SB Nation User Blog: Al

Walk-Off Walk: Jake Fox One Of Many Heroes In 2-1 Cubs Win Over Brewers In 10

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:56:36 -0000

The Cubs LSU connection celebrates today's win.

Whatever works, keep it coming!

After smashing four homers last night, the Cubs used outstanding pitching and small-ball tactics to beat the Brewers 2-1, their third straight win and fourth in the last five.

At this writing that puts the Cubs two games out of first place -- which is now inhabited by the Cardinals, who moved 0.5 games ahead of Milwaukee. That's as close as they have been to the top spot in six weeks, since May 17, and moved them over .500 for the first time since June 23. If the Cardinals beat the Reds tonight, the Cubs move into third place. If the Reds beat the Cardinals, the Cubs will be 1.5 games out.

Carlos Zambrano, despite hitting Prince Fielder (he said in his postgame remarks that he was trying to pitch inside and it got away. I believe him, and the pitch that hit Derrek Lee in the bottom of that inning was definitely a purpose pitch. Enough!), had good command today, getting ten outs on ground balls and walking only three. He helped himself with an RBI single in the fifth, tying the game, hitting righthanded against RHP Jeff Suppan. Why? In the postgame press conference, Z revealed that his left wrist has been bothering him, so he decided to hit all righthanded today. Clearly, that didn't bother his pitching.

The Cubs also got a solid inning out of Aaron Heilman and two excellent innings from Kevin Gregg, who undoubtedly will not be available tomorrow after having thrown 40 pitches. Gregg had to get an extra out after Milton Bradley dropped a fly ball. I'm going to say about that play only this: it didn't hurt the team, since no runs scored. And right field in Wrigley is a tough field to play. But I believe an outfielder with the "good defense" reputation Bradley has, must make that play.

Lou hinted that "adjustments" will be made to the lineup tomorrow, not saying what they'd be. I suspect it may include dropping Alfonso Soriano down in the lineup, because at this point he's hurting the team hitting leadoff. Sam Fuld, who came in for defense in the ninth and nearly won the game with a sharp line drive that would have been a game-winning single had it been a couple of feet higher (and what was Mike Fontenot doing straying off 2B in that situation?), might wind up starting in CF or RF tomorrow and leading off.

Meanwhile, there were other heroes: Kosuke Fukudome, who had two walks sandwiching a double play with a runner on third and one out, made the defensive play of the game in the seventh inning, taking a convenient hop on a Fielder single and gunning down Jeff Suppan trying to score. I couldn't believe that the Brewers' 3B coach, Brad Fischer, sent Suppan, with the hot-hitting Casey McGehee due up next and Z about out of gas. But it all worked out in the Cubs' favor.

In the 10th inning, Ryan Theriot singled and went to second on a wild pitch. In retrospect, that was likely the key play of the inning because otherwise, the Brewers probably would have pitched to Bradley with two out. Instead, they put him on and Brewers reliever Mark DiFelice couldn't throw strikes to pinch-hitting Geovany Soto (nice game, incidentally, for backup Koyie Hill, who went 2-for-4 and blocked the plate nicely on the Suppan play), running the count to 3-0 and then also putting him on intentionally. Sometimes when that happens, pitchers lose their command, and DiFelice then ran the count to 3-1 on Jake Fox. Fox decided to swing at 3-1 -- a pitch that was probably a strike -- and fouled it off, then fouled off three more pitches before taking the winning ball four, a really nice at-bat.

It was a team victory, always nice to see, and the Cubs are now 5-3 against the Brewers this year. Keep it going tomorrow.

True Prince Fielder story, relayed to me by a friend who often waits outside Wrigley for autographs while visiting players are arriving. Fielder came in a taxi, got out and signed and posed for photos for about 20 minutes, by all accounts being friendly to everyone. Then one of the people who sells candy for fundraising purposes came up to him with the usual sales pitch. Fielder gave him a $100 bill and took the entire box. True story.

