) SP M. Billek 4.2 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 1/4 K/BB, 3 HR, HBP, 9-3 GO-FO RP A. Maestri 3.1 scoreless, 3 H, 4/1 K/BB, 2 WP, 5-1 GO-FO Mesa with an off day. OVERALL: 4-2