Finally, I wanted to say a couple of words here about the use of profanity during game threads. My own personal policy is that I want to keep profanity, whether mild or rougher, to an absolute minimum here. That said, I understand where, in the heat of the moment in a tense game situation, some profane words can come out. (They do for me in the bleachers, too, and I once wrote on this site regarding this issue, "I don't mind the occasional 'fuck'", which resulted in gales of laughter by virtually everyone here.) So with that in mind, I'd like everyone to relax a little about this issue. If there's a VERY occasional curse word, I'm OK with it -- and don't want anyone to come down too hard on someone else in a game thread. If it gets to be repetitive or abusive toward other posters, though, that's definitely not OK. Hope that clarifies things.

Go Cubs. Keep on this nice roll.

Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Brewers, Friday 7/3, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:21:30 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

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From Thursday's game.

Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Brewers, Friday 7/3, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:20:24 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

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From Thursday's game.

Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Brewers, Friday 7/3, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:17:38 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

1 day ago: Chicago Cubs' Derrek Lee is congratulated by manager Lou Piniella after hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, July 2, 2009, in Chicago. (AP Photo/John Smierciak)

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From Thursday's game.

First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs. Brewers, Friday 7/3, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:22:41 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

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Pitch and win today, Z! No sideshows.

Keep Sam Fuld In The Lineup: Cubs vs. Brewers Preview, Friday 7/3, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:04:00 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

More scenes like this for the next ten days, please.

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One thing Lou Piniella has been about in his time as Cubs manager is playing young players when they produce. Ryan Theriot pretty much forced Lou to keep him as the starting SS in 2007 with a great spring. Mike Fontenot, same thing in getting to the major league roster and getting more playing time. And Micah Hoffpauir impressed Lou in last year's spring training and played himself into a bench role after several years mashing minor league pitching.

Sam Fuld, and granted it's only been two days, is making his case to at least play while he's hot, and maybe stick around as a bench player when everyone's healthy (hmmm. Couldn't he have done everything Joey Gathright was supposed to do, only better?). Me, I'd rotate Fuld through the outfield for the next few days, giving Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Milton Bradley days off on a rotating basis. Keep that bat, good fielding, baserunning speed and enthusiasm in the lineup until he cools off. Bruce Miles agrees.

Remember when Aramis Ramirez got hurt and we all hoped the Cubs could at least keep pace until he returned? That's exactly what they've done -- still 2.5 games behind, exactly where they were on May 8. And they could get a couple games closer before A-Ram's return on Monday.

And for those of you who want Lou to show some fire, maybe you should think again. You don't want to put him in the hospital, do you?

"I'm done with that," Piniella said Thursday of questions about his famous fiery approach. "You know, my chest was hurting after the ballgame. The trainer told me to take a nice, cold shower. I don't know why I had to answer that before.

"I went out and argued and I got kicked out, so now I don't have to answer that question anymore."

Today's Starting Pitchers


Carlos Zambrano Cubs	vs.	Jeff Suppan Brewers

4-3	W-L	5-6
3.69	ERA	4.86
66	SO	47
35	BB	37
7	HR	13
vs. Mil	--	vs. Cubs

The Cubs have already beaten Jeff Suppan twice this year, on April 12 and May 10. Alfonso Soriano homered off Suppan once in each of those games, so I guess it might make sense to put Soriano back in the lineup today. Those are the only two HR he has hit off Suppan, though, and in his career he's hitting only .209 vs. Suppan. Derrek Lee, though, is 21-for-47 (.447) vs. Suppan with 7 doubles, 4 HR and nine walks.

Z gave up three ER in six innings and got a no-decision vs. Milwaukee on April 11. Prince Fielder, who hits almost everyone, hits Z, too: 11-for-30 (.367), 5 doubles, 2 HR, eight walks. In his career Z is 10-8, 3.68 vs. the Brewers in 24 appearances (23 starts).

Today's game is again on CSN Chicago and FSN Wisconsin. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Help Create The Fan Cost Experience

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:41:43 -0000

Help Create The Fan Cost Experience

Jon Greenberg and Troy Murray at Team Marketing Report want feedback from fans on what it costs to buy food and concessions at baseball games. There's a survey at this link.

Derrek Lee's Career Day Leads Cubs To 9-5 Win Over Brewers

Al — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:47:57 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

This swing produced the 10th grand slam of Derrek Lee's career.

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Let's put to rest the idea -- if anyone still has it -- that Derrek Lee is declining. Since May 1, when he was hitting .189, he has 13 HR and 38 RBI in 46 games and is hitting .326/.408/.594 in that time frame.

D-Lee's three-run homer and grand slam -- both hit in the first four innings -- led the Cubs to a convincing 9-5 win over the Brewers, making the first "statement" that they're not going away in this tight division race. Only 2.5 games now separate the top four teams in the NL Central; the Cardinals' win over the Giants last night put them in a first-place tie with Milwaukee. The Cubs also edged back to one game behind the Brewers in the loss column, and Jake Fox and Geovany Soto also homered. Since May 12, Soto is hitting .277/.368/.515 with 8 HR and 22 RBI in 35 games started -- these numbers are very close to those he put up last year. If he can keep up this pace, he'll be just fine.

With his career-high seven RBI in the first four innings, D-Lee had a shot at the team record for RBI in a game -- nine, set by Heinie Zimmerman on June 11, 1911, and tied by Sammy Sosa on August 10, 2002, against the Rockies in Denver. Lee got only one more shot after the grand slam, and he hit a ball hard, but right to Mike Cameron. He was on deck in the last of the eighth when Ryan Theriot flew to right to end that inning.

The grand slam was Lee's second of the season and tenth of his career; that puts him in an 11th-place tie on the active player grand slam list, tied with Torii Hunter. The grand slam was caught on Waveland Avenue on the fly by Ballhawk Dave (thanks to our own ballhawk, Ken, for the tweeted info last night on this snag.)

Enough of the records. Ryan Dempster threw into the seventh inning and came a Mike Fontenot bobble away from finishing that inning; two batters later he gave up a single to Ryan Braun and Lou pulled him after 109 pitches (68 strikes) to a warm ovation. Dempster seemingly effortlessly struck out nine and only once, in the fifth inning, did his command desert him briefly. He walked Brewers reliever Chris Smith -- who had exactly one career AB before last night, what is it about these guys that makes pitchers suddenly unable to throw strikes? -- and Craig Counsell before ending the inning. Despite allowing a pair of homers, Dempster was never in trouble because of Lee's big day. Carlos Marmol was a bit shaky in the ninth inning, issuing a two-out walk to Prince Fielder (although, to be fair, it appeared Marmol wanted no part of challenging Fielder, throwing him nothing but breaking balls). He finished up by getting ex-Cub Casey McGehee (and raise your hand if you knew McGehee would be doing this well) on a called third strike, but not before Kevin Gregg had started to loosen up in the pen.

Sam Fuld continued his fine play, getting a pair of hits for the second day in a row. During his postgame remarks, Lou hedged when asked if Fuld would play again today. "We'll see," was his response. It appears Alfonso Soriano will return to the lineup today, but it's possible that Fuld will continue to play as long as he's hot (Lou often does this, riding the hot hand), perhaps spelling Kosuke Fukudome in CF for a day, and then Milton Bradley in RF for a day. Fuld is giving Lou and Jim Hendry a tough choice to make on Monday. That's the day three Cubs -- Angel Guzman, Aramis Ramirez and Reed Johnson -- will all return from the DL. Kevin Hart is the likely returnee to Iowa for Guzman, but who will go for Ramirez? Andres Blanco? He's played fine defense and is the only true backup SS. And will Fuld return to Iowa for Johnson? Stay tuned.

A final word about the booing I heard for Bradley in his first three at-bats last night, which resulted in a strikeout and two groundouts. You all know that I haven't been a big Bradley fan, but that booing is uncalled for and I did not join in. I think that sort of thing should be reserved for someone who isn't giving an honest effort. There's no doubt in my mind that Milton Bradley is absolutely, positively trying his best and giving 100% effort. He's just not succeeding right now. I truly do hope he turns it around. As long as he's wearing the blue pinstripes, we as fans, and his teammates, need him to succeed.

This morning's game preview thread will post at 11:30 am CDT.

Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Brewers, Thursday 7/2, 7:05 CT

Al — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:48:05 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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From Wednesday's game.

Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Brewers, Thursday 7/2, 7:05 CT

Al — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:46:49 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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From Wednesday's game